How To Turn Followers Into Bookings

So, Jodi, have you ever gotten an ad on Instagram or TikTok or something like that, and you get it once and then you get it, like, a million times? Yes. You know, whether it's the... Yes.

Whether it's, like, the same ad or it's maybe, like, the same company but just, like, a different, like, type of content. Has that ever happened to you before? 100%. Yeah.

Like- And I'm sure that you listening to this- Yeah. You know, literally today, every single day, right? And I'm sure that you listening to this, uh, have experienced that. And the reason why is because companies know that on average, a lot of the time, it can take up to seven times for an average consumer to become aware of your product and be nurtured enough by it to actually even click on the ad, to get them to be interested in actually working with you further.

And so what we're gonna be talking about today is the part of your funnel in which somebody found out about you, which in relation to my ad example, maybe they saw the ad, right? But now we have to get them to actually trust you, to actually get interested enough to work with you. And that's exactly what we're trying to accomplish at the nurture part of the funnel, which is what happens after somebody finds out that you exist. So, excited to talk about it today.

What's up, Jodi? Oh, I'm excited. I love, as you know, any funnel talk. Oh, yeah.

Funnel talk. It's my favorite, so I can't wait to dive in 'cause I feel like this is, like, a very underrated piece, and, like, one of the most important. So, I'm excited to dive into it. So, let's first talk about what that nurture phase is.

Like, what is the purpose of it, and what is it... Like, like, how do we, how do we do this? Yeah. 'Cause somebody finds out about you, and for some reason, they give a- about you, right?

Like, for some reason, they care enough to even look at what you have, which is very powerful. Like, it's like once we get this person's attention, like, I mean, companies pay a lot of money just to get somebody's attention, right? Everybody says, like, we live in the attention economy in today's day and age, right? So you get somebody's attention, and you have, like, .

00001 seconds to keep that attention, and then to turn that attention into dollar signs, right? And the way that we do that is making it so, like I've said and what I'll continue to say, we have a ideal person that we are targeting and that we understand psychologically, what the, uh, demographically who this person is, what they're thinking, and what's gonna grab their attention and talk to them about what they care about, right? You gave them a reason to give a- enough to listen to you. Now you gotta tell them things that they're gonna continuously want to hear, right?

Something that's interesting to them, something that's gonna make them trust you more, something that's going to, uh, add value to their lives even, right? Yeah. Because your brain is primally wired to not burn calories, right? So it does burn calories.

It burns energy to think. Our brains literally burn energy to think. And so our bodies, our brains are very much wired to not burn as much energy as possible. And so especially in today's day and age, our brains do a extremely diligent and good job of masking and not paying attention to anything that's not hyper relevant to it, so that way the brain can survive, right?

That's like the primal evolutionary reason why our attention spans work the way that they do. And so we need to make it show... Make- make sure that in our content, we are posting things that this person will actually give a- about. In the last episode, we talked a little bit about the levels of- of- of awareness as far as the- this person's awareness around the- pr- their problems, their desires, and then your solutions, right?

And so in this level of the funnel, we actually might have, like, a couple different, uh, levels of awareness, uh, that we're talking to. And so we're not just talking about, you know, um, we're not just talking... We should not just be talking about you and how awesome you are and what makes you different, although yes, like, we should be a little bit. We should be educating this person about themselves, speaking to this person about their own pain points, and just giving them straight-up value before we actually even talk about ourself.

But we need to do a balance of both, so then get them to trust you enough to want to work with you, period, right? So that's kind of what we overall want to achieve is getting them to get from... They got from now they know who you are. Now we need to make them aggravated enough with their pain points or desire the thing enough to then trust you enough to then go to whatever the next step is, in which then they will hopefully book an appointment.

I love that. And I think one of the other things that I love to think about when it comes to this phase, too, is, like, dissolving whatever, like, resistance or, like, you know, like, speaking to those things that are holding them back. 'Cause I think so often we're like, "It's- it's just about us," right? Like, if we can just, like, make them trust us enough- Yeah.

then that is gonna be the solution. Whereas I think that sometimes it's about, like, showing them what's possible for them. So, like, showcasing things, like in the hair industry, before and afters with, like, a lot of different, um, like, before examples of different hair types and different things, right? So that you can show them, okay, this is possible.

If this is your desire, like, this is possible for you as well. Yeah, I absolutely love that. And y- you know, uh, it brings me to the thought of just, like, it absolutely drives me nuts when there's not enough of content that, like, is really super focused on the audience or on the client or on the ideal customer. A lot of the times, like, we feel like we have to justify our value to people.

Like, we're almost like we, like, have to prove ourselves to people, which actually is true, but not nearly as much as the way that people believe or act upon that. And so, and especially because marketing is just so s- it's so...... it's t- it's not, it doesn't naturally come, it doesn't naturally come to us, like truly. Yeah.

Like a l- for some of us it does, right? Yeah, yeah. But for a lot of us it doesn't, and the reason why is because primarily, again, we are wired to give a fuck about ourselves, right? Ugh.

<|agent|><|en|> So all we're thinking is, "I hope this person thinks I'm worth it. I need to show people how awesome I am. I need to show people how amazing my client experience is." And that's how, that's naturally what I see a lot.

Instead of, because it's, yes, that's still okay, but we need to do it in a way in which is relevant to the client still, but then even furthermore, we need to be posting a lot of content that is 100% relevant to the, to the client. And that will almost, like, in an underlying way, make somebody trust you more, make somebody see the value in you more. If you make something 100% about somebody else, right, then you're able to tap into this person's brain and make them feel that, like, "Oh my god, this person just read my mind. Oh my god, this person just solved my problems.

Oh my god, I really love this person and their personality," or whatever it may be, "and how they went about this, right? Um, now I see what's possible." Like that is going to, that alone is so powerful in an indirect way to make them actually see the value in you, instead of us trying to establish it ourselves by posting ourselves and our experience and all the things, right? And talking about why amazing we, how amazing we are and why we're amazing and what certification we are.

It's like, girl, they don't give a shit about that yet, right? No. Yes. They wanna know like, "Do you know my-" Yes.

Like, "Do you know my issue?" Yes. Oh my goodness. Exactly.

Like what is the core need of people? They wanna feel seen, they wanna feel heard, they wanna feel understood, right? And so if you can speak to that in their content, I l- I love that. I think that's like the perfect way of saying it.

Like, you have to give someone a reason to care about you and your offer and your experience before, um, before they will. Yep. So when it comes to, like, you know, we kinda at the top of this episode talked about like the amount of touch points, right, that were required. So if you are not someone who is utilizing things like Facebook ads where you can guarantee the, um, frequency, right, like you can guarantee people are gonna see this X amount of times unless they physically opt out of it- Uh-huh.

um, what are some of those platforms that you recommend for hairstylists to stay top of mind during that nurture time period? Well, I mean, obviously if you can get them to follow you on one way or another, then that's great, right? Because then we have at least a little bit of a chance to actually get them to see our stuff again, right? So when they become aware of you, is just your profile by itself good enough and relevant enough to make them click the follow button, right?

So that's a great step that we always want to achieve. The problem with it is, is you, it's not a promised thing, and the only way to make it work is if you are consistently posting really badass content. And it has to be consistent. You have to keep this person genuinely engaged in order for the algorithm to continuously show them it.

Um, another great way, place to do this is like In Stories no matter what platform that you're on as far as like Facebook, Instagram, whatever it may be. Um, so, you know, just continuously posting content that this person actually gives a shit about. But then the other level to this that a lot of hairstylists really don't think about very often is like can we get them onto a more guaranteed marketing platform such as our email list, right? Can we start to like, 'cause that's so much more guaranteed.

Like you own your email list. There's no algorithm besides maybe your, the email server's like putting things into promotional or sometimes spam, right? But there's ways that we can address that. And it's mu- e- even then some with those blocks, right?

E- with those risks, it's still so much more guaranteed, right? 100%. And so, you're able to show up in this place that this person is c- checking daily, right? And it's also, I like to, a lot of people will say, like whenever I talk about email, people are like, "Oh, email is dead."

Like, or like, "Oh, I hate looking at my email. My clients say that they hate email too." It's like, girl, I promise you, number one, email still works so well for marketing purposes. 100% it does.

Like, so well statistically, my own experience, my students' experiences, I'm sure your experiences, Jodi, it is not a dead platform in any way, shape, or form. And here is the advantage that you have. You are somebody who people actually give a fuck about, right? Especially if they're your own clients, right?

'Cause we can talk about, 'cause we're, eventually we're gonna record an episode that'll come out soon about like getting clients to come back, right, like marketing to clients to get them back into your chair. So when we talk about that, like absolutely this person loves and knows and trusts you already. Like they are okay with hear- like getting an email from you, right? Like how refreshing is it when you actually get one email that's actually interesting and like actually like relevant, right?

Yeah. But even, the same goes for like even clients who have not been in your chair yet. I mean, they got on that email list for a reason, right? And that's the tricky thing here is that you need to give them a reason to get onto your email list.

Yeah. And a lot of people will just like be like, "Join the email list. Get emails from me." It's like, "Why the fuck would I wanna get emails from you," you know?

Right. Yeah. What's in it? Um, exactly.

What's in it for me? Yeah. So, what's in it for me? Like, I'm already getting like a million emails every single day.

Why would I want emails from you? So give them a reason to want emails from you, and then again, you are like a small business. You're doing something fun. You're doing something that this person obviously cares about in one way or another.

They're more, they're very likely to actually care about your email than anybody else's email. But you gotta give them a reason to get on the email list, and you have to write good emails that people actually- Yes. want to read. And honestly, I would even argue, like even if they don't open and read your whole email, I still think it's beneficial to even just have your name show up in their inbox.

Absolutely. I think that's a great point, 100%. Yeah, li-Yeah. Like, I mean, somet- like, I had someone this week reach out to me because, like, uh, literally I posted trailer for something that was like, they got a notification for a new podcast episode that wasn't even out yet, and then they came onto Instagram and DM'd me to talk about something else.

'Cause it was just, like, my name showed up, right? Yup. So, it's like, the more you can show up in front of your people, the more you're going to be the person they think of instead of someone else. Yeah.

I, I mean, that's, that's very, like, and that's s- that's very, like, it's very, like, 101 marketing theory, right? Yeah. Or, like, even brand theory. Because, like, if you think about, like, the billboards that you see or, like, you know, like- Yeah.

the planes carrying, like, a banner on the back, right? Yeah. A lot of the times it's literally just a logo. Yes.

Like, there's nothing else, right? And, you know, for a while, like, I, I remember being even, like, a lot younger and just being like, "I don't get it." Like, I was like, "I don't understand." Like, okay.

Cool. Like- ... that's it, but there's nothing else, right? Yeah.

But as I've gotten older and as I've understood marketing more, and I've also been able to kind of, like, recognize my own buying behavior, uh- Right. it does make a huge difference even just knowing- Yeah. of the name of this thing and seeing it constantly, because when it comes up and the one time that they do decide to pay attention, or the one time that they do need that specific thing, yes, they are much more likely to think about you because they just simply have not seen the other solutions or other people- Yeah. as often.

Literally, my 11-year-old was like, "Can we go to Save-On Foods instead of another grocery store?" And I was like, "Why? What do you like at Save-On Foods?" And he's like- Standard gas of this.

He's like, "I like the commercial that I saw on MasterChef." Ah, master chef. I was like, "Okay." Um, so yeah.

It's like, you're right, it is, like, 101, but I think it's something we forget and it's, like, so important. Yeah. Um- Uh, uh, you know, I'll just share a really quick story about this, too, for myself. Like, I, I can't be the only one, 'cause my, I just saw my neighbor got a package for it as well, too, and I thought that was the only one who was on this algorithm, but I guess I'm not.

There's this, like, ridiculous, uh, phone screen protector brand. It's called Magic Johns. And I get his ads all the time, and they do, like, very, like, clickbaity, uh, like- Right. advertising for it, right?

And I would get them, I would get TikTok ads from him all the freaking time, and I would just scroll right past them. I would genuinely scroll right past them, right? Because eventually, like, I knew what the gig was. Like, I knew I was watching an ad, so I'd just be, like, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.

Right. And eventually I was like, "I need a phone, I need a phone screen case." I didn't even see, I, eh, I didn't see an ad in that moment. I just have already seen the ads, right?

I already have seen that name. Guess what, that's who I ordered the fricking screen from, you know? Literally. That's- Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, exactly, right? And honestly, I don't know what your thought on this is, but my thought is, like, because we have so much information thrown at us day, in, day out, and because there is so much more to sort through now, I feel like those, like, like, just touch points are even stronger now. 'Cause I'm like, "I've already consumed so much information today. Like, I don't wanna think about who I'm gonna buy a suitcase from."

Yeah. "I'm just gonna go to The BAY's website, 'cause that's the first one that pops up into my head." I think that speaks to, like, vol- like, importance of volume, too. Yeah.

Unfortunately. Right? Mm-hmm. It's like we low-key need, like, quality and quantity- Yeah.

nowadays. Agreed. Agreed. And it's easy to make happen if you have a strategic plan.

I mean, like, if you know what your strategy is, like, if you've done the research and you know what you need to do and say to connect with somebody- Yeah. it's easy to push out volume, high volume, that is high quality. Like, truly. Yeah.

Um, uh, in many different ways. But I think that does speak to, like, like, volume matters. Like, quantity absolutely does matter. Yeah, 100%.

And if you're hitting a bunch of, like, a few different platforms, I feel like you've got a lot better, like, chance of that, like, achieving that as well. For- 'Cause you are gonna stay in that top of mind zone. Um, okay. The, the question here for this part of the funnel, then, like, we talked about the, for the visibility and, like, top of funnel part, but how do you diagnose if this part of your funnel is not working?

If, like, people are coming into your world, but then, like, that, it kind of fizzles. Like, how do you know, and, and is there anything you can do about that, like, instantly? If people aren't going to your website? If...

Yes. Like, if you're, if they're- Or- ... getting lost in the nurture, in the nurture part. Yeah.

Um, you know, I guess, like, two things, right? Because you can think about it as, like, like, I'm thinking about, like, the before and then the after, right? Like, there's kind of, like... That, this middle part affects- Mm-hmm.

the before and the after, you know? Yeah. It affects the, it affects, like, will somebody who becomes aware, will they come and stay for the content, right? Right.

And it also affects, if they stay, will they go to the next step, right? So, you're kind of looking at both sides when you're trying to diagnose if this is the issue, right? Mm-hmm. And so I guess, like, w- you would look at, like, numbers, of course.

So, like, are there p- how many impressions are you getting, and then are you getting people to follow? And, you know- Yeah. the problem with this is, is that we can't really se- Maybe if I really, truly, like, did a crazy campaign and I, like, asked the entire industry, and I was, like, asking the numbers and stuff like that, I could maybe come up with some sort of average or baseline, but I still think that that would be so, like, all over the place and not a reliable dataset. Right.

But what I normally suggest with my students where it's, like, a measur- when we try to create measureables, I like my students to set baselines for themselves. So, I like you to take your baseline as it is now, because we're always gonna want to make improvements, and we're always gonna wanna track when things are not going well, right? Yeah. So, look at your impressions right now.

Look and see how many views you're getting on your profile or on your posts right now. Right. Set a baseline for that, and then track that over time and see how it changes, right?So, I guess that's how I would look at it.

I would look at it and see, like, like, how many people are getting onto this profile and then actually going to follow you, or going to click the website link, right? And then, on top of that, I would go and see, like, how many website visits are you getting on a monthly basis, right? Um, how many people are engaging with your posts. Again, like, I think you set a baseline for that.

I don't think that you need a million, uh, you know, likes and comments, but I do think that there should be some sort of a little bit of consistency, especially for the specific type of engagement that we really are looking for, you know. Um, even just profile visits. I, I think, uh, uh, the just profile visits being, like, a really, really important metric to look at, I think could tell us a lot of, okay, this person obviously wanted to take some sort of second step with us, whether it just be look and see what else we've posted recently, or that means going to the website, you know? That's when I would know that that's working.

But if we're not getting any of that, then that's when I know that we're not working, right? So, uh, when somebody becomes aware of you, are they following you and consuming your content? And if they're not, then it's not working. If they are, it is working.

But then the other part of this, the 50% of is this working or not, is also are they actually taking the next step? Are they going to the website? Are they engaging with you enough? Are they visiting your profile?

Et cetera, et cetera. Love that. Awesome. All right, well, next week we're actually gonna take a break from the funnel conversation, and then we're gonna get back into it, um, and so we're gonna be talking the week after next about how to get followers to become clients.

But next week, we're actually gonna be talking a little bit more about the tech side of running your beauty biz and what to do if you're overwhelmed. So- Cool. um, super excited to dive into that one too. Hell, yeah.

I love tech conversations so much. Just as much as I love a marketing conversation. Why are ... I'm just a nerd, dude.

Thank you so much for- I am actually getting so much more into the tech now too, and I'm like, "What is happening here?" Don't even get me started. Thank you so much for tuning into the Modern Hair Stylist podcast. Hopefully this was helpful for you, my friend.

Uh, I'm excited to, uh, di- dive into the rest of your marketing funnel. Um, it's a very important thing that we don't dive into enough as hair stylists, and like, actually understand as hair stylists, like this level that we're talking about. So, hopefully you're following along well and hopefully it's clicking for you, and hopefully you're being able to review your own things and really think about, like, am I hitting this objective, you know? So, so much love to you.

Thank you for tuning in. Catch you in the next one. Peace out girl, scout. Bye-bye.

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