Your first impression is a lasting impression. To impress the influencers in your industry, you need to create a strong impression with an effective Purpose Statement. Key artists and agencies need to get a clear understanding of who you are and what kind of work you do at a glance, so get to the point as quickly as you can! That is what marketing and branding are about. Let’s discuss this in detail…
What Is Meant By Marketing
When you think about marketing, surely advertisements, emails, and ad campaigns run through your mind. However, marketing is not really as complicated as it’s made out to be. Think of it as the platform(s) used to tell your story in your own words. Don’t think that marketing is a complicated process and that you cannot possibly make it work effectively. In today’s age of social media, it has actually become much easier to tell one’s story. When you share a story on social platforms, people are eager to listen–and will even share it with others if they value it. All you need to do is make your story worthwhile. Here are a few tips that can help you create such a story.
Effective Ideas for Marketing When You Become a Professional Makeup Artist
Social media plays an important role in marketing the true skills of a makeup artist. These platforms make it super easy to share your story, skills, and talents through videos and images. As the old adage goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Here are a few ideas to help create an effective social media marketing strategy when you become a professional makeup artist:
Video biography – If you haven’t heard about this yet, then it’s time you did! A video biography is like an autobiography in the form of a video. The benefit of using video is that you can connect with your viewers and allow them to get a feel for your personality–the way you speak and carry yourself, what you value, and more. If they can relate to you, they are more likely to work with you. You can put this video on your website, LinkedIn page or YouTube, and you can share it socially to reach more people. They may not remember what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Reels – Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok Reels are also an effective tool for marketing because they can give your viewers an inside scoop on the happenings of your daily life. The best part is you can control what you share. You might share your thoughts on a product or a certain trend. But mainly, what you need to share is who you are as an artist, who you are as a person, what you bring to the job, how you fit into an agency’s needs, and what you can do to make yourself invaluable.
Be Yourself – To brand yourself, you must be uniquely “you.” You can be serious, you can be formal, you can be playful–just be authentic because the most inauthentic thing you can do is be like everybody else. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have. It doesn’t matter how new you are. It only matters how good you are.
Be Your Own Journalist – Who else knows you better than you? By doing the marketing work yourself, you don’t need to worry about the wrong image of yourself or your work being shared.
Get a Website – Don’t let Facebook and Instagram be your only means of getting discovered; you have to invest in building a professional website for your brand. When people visit your website, they must understand that they have found a professional makeup artist. It will be highly beneficial to include an FAQ section on the website to cut down your conversation time. As a busy freelance artist, you cannot always be available to answer the phone, but you don’t want to miss out on a potential client. Provide as much accurate information as possible on your website to make this process easier!
Freemiums – Freemiums are a great way to attract clients to your website. You might choose to offer discounts or special offers on a client’s first photo shoot or bridal makeup package. You can also get them to subscribe to your newsletter, and in turn, you will end up building a strong email list. The clients can benefit from the offers and insights you give, and you can count on them to think of you first when they need a professional makeup artist!
Handy Guidelines For Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing can be tricky, with so many platforms and so much to consider for each post. Here are some best practices you can keep in mind when posting on social media:
Share Photos and Work That are Timely
For instance, if it’s Halloween season, then post images on the theme. Create a calendar in which you can note what you will post daily, weekly, and monthly. Use a scheduling system like that in Hootsuite to share posts across almost all of your social media platforms. With Hootsuite, you can allocate 1 day per week to schedule posts for the entire week!
Posts Should Be Shared During Ideal Times
It’s best to share posts during peak times, which can differ for different locations. In apps like Hootsuite, you can schedule your post for the best possible time when most people are online. This will boost your search rankings because you are active at the right time. You should also post and share an appropriate amount of times.
Share Your Blogs Across Social Media
Always post or share your blogs on all social media platforms. It’s always a good idea to share blogs about things or people that inspire you. Remember, every time you re-post or re-share something, you should add a comment to it; always include something, even if it is just a key phrase that you picked from the blog.
Avoid Lengthy Links in Your Social Media Posts
Tweak links to make them short. You can use either an online URL shortener tool or simply use Hootsuite’s URL shortener button. This is especially important for Tweets where characters are very limited.
Consider The Tone and Quality of Your Content
A few things you need to keep in mind when sharing on social media are the tone of the post, grammatical accuracy, and syntax. Facebook has a personal tone to it, while LinkedIn has a more professional tone. Twitter, on the other hand, has both; here, you can be informal, but you still need to sound like you know what you are talking about. Next, you need to ensure you are not making mistakes in creating the posts–always proofread.
Direct vs Indirect Messaging on Social Media
While sharing on these platforms, it is very important to avoid direct marketing. This means you shouldn’t say things like “Hire me” or “Discount Offer.” Instead, you should share your work and show that you know how it’s done. Direct marketing is when you are asking for something, while indirect is when you are only sharing. Generally, there should be four indirect messages for every direct message.
Engage With Your Community And Share the Content of Others
Interacting with posts, followers, and comments is very important because people are more likely to build a relationship with you if you are engaging with them socially. Acknowledge their gestures and engage in social conversations when appropriate. Never just post a link; always add your thoughts or opinion to it.
You should also like, favorite, share, and re-tweet blogs or quotes from industry leaders and include a social message or a personal thought with it. Again, never just share their links. Also, engage with people who inspire you or push you to excel in your work–it doesn’t necessarily have to be makeup artists. It could even be people who you learned key business skills from. These are people who keep you on top of your game. Ultimately, it’s not just about makeup; it’s about staying motivated.
Remember to Review Performance and Analytics
Finally; you should analyze and assess the performance of the posts that you have shared to get a better idea of what worked and what didn’t. Some great tools for this purpose are SproutSocial and HubSpot. Based on this information, you can then restructure your content calendar and figure out what you want to share in future.
With such great tips and ideas at hand, you will surely be able to market your brand the right way!
Branding Yourself as a Professional Makeup Artist
There are many things to consider in terms of branding yourself and showcasing your skills, talents, specialties, and general knowledge. Below are some things to consider.
Logo – You will need to design a logo for your professional self. You must ensure that the logo shows what you are all about. It should represent you and project your brand image. Once you’ve created a great logo, you can use a tool like Canva, or another design platform, to convert that logo for your social media headers. Twitter, Facebook, Google, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest–all these platforms require different dimensions, so you will need to tweak your logo to fit each one specifically.
Transferable Skills – If you have worked in the service industry or have any other kind of professional or life experience, chances are the skills from that experience can help you in developing your career as a makeup artist. Every past experience teaches you something that can be applied to your current situation. Some skills that can be considered transferable include patience, catering to people’s needs, and staying calm when working with others. These skills will certainly help you work more effectively under the pressures of the makeup industry. You might also be someone who knows how to dress up or how to pose in front of a camera, or even speak another language. You need to know your skills and how to use them in your branding. So, be sure to incorporate your previous experience in your representation of yourself and your skills.
Also, knowledge is not enough. You need to prove that you know your work and that you can adapt to any given situation. You need to keep growing and learning multiple styles of makeup. Set yourself apart with trends and stay up to date with what is new. You’ll also want to establish your experience. Do you have experience with young skin from working on the pageant circuit or with child actors? Have you worked at a makeup counter where you gained tons of experience with different ethnicities and age groups? Let people see what makes you unique and why you should be hired.
Learn to Network – Like marketing, networking has been popularized as a complicated concept, but that’s not the case. Just be yourself and try to make friends with people in your industry and related industries.
People often think that at a networking event, you should just go up to the people and ask them if you can work with them. In fact, that is not what you should do. Your intention should be to build a relationship; you can’t do that if you only ask for work and talk about yourself. If they like you, they are more likely to work with you. Don’t share your business cards; wait for people to ask for them. Also, work on maintaining the relationship through Twitter or Instagram. Tell them how you feel inspired by their work and how it has helped you to improve your own work. That is what networking is all about: it is building professional friendships and relationships that last.
Create an Impressive Storefront – Your website is your portfolio, so you can’t afford to have bad photos on it. At the same time, you should always represent your brand honestly. Be true to yourself and your style. You should walk and talk like the artist that you are. You have to know how you can best portray yourself.
Some user-friendly site builders you can use include WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. These have simple drag-and-drop tools that you can use to create an impressive website. They also make it easy for a non-technical person to manage the site with the least amount of effort––and the best part is they’re either free or inexpensive to use.
Provide Impeccable Customer Service – Good customer service is a must. When you are busy on photo shoots, weddings, commercials, or doing makeup design for TV and film, you cannot always be available to take new client calls. This is when you should hire a virtual receptionist who can answer calls for you.
If you go the route of virtual service, you must make sure that they represent your brand image in a positive light. Things that your virtual receptionist needs to know are your availabilities, your rates, your FAQs, and the services you offer. With this information, it will be easier for them to close a deal on your behalf. In addition, getting an assistant can only help your branding and professional image because it shows you are both busy and in demand. This gives interested clients the impression that you offer great services, that others are hiring you, and that they should hire you too.
A great virtual receptionist service is Gabbyville. Remember, when you decide to hire someone as your assistant, talk to them first to get an idea of how they speak. By doing this, you can ensure that you are hiring the right person to represent your brand to a potential client.
Use Social Media for Branding – Branding is incomplete without social media. Social media offers you a chance to connect with people without actually being there physically. You can share insights about your life, and they can get to know what kind of a person you are and what kind of work you do. You need to learn how to dominate social media to build on the value of your services.
Identify Your Audience – Next, you need to identify your client personas. You need to understand what kind of clients you will cater to and where you can find these clients. For instance, if your clients primarily include brides, then you need to research the habits of brides in your city. Find out where these brides do their shopping or throw their parties, and so on. To gather this information, you should follow and connect with people who own bridal shops or popular clubs for bridal parties. Segment your audience across specific platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. This is where your networking, marketing, and branding skills will come in handy. Basically, you need to know how to sell yourself. If you truly know your game, then you are going to stand out from the crowd.
Create SMART Social Media Goals – Use your buyer personas to create goals for social media. Your goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (SMART). Once you understand how and where to reach your audiences, you must create a plan. Create a social media style guide for consistent company branding across all platforms. If you want to create and establish your brand, then you need to have an official business version of your accounts. You will need to create a brand kit for social media with everything included–from the logo to the font, color, and style–that you can give to your virtual assistant for branding purposes. Be consistent!
Optimize Your Social Profiles – You should optimize each social media profile. This means you want to ensure that you have your company name, business email address, and phone number on all of those platforms so that people can get in touch with you. You need to make sure that your information is correct. It is best not to change your business contact information–ever! Suppose you’re worried that your information is available online and that you might get calls at odd times. In that case, you can either mention the hours to be contacted on your profiles, or you can set up a system on your phone so that nobody can call you up during a period of time, say between 7:00 PM and 7:00 AM.
Furthermore, you need to have images in the profile and in the background of your accounts. Here, you can use Canva to create and convert a single image to fit different social platforms. Make social media the dominant tool for creating your brand. It’s free, it’s easy, and help is readily available.
When it comes to branding, you have to invest plenty of time and effort in it, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be in the form of blogging. You should figure out a smart way to share your vision and establish your brand in the market. There are many tools and platforms available to make everything easier for you–some are free, some are inexpensive, but none are expensive. Learn everything you can and use everything you learn. Choose to be better than average, and at the end of this journey, you will have established a professional brand for yourself.
Are you ready to launch your career with a professional makeup school?
Contact the Academy of Make Up Arts today!