When it comes to social media, so often, estheticians get caught in the "I have to be everywhere" mentality. I mean why wouldn’t you? With so many social platforms to choose from, the draw to show up everywhere can feel all-consuming.
Log in to view the full article
When it comes to social media, so often, estheticians get caught in the "I have to be everywhere" mentality. I mean why wouldn’t you? With so many social platforms to choose from, the draw to show up everywhere can feel all-consuming.
Many estheticians encounter a frequent hurdle: viewing social media as individual profiles rather than unique communities. The key to success in our current age of digital marketing is to embrace the idea that each platform cultivates its own distinct community.
These communities thrive on engagement and care, and because of this social media is so much more than just posting. Staying on top of platform trends and tailoring content to user preferences is crucial. For estheticians aiming for success, engaging with potential clients and responding to comments is key. Unlike a profile that merely puts out content, a community fosters a reciprocal exchange of ideas and feedback, like a two-way street.
Embrace Your Communities and Say Goodbye to Social Media FOMO for Good
This is the key shift that needs to happen for estheticians to say goodbye to that nagging social media FOMO. It is also a crucial shift that must happen to attract clients and not just followers.
Let’s step back to my note above about viewing communities as a two-way street. When you share a piece of content with your community, you must also be ready (and willing) to receive feedback. These include actions such as likes, shares and comments. The feedback you get on a piece of content is powerful enough to shift how you create your content and the topics you cover. An esthetician who listens to their community and can adapt their content for the needs of that specific community is an esthetician who grows more trust.
It All Comes Down to Trust
What’s the one thing that turns followers into clients and gets them into your treatment room? Trust! As estheticians, you are transforming lives through skin care. But, you are also putting your hands on your clients' faces or waxing parts of their bodies. This direct touch included in your services means that your followers need to truly trust you before they book in with you.
Let’s imagine you are looking for a new skin care specialist. You are scrolling your feed and see an esthetician who only posts their content. They never reply to comments, post behind the scenes to their story, or create videos replying to their video comments. There is a good chance you might keep scrolling, as you don’t feel like they tend to their community. Their profile feels empty, even though it's filled with content.
But, if you were to stumble upon a profile that creates content consistently, shares their story, and is active in their comments section, while also creating videos replying to key comments you’d feel like you are entering a community. Automatically, you trust this esthetician so much more than if they had been just posting and never engaging with their followers.
Related: Money-Making Marketing Strategies
Building an Active Community is Easier Than You’d Think
Now, you might be asking yourself, “How do I even get my community to leave a comment?” Simply put, you have to train them. You have to train them to like your content, comment on your content, reply to your stories and eventually book your services. It’s a snowball effect. The odds of a follower booking through social media skyrocket when they feel the esthetician on the other side of their DM or comment is professional, kind and will reply to their message.
This is also where the community over profiles mindset resurfaces. To train these online communities, it will take time and consistency. Just like your relationships off-screen, your online community requires your active consistency to flourish!
There is Power in Quality > Quantity
You are so lucky to be growing your spa in our current digital space. With so many social media users, estheticians can commit to one or two social media platforms and create wildly engaged communities that will bring bookings and the professional opportunities of their wildest dreams. So how do you train your community?
6 Tips to Embrace the Communities > Profiles Mentality
- Be honest with yourself. Do you have the capacity to keep up with five social communities? Having one or two is more than enough to thrive!
- Use CTA’s on your posts such as asking the viewer to “leave a comment if you have any questions about X topic” or using any engagement-focused tools such as the poll tool for Instagram Reel captions.
- Story CTAs such as those super fun slider stickers or engagement prompts are hands down the easiest way to get your community members comfortable with those entry-level interactions with your brand.
- Consistency, consistency, consistency! You try a little every day by giving your community little inklings to engage with your brand. After a while, for a core number of community members engaging with your content will become second nature.
- Be open to change. If one of your posts garners more engagement than usual create similar content to continue the conversation. That topic is probably fulfilling a current need for your community.
- Batch create your content. As you can see by the above points your role as a community leader is far more than just posting. Dedicate one to two days out of the month to create the majority of your content ahead of time. You can then schedule the content so it is published automatically.
Embrace Your Position as a Community Leader
Now, stepping into your power as the strong community leader that you are will not only lead to more trust with your followers, but also more trust with the algorithm. Let’s focus on Instagram as that is one of the most common platforms estheticians use to grow their social communities.
Grow Trust with Your Followers and Also the Algorithm
A few months ago, I noticed a pop-up on my own Instagram presenting an opportunity to have a free call with a Meta media expert where I could ask them any questions I had about using their platforms. Of course, I jumped at the opportunity. One of the key questions I asked was, "How can my students grow their reach?" You can probably guess what the answer was. Create content that entices engagement! That will trigger the algorithm to show your content to more people.
Not only will showing up as an active community leader bring in more bookings, but it will also signal to Instagram that your profile has high-quality content. They will share your content with more people. What a beautiful cycle to be a part of!
As we wrap up this mini-marketing lesson, remember, that it's not just about sharing content; it's about being meaningful in your connections by growing communities, not profiles. We have such an amazing opportunity for growth with so many users at our fingertips. Embrace your role as the strong skin-savvy community leader that you are and you’ll see just how transformative it can be!
Meghan O'Brien is the owner of Marketing with Meg, a business dedicated to helping estheticians and spa owners grow an online community ready to book. With 9+ years of marketing experience and a B.A. in Communications, specializing in Images and Persuasion, Meghan has helped thousands of estheticians build an engaged community eager to book. Her programs are a testament to her commitment, she has supported thousands of estheticians to embrace their authentic selves, confidently stepping into their power to sell and connect meaningfully with their community through social media and beyond.
