{"id":41274,"date":"2023-10-20T15:12:51","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:12:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/how-hismile-used-social-media-to-gain-100000-customers-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:12:51","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:12:51","slug":"how-hismile-used-social-media-to-gain-100000-customers-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/how-hismile-used-social-media-to-gain-100000-customers-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"How HiSmile used social media to gain 100,000 customers – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hi<\/div>\n

Gold Coast entrepreneurs Nik Mirkovic and Alex Tomic were barely teenagers when they started watching what the world\u2019s leading brands were doing to dominate their markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for us and why we\u2019ve been so successful is for the last ten years we have always looked at the market,\u201d Mirkovic told SmartCompany<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always paid attention to how everything works.\u201d<\/p>\n

So when Mirkovic, 21, and Tomic, 22, decided to launch their own business, they had a fairly solid understanding of consumer behaviour and market trends.<\/p>\n

With ambitions to create a globally recognised brand, and $20,000 of their own money to invest, the duo launched teeth whitening company HiSmile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw a massive gap in the teeth whitening market,\u201d Mirkovic says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe thought it was a boring industry that didn\u2019t give the consumer much option.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mirkovic and Tomic decided to produce a vegan-friendly, cruelty-free teeth-whitening range that includes a one-size-fits-all attachable mouth tray and LED kit.<\/p>\n

The product has kicked up a storm among Millennials, a market leading the global trend of conscious consumerism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think you need to go out and test on animals, it\u2019s about being ethical all the time and always doing the right thing to yourself, the business and consumers,\u201d says Tomic.<\/p>\n

In addition to one-off products and packs, HiSmile offers a year-round subscription kit that can be cancelled from three months onwards if a customer changes their mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe added our own touch and spice to it,\u201d says Mirkovic.<\/p>\n

In barely two years, the growing business has turned over $10 million from a customer base of 100,000 people worldwide, they say.<\/p>\n

The duo are expecting to ramp this up to $40 million in the next 18 months.<\/p>\n

In ten to 20 years, Mirkovic and Tomic envision HiSmile will be up there with the top global brands.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have head offices in all the major cities in the world, London, New York, Hong Kong, LA,\u201d says Tomic.<\/p>\n

How they found their sweet spot in the market<\/strong><\/h3>\n

HiSmile\u2019s marketing is done entirely on social media, which Mirkovic and Tomic say allowed them to take a scattergun marketing approach in the first six months, promoting the brand to anyone and everyone aged 15 to 35, before discovering their niche.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re quite lucky in today\u2019s world,\u201d says Mirkovic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pushed so much content out because of social media. We got to see what content got the best interactions.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the end of this period, the pair realised HiSmile attracts a target market of young women aged between 15 to 24.<\/p>\n

All the content the brand\u2019s shares across Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google Plus and Pinterest now caters to this market.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s highly visual, quirky and fun, they say.<\/p>\n

Taking inspiration from the world\u2019s best brands, Mirkovic and Tomic aim to sell something that goes beyond the product itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to portray the ideal lifestyle for them,\u201d says Tomic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of it\u2019s a bit tongue-in-cheek; we\u2019re aligning humour with the brand and not taking ourselves too seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

The brand\u2019s content strategy is heavily influenced by what other successful businesses on social media are doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe seek inspiration from other brands targeting similar age groups,\u201d says Tomic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put our own twist on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

How they get influencers, bloggers and online personalities to be brand ambassadors<\/strong><\/h3>\n

HiSmile has amassed a thriving social media following across multiple platforms that exceeds 650,000 fans.<\/p>\n

Mirkovic and Tomic say they\u2019ve achieved this by approaching online personalities directly.<\/p>\n

For example, HiSmile\u2019s YouTube page only has two videos, which have been seen about 300 times each. But videos featuring HiSmile kits have been viewed more than 200,000 times.<\/p>\n

Most of this marketing has come free, they say.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sent well over half of our stock to influencers and bloggers just so they could get their hands on it,\u201d says Tomic.<\/p>\n

HiSmile first reached out to a wide range of social media influencers, big and small, including anyone from yogis and fitness junkies through to beauty bloggers.<\/p>\n

Now that the brand is starting to focus on its key market, they\u2019re sticking to the latter, Mirkovic and Tomic say.<\/p>\n

While bigger bloggers will want to negotiate payment rates, \u201cthe majority are honest,\u201d says Tomic.<\/p>\n

To fellow small business owners wanting to drive brand awareness through social media, Mirkovic and Tomic highly recommend reaching out to a wide range of influencers at the start.<\/p>\n

\u201cSend products to bloggers, don\u2019t hold back,\u201d says Mirkovic.<\/p>\n

\u201cSend your product to as many people as you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of this, Tomic says its important not to get too fixated on a single social media strategy or platform that\u2019s working.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe aware of your followers,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSee where your brand aligns with the target market.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite their brand\u2019s success on platforms like Instagram, Mirkovic and Tomic remain on their toes and ready to follow the market wherever its attention goes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryday we get better at moving on from being stuck in our ways and not just putting all the dollars on Instagram,\u201d says Tomic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, the market is always right.\u201d<\/p>\n

This article was first published on SmartCompany.<\/em><\/p>\n

Follow StartupSmart on<\/em> Facebook,<\/em> Twitter, <\/em>LinkedIn <\/em>and <\/em>SoundCloud.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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