If your head starts spinning when you hear the term digital marketing… you’re not alone! Almost every licensed beauty professional feels the same!
Estheticians come to me all the time seeking advice about digital marketing. There are many moving parts and the rapidly-changing technologies can be confusing and challenging.
Recently, I did a really fun Facebook Livestream with Kim Garst on digital marketing for beauty industry professionals. You can catch the replay here.
We covered some great ideas and answered questions live! Here are the five key areas of digital marketing we discussed to help you build and grow your practice:
Video Drives Engagement
Visual content works particularly well for beauty professionals and video has been shown to boost engagement and drive traffic by giving your audience the opportunity to get to know you.
In fact, 85% of Internet users in the United States watch online videos monthly and 54% of consumers want to see more video content from businesses that they support.
Livestreams, in particular, are the fastest path to help your potential clients know, like, and trust you. It’s time to build your community and strengthen relationships.
Many of us don’t like doing video but it’s just because we get caught up in perfectionism. If you want to effectively leverage digital marketing, it’s imperative that you get over your fears and take the plunge!
Facebook Group Builds Community
There are various ways to market a business on Facebook but many of them are becoming more challenging. For example, the changing algorithms are making it harder to get the posts on your business page to show up on your followers’ news feed.
Facebook ads are also tough because the platform doesn’t like to promote health and wellness products or services. That’s our industry! This makes it hard to pass “the algorithms test” and it’s expensive to run ads, so generating a reasonable ROI is quite challenging.
However, Facebook is shifting its focus to building community within Facebook groups. It is one of the best ways to leverage social media to stay connected with your audience.
You can either create your own Facebook group and/or participate in other groups in which your ideal clients are active. Focus on building relationships and adding value by sharing your expertise rather than promoting your products or services.
Instagram and IGTV Increases Visibility
Not that many people are using IGTV so it presents a great opportunity to connect with your audience. You can share some personal moments or do a before/after treatment comparison.
The key to IGTV success is consistency – you need to share valuable content on a regular basis to stay on your audience’s radar. Follow a good hashtag strategy to help potential clients find you.
Also, get inspiration from other beauty professionals who are getting great engagement. What are they doing that you’re not?
In addition, you can repurpose your IGTV videos on YouTube and share them with your Facebook community to maximize reach.
Don’t forget, you can share other people’s IG stories! Add your own comments and share your unique perspectives or expertise to spark a conversation which increases engagement.
Social Proof Boosts Credibility
Did you know that 83% of consumers say recommendations from others make them more likely to purchase a product or service?
When we shop online (e.g., on Amazon,) most of us read reviews before making a purchase even though we don’t even know the people… yet we trust what they’re posting is true.
Social proof, such as client reviews and testimonials, can increase your credibility and the likelihood that new clients will try your services. You can post reviews on your website, share them on social media, or have clients submit them to third-party review site (e.g., Yelp.)
The best way to get client reviews is to ask for them immediately post-treatment and most clients will be happy to provide one. You should also implement a process to gather and manage online reviews, e.g., sending follow-up emails with links to post reviews after a client’s visit.
Bots Automates For Better Experience
If you’re a solo practitioner, it’s almost impossible to be in the treatment room while trying to answer digital inquiries from clients. However, today’s consumers expect a quick turnaround when they get in touch.
Thankfully, you can now leverage messenger bots (e.g., ManyChat) to respond to clients or potential clients while you are busy in the treatment room. Bots can provide answers to routine questions and programmed to guide your clients to take the next step (e.g., by providing a link to book an appointment.)
Many of these bots are easy to set up and can be orchestrated in a way that’s similar to email funneling. The entire interaction sequence is automated so you can save time and energy.
Bots can leverage your time and generate revenue while you do the important things in your business.
Last But Not Least…
Although there are many digital marketing channels, such as social media, there’s one glaring issue.
You don’t own the social media platform, content, or followers. For example, you can’t count on your posts being seen by your Facebook followers every time… in fact, it’s not uncommon for marketers to freak out when Facebook changes its algorithms! Which is like every other day.
The best way to truly own the relationships with your audience is to get their email addresses and add them to your subscriber list. You can entice followers with a “lead magnet” – a piece of valuable content that a potential client will receive when an email address is provided.
When you connect with your audience through the various digital marketing channels, make sure to share a link (e.g., on your profile) so they can sign up for your lead magnet. Then, you can continue the conversation and nurture relationships through your very own email marketing campaign!
Enjoy this article? Want more practical training to help build your biz? We have easy to understand training on digital marketing inside the Esthetician Inner Circle. Learn more about our business and marketing membership program designed exclusively for estheticians here.
