Marketing to Women
Building brands women come back to
If our previous post was all about finding female representation, then this one is all about relationships, and online ones at that. Because reaching women is one thing but actually keeping them and turning them into advocates is another thing entirely.
Women don’t just buy brands, they stick with the ones that understand them, fit into their lives and give them something to come back to.
The brands that do this well, don’t just sell products, they create a sense of connection; building spaces where women feel understood, connected and crucially heard. In a social first world, that connection is bult and reinforced daily through conversations, content and community. From comment sections to group chats and creator content. It’s this that creates repeat purchases. Not from loyalty schemes or discounts, but because of something far more powerful – the sense of belonging.
This isn’t about marketing to women differently for the sake of it. It’s about building brands that women actually want to be a part of both on and offline.
So how do you build that kind of brand?
Start with a real need, not just a story
Insight from Buy Women Built tells us that 90% of female founders started their brand due to a personal unmet need. That starting point matters because it means that the products that were created were done so with purpose and are inherently useful, not just desirable. But more than that, these starting points create stories with real substance.
You can see this across the Buy Women Built network, which champions thousands of female founded brands built on real life problems. Brands like Scamp & Dude or Only Curls exists because something was missing.
And when a brand exists because someone needed it to, that story travels well on social. It invites conversation and participation, giving customers something to recommend and rally around within their own social networks. It’s the difference between having a “great product”, and being the brand that really “gets it”, and in a social first world, that distinction is everything.
Build a community, not just an audience
There’s a tendency in marketing to treat community as an added extra or bolt on, like the inclusion of a Facebook group – just so that a box is ticked to say you’ve done it. But for brands that resonate with women, community is baked right in from the start.
Take brands like Dove or Bodyform, their success hasn’t just come from progressive campaigns, but from the ongoing dialogue they’ve created with their audiences. They don’t just talk at women, they create space for women to talk to each other online.
We’re also seeing this reflected in online retail. In 2024 Ocado launched a dedicated Buy Women Built virtual aisle , bringing together over 1,000 female founded products and highlighting the stories behind them (Ocado Retail, 2024).
That peer to peer interaction is where loyalty deepens. Comment sections become forums, reviews become recommendations and campaigns become conversations. Social channels don’t just distribute content here, they act as the space where community happens and where buyers actively shape how a brand is seen and talked about.
And equally as important, the brand doesn’t try to control every online conversation. It gives people space to share their own experiences and opinions because when women feel like they can contribute (not just be spoken to) they’re much more likely to come back and stay engaged. That sense of shared ownership is what turns an audience into a community.
Let your customers do the talking
Visibility drives behaviour (Neilson, 2025), but it’s not about shouting louder or being bolder, it’s about who is doing the talking.
Women are highly attuned to recommendation culture. Group chats, forums, TikTok comments and creator content that feels like a friend rather than a spokesperson, all play a role. These everyday social interactions are where brand perception is shaped over time.
This is where “cult” brands are forged. Not through perfectly polished campaigns online campaign, but through repeatable and shareable experiences.
Food brands like Pip & Nut and Bold Bean Co. have built strong followings in exactly this way, with buyers sharing recipes, repeat purchases and genuine enthusiasm online – turning their everyday use into social proof. In many cases, the community is doing as much of the marketing as the brand itself, through everyday posts, comments and recommendations that carry more weight than traditional advertising.
When you think about how their products show up on social and the language used around them e.g., “I’ve bought this four times”, or “You need to try this”. That language signals trust and trust more than anything drives those repeat purchases.
Build a brand people (especially women) identify with
A product might solve a problem, but a brand that builds an online following becomes part of someone’s identity.
This is where a brands tone, personality or “vibe” comes in; the intangible layer that sits on top of the product itself. This identity is often shaped as much by how a brand shows up on social as it is by what it says in its marketing, with buyers reinforcing and reshaping that identity through what they share and say.
Women don’t all think the same, but many are looking for brands that align with their values, their life stage and their sense of self. 66% of women care about buying from companies that support social issues they connect with (Neilson, 2025).
Brands like Ancient & Brave lean into this by focusing on balance and wellbeing rather than unrealistic transformation (using Davina McCall to help influence). While Damson Madder has grown rapidly by combining bold design with a clear point of view (slower, more responsible fashion) that resonates with younger women (Vogue, 2026).
So, the question becomes, what does your brand say about someone? Does it make them feel confident? Does it feel honest and relatable? Does it fit with how they actually live their life?
When brands get this right, people don’t just buy the product, they feel good about choosing it, and that matters because when something feels like a good fit, people are much more likely to talk about it and recommend it online.
Make your story easy to see
Only 30% of people say they’re more likely to buy from female founded brands, but 53% are undecided (Neilson, 2025). Now that shouldn’t be seen as a lack of interest, but more of an opportunity.
When shoppers know the story behind something, behaviour shifts dramatically. This tells us something important for social strategy – that these stories need to be visible. Not buried on an ‘About’ page, but embedded into everyday brand touchpoints, both on and offline. Take the forementioned Ocado ‘Female Founded’ virtual aisle, where they’ve made it easier for people to discover brands and understand what makes them different.
The easier it is for someone to understand your brand, the easier it is for them to connect with it.
Keep people coming back
Encouraging women to come back isn’t about persistent online pressure, it’s about staying relevant. The strongest brands evolve with their audience, recognising that women’s needs change over time and reflect that in their products and messaging.
A strong example of this is Trinny London, which has built a loyal customer base by focusing on women who often feel overlooked by traditional beauty marketing. The brand combines personalised products with consistent social engagement, helping maintain strong retention rates and continued growth (Vogue, 2025).
This kind of approach keeps buyers engaged even when they’re not actively purchasing.
Turning buyers into advocates
Ultimately, what we’re talking about is a shift from buyer, to community member, to advocate. And that shift doesn’t happen because of one campaign or product drop. It happens because a brand consistently shows up online in a way that feels relevant, respectful and real.
The success of Buy Women Built, and the rapid growth of the brands within it, shows what’s possible when product, purpose and visibility all align.
For brands, the takeaway is simple. If you want women to come back, you need to give them more than a reason to buy. You need to give them a reason to stay, and increasingly that reason comes from the community and conversations built around your brand on social. Where loyalty is reinforced through on going interaction, not just purchase. Because when women find brands that genuinely meet their needs, reflect their realities and give them something to talk about online, they don’t just buy, they bring others with them.
Image Sources:
Ancient and Brave – Instagram @ancientandbrave
Trinny London – Instagram @trinnylondon
