Being an esthetician can be an extremely fulfilling and rewarding job. After all, you are making a difference in people’s lives and boosting their confidence. But whether you are working for someone else or yourself, there is no denying that social media is a vitally important part of the job. While many users use social media to discover new and local businesses it’s important to have a presence. But knowing which platforms to use, how to use them, and what to post can be confusing. Follow these esthetician social media marketing tips to grow your business online and book new clients.
12 Must Do Tips For Every Esthetician
1. Get yourself a business account
According to esthetician marketing expert Aleisha from SocialSkins.co, setting up your setting up a business account is essential.
The tools available give you access to valuable insights you can use to boost your profile. Most importantly, you will be able to see which of your posts have higher engagement. Using this information, you can focus more on what your followers want to see and less of the stuff they don’t.
2. Offer a variety of content
Keep things interesting! Posting one type of content can get boring. Keep them interested by offering a variety of different content. Showcasing your work is a great way to show your skillset, but mix it up and throw in some alternative information. Share your knowledge through infographics, run a promotion, or boost engagement with interactive challenges.
3. Maintain a brand identity
You don’t need to go crazy on branding and don’t panic if you can’t afford a designer. Pick 2-5 colors and 2 fonts and stick to them. You want your content to be identifiable across all platforms and align with your business.
4. Set your location in the settings
Your location is important. If people don’t know where to find you, you are going to run into some issues. Always use the location features available, as they help to increase your discoverability. Using space in your Instagram bio for a pin emoji and your state is no longer necessary.
5. Leverage local communities
Local community pages should be your best friend. After all, running a clinic in New York is less appealing to clients who live in California. Why not team up with these community pages and offer exclusive discounts in exchange for a dedicated post? Don’t forget to also use local esthetician hashtags and location tags on each post.
6. Engage with your followers and the community
This is one of the best ways to grow organically across social media platforms. Engaging with your followers, following, and the wider community through likes, comments, tags, and sharing of others’ content can make all the difference. Remember Instagram’s algorithm likes those who show to have high engagement.
7. Remove watermarks
Want to avoid being de-ranked by the algorithm? Well, make sure to remove any watermarks. Instagram doesn’t want to be pushing a video that has TikTok on it- it’s like promoting your biggest competitor. You wouldn’t do it, and neither do they.
8. Mix up your hashtags
Now Instagram recommends using 3-5 hashtags instead of the previous 30, make sure to pick these carefully. Focus on adding a mixture of popular and niche tags. Using largely-used tags is great as they are seen by many, but it’s extremely hard to cut through the noise. While adding less-popular tags are seen by fewer people, these people are likely to be more engaged and interested. And these are the followers you want!
9. Pre-plan your content
Posting for the sake of posting is not a good idea, as this often leads to unfollows. It’s clear when a post has been rushed as it often is poorly thought out and doesn’t fit in with the rest of the aesthetic. You don’t have to pre-plan every word, but have a solid structure of the content pillars you want to cover. Using preview planning apps is another great way to refine your aesthetic.
10. Know what your audience wants from you
We’ve already spoken about setting up a business account and the tools this gives you access to, now it’s time to use those insights for your benefit. Making time each week to understand which content has performed well and which hasn’t, is the best way to know what your audience wants to see. Then simply do more of that! But don’t be afraid to test new styles of content- remember it’s all gathering very important data which you can leverage.
11. Audit your profile bio
Have you done an audit of your social media profiles? Remember this is how people are going to find you and give them a first impression. As an esthetician, there are a few things you need to include:
- Who are you? Include your name and what you are- licensed esthetician or student? Add it in.
- Location – tell them where you are and where they can find you
- What is your skill set? Tell them what you specialize in
- Want to find out more? Always make sure you include a bio link to your website
- Contact links – add an email or phone number so you are contactable. After all, you are running a business!
12. Keep it professional
Ever heard the saying don’t mix business and pleasure? Well, the rule applies here. Dedicate your business page to your business. Although it’s important to show yourself and aspects of your life, your followers are less interested in a day-by-day diary. They want to see your work and hear your expert advice.
11 things Estheticians should avoid on Social Media
1. Use loads of hashtags
Did you know Instagram no longer recommends adding 30 different hashtags? They now recommend only using 3-5. Using fewer hashtags will also make your post look less-spammy. Remember, less is more!
2. Edit your post after it gains momentum
Making edits once a post has gained momentum is 101 on how to kill that momentum. Any changes you make after you have hit that share button will likely slow down the algorithm, but that doesn’t mean it will hurt it forever. Best practice: double check your caption, tags, and settings before publishing.
3. Forget about the caption
Captions are a great way to add additional information to your post. Whether you are sharing a client’s before and after or an infographic around a skin condition, always expand on the content of your post.
4. Ghost your account
The algorithm loves consistency regardless of which social media platform you are on, so abandoning it for a few weeks is not okay. Remember, this is a representation of you and your business. It’s important to keep it fresh with new content so your followers know you are still active.
5. Neglect your highlights
Now if you haven’t utilized your highlight reels on Instagram, you are making a big mistake! Like its name, this feature allows you to highlight your most important information. Whether that be your service list, testimonials, or policies, direct new visitors to the information you want them to see.
6. Try and do everything by yourself
It may be tempting to do everything yourself to save a few $, but this is not the best use of your time. Using services such as booking systems and/or social media template subscriptions can save you hours every week. Know your skillset and focus on that. Otherwise, outsource everything else.
7. Worry about your follower count
Quality over quantity should always be the goal. There is no point in having 1000 followers who are not interested in your business. To grow your followers organically explore suitable hashtags and esthetician communities. Don’t waste your money buying followers, these NEVER convert into clients and often make your account look very spammy.
8. Use the same content across every social media platform
I get it, it’s easy to repost the same content on each social media profile to save time, but unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. Understanding why and who is on each platform is an important place to start. Each platform has a different demographic so tailor your content accordingly. For example, Facebook will have an older audience than those across TikTok. Although content remixing is totally fine, you need to consider how to present your post on each platform.
9. Overdo the filters
Being in the skincare space you understand the importance of breaking down the idea of ‘perfect’ skin. Because let’s be real- it doesn’t exist. After all, the goal should be healthy skin, not perfect skin. Applying filters or photoshopping any kind of before and after photos is never a good idea. Making a few edits may appear undetectable to you, but getting caught out would be a disaster. You want to build trust with your followers, and this is not a good foundation to begin.
10. Go overdo the ads
The truth is, no one likes to feel sold too. Remember why people are following you, and I can tell you it’s unlikely to be because they want to see your pushy ads every time they refresh their feed. So keep this in mind! It’s okay to post an ad or promotion once in a while but keep this to around 10% of your content.
11. Rely on trends
Social media trends are fun but they shouldn’t be essential to your social media strategy. Carefully select the trends that are relevant to your industry. There is no point in jumping on a trend for the sake of it. Stay authentic and remember why your followers follow you. It’s not because you jumped on the latest fashion footwear trend.
Platform-Specific Tips
Don’t be on every platform for the sake of it. This will only waste your time and energy. By understanding your audience you can strategically decide which platforms will work for you. Invest in the ones that will give you a return. Depending on your clientele, pricing, location, and service offering may influence the audience you want to target. Check out some of these tips for five of today’s most popular social media platforms.
- Leverage facebook communities
- Facebook ads are a must
- Leverage popular and niche hashtags your customer will use and interact with them
- Play around with reels to increase your reach
- Be conversational, but make sure to keep it short and sweet
- Play around with GIFs and images
- If you have a blog, this is a great place to share information bites and links.
TikTok
- Understand the audience is much younger than on other platforms
- It’s quick-paced. Make sure your hooks will keep them watching till the end.
BeReal
- New to the game- use BeReal to give a true insight into a day in the clinic
- Creates an authentic view of yourself