How marketers reach preteens on social media NBC4 Washington [Video]

From lotions and serums to bold scents and brightly colored packaging, skincare products now have a huge customer base among tweens.

Companies have racked up more than $9 billion in sales in the past year alone, and social media helps draw preteens in.

“Tweens have really become an economic force. They get money as gifts. They work. There are teens who are influencers,” American University professor Sonya Grier said.

One video of Kim Kardashian’s daughter North using beauty products generated millions of views from young consumers.

“There’s a huge industry of influencers that has developed specifically to focus on teens and tweens,” Grier said. “Oftentimes, it’s kids of the same age. They may be celebrity children. The connection of someone that I’d like to be like with a product then says, ‘If I use that product, I can be like them.’”

The marketing professor said companies are specifically targeting a …