In today’s blog, we will be giving you all the tips you need when marketing your freelance beauty business and brand, whilst building your customer loyalty.
Has your freelance beauty business recently reopened, and you’re looking to reach new customers and build your client base? Or are you just starting in the beauty industry? Whilst you may be the best at your trade, no one will know that without good old fashioned marketing!
Before you can come up with a marketing plan, there are many factors you need to consider first.
Factors to Consider for Marketing Your Freelance Beauty Business
Understand Your Target Audience
So before you can create an effective market plan, you need to know who your potential clients are. Previously many beauty salons would target just women, but as times have advanced, many men are now taking advantage of beauty services. In fact, according to popular men’s reporting site Joe, beauty salons in the UK have seen 50% more men. You shouldn’t cut off this growing demographic by addressing only women.
So bearing this in mind, carry out some market research, look at the followers of those working in the same area, work out their age range and interests. Once you understand the desired demographic, you will be more likely to create marketing materials that will resonate with them. All of this will help you choose the kind of marketing and social platforms you should be focusing on.
Create Your Branding and Remain Consistent
Branding is simply any feature that helps clients identify your goods or services distinctively from your competitors. Having a strong brand presence will encourage customers to easily recall your business when they’re searching for beauty services.
To create your branding, start with a colour scheme, fonts, logo and the desired tonal voice. For example, if you are a high-end brand you should be more formal, whilst a family brand should be more laid back and informal. Having a consistent colour scheme will also help with brand recall, even if it is subconsciously!
By building an identifiable and trustworthy brand, new clients are likely to come to you as they’ve seen you around and can recall your business. Don’t underestimate the power of branding when marketing your beauty business… it’s the reason ‘because you’re worth it‘ makes us think of L’Oréal Paris.
Build A Presence on Your Relevant Social Marketing Platforms
There are many reasons why as someone marketing a freelance beauty business, you should be using social media!
Firstly, it’s free! Name something better than social media for advertising your portfolio of work for free. As a visual industry – it is easy to build a portfolio of pictures showcasing your services ‘before and after’ or products and the treatment process! Potential clients can see for themselves how your services will help them.
Secondly, this is where your branding comes in, keep your content to a consistent theme with your brand’s logo and colour scheme featuring throughout! To build a presence, remember to post often and incorporate hashtags. Hashtags allow social media users to find posts that they are interested in that they might not have otherwise heard of before.
Finally, when marketing your freelance beauty business choose platforms that your audience are likely to be using! There’s no point using a platform if your preferred audience won’t get to see your content on there. Look at the platforms your competitors are using also.
If you’re a heavily visual beauty therapist, then focus on Instagram and Facebook? If you can show people the the-behind-the-scenes of your treatments, then consider Youtube and TikTok!
Team up with Health & Beauty Service Providers
As a freelancer, it can be hard when you’re starting up to pick up momentum and get those first few customers. This is where websites such as Urban, Treatwell and Blow come in. These platforms allow their registered users to book expert beauty treatments straight to their home. Users can also find beauty treatments near them with last minute and same day bookings!
These apps are great for those starting in the beauty industry as clients don’t need to know of your business to book a treatment. Rather they might be looking for a specialist who happens to be local.
Specialists sign up to their sites, stating the services they offer, their prices and their availabilities. The clients can book them as and when they are needed. There are pros and cons to these sites when marketing your freelance beauty business, and we will explain a few to you.
A huge pro is the exposure you are likely to get! Clients who might have never heard of you otherwise can stumble across your business and try you out. On the other hand, these sites require money from you, which you might not have if you’re just starting. Those wanting to use either Treatwell or urban will have to pay a sign-up and/or monthly fee. You might also have to give them a percentage of your new and repeat clients payments.
Everyone’s needs are different, so it is up to you to decide if it suits your freelance business.
Popular Marketing Tools For Freelance Beauty Businesses in 2021
- Social Media – As mentioned before Instagram and other social media platforms are a great choice as they are free and allow for a wider reach. Plan ahead to ensure your feed and content are consistent.
- Client Loyalty Programs – It is easy to forget your existing clients when searching for new ones but don’t forget the 80/20 marketing rule. Simply put, 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your customers. In sectors such as the beauty industry, you want to hold on to your clients because they will need to come back regularly. Customer loyalty programs also help to make your client feel special! We suggest providing incentives such as; money off after a certain amount of visits or a birthday discount etc.
- Promotional Offers – Maybe you’re just launching a new service and want to build hype for it. Consider offering a discount or promotion to get customers booking!
- Influencers – Using influencers is a great way for new businesses to increase their reach and trustworthiness. Just make sure it’s an influencer that is relevant to your sector. So for your freelance beauty business, go for a beauty influencer that is local to you!
We hope this blog has been helpful to those of you looking for inspiration when marketing your freelance beauty business. To find out more about becoming a freelance beauty therapist, head on over here.
