Lush Ditches UK Social Media

Handmade soap brand Lush has closed its UK social media accounts, citing platforms’ algorithms. 

Influencers have expressed surprise, not least because the company had 569,000 followers on Instagram and over 200,000 on Twitter. Its Facebook audience was said to be over 400,000. 

Announcing the decision on Twitter at the beginning of April, Lush said it felt it was being pushed to “pay to appear” in news feeds. 

In a statement, the company said: “We don’t want to limit ourselves to holding conversations in one place, we want social to be placed back in the hands of our communities – from our founders to our friends.” 

The company will continue to operate social media accounts based in North America. 

Social media is one of the most potent ways to reach new people and engage them. The Sussex Business Times does not recommend a shift away from major platforms. 

With ‘social selling’ and customer engagement now important strands of marketing, brands are being encouraged to win more likes and follows with unique content designed to both catch the eye and drive a response. 

Top tips: use media, including video, compelling calls to action and links to shift traffic from social media to your own platform. Develop you own strategy for building an online community you can control on your own website. Use hashtags to reach new audiences and ensure any content you market is relevant to your target market.