Canadian StyleHaul Network creator RachhLoves turns to YouTube to share her love of makeup, fashion and life, engaging more than 350,000 avid fans and subscribers. StyleHaul is the largest original video destination for fashion, beauty and lifestyle content, with a community of more than 3500 original creators on YouTube. Hear what she has to say about branding in the digital world.
The most successful partnerships I've enjoyed have been with brands that valued creative collaboration and shared pursuit of goals.
—Rachel Cooper, RachLoves
Q: How did you get started on YouTube and why?
A: My first job out of school was in CPG marketing, and I was living in a new city by myself. I enjoyed experimenting with makeup, and I remember one day heading to Google to search for a celebrity makeup look and finding a YouTube video demonstrating how to replicate the look. From there, I was hooked on this blossoming community of girls who shared my passion for all things beauty and fashion. I went from commenting on others' videos to creating my own videos as a fun hobby, to joining the StyleHaul network and growing my channel. I've been blessed that it took off from there.
Q: What makes YouTube an ideal space for the fashion and beauty industry?
A: The beauty of YouTube is the cycle of engagement between the video creators and the audience. In the fashion and beauty industry, YouTube takes the hot trends and the classic styles, that used to be a one-way monologue from magazines and runways, to consumers and turns it into a dialogue. When I make a video, I get feedback from my subscribers about how they wear the style that I shot, which gives me ideas for the next video. Style becomes more accessible, familiar and fun!
Q: What do you look for in brand partners?
A: The most successful partnerships I've enjoyed have been with brands that valued creative collaboration and shared pursuit of goals. Brands that are adept at working with creators view a partnership as a dialogue and make excellent use of the knowledge and experience I have in the space. YouTube viewers are discerning and value authenticity. Brands that want to shoehorn a TV commercial into a YouTube video are missing out on the real opportunity that exists in the medium and risk alienating viewers both from the brand and from the presenter.
Q: Why do you love creating original content online?
A: I loved studying marketing and chose it as a career coming out of school because I love understanding the dynamic between a presenter and an audience. The difficulty as an impatient young marketer was that everything seemed to move slowly, from my perspective! As I started out in the YouTube space, every video felt like a campaign and the feedback was instant. The constant iterations allowed me to try new things and be bold. I still love that dynamic, and with the added collaboration with the StyleHaul network, I never get tired of learning from my subscribers and fellow content creators.
Q: How has your channel changed over the years?
A: While the main themes of beauty, fashion and lifestyle have been the same, the milestones in my life over the last five years have had a direct influence on my channels. Since starting on YouTube, I became engaged, got married, moved several times and welcomed our daughter into the world. Having my subscribers along for the big events in my life has been a joy and I have tried to use those moments to encourage, support and entertain them as they go through similar times.
