Social media marketing can be a struggle for many spa professionals trying to grow their beauty business. Maybe you have been trying to figure out social media on your own and feel like it’s not working?
Or perhaps you have tried working with a virtual assistant (VA) but realize you need more help in creating a strategy because you understand it’s more than just posting pretty images.
Maybe you even took the plunge to hire a social media strategist but felt like you wasted money because they just don’t get you.
Trust me, I have heard countless stories from so many estheticians who literally want to throw in the towel on social media marketing all together. Don’t! Hang on. I’m here to help you win at this so called social media game by keeping just a few things in mind.
No matter where you’re at or whether you plan to get help with your social media marketing, it’s important to have a sound strategy first.
Winning at social media marketing begins with a sound strategy first. Click To TweetFollow these easy steps to end the frustration and allow social media marketing to help you grow your business the way you desire.
1. Define Your Objectives
What do you need more than anything? More followers? More traffic to your website? Capture leads? Increase engagement? Before you start a campaign, get clear on the business objective you want to achieve since different goals will require different strategies.
Before you start a social media campaign, get clear on the business objective you want to achieve. Click To Tweet2. Be Yourself
There is only one you so be yourself and be real! People are super savvy on social media and can tell when you’re putting on a social media filter. Show up on social platforms as you would in a conversation face to face.
Show up on social platforms as yourself. Click To Tweet3. More Followers On Social Media
People get on social media to connect with others with similar interests, values and beliefs. To gain more followers be sure you’re spending time (yeah, I know…) liking, commenting and engaging with your ideal client’s posts too.
Focus your own posts and interactions on building relationships, engaging your followers in conversations, posting caring comments, and being helpful.
When your audience likes and trusts you, they are more likely to check out your offers and click on your links. This way you’re not coming across as “selling” your audience.
4. Post Before/After Photos
Visual content is becoming more prominent on social media and that’s great news for estheticians and spa professionals.
Nothing works better than “before/after” photos to communicate the effectiveness of your treatments and social media is a great channel to showcase these pictures to help you gain credibility. Post it with a little testimonial from your client showing the world how happy they are!
5. Partner With Local Influencers
Just like cultivating strategic alliances in the brick-and-mortar world, you can build relationships on social media with influencers in your local area who share your target market.
Search for relevant hashtags to find potential partners in your geographic area. Take the initiative to reach out and build relationships by being helpful and adding value.
You can also join groups on topics relevant to your ideal clients so you can participate in the conversations and get noticed by being helpful. Don’t spam in these groups with your promotions, be of service instead.
6. Do Livestreams
As video content is becoming increasingly popular, livestreaming is a great way to gain exposure while connecting with your audience in a personal and engaging way. This is an excellent way for your followers to get to know you.
Here’s an article to help you get started with Facebook Live to increase visibility and gain more clients in your business.
7. Attract the Right Followers
If you’re investing the efforts and/or the ad dollars to get followers, make sure you’re attracting your ideal client.
Participating in “like-trains” that are popular in some esthetician groups may get you hundreds of followers, but they won’t help you generate more business because they’re just other estheticians and not your ideal clients.
As a spa professional or esthetician, you have a location-specific business so focus your efforts on getting local followers.
8. Run Smart Ads
Many spa professionals are frustrated with Facebook ads these days. Our newsfeed is saturated and there’s only so much space for ads.
FB ads can work if you take a little bit of time to understand your target audience. The more you understand your ideal client, the easier it is to focus your campaigns on value vs sounding pushy.
- Is your target audience too broad or too narrow? Too broad an audience means you’re not getting the highest quality clicks while too narrow an audience can drive up your cost per click.
- Are you targeting people who live in your geographic location?
- Have you clearly defined your conversion goal?
- Have you selected the right ad format for your conversion goal?
- Are you using high-quality and optimized images that resonate with your audience?
- Do you have a compelling headline and description that’d entice the audience to click through?
9. Use Metrics To Guide Your Strategy
When should you post on social media? How often? What kind of content?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer and the right execution of a strategy largely depends on your audience and your demographics.
Look at your metrics (e.g., by going to the “Insights” section in your Facebook biz page) to find out when your ideal audience is online, viewing your page, and interacting with your content.
Also, don’t just post for the sake of posting. Remember, everything counts. Everything you post reflects you and your business.
10. Work It, Don’t Rush It!
Social media marketing isn’t the magic bullet that will fill your appointment books. Work at growing your followers and take the time to connect. Don’t rush it. Try to enjoy the process and be patient with yourself.
Building trust and cultivating relationships takes time and effort. Those who are patient in building their businesses will win in the long run.
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