Students use social media to sell beauty products

By now, students may have seen the ItWorks or Jamberry nails products while scrolling through their Facebook feed. This new way of selling products is catching on quick.

Distributors are trying new ways to sell their wraps and body applicators through social media such as Facebook and Instagram. One of these companies is ItWorks. ItWorks started in 2001 with products like the Ultimate Body Applicator. These products target specific body areas that may need toning or contouring without the use of cosmetic surgeries or constricting shape-wear.

Some USD students have either started selling these products for extra cash on the side, or have tried one of the products themselves.

These products are not advertised through television or radio, so distributors such as senior Jennifer Healy have taken to Facebook to try and get their beauty products out there for consumers.

“I do believe that people are more likely to try these products when they see it on social media since that is the place we communicate with the most amount of people,” Healy said.

Healy has a variety of marketing tools to help her sell her products.

“I use my personal results, my teams results and others that use our products,” she said. “I am a part of a Facebook group for all those in the area that are distributors and we post our before and after pictures, our teams results and we provide support for all those on the team.”

USD junior Morgan Piehl also said selling her products through social media is the way to go.

“The main source of sales is through Facebook and Instagram, which honestly worried me at first because I was afraid to bombard my friends about ItWorks posts,” Piehl said. “After I started to post, I realized that using social media is actually the best way to sell this type of product because social media reaches the maximum amount of people who have possible interest in the products, and it is much easier to communicate with customers.”

However, despite the growing popularity, not everyone is a fan of the products or the way they’re being sold.

Senior Sarah Nelson has used the wrap products twice without much luck, and said the way they’re sold is annoying.

“There have been so many friend requests and follows on Instagram trying to sell. America is such an impatient and lazy country, and we all have a sense of ‘we want it now,’ so it’s no surprise that the product sells so well,” Nelson said.

The way ItWorks sells their products have changed the way social media is used. This creative selling aspect has taken the social media world by storm because social media is no longer used for just networking and social aspects anymore.

(Photo: Junior Morgan Piehl with an ItWorks beauty product. Nowadays, many distributors are taking advantage of selling products via social media websites such as Facebook or Instagram. Shelby Carlson / The Volante)