How Ulta’s social media manager is embracing diversity to create a positive community

In the wake of the backlash against Bud Light over its partnership with Dylan Mulvaney, some brands, such as Ulta Beauty, have been more vocal about supporting diverse creators. 

“As industry leaders, we recognize our responsibility to champion diversity, equity and inclusion and will never shy from that,” an Ulta spokesperson said. “As cultural tensions ebb and flow in society, Ulta Beauty will stay true to its values of inclusivity and authenticity. Beauty is for everyone, and we will always celebrate its expansive nature and the endless possibilities it affords our world.”

More news: How Ulta is avoiding the de-influencing trend

A pinned post on the beauty retailer’s Instagram,  from March 2021, reads “Hate has no home here” and explains that the brand has the right to remove explicitly hateful comments. The company has a history of prioritizing inclusivity. Its “Beauty&” campaign last summer featured a diverse cast that included Zuri Marley, a model, musician and DJ who is also the daughter of Ziggy Marley and granddaughter of Bob Marley; Steph Aiello, a makeup artist, quadriplegic advocate, social media influencer and dancer; and Sophia Morales, an indigenous and Latinx deaf woman.

Dylan Wiseman is the senior manager of social media at Ulta. His team focuses on the Ulta brand across organic and paid social media.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

What is the biggest way social media has changed in the last few years?

Social media has really become the front line for our guests and first interactions. It cemented that the channel is a critical component of a brand, from upper funnel to conversion. It’s also become more critical than ever to ensure that any social team is a steward of the brand in fostering a positive and respectful community. 

How do you decide where to engage and what trends to lean into?

We are very fortunate to have good teammates across our social listening and community management teams. Overall, we love any random or quirky trends that let our personality come through. We use both third-party and native tools to look at trends, then we like to take a step back before we engage and evaluate the opportunity. Does it fit in our overall content strategy? What is the potential value or engagement lever this will activate? What action will guests take?

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken on social media?

One that is top of mind was that we were the first to pilot Branded Missions on TikTok. That helped us amplify our Beauty& campaign. Branded Missions let us cast a wide net and let creators react to a prompt: How does beauty show up for you? We activated just under 1,500 creators. It was a risk in the sense that we were the first brand to try this. There were some platform issues and operational roadblocks, so we had to stay flexible and roll with the punches. But our partners at TikTok helped us build it out, and it was a success in the quality of content and guest response.

How does your team find creators to work with?

We have an internal influencer relations team who identifies creators across organic and paid. We also partner with them for the Ulta Beauty Collective, our brand ambassadors and talent. We are also just always monitoring and engaging with other voices in beauty. 

What would make your job easier?

The thing that comes to mind would be a crystal ball to better predict the platform shifts on the horizon or algorithm changes that can alter our strategy. Basically, anything to forecast trends. We have to be so nimble to align our strategy based on industry updates while keeping guests as the main focus. You can get swept up in all the platforms and trends, but we have to ground in what our guests would want to engage with.