If you’ve been hanging with me for a while, you know that I’m big on diversifying your social media and marketing efforts. Social media is ever-changing. Remember when Myspace went from being our daily obsession to essentially non-existent? Sometime around 2013 a lot of stylists ditched Facebook in favor of Instagram because of the dreaded Facebook algorithm. Flash forward to 2016 and Instagram now has that exact same algorithm in place. Snapchat is huge right now, but will it last?
We are living in an age where trends are moving at the speed of light. As soon as we get used to anything it seems like it’s already fading in to the background to make room for the next best thing. Social media is no exception which is why I’m always stressing the value of diversifying your efforts.
I know that we all love Instagram. It’s a fairly simple platform and can be a beautiful way to display our work. For some of you, Facebook really should be your jam, and it’s important to know where your efforts should be. A large part of the social media marketing overwhelm is trying to be everywhere at once, which is completely impossible, so today I wanna show you five steps to focusing your social media marketing efforts to end the overwhelm.
Step #1- Determine your target market.
It’s impossible to focus your social media marketing efforts until you know where your clients are hanging out and who it is you’re trying to target. Now, whenever I say “target market” stylists get nervous because a lot of stylists think, “Oh, I just want clients, I don’t really care who they are,” but that’s not true. If I asked you to make a list of your top five clients or even the top five clients you want to be attracting, I’m sure you have a sense of who those people are. That’s your target market, and when we build our marketing efforts, we wanna draw in as many of those clients as we possibly can. Now, if you’re using social media incorrectly and if your efforts aren’t trying to reach that exact target market, you’ll be frustrated and your potential new clients will never end up in your chair.
Step #2-Build your brand.
I find branding to be so much fun, but it’s also a process that can be completely overwhelming. I think a lot of people get caught up in the idea that branding is a logo, or a website, or a color, or a font, and it’s not that at all. A brand is the emotional connection that we build with our clients. It’s the way that they feel about us before they even step foot in the door, and it’s really difficult to build yourself successfully on social media until you’ve decided who you are as a stylist and what your brand is. In Thrivers Society, we have a full module, workshop and workbook dedicated to finding your target market and building your brand.
Step #3- Focus your social media efforts.
All right, we’ve figured out who your target market is and we’ve built a beautiful brand. Now we have to figure out where your target market is hanging out so we can showcase your brand and build your business. You may be a stylist who personally loves Instagram, but if your target market is hanging out on Facebook, your efforts on Instagram are for nothing. The same rule applies if you love Facebook, but your target market is clients who love vivids and extensions and they are all hanging out on Instagram. It’s really important to understand both platforms and figure out where your target market is hanging out at. We can’t go deep into it choosing your platform today, but I will tell you, if your target market is between the ages of 22 and 30, they’re hanging out on Instagram. If your target market is between the ages of 30 and 55, they’re hanging out on Facebook. If your target market is between the ages of 13-27, they are on Snapchat. There’s exceptions to every rule, and most adults do use both Instagram and Facebook to a degree, but when you focus your efforts on the platform your guests are using most, you’ll see the results you’re looking for.
Step #4- Master your main platform.
Facebook can’t be used like Instagram. Instagram can’t be used like Facebook. If your clients are hanging out on Instagram, the key for you is going to be incredible images and getting social on the platform. You’ll want to only post gorgeous portfolio type images using incredible lighting and a clean backdrop. I want you to learn how to hashtag, when to tag your clients, how to break into that feed. If Facebook is going to be your main focus, you can’t just post pictures of your clients. The platform isn’t made for that and when you just post before and after pictures of your guests you’ll notice that it doesn’t do much to build your business. Facebook is about showing behind the scenes, running contests and educating your current and potential guests. Whichever platform you choose, make sure that you’re a master of it and you’re consistently getting feedback so that you know you’re using the platform correctly.
Step #5-Create awareness around your platform of choice.
I see stylists all the time creating beautiful Instagram feeds or posting all the right content on Facebook, but if you’re not creating consistent awareness, it’s all for nothing. No matter how beautiful your platform looks, if nobody knows you exist, it doesn’t hardly matter and you’ll never see clients. You’ll only gain new guests if your awareness is consistently building. Click here to learn more about increasing awareness.
With social media, it’s much less important to be everywhere and much more important to be one place consistently. Find your place, learn how to use that platform and be always working to post amazing content and increased awareness.
