By tapping into the power of influences and social media marketing, Australian startup HiSmile have turned their initial $20,000 investment into a multimillion-dollar empire.
Nik Mirkovic and Alex Tomic started the teeth whitening business just four years ago and now with a team of 55, the Gold Coast duo have shown just how powerful savvy social media marketing can be, with HiSmile exceeding a turnover of $100 million dollars.
Opting to keep their marketing in-house rather than outsource to an agency was a way to keep costs low in the beginning, Mirkovic told AdNews.
“We’ve been self-funded from day one and all other marketing and media avenues were quite expensive so we decided to build our brand through social media because it was free,” he said.
With the likes of Kylie Jenner and Conor McGregor promoting their products, as well as dozens of micro-influencers, HiSmile has invested back into the platforms that gave them their original kickstart.
“As we grew and scaled and backed ourselves more, we got into paid advertising and paid influencer marketing. For us, using social media in the beginning as a free channel was the smartest way to get our brand in front of the most people.”
As the business expanded, HiSmile started advertising on Facebook, Instagram and now also runs ads on Snapchat and Google, which Mirkovic said goes hand-in-hand with influencer marketing.
“Influencer advertising is top of the funnel. It helps our demographic see the product everywhere and HiSmile becomes top of mind. The digital advertising allows us to systemise and create a funnel where we can target off the back of web traffic, views etc.”
Mirkovic and Tomic, who were the youngest entrants on the Australian Financial Review’s 2017 Young Rich List, have big plans for the company’s future.
“The infinite goal is to not be just the largest oral care company but one of the largest retail companies in the world,” Mirkovic said.
Image source: @kyliejenner
