How to Grow Your Presence on Instagram
Opening a beauty salon and becoming a staple in your community as a Lash Technician is sometimes a difficult journey. An important part of growing as a beautician is of course going to accredited lash extension courses, growing your skills and business acumen, but it can be difficult to approach the medium of social media. Everyone starts from zero followers, so how do you grow your online presence while you’re also growing your local business too? We’re here to give you some tips on creating captivating content which is eye-catching, and will promote your skills to new and potential clientele.
Have The Right Tools Before You Post
People these days are very aware if an image has been retouched, and the final result of the eyelash extensions in a picture most likely do not look the same in real life. Misleading clients through photoshop is never a good idea.
To create captivating and alluring images we suggest using Glamcor lighting. Glamcor Capture and Glamcor Multimedia are specifically designed to provide professional beauty salon lighting with the accessories to capture media images through adjustable phone clips to access any angle you desire. Professional beauty lighting will show off your lash extensions without needing any touch ups, with the adjustable lighting settings on the Glamcor LED lights you can make sure you capture the correct exposure and true to life image of your eyelash treatments.
Don’t forget the little details make a big difference. With a Clip On Lens you can capture crisp and detailed content. Read all about the Benefits of Using a Macro Clip On Lens in the linked blog post next.
Make sure your setup isn’t showing any food or drinks in the background, your client’s purse and jacket or simply any tools or messy workstations. Having an industry standard London Lash Bedcover and Lash Pillow will make the background of your images pop and stand out with professionalism each and every time. Similarly, take the time to brush through the lashes to make them full and fluffy for photos, and brush down any stray eyebrow hairs that might otherwise distract from the look of the lashes.
Post Consistently and Experiment
As an Eyelash Technician you will be busy and working on different projects, from taking on new clients to performing your lash extension treatments, doing your paperwork and making sure you’re stocked up on Lash Glues, Lash Extensions and tools. It is a juggling act, and finding the time to post consistently for social media is a job within itself. Make sure to schedule yourself once or twice a week to have a full half an hour to post some beauty instagram posts. To help you out with this, look into apps like Later, Unum, or Inpreview which allow you to schedule posts and really curate your feed to keep it aesthetic – a cool grid on your profile will mean more scrolling if someone clicks through to your profile, so don’t overlook your grid, and try to keep it looking interesting!
Try not to be too discouraged if your posts aren’t successful from the get go. Instagram is an oversaturated social media platform, therefore you must stand out. Experiment with the content you post and see what does well. Lash artistry can be very creative, instead of posting an image of the final eyelashes, why not do a side by side of before and after? Or, a quick video of you performing the lash extensions treatment. Take your clients on a journey of what to expect, from Pretreatment, to Eyepatch placement, lashing the client to using a Mini Cooli on them post treatment. ‘Satisfying’ content is extremely popular on Instagram so a ‘reel’ of the eyelash extension journey would fit the mould perfectly in this realm of online content.
To help your posts get onto the feeds of potential clients, think about which hashtag you are using on posts. Try to keep up to date on the best practice for hashtags as it does change from time to time – currently, 5 hashtags is ideal. Try to use very tailored hashtags to attract the right audience – #wispyvolumelashes or #eyelashextensionswarsaw, for example, will attract more relevant clients than hashtags such as #girl or #browneyes.
Lastly, don’t underestimate the value of stories! Post behind the scenes, lash sets, and product education, and get some of those interactive elements such as polls in there too.
Educate Your Clients
As we mentioned, you can post content like videos or images of the lashing journey. But, don’t be afraid to do voice over videos or even talk to the camera, after all you talk to many clients on a daily basis – be confident. This way you can educate your clients and talk them through the procedure, explaining each step and discussing your London Lash tools and products you’re using in a step-by-step guide. Potential clients, especially new clients who are considering eyelash extensions for the first time seek out educational content, being that leading source of media to educate potential clients will make them feel secure and confident knowing that you are the right Lash Artist for them.
Always interact with relevant accounts, of course @London_Lash_EU is one of them, feel free to follow us. Finding educational content from other Lash Experts will help you find or come up with content ideas. Interacting in the comments is always how we educate others and other Lash Techs educate us. And most importantly, don’t forget to interact with your potential clients. They may be asking questions so feel free to answer them, the more you educate your clients the better they will feel about coming to your lash salon.
Know What’s Trending
From beauty trends of new lash maps, to our brand new Fibre Tip Tweezers, the ever evolving world of lash extensions can feel daunting for a busy Lash Tech. Following the London Lash Blog, you will always know about new and upcoming lash trends. We’re always here to educate our clients on hacks, tools and accessories, lash maps and anything lash related – education is one of our core values, after all. We would like to instil that in you too, so be sure to educate yourself on everything new on the market or in the lash world in general.
Staying on trend on Instagram is important too. Following relevant trending hashtags will make sure you’re always keeping up with the latest trends. Make sure when posting your content you are not spamming with irrelevant hashtags as we mentioned, always keep to the most relevant and highly trending hashtags for your posts. As a business owner on Instagram, always click on ‘View Your Insights’ under your post to see how many views and profiles you’re reaching and if that post has been successful or is even trending.
Instagram may seem rather daunting at first, but its user-friendly interface will catch you up to speed in no time. So go out there, take some gorgeous photos and videos, educate your clients and start trending.