Sure, we’re not all racing to work on our hoverboards (yet!) but almost everything we do, is done online and this includes our lash businesses!

But let’s be real, most lash artists are reluctant to build a business model for the digital era. They might dip their toes in and have a few social media accounts that they post to sparingly, in hopes of attracting new clients to their business, but they don’t have any social media strategy in place.

So, what do they do?

They treat their business’ social media page like a personal profile! And to make things worse, they’re about two cute cat videos away from calling it quits because they don’t see any results from their efforts.

I wanted to address this issue in more detail because I see it all the time. It’s often the case that lash artists know everything there is to know about lashes, but when it comes to business, things get a little foggy!

This is where I swoop in. You can think of me as your fairy godmother if you like…actually no, that’s a bit weird. Just think of me as a friend who happens to know a lot about lashes and a lot about business and I’m willing to share all of that knowledge with you here in this post!

But before we jump in, let’s take a moment to step into our client’s shoes to help answer the question:

Is social media enough of an online presence to grow my lash business?

{If you want to listen to the podcast episode on this topic, click on the player at the top of the post. Alternatively you can watch the video below, or read on…}

Your Client’s Perspective

Let’s get into the right mindset for this part.

Forget everything you know about lashes and imagine yourself as someone who has never had their lashes done before in their lives. Now imagine you’re taking a stroll down the street, and you stop off at Starbucks to meet your friend, Jen.

You order a cappuccino and sit opposite Jen. You’ve been dying to let out some steam all day, especially after that thing happened at work that’s left you silently fuming on the inside ever since… BUT low and behold, you notice Jen’s killer lashes and your mouth involuntarily drops open.

You ask her a ton of questions. How did she get her lashes to look so good? And, more importantly, how can you achieve the same results? She tells you about this fantastic lash artist from the city (we’ll just pretend it’s San Francisco) and you think about it for the rest of the day.

What Happens Next?

When you get home, you get on Google and type the lash artist’s name and “San Francisco” into the search bar. The only likely result is a personal Facebook page.

You click on it.

You see a ton of drunken selfies, and although the lash artist looks like a lot of fun to be around on a night out, there’s not much information about her artistry, her services or her rates.

You’re left going on a wild goose chase to find that information for yourself. Maybe you check Instagram and see a few posts and a list of services such as Classic, Volume and Bordeaux Mega Volume. Great, you’ve got a list of services. You can probably guess what classic and volume mean…but what the heck is Bordeaux Mega Volume?

Whatever, you’ll just check the lash artist’s website to find out more, but there’s no link in the bio. Maybe this lash artist doesn’t have a website?

It’s hard to believe a business doesn’t have a website in this day and age, but yet here it is.

You sigh and realize you don’t have any other choice but to call her with the number she provided and try not to get roped into something you can’t afford.

The Phone call

So, you reluctantly dial the number and wait for an answer. You hear a friendly “hello” on the other side, and you tell her that you’re interested in getting your lashes done. Maybe you mention that your friend Jen recommended her services to you, but before she can start selling hard, you ask “How much do you charge?”

Now, …we’re going to step out of our client’s shoes and back into our businesswoman mindset.

What usually happens when a new client catches you off-guard on the phone and hits you with the “What do you charge” question?

Chances are, you tell them your full set pricing. Then, you break the news that it takes around two to three hours to complete.

Great. Now the client, who isn’t educated on lashes and has no idea about the process, or how long it takes, nods on the other side of the phone and says…

“Thank you. I’ll think about it and call you back to book an appointment.”

And then what happens? You never hear from them again! They’ve probably already jumped onto the next lash artist in town because they’re cheaper or they were able to provide the client with more info to base their decision on.

The truth is that if you don’t have a website, this is the path they’re left to take. Clients want more info, and they want it now. I see this time and time again with lash artists who are trying to cut corners or who are not sure how to have a killer online presence.

So, with this in mind, let’s get back to our original question.

Is social media enough of an online presence to grow your lash business?

1. Can Social Media Be Used For SEO

Social media profiles DO rank in search engines, but they can’t be adequately used to drive leads to your business because they’re more about building an active audience and increasing brand awareness than anything else.

Want to hear me talk about SEO in more detail? Check out Episode 15 of the Lessons of a Lashpreneur podcast here or watch the YouTube video, “Are You Showing Up on the First Page of Google?”

Now, back to the relationship between SEO and your favorite social media channels.

In the early days of SEO, it was all about stuffing your web pages with relevant keywords. If you wanted to rank highest for something like “eyelash extensions San Diego,” it was a competition to see who had the most saturation of that keyword and ranked the highest.

Google eventually realized that this wasn’t the most effective way to turn up desirable search results, so they evolved SEO to be much smarter. To look at the content on your website and analyze how engaging it is, how comprehensive it is for the keyword that’s being searched, whether it’s mobile optimized and the speed of your site – these are just a few of the factors Google considers showing your website.

Don’t worry. You don’t need to focus heavily on SEO to show up when someone searches for you. As long as you include the basics of SEO, it should be enough for your clients to search your name and lashes to have your website pop up on search results. No more goose chasing.

Many lash artists add a booking link to their Facebook profiles and think that’s enough, but it isn’t. Facebook is NOT a viable source to be used for SEO purposes.

If you don’t have a website yet, I recommend using WIX because it’s super easy and it comes with a plugin called “WIX SEO Wiz” that shows you how to optimize your website with an easy-to-follow step-by-step process.

2. Is Social Media Enough Of An Online Presence To Grow Your Business?

While social media has obvious benefits to help grow your business, it comes with its fair share of drawbacks.

First of all, organic reach is in the toilet.

Facebook has changed its algorithm to make it virtually impossible to get any organic reach. What this means is that even if you have thousands of followers, there’s no chance in hell that anybody is going to see your post without you paying for some type of Facebook marketing to put your business in front of your target audience.

At first, everyone screamed “doomsday!” when Facebook broke the news of this new change to its algorithm, BUT it’s definitely not the end of the world.

The truth of the matter is that the purpose of social media is to make money. And how do these companies make money? Advertising. And who pays for advertising? You, me and all the other business owners out there, that’s who.

Did you really think they were going to let you advertise your business on their platform for FREE when their revenue is solely based on you paying to get in front of your target customers…not a chance!

Remember – you do not own social media.

They can and will change the rules whenever they like. There’s nothing as useful as social media marketing because people are on it all day long and the brilliant minds behind our favorite social media networks know that. They know how effective it is for you to get your profile in front of your target audience and they will make you pay for it.

And if you thought you were safe over on Instagram, think again. Hello – Facebook owns Instagram! Mark my words, Instagram Business profiles at some point in the future will have the same ‘barely there’ organic reach as Facebook.

The only way for you to regain control and reach your audience is to have a website because your website is where clients convert off their phones and into your business.

3. Do You Really Need A Website?

The short answer?

YES!

You 1000% NEED a website.

Your social media should drive traffic to your site, and when your website is done correctly, it should seal the deal for your most favorite client types to book with you and happily pay your price.

There’re many benefits to having a website. When you have a well-done website, you should:

Attract regular leads into your business every week
Appeal to the right types of clients as much as it repels the wrong types of clients
Make it easier for your potential customers to find the info they’re looking for and easily navigate through your website so that you build trust and authority for your business.

If you want more clients and more income… you need a website. Period.

If you want more clients and you know your website is not doing its job or even worse, you don’t even have one… it doesn’t take $1000s of dollars to make a functional lash business website, and you don’t even have to be super tech savvy to get one set up and published. If you can access a web browser (which I’m assuming you can since you’re reading this), then you can create AND maintain your own website.

We have a BRAND-NEW online course called DIY Web Design where my go-to web guru and I show you, step by step, how to go from none-to-done with your website. You literally follow our click by click process of getting a WIX website built, designed, and published. It couldn’t be easier or simpler for even you self-proclaimed non-techy lash artists.

This course is specifically designed for our lash industry needs. Those fancy schmancy web designers can promise you a very pretty, very pricey and very complicated website… that you have to continue to pay them to maintain… OR you can learn how to build it, edit it, update it, and maintain it on your own for less than most of you charge for a full set.

Head on over to thelashpreneur.com/DIY to learn more about this course that’s transforming lash businesses!

Happy business building!

Have a Good One!

Tara Walsh

The Lashpreneur