How to advertise yourself as a beauty professional so everyone wants to book you
If you think about advertising your beauty business and your stomach gets a little weird twisty feeling, I’m right there with ya.
We live in a hyper-competitive world, and it can feel daunting to develop a marketing strategy that will help you stand out from the crowd.
First, there are so many options of where to advertise: Instagram, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok...the list feels almost endless.
And then there’s the fact that when you advertise your salon, you have to put yourself out there in a way that’s really bold and can feel nerve-wracking.
I get it! I still get nervous too. Before every live video, before every webinar, before every ad I record, I get those butterflies. The self-doubt. The sweaty armpits.
So today, we’re gonna fix that. We’re going to tackle the whole kit and caboodle of having an effective advertising strategy for your beauty business - starting off with everyone’s favourite topic: fear.
If you’re afraid of advertising yourself, take a beat and hear this: you’re normal!
It takes a serious amount of guts to put yourself out there and say, “Hey world, this is what I have to offer! Check me out!”
We worry about being rejected. Ignored. Embarrassed.
If I had a magic wand or formula to get rid of feeling scared of self-promotion, I would bottle it up and sell it. And I think I’d make billions, because everyone in the world would want it.
While I haven’t yet figured out the exact ingredients for a magic bottle of Super Confident Self-Promotion yet, here are the ingredients I use when I need to overcome my own fear.
First, I remember that confidence won’t just magically come to me. I don’t ever wake up and say, “I’m ready to promote my business today!” So I do it before I feel ready. I just go through the motions without overthinking it.
It’s not easy to do - and it takes practice - but little by little, I get a little more comfortable with it. Day after day, I just keep doing it without overthinking it.
Secondly, I always remind myself that my crew is out there - and yours is, too! Those people who love your imperfections, your weirdness, who love you despite your quirky bits and your insecurities, or even because of them. The people who show up and support you time and time again. You probably have a solid group of supporters now, and that group is about to get larger as you continue to show up for them.
Start packing this two-ingredient mix into your life whenever you start to get the jitters that come with self-promotion, and you’ll begin making moves in your business that you might have previously thought were impossible for you!
Advertising your beauty business in three simple steps
Now that we’ve talked about the super unsexy fear stuff, let’s get to what advertising is really made of. At the very heart of successfully advertising your beauty business, you’ll have accomplished three things:
Defining your unique offer (or Unique Selling Proposition)
Sharing that in a way that attracts the right person to you
Getting the word out to a ton of people in your city, and magnetizing the right ones to you.
When we look closer at these three steps, they’re a ton less complicated than they’re perceived to be. So let’s jump in and start simplifying the marketing mayhem!
Here’s how you define your unique offer (or Unique Selling Proposition)
Have you ever heard the phrase: the riches are in the niches? It’s not just fun to say (while making my eye twitch a little at the suggested mispronunciation) - it’s also absolutely true.
Before starting to advertise and finding your tribe, it’s important to figure out clearly and plainly who you’re helping, and exactly what you can do for them.
If you provide multiple services in your salon, you might be tempted to adopt a ‘Jackie of All Trades’ approach, assuming that advertising all your services all the time is the best way to catch everyone’s attention.
Maybe you do lash extensions, brow shaping, body waxing, facials, pedicures, AND reflexology - but different people will need those services, and most people will not need all of them.
I promise I’m not about to launch into a big spiel about chopping out certain services right now, because that’s another HUGE discussion and topic.
In order to find the most successful and targeted marketing approach for your beauty business, even if you do it all, it’s always best to define a unique offer and lead with that in your advertising.
So instead of advertising as a hairstylist who “does it all”, let’s imagine you begin promoting yourself as a vivids specialist, like my student Natasha Trepanier.
Instead of being an esthetician who does facials, you’re now an expert in acne transformations, like my student Sharon Loconsolo.
Once upon a time, you were the “nail salon down the street” - but now you’re advertising your expertise in fresh, fun, unique, or even wacky hand painted nail designs.
See the benefit? By targeting a specific audience and advertising a specialty, you become the expert that can be trusted, and you grab the attention (and money) of the people looking for the best of the best in that service.
I understand that it feels safer and smarter to promote yourself as a generalist, because you feel like you’ll get more bookings that way. But instead of being a generalist -- offering something for everybody -- imagine the magic that comes from having that perfect client get excited by your expertise, and knowing right away that you’re exactly what they’ve been looking for!
Now that you’ve defined your unique selling proposition, share your unique offer in a way that attracts the right clients to you
What is the single best way to share what you do best in your beauty business?
Personal, fun, and quick videos. A video introduction is hands-down the most effective way to share what makes you unique, weird, special, and different, in less than 60 seconds.
Okay, I get it. Like we talked about before, the thought of putting yourself in a video has your heart beating a little faster. Your hands are getting kinda sweaty. You probably have a list of insecurities about watching yourself on film, right?
Me, too.
When I first started recording myself for my work, I felt like my voice was nasally, I got tongue tied and awkward, but worst of all?
I didn’t think that anyone cared. Why would anyone want to hear what I have to say? I put off doing videos for the first year in my business.
With practice, I’ve gotten past the fear, because it was really important to do so. Videos are the best way to capture attention and give viewers the chance to “click” with you. Remember: your tribe is out there looking for you!
I had a student named Aisling who was completely new and was feeling shy about promoting herself. She pushed herself, got out of her comfort zone and welcomed new clients into her studio by filming a video ad.
She ran her ad for just two days, and then had to hide it because she was completely booked up with 11 clients - in just two days!
Here’s what you should show in an ad introducing your business:
Your face
Your personality
Your sense of humour - goofy, cutesy, funny - infuse it heavily into your script!
Welcome new clients in, take them on a tour, share something silly about you. Laugh, and let your fiery personality shine. Your audience wants to know why they should choose you, and they want to be entertained and educated. So be their funny, charming teacher!
Unless you’re a drama major, or really comfortable in front of the camera, you will be nervous and you’ll have to shoot a lot of retakes. Accept it. Just know you’re gonna get better at it with practice, and that you’re making a really smart move for your beauty business by showing up in a video. Deep breath - you got this, I promise!
The final key in advertising yourself: Getting the word out to a ton of people in your city, and magnetizing the right ones to you
You’ve narrowed down on your unique selling point, and you’ve created a fantastic video that shares the fun, unique side of your personality and business.
Now we need to find the people and spread the word!
Here’s the thing: As much as I love IG (well...it’s kind of a love/hate relationship) -- just posting on Instagram can be very limiting. You’re competing with thousands of other businesses for the attention of your followers, and usually only a handful of them will see your posts.
No matter how often you post, how creative you are, and how many followers you have, your posts and your reach is only hitting a narrow group of people.
So here’s what we’re gonna do differently. We’re going to dream big and cast a wider net.
We’re going to reach everyone in your city that needs to know about you. We’re going to find your tribe, and your soon-to-be most loyal and favourite clients.
How are we going to do that? How do you get your name out there to thousands or tens of thousands of new people?
Facebook and Instagram ads.
When you have an incredible offer + an irresistible personal video + social ads that share the word with thousands of people in your city, you’ve got a system to auto-attract the best clients to you.
No hoping, wishing, and praying for engagement on your posts. You’re going out there and grabbing the attention you deserve!
Using Facebook and Instagram ads allows you to target thousands of people for a very low cost. And it’s not about collecting likes, gathering comments, and growing a following. I’d rather not pay to simply stroke my ego - and I’m sure you feel the same way.
This gets you real bookings from real people.
My student named Diana put out a video ad as I suggested with a budget of just $5 a day, with a goal of booking 10 new clients. She received 17 bookings directly from her Facebook and Instagram ads! Her Facebook page Likes increased, and she was fully booked for the following month.
And the best part? All of this happened in 7 days. SEVEN DAYS, guys.
This will happen for your beauty business, too. It’s super affordable, so easy, and really, genuinely effective.
Ready to start grabbing the attention you deserve?
I run a program called The Ad Lab, where I work with beauty business owners like you to create irresistible, profitable ads.
Hundreds of hairstylists, estheticians, spa owners, lash and brow artists, makeup artists and beauty pros have been through it before, and their lives and businesses have been changed forever.
I’ll teach you how to package up an irresistible offer that puts the spotlight on you as the expert. You’ll gain the confidence and skills to make videos effortlessly, without stressing about being perfect.
This is your chance to level up your social media with the power of ads by targeting your perfect clients. Stop the cycle of post-wish-pray, and use a system that really works. The results are fast and undeniable, as you’ve read today.
Remember that your superpower lies in showing up authentically and genuinely in your business - don’t be afraid to show your beautiful shiny self. It’s what your ideal client is waiting to see!
Until next time, keep shining!
Xo,
Stephanie
