Brand – HIGHSTOKE

Measuring the Success of Your Social Media Campaign

Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are excellent places to build a community, develop business leads and attract new clients. As a business owner, you want to set clear goals for yourself on your social media channels so that you make the most of your time and efforts there. You’ll also need to know how to measure your progress towards meeting those goals so that you can focus on what is working best for your business.

Setting and measuring goals keeps you organized, is the most budget-friendly way to work and gives you valuable feedback about your clients. If you haven’t been setting measurable goals and tracking the results of your social media efforts, now is the perfect time to start.

Success Is More Than Appointments and Money

A goal with a very clear beginning and end is often called a “campaign.” Social media marketing campaigns are carefully planned to help a business owner achieve their business goals through social media platforms. Different campaigns focus on different goals, which are as unique as your PMU business.

Not all campaigns are designed to drive immediate sales, though. Perhaps, you’re just starting out and your first steps need to be getting your name out there or building your reputation. If you’re not so new, your goal might be growing your following instead, knowing that a greater following will lead to more appointments.

Whatever your goal may be, it’s important to choose an accurate way to measure your progress towards the finish line. The number of bookings or your take-home pay may not tell the whole story.

Here’s how to get started.

Define Your Mission

No doubt you want to become a leading artist. But, achieving your dream can be a lot to take on at once. Instead, break it down into smaller, achievable goals that you can work on one step at a time.

When it comes to what you can achieve through social media, think of one goal you want to reach through your platforms, and use that to guide you in choosing what to focus on and how to measure it. For example, you might decide to focus on driving website traffic. Or, maybe you want to increase your engagement with your followers (who could turn into clients one day).

Because those two goals are different, you will need to measure your progress differently as well. You and your PMU marketing agency should clearly define goals that will help you grow your business.

Develop Ways for Measuring Your Goals

Goal-setting for social media advertising is the first step in a carefully planned social media campaign. The next step is to regularly measure the success of your efforts so that you know whether to keep doing what you’re doing or try something else.

To measure your campaign’s success, you and your PMU marketing agency will look at different metrics. Metrics refer to the “how” of measuring your goals. For example, how will you know when you’ve reached your goal to double the number of followers you have on social media? You’ll look at your followers today and compare it to the number of followers last week or last month. As with this example, you’ll have a metric, or measurement, for every goal.

Assess Your Success

Once you know the metrics you need for your goal, the next step is to find the right tools to help you measure (like choosing a ruler to help you measure length).

Some social media channels and third-party services like Google Analytics and Hootsuite provide that service or allow you to customize your own.

You have many options, so research carefully. If you need help understanding or deciding what would work best for you, consult a social media expert (like your beauty digital marketing agency).

Planning ahead and setting up your measuring tools before your campaign starts is ideal. Take the time to become familiar with how it works and what types of information it can provide you. Starting early also gives you more data to compare to from before your campaign.

Check Your Progress

Regularly check on your progress, even in the very beginning. Early data will help you see how far you’ve come and what to change in the future. Make this step a routine, whether you do it daily or weekly.

Make Improvements

Reconsider your goals and metrics every once in a while. Think about ways to improve your goal, speed up your progress or measure your growth.

Continue Learning

It’s important to keep in mind that regardless of the results of your campaign, it is still a win for you because it gives you and your beauty marketing agency insight and data about the habits and values of your audience.

As the famous inventor, Thomas Edison once wrote, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” With your goals set, you’re always working on laying the groundwork for bigger accomplishments in the future. Set those goals. Measure the successes of your efforts. Make changes. Repeat.

What to Publish on Your Beauty Brand Social Media Account

For entrepreneurs, social media is more than a way to pass the time and be entertained. It’s an opportunity for you to reach your business goals.

Social media marketing for permanent makeup artists is about developing relationships, engaging with your audience in interesting conversations and showcasing your craft to build brand awareness and grow your business.

These days, businesses want to make their mark on social media platforms. How can your brand stand apart from the competition if everyone is doing it? Any beauty brand agency can agree that creating the right content for your followers is the key to standing out from the crowd.

Posting Content Regularly is Your Strategy

Content is the base of any business strategy these days. It’s the number-one way to promote your microblading business or showcase your PMU artistry. Consistently posting content that your target audience finds meaningful is how you connect, communicate and make yourself memorable to them.

The Five Most Useful Types of Content

With so many social networks, platforms and ways to engage with your audience, where does a PMU artist begin? To answer that question, let’s look at what professional marketers suggest to their clients most often.

Video

Followers are more likely to engage with and share videos. This type of media helps your audience better understand who and what you and your brand are about. It drives traffic to your website and turns lookers into paying clients.

The popularity of Instagram Reels and TikTok videos proves that you don’t need fancy equipment or a big budget to produce catchy content. In addition, another cool benefit of posting videos is that you can save, repurpose and reuse them at a later time.

Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are the top three most popular social media sites for clients. Of these, Instagram provides many different and helpful tools for making and broadcasting videos.

While TikTok may not yet have the brand attention-grabbing factor that other platforms do, entrepreneurs can better understand their target audience by knowing about the viral trends on this social media site.

Images

Images are the second most helpful and used type of content across social media networks.

“A picture is worth a thousand words,” so the saying goes. And indeed, it is true that most people would prefer to get their information from a picture rather than read about it. This method opens the door for User Generated Content (UGC), in which your followers connect with each other and with you through images.

Instagram is at the top of the list of virtual places to share pictures. Pinterest is another great outlet for sharing photos with clients looking for inspiration. Both networks allow you to turn images into shoppable content. That means you can link an image to your booking site.

Written Posts

Even though videos and images take the top two spots for ways to offer content, the written word is still a powerful form of marketing, especially when you post regularly.

Consistent posting familiarizes your audience with your brand, voice and tone. With regular posting, your brand will stand out from the crowd.

Your clients want to learn more about you, your services and any fresh news about your business. Not only will your followers discover more about you, but posting allows you to connect with and learn about them, too. In time, you’ll be the expert at what type of content engages your audience the most.

Twitter, LinkedIn and Reddit are great platforms for keeping your audience interested. Your written posts can include questions, polls and quizzes that are fun for your audience while giving you valuable feedback. You can keep discussions going by adding to conversation threads.

Stories

Consider using Stories to rev up your community engagement and give your audience new experiences. Stories are given priority across most social media networks, making them more likely to be seen.

The timeliness and interactive nature of Stories make them very engaging to audiences. Plus, interactive features, stickers, sounds and filters make for more creative and expressive content.

Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat are some of the best for sharing Stories. Of those, Instagram is the only one that leaves your Stories up beyond 24 hours, allowing you to turn them into Highlights on your profile.

Lives

Live videos, or “lives,” allow you to engage with your audience in real-time. Question and answer or how-to sessions are a great way to ease any nervousness your potential clients might feel before booking and prepare them for what to expect.

Do What’s Right for You

We’ve highlighted several different social media platforms in this article. Not to convince you that you need every one of them, but to highlight the unique capabilities of each one and get you thinking of how you can use what you already have.

The most effective platform will be the one that you and your potential clients will use consistently. Check with your beauty digital marketing agency if you need help getting started. They can help you identify your target audience, the platforms they use most and the content they engage with more often.

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Do you want to reach your PMU business goals? Social media offers a unique and effective opportunity to engage with your audience and showcase your craft. Aside from posting consistently, knowing what to post and where is the key to nailing your social media marketing. Find the most effective platform for you and your potential clients. Read on.

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How Brand Loyalty Impacts Your Success as a Permanent Makeup Artist

Every permanent makeup artist knows that the success of your business depends on filling your schedule with people who value your artistry. The only thing better than a new client is a repeat client and one that is willing to pass your name along to anyone who needs your services too. Loyalty to your business is not only a high compliment, but can help your business keep growing.

Loyal clients are clients so ecstatic over the “Wow!” brows you created for them that they can’t stop talking about you. Ideally, everyone they tell about you would book an appointment with you, and your business would be set for life with the domino effect of all the rave reviews you get. In reality, though, good news spreads slowly. Your client might even be reluctant to let anyone know they had help getting their eyebrows so perfect.

Clients that are loyal to your brand act as brand ambassadors, spreading the word about your incredible skills. They value your services so much that they promote them for you. Loyal clients are more likely to talk about your extraordinary services with friends and family.

So, how can you build brand loyalty and get more clients for your PMU business?

It starts with giving your clientele a positive and unique experience every time they come in. Keep reading for tips on how you can build client loyalty.

Keep Interactions Positive

Your face-to-face and social media encounters will influence how your clients feel about you. Feelings are strongly tied to memories. So, a pleasurable experience will stand out in your client’s mind and make your business a positively memorable one. When asked for a permanent makeup artist referral, they will easily recall and share your name.

Develop Your Tone
How do you want your clients to remember you? Do you want to be reassuring and gentle? Do you hope they see you as trendy and witty? Choose how you want to “sound” and then clearly communicate those tone expectations with your employees and partners so that they maintain your brand standards.

Dedicate to Customer Service
With so many of your client interactions occurring through social media, make sure that you are responding to all questions and inquiries, sent via website or social media, every day. If you don’t have the time and have the means, consider hiring a dedicated team member to help with customer service. Make sure that you create and stick to your standards, including quickly replying to client questions and remembering to thank those clients who praise you. It might even be helpful to save your favorite responses to common questions.

Share Your Story

Your clients want to feel like they know you. Connect with your clients and online followers by sharing your story with them. Tell them why you chose permanent makeup, what you love about what you do, share your expertise, and tips for how clients can keep their brows and lips looking great. But number one rule, keep it relevant and professional.

You’ll capture and hold their attention which will also make them remember you better and feel closer to you.

Want to know more about building your story? We have a new blog about that. Click on the link to learn more.

Offer a Rewards Program

Want existing clients to spread the word about your brand while building your client base at the same time? Make it easy (and incentivise) for your clients to share the word with an rewards program.

Some tried-and-true examples include a dollar amount or percentage off of touch-up services, a voucher for a discount on a different service or a universal discount good for any of your services or products. You can give out incentives at the end of a service to encourage repeat business or tie it to a referral program, which gives existing clients a special discount on their next service if a new client mentions their name.

Other ideas include a skincare goodie bag or a gradual rewards system in which the prizes get more valuable with each referral.

Create a Community

Now more than ever, individuals are looking for causes they can get behind, especially one as easy as growing a tight-knit community.

Use technology to bring your audience together. Establish an ongoing and fun network with your followers on social media by engaging with them. You’ll not only get a better understanding of your clients’ interests, but you’ll also create devoted followers who are proud to be in your “family” and promote your PMU service through favorable word-of-mouth advertising.

Brand Loyalty Boosts Business Success

Traditional advertising only goes so far. Your clients are looking for a brand whose reputation they can trust and feel connected to. In many cases, they are more likely to listen to their best friend’s review over an advertisement.

It sounds simple, but all you have to do is ask. Make sure that at the end of your appointment you ask your clients to spread the word, and if you have a referral program remind them about the incentive. Don’t be shy! A gentle reminder is sometimes all you need to stay top of mind.

With a few simple steps, you can get more PMU clients and keep existing ones coming back by focusing on building loyalty. Encourage more referrals by giving your clients a wonderful and unique experience. Then, engage with them on your social media platforms, chatting with those who have questions as well as those who leave positive comments or reviews. Create a brand story that appeals to them. Consider a reward program to encourage repeat business and referrals. Most importantly, build a community where your clients can relate to you and each other.

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The Ultimate PMU Branding Must-Haves

Every beauty professional is unique, and your brand identity should reflect that. It tells potential clients who you are. It sets you apart from the crowd and gives you a competitive edge. While catchy slogans and beautiful logos are great attention-grabbers, there is so much more to branding. Brand styles have other elements that all work together to tell your brand story.

Let Your Style Guide Run Your Business

Just like your tools and tints come with directions, you should have instructions for your branding to make sure it gets used correctly. Your style guide or brand book are the instructions explaining the “Who, What, Where, When, and How” of your look, from your logo and color scheme down to the font style and size on your social media page.

Once created, it will serve as a reminder of your business goals and can be easily shared with any partner you bring on board as you grow. Your style guide will steer everyone to the same goals, from your marketing agency to your web designer. Read on to start creating your own.

Elements of a Style Guide

Your style guide can be as simple or as detailed as you like. You may find including examples is helpful. It can highlight any “dos” or “don’ts” surrounding your brand logo, color, word choice or formatting preferences. Best of all, it is flexible and can change with your business as it grows and you get to know your target audience better. Here are the six elements to include in your style guide:

★ Brand Story
★ Logo Design
★ Font Choice
★ Color Palette
★ Voice/Tone
★ Visuals

1. Brand Story–Your brand story is everything you value and want to achieve with your business. It is your “why” behind what you do and showcases your passion for your art. In it are your vision, mission statement, and core values. Your active involvement in your brand story puts you in the driver’s seat of your success.

Not sure where to start? There are tons of real-world examples on the internet (from playful to direct) to get you started writing your story. Below are just a few examples from other businesses.
The mission of TED (producer of TED Talks and TEDx). You can see that it’s short, sweet, and to the point, but also a bit funny and attention-grabbing :

Mission: “Spread Ideas”

Here’s an early example of a Microsoft vision statement:

Vision: “A computer on every desk and in every home.”

Your values can be elaborate or straightforward. Here’s an example from MeUndies in which they kept it simple:

Values: “Stay Balanced

Go Further

Build Relationships

Champion Differences

Be Humble”

2. Logo Design–As recognizable as Larry the Twitter bird or the Nike swish, your logo is a symbol of your brand. It should be as unique as you. Use art and color to build a brand theme that makes you instantly recognizable. Do you want to convey luxury? Appear trendy? Be feminine? Think about what you want your brand to communicate. Seek help from your knowledgeable beauty marketing agency for ideas.

3. Font Choice–Play around with a few styles that look good on your website, Instagram, and Facebook. You might decide that you like a few styles, sizes and colors for different things like titles, headings and subheadings for website content. Your font will distinguish your brand and make you more recognizable.

4. Color Palette–No logo is complete without color, and as a PMU artist, you are no stranger to a color palette. Choose your main brand colors and use them in all of your marketing, so that potential clients start to recognize you. You may even decide to add secondary colors or approved color combinations.

Be as specific as possible with your color codes in your guide so that your team never has to guess, and you don’t risk sporting contrasting looks. You want your salon windows to match your website and social media pages, right?

Your logo design, font and colors will be one of the first things potential clients see on your website or business cards, so carefully think about how you want yours to look and consult your PMU marketing partner for help.

5. Voice/Tone Recognition–Communication with your clients, whether written or in person, is about making connections. Give your brand a personality that goes with your story and is attention-grabbing. From Old Spice’s humorous commercials to Dove’s empowering messages, you have a lot of choices in what your brand voice sounds like. Adding your chosen “voice” to your style guide will keep you and your team sounding the same in your social media posts, responses and your advertising campaigns.

6. Visual Cues–Art, photos, stock images and data are examples of attention-grabbing visuals for your website or social media account. Your style guide should explain how you would like to use images.

What kinds of illustrations do you approve of? For example, would you want photos with bold colors, very neutral colors or black and white? Do you prefer before and after photos only?

With the addition of a style guide, your brand will radiate the same confidence and beauty as your unique PMU artistry. To help, try describing your business with a few words (i.e., dark/edgy, bright/cutting-edge, subtle/natural or fun/feminine).

Post your style guide where you can see it every day to keep you focused on your brand goals. Let your employees and partners read it and have a copy (print-out or email), so everyone can be on the same page.

Like your PMU tools, consider your style guide to be a tool you can’t live without. With your style guide in place, you can ensure consistent branding and messaging to your customers and set yourself apart from the competition.

How to Find your Ideal Permanent Makeup Clients

We all have an ideal, dream client that we wish we could duplicate and see each and every appointment. While you can’t always have the perfect client, you can make moves to ensure that you are attracting the right type of client that will want the services you offer and will be ready to pay and book an appointment.

Identify Your Ideal Client Profile

You can’t be everything to everyone. In business, you can go crazy trying to make everyone a client. Save yourself the time and hassle, by putting on paper who your ideal permanent makeup client is (target audience). Think about what services you offer, who you already serve, and who can benefit that isn’t already a client. You may also look at competitors in your area and see what types of clients they are servicing.

Ask Yourself These Questions

➔ Who are your current clients? (Age, income, skin type)
➔ What is the desired result my client is looking for? (Replace hair loss, feel confident, save time getting ready, etc)
➔ What are your competitors doing? (Who are they serving, how are they showcasing their work?)
➔ Where are they spending their time? (Are they using social media, are they looking at newspapers, are they walking past your store?

How Can You Reach Your Dream Clients?

Once you identify your ideal PMU client, you will have an even better idea of how you can connect with them and meet their needs. The goal is to make your presence known and create a relationship. Potential clients are more likely to choose your business when you offer personalized interactions. You may have heard of a few ways to advertise and market your permanent makeup business, here are a few to consider.

Social Media

Social media marketing for makeup artists is one of the best ways to connect with new clients. Think of your Instagram and other social profiles as your online portfolio of work. In fact, this is likely one of the first places that a client will learn about you.

Research your target audience’s most used social media channels. Encourage a following by adding social media buttons to your internet marketing materials such as your website, YouTube channel and emails. (This works for business cards, fliers, storefront decals and coupons.)

Promote participation by replying to comments, asking questions and posting engaging content on a regular basis. Brand-specific hashtags are a great way to broaden the reach of your content.

While the above suggestions are basically free, you can pay to amplify your efforts on social media by purchasing ads or partnering with social media influencers who have already developed a relationship with your niche market and can help you capitalize on their followers.

How and Where to Gather Reviews and Testimonials

Online reviews are important for proving the value of your services to those who don’t yet know you. There are a couple of places where new clients will look for information about your business and see your reviews. Google My Business is a MUST for every business. Take your time to set up your profile and add contact details and photos. Yelp, Style Seat and others are also places where potential clients may find you and see your public reviews.

Don’t be afraid to make the ask! The only way you will grow your reviews is to ask clients who are satisfied to leave you a glowing 5-star review. Word of mouth goes a long way and a consistent stream of positive reviews build trust with future clients or those who are having a hard time making a choice.

Build an Effective PMU Website

It’s no surprise that your website is also a great way to showcase your work. Here are a few key ways to make sure your website is ready to show when potential clients are looking for your services:

Make sure that the pages of your website make reference to permanent makeup services and specifically what you offer with descriptions for each service type
Indicate where you are located
Add a map to your website along with contact information
Add photos of your work
Consider adding reviews or testimonials
Have a clear way for clients to contact you – whether you add a “Book Now” button or phone number to call
Add a link to your website on your social media profiles so that those who are interested can easily click for more information

Most importantly, don’t be afraid to be you, regardless of who your clients are. If they are the right client for you, they are looking for 1. Exactly what you are offering and 2. A connection with you through trust and relationship-building.

Consistency is the key no matter what means you are using to reach your core clients. Keep in mind that not everyone is your ideal client (not everyone has to be). Finding the right clients, who believe in you and your work, trust your expertise, and want to build loyalty with you, is what is ultimately most important.

5 Challenges a PMU Marketing Agency Can Solve

You’ve put your all into building this business, improving your technique, keeping up with the latest trends that can give your clients the best results. You open your shop and then… there’s only a slow, inconsistent trickle of clients walking through your doors.

The truth is that if you build it – they don’t necessarily come! Before you exhaust yourself trying to catch up on the latest marketing trends for your business, consider hiring a marketing partner that can help you gain a steady, consistent client flow without extra work on your shoulders.

Here’s how it works.

1. A Marketing Agency Can Save You Time and Money

“Time is money.” A marketing agency with a knowledgeable team and a proven record of working with other PMU pros can save on both time and money since it means you are trusting the experts to do what they do best. And in turn, frees you up to pursue what you do best – making clients look and feel their best.

Imagine the hours you could save in your workweek by not having to do your own research or experiment with different marketing tools and projects. Or the time you could devote to other parts of your business, without having to hire and train employees to focus exclusively on marketing.

In addition to the time you will save on marketing and staffing, you can also save money by trimming employee numbers. A marketing agency can reduce your expenses by eliminating the need to hire additional employees – think of an agency as an extension of your team without the overhead. Staffing your own marketing department involves extra costs that could eat away at the cash in your pocket at the end of the month.

2. A Marketing Agency Can Help You Run Your PMU Social Media Page

Stuck in that rut of trying to figure out what to post and when? A marketing agency will help you build your personal brand, create consistency in your posts, and ultimately, draw more new eyes to your profiles that are potential clients looking for a permanent makeup artist like you.

Just like brows are a science, marketing is a science, too. With the right partner, you will start to understand what your audience (future clients) want to see, how they connect with your unique style and personality, find your location, and book their consultation with you.

3. A Marketing Agency Can Help You Identify and Solve Problems

Sometimes, unfortunately, we all need hard truths. Hiring a marketing partner allows fresh eyes to look objectively at what you are currently doing to bring awareness to your business, how you’re branding and representing yourself and your work, and make recommendations you may have never thought of or that may have been too emotionally difficult to make.

Consider it as trusting the experts that can help you decide on even the most basic (yet impactful) parts of your business like what colors, images, videos or wording to use on your social media, website and booking platform. You might not have even considered this, but your team can also make recommendations on other ways to simplify how you run your business

4. A Marketing Agency Can Help You Organize and Achieve Your Goals

How many clients do you need to book in a week? A month? The right marketing partner will understand how to build consistency for your business. And that predictable, stable flow of new paying clients is what helps you build your reputation as a great artist in your area while giving you the foundation to grow in the industry, hire your team, expand your salon, and build a training or product line.

5. A Marketing Agency Helps Build Your Personal Brand and Reputation

Think of your favorite PMU idol. You may have a really clear idea of what you admire about them. It’s likely that is what has also drawn such a large following for them.

Your marketing partner can help you identify what makes sense for your own “personal brand” and how to share that gift with the world. While you may not become the next industry leader, they can help you find ways in which to really shine.

A Marketing Agency is Great, but a PMU Marketing Agency is Even Better

A PMU marketing agency’s specialized knowledge and functions translate into time and money well-spent. Even better than a marketing partner is a marketing partner experienced in your specific industry. An experienced PMU marketing agency will have a deeper understanding of what it takes to get more PMU clients to your door and gain you recognition and loyalty. Not all PMU marketing agencies offer the same services, so be sure to find the one that can give you the most complete support that your business deserves.

Infographic

Now that you have built your business, improved your techniques, and kept up with the latest trends, it is time to hire a marketing partner. That is the missing piece and could be the solution to the slow and inconsistent flow of clients you are currently facing. Want to know how a PMU marketing agency can help? Read about that and more in this infographic.

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8 Common Marketing Misconceptions PMU Artists Should Ignore

Want to know how to get more PMU clients in the door and significantly grow your business? The answer is: Marketing. Unfortunately, some common misconceptions about marketing permanent make-up can fill talented artists either with self-doubt or an over-confidence in their abilities to market their services and products alone. Worse, PMU artists can end up investing resources into the wrong strategies due to unrealistic expectations around marketing and advertising.

The good news is that you don’t have to do it on your own. There are marketing experts who can help you at any stage of your business. First, let’s clear the air about some common marketing myths, so that you can separate the real from the fiction and make better decisions regarding your business.

Myth #1: I Can Do It on My Own

Your instincts, likes and dislikes towards different marketing approaches, service experiences and product designs definitely make for great starting points for ideas, but a professional marketer has the knowledgeable skills to take your ideas to the next level and make them even more profitable. Approaches such as polling, collecting feedback and maintaining an online presence are just a few examples of expert strategies designed around maintaining a client base and uncovering what your clients think, what they love about your business and what could use improvement.

Marketing may sound as easy as placing an ad, running a few promotions or writing a post on social media every now and again, but it is actually much more involved. Marketing is time and timing. It is an investment of your resources to include your labor, energy and creativity or that of your employees. Done improperly, you could either miss out on opportunities that could give your business a life-saving boost or create a profit-draining waste of time and labor.

If you are a new entrepreneur, you may be tempted to think you’ll save money by being your own marketer, but you are not too small or too budget-constricted to benefit from professional marketing services. With the proper marketing partner, you can generate a significant return on a minimal investment.

Myth #2: If I Know Advertising, I Know Marketing

PMU marketing is not the same as PMU advertising. Rather, marketing refers to the whole brand experience. Advertising your services and products is definitely part of it, but marketing is an ongoing, creative project lasting the lifetime of your business that involves a variety of pieces that fit together like a puzzle. For example, your logo, salon design, client experience and service implementation would all fall under marketing’s reach. It marries your company vision with your mission and values, creating one unified brand that appeals to clients.

Myth #3: My Service and Products Will Speak for Themselves

You can have the best service, pricing or luxury experience around, and still be the best kept secret in town. To drive word-of-mouth advertising, you must first establish a revenue-generating client base. Retaining those clients will lead to a steady revenue stream and busy business.

Effective marketing can help you garner initial clients and then give them something memorable about your business to recall and share, leading to more PMU advertising through referrals. For instance, after a great experience at your business, a client may be more inclined to share a social media post of yours to their own social media page or send it to a friend. A marketing professional can help you establish a client base and then keep you fresh in their minds so that loyal clients advertise for you.

Myth #4: Marketing Is Only For New Lead Generation

Many people have the misconception that marketing starts and ends with lead generation. As stated above, marketing develops brand loyalty with past clients by allowing you to develop a relationship with them. Marketing creates engaging opportunities such as real-time contests and ways to accept and respond to feedback. It keeps your name and service fresh in their minds for repeat business and referrals.

Myth #5: I Can Borrow Strategies I See In Other Businesses

You and your brand are unique, requiring a tailored marketing strategy. Connecting with your clients in just the right way is highly valuable. Marketing is a continuously evolving process that takes time and experimentation over the lifespan of your business. Someone else’s tried-and-true methods are not guaranteed to produce the same results for you.

Myth #6: I Should Target a Wide Audience

Many people believe that they must market themselves to a broad audience for marketing to be worth the investment. That is not the case, however. Your excellent service and knowledgeable expertise will not appeal to everyone or be considered as valuable in other markets. Casting a wide net in an attempt to capture an untapped market sector may not be a wise investment in your case. Knowing the clients your services appeal to allows you to better target your marketing campaign to your audience and helps win you more clients.

Myth #7: Marketing Is All About Targeting the Millennials

“Millennial” refers to those born between 1981 and 1994-96. Those clients would be 26-41 years old today, and a lot of entrepreneurs new to marketing think they can gain traction by appealing to this age group. However, marketing aimed just at Millennials excludes other potential clients. Billions of people interact with at least one form of social media daily, making almost any age demographic accessible through social media platforms. The average age of visitors to social media and mobile-friendly sites continues to grow as earlier generations discover the potential uses and benefits of these social connectors.

Myth #8: Change Any Strategy that Doesn’t Immediately Show Results

We know you are eager to see the fruits of your efforts and resources, but long-term results require consistency and repetition that can only be realized over time. Results can start rolling in slowly and then eventually begin to snowball. Significant results could take anywhere from six months to a year, so patience is key.

There is way more to marketing than we can ever do justice in just one blog (or even a handful). We hope we have encouraged you to ignore the most common misconceptions and explore marketing options in a new light. An expert marketing agency can help elevate your PMU business in ways you may have never thought possible. Click here to learn more about finding your exceptional marketing partner.

What to Look for in a Permanent Makeup Marketing Partner

Being a beautypreneur often means wearing many many hats, particularly as you are starting and scaling your permanent makeup business. While you may be an expert artist, marketing is an art on its own – and the right partner can help you build a steady flow of clients without even batting an eyelash.

There are so many ways to market your business… Google, Facebook, Instagram, Groupon, Yelp… it might make your head spin. The good news is that you do not have to figure it out alone. Hiring a marketing partner that specializes in working with permanent makeup artists can save you time, hassle, and even money, versus trying to figure it out alone. If you want to see more clients, make more money, AND free up your time, then keep reading.

An exceptional marketing partner uses methods proven to deliver results – ie. help you book more clients, so you can get back to your artistry. Here are our recommendations on what a good PMU marketing partner should have.

❖ What a Good Permanent Makeup Marketing Partner Will Have:

➢ Experience
➢ Referrals
➢ Personalized Approach
➢ Passionate, Customer-driven Methods
➢ Measurable Results
➢ Transparency

➢ Experience
Look for a marketing agency that not only knows marketing, but also the beauty industry. Your potential partner should also be knowledgeable in driving more clients through your door.

➢ Referrals
Look for a partner that comes highly-recommended. Ask your peers and read reviews. Do your homework about strategies that can apply best to your business. A good partner will be like a teammate to help you grow.

➢ Personalized Services
Just like no two brows are the same, an amazing PMU marketing partner knows what it takes and recognizes where you are in your business journey. While every beautypreneur’s story is different, a good partner will immediately be able to take note of the stage of business you are in and work with you to create a plan to get you to your goals.

➢ Passionate, Customer-driven Methods
Look for a marketing agency that is enthusiastic and committed to building your brand and marketing to potential clients. While the agency should have a solid process, they should also be willing to experiment and think outside of the box to help your business succeed.

Just like customer service is important to the clients that you serve, finding a partner that is just as committed to the level of service that they provide to you is equally important and can save a lot of headaches.

➢ Measurable Results
The proof is always in the pudding. While some marketing methods take time to show results, the right partner will help get you there fast, while keeping you in the loop every step of the way.

➢ Transparency
An exceptional marketing agency will have transparent and open communication, keeping you in the loop with what they are working on for you and what results they are showing for you. Ask about their policy for communicating with clients and set expectations with them about what you would like to know, if you want any specific details.

Ultimately, you may not understand (or need to understand) every single detail of what they are doing for you. But, having a good working relationship will give you peace of mind about what’s happening behind the scenes.

Establish Clear Goals To Find Your Best Fit

Look for a PMU marketing agency willing to consult with you in person or virtually. Treat this consultation just as you would a job interview for a potential employee. This time together gives you a chance to ask questions about their style, processes, vision for your brand, and costs. Your potential marketing partner should have plenty of questions for you, too. Your consultation will help you determine their level of interest and curiosity about your business and the goals you have for growth.

Before you meet with any potential partner, have a vision session with yourself and determine what success looks like for you. Then, clearly communicate your goals to the marketing agencies you interview and find a partner that fits with you best.

Ultimately, growing your business is not a one-person act. It takes the right people working with you to help get you to the next level of your business.

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Do you want to be a successful beautypreneur? Being an expert artist is not enough. You need to put your hands on marketing your business. This is a struggle for many who are confused about how marketing works. That is where a marketing partner comes into the picture. Read about the importance of hiring one and how you can find the best-suited marketing partner for your business.

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How to Start a Successful Beauty Brand

The beauty industry is one of the most competitive markets today. Competing with established companies and brands may appear daunting. In addition to performing the typical market and feasibility studies done, new beauty brands should focus on strategizing their approach in the following key areas:

Brand Appearance
Competition
Professional Employment
Social Media Marketing
Continuing Education

Your brand will reflect you and your services, so spending the extra time and money necessary to devise a plan for these aspects of your business will pay dividends in the future.

Design a Fitting Logo

One of the first things potential clients will notice about your PMU business is your logo. Spend time thinking about what you want to communicate through your unique trademark to the public. Do you prefer classic colors and lettering or something bolder? Typical colors for PMU logos are more feminine pinks, purples and whites. More luxurious and masculine colors are blacks and golds. Use color and font choices to communicate the vibe you represent best. “Edgy” or “modern” can be communicated without words through the design you choose.

Ask yourself who your target audience is and what unique strengths your business brings to the table. Are you branding yourself as affordable, or will you be known for high-end luxury? Investing in a PMU marketing company that understands your vision and voice is a wise investment to develop a cohesive brand image across all customer facing content.

Understand Your Competition

As with most market research, you’ll want to size up the competition and their branding strategies. More than likely, this information can easily be found on their social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Following their pages and interacting with them will inform you on how others market themselves. It’s also a way to start building up your own contacts.

Recruit a Team of Supportive Employees

It’s impossible to do all the things that need to be done to build a brand alone. Allocate your time and effort towards finding reliable people who share your vision. In the current market, traditional recruitment methods still seem to work well for finding great employees. Customer service is a big part of branding, so invest time and materials into training and mentoring your employees to reflect the quality service and customer-focused image you strive to attain.

Your staff is not the only part of the team. As your business grows, your tax liabilities and intricacies likely will, too. Hire a tax professional or accountant to give you the best financial advice and help with everything from controlling costs to preparing tax documents.

Use Social Media to Increase Brand Awareness

You can plan the best logo, build the best team, offer the best services in the friendliest atmosphere, and go above and beyond your competitors, but fall short of success if clients don’t discover you. Increasing your brand awareness is a must, meaning familiarizing the public with your services. Make it a daily habit to work on growing your business, setting aside anywhere from just ten minutes to an hour daily. Increasing public awareness of your brand and services will inevitably bring you more PMU clients.

Research what marketing techniques draw the most attention, but give particular consideration to social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. These platforms are wide-reaching, free, immediately accessible and chances are, you know a lot about how to use them already. Staying active on social media is a great way to get your brand and services in front of thousands of people every day. Keep in mind that other businesses are doing the same, so the key is to make posting and running Stories a regular habit to increase your viewership. Social media is a great avenue for posting before-and-after pictures and testimonials. Photos and testimonials are essential PMU advertising tools for branding yourself. Learn more about using Facebook and Instagram to market your PMU business here.

Never Stop Learning

Building your brand is an ongoing process that involves continuously educating yourself. From trends to training, you and your team will need to stay in the know so that your brand becomes and remains top-notch in quality and service. Attend trade shows and join a PMU trade organization to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques and trends in the industry. These events double as a great way to build relationships and increase your brand awareness.

Social media, PMU journals and the news can provide important information regarding beauty trends. Following what’s trendy could set you apart from your competition, as long as it makes financial sense and is not done at the expense of abandoning the services and products that speak to your brand. It would be unwise to chase every fleeting change at the expense of services that are timeless.

Take the opportunity to listen to client feedback and use it to improve your brand–from the comfy chairs in your studio to the aftercare kits you provide. Listen to your own clients, the clients of the competition, your staff, social media chatter and anyone you could garner information from about how to better your brand and stand out from others in the industry.

Establishing a new beauty brand presents unique challenges. We hope these tips for building your brand inspire your creativity and fill you with confidence that you have the skills, tools and professional help necessary to establish your successful PMU brand. Invest the time and capital in yourself, your team, and information to achieve your goals.

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Are you just starting in the PMU industry and want to build your business from the bottom and rise to the top? Everyone wants that for their business, and it requires knowledge and works to achieve. With the beauty industry being one of the most competitive in the market today, this will present unique challenges. Here are some tips for building your brand.

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Keeping Up with the PMU Competition

Passion, experience and preparation are a great foundation, but even with all the tools in the box, starting a business can be tough. Just like it takes grit to turn into a pearl – building an empire doesn’t happen overnight. The best news is that you’re in an industry predicted to grow by 8.3% to become worth $960 million by the year 2026.¹ Take advantage and get ready to step into your power! Want to know the one essential ingredient for your success?

It’s planning.

Planning is the key to running and growing a successful PMU business that’s able to keep up with (or surpass) the competition. Just as the old adage says, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Building and maintaining a successful business takes strategizing. Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for yourself for a while, these steps can make the road to success a little easier to navigate.

1) Do your market research. Here are some key questions to ask yourself during the information-gathering process.
a) What should my pricing structure look like?
b) How should I brand my company? What kind of marketing and advertising should I use as a PMU entrepreneur?
c) What services and products will I offer?
d) Where will I set up my business?
e) Is there a need or desire for my services in that area?
f) Who will be my competitors, and what does their business look like?
g) How can I set myself apart from my competition?

2) Plan your resources. You are coming to the table with artistic skills and an eye for beauty. However, there are likely aspects of business that are new and challenging. No one is an island, so don’t expect to go it alone. When you’re first starting out, you may have to wear many hats. However as you grow, outsourcing business functions like growth marketing or administrative tasks gives you time back to focus on quality and client care.

3) Work on your branding. This step can be one of the most fun and creative parts. Your brand will come to represent you. While working on your branding strategy, here are some questions to ask yourself.
a) What should my logo look like? Sleek, modern or edgy?
b) In what ways should I advertise or market my business?
c) What social media platforms can I use for marketing my business?
d) Can a special in-store experience help my brand?
e) What prices should I charge for my services?

4) Make your clients #1. Your clients will always be the most crucial part of your business, because without them, you have no business. It’s all in the little details – the experience you provide during their visit, communication before and during the appointment, and aftercare follow up. The connection that your clients have with you is ultimately what drives positive word-of-mouth, reviews and loyalty.

5) Listen to feedback from your team and customers. You can learn a lot by just listening. Positive or negative, feedback is always an opportunity to learn. Pat yourself on the back for the positives and learn from the mistakes. Apply your new knowledge to better yourself and your business.

6) Keep expenses in line. It can be easy to lose track of small amounts of money that get spent here and there, especially when you’re just starting up. To prevent wasteful spending while money is tight, you’ll need to be vigilant in tracking your business expenses. Eliminate expenses that don’t add value to you, your team, or your clients. Find just one or two things that will build your business by improving the client experience or streamlining the scheduling process or boosting brand visibility.

Whether you’re just starting out or have been in business for years, these tips should help you focus or refocus your energy and efforts on the essential ingredients to being a successful PMU artist. They will serve to foster an environment that is both employee-friendly and customer-conscious. Most of all, they will give you the best chance for success doing what you love.

M. (2021, June 14). Cosmetic Pigments Market worth $960 million by 2026 – Exclusive Report by MarketsandMarketsTM. PRNewswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cosmetic-pigments-market-worth-960-million-by-2026–exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-301311440.html