Standing Out in a Saturated Market: Social Media Tips for Hairstylists

Hello, Jodi. How are you? Hi, Hunter. I'm good.

I'm so excited to be here with you. I'm so excited to have you, and hello, listener. I am super excited to have Jodi in the house today. Jodi, do you mind introducing who you are to the people?

Yes, of course. So my name is Jodi Brown, and I was actually a hairstylist for 15 years, daughter of a hairstylist and salon owner, and now I do full-time marketing, content creation, and education. Yes. I love that, and so I am here in Vancouver with Jodi, and we have the opportunity to be recording our podcast in person, which I'm so excited about.

And Jodi, um, helps me with my marketing and my social media and things like that. And so what we thought was, um, with what she gets to see in my socials and what you guys always ask me questions about, um, that she would bring some topics to the table for us to talk about to ge- today, together, and she'll be, like, prompting me and asking me the questions that you may have on your minds so that way, um, we can give you some great value today. So Jodi, thank you so much for being here to do that with me today. I'm so excited.

I feel like these topics are things that the hair industry is talking about a lot, and I can't wait to get into it. I love it. So I think we're starting off with social media today, right? Yes, 'cause the social media game has changed.

I know you've talked about this a lot and seen this a lot, and so we're gonna talk about some of the ways that it's changed, some of the mistakes that stylists are making, and just kinda go from there. Perfect. Hit me with it. All right.

Where do we start? So I think the natural place to start is, what do you think is the biggest thing that has changed when it comes to how hairstylists can use social media effectively in 2025 versus what was working, you know, five or six years ago? Yeah, so I think that a big change in social, and I'm sure that you've seen this as well, is that it's just becoming harder and harder and harder to stand out. Mm-hmm.

Um, we, i- the beauty industry is becoming very saturated on socials, and beauty professionals themselves are increasingly so understanding the importance and the power of using social as a marketing platform, um, and also getting better at it as well too. And so, you know, you can no longer just get away with, like, posting a lot of pretty pictures of your work- Right. and, um, and, you know, having a feed that looks really beautiful to actually set you apart from the other hairstylists in your area who are also posting on social. Right.

You have to be doing something differently, and I think, you know, the visuals and posting your work does not change. Mm-hmm. Um, and I think that, of course, we've all heard at this point if you've ever paid attention to my education or most marketing education out there that, you know, you don't just po- post your work. Right.

You also post about your client experience, and you show a little bit about who you are so that you can gain trust with people and show the value that you offer. Um, but I think that that stuff stays the same, but I think the messaging and how you are speaking to people and how you are really triggering their subconscious, I think that that is how you start to set people apart, is really understanding, or set yourself apart with your social media now and how, um, you'll be successful in 2025 with social media is by focusing on the messaging, making sure it's very tailored and you know exactly who you're speaking to. Absolutely. I completely agree.

And with that, what are some of the, 'cause obviously you see a lot of stylists and the way that they're promoting their businesses and just in the industry in general, what do you think, with all this education available, are some of the most common mistakes that you're seeing when it comes to people showing up and marketing their business? Yeah. So as far as, like, a huge mistake that I've been talking about recently that I'm seeing is people will, because they understand that they're, it does take something different to set themselves apart besides their work, they're really leaning into sharing their client experience- Right. or sharing, like, more about themselves, which, of course, is great.

It's absolutely so important, but I think in today's day and age where we have so many clients who are so distrusting of hairstylists because of just the main point of getting your hair done, which is getting your hair done, getting the results that you want, and spending money to get your hair done, right? Like, people need to see your work. Mm-hmm. Like, people need to see a lot of your work.

Especially, like, people don't realize, like, from our perspective, when we live in our own little heads and we are going on our own feeds and posting something on social, we are looking at every single post that we've done. And we remember a lot of the things that we've posted and a lot of the words that we've written, right? Your clients, especially a new one, is going onto your feed and doing a zoom scroll- Mm-hmm. through all of your work just to get a, an outside perspective, quick, uh, understanding and feeling of the type of work that you do and how good it is and how relevant it is to them.

Right. And so, I think in our pursuit to show more value and to set ourselves apart, we're getting a little bit too far away, actually, from posting our damn work and making it so our work is relevant to the person that we are trying to target, and it all goes back to that. Like, that is truly, I'm gonna say it a million times in this episode probably, is making sure you understand the person who you're trying to attract and speak to and making sure that you, you have that as a foundational strategy and then posting your work and making sure that that work and the way that you're presenting it is relevant to that person. Oh, that is so true.

So you mentioned that a client's gonna come and they're gonna kind of binge your feed. Yeah. What do they need to see? Like, obviously, yes, your work, for sure, but what are the other things that you feel like need to be front and center when someone comes to your page for the first time?

Well, I mean, the work, first and foremost, and the work has to be polished, and, like, I hate to say this because, like, in the past couple years, like, we've just been trying to get people to post on social in general. Right. And, like, people get so, like, perfectionist about it, and that really stops them from posting, and, like, they, people put themselves down because they're like, "Oh, well, my pictures aren't perfect and beautiful," and, and all that stuff. But honestly, like, it's becoming really important.

For sure. Unfortunately, you know, and so what I'd recommend to anybody out there, even if you feel like you are posting great pictures and like, you're, you're presenting your work in a beautiful way, is, like, take a class. Like, take a photography, a hair photography class. I know Julie Loy is out there, and she's great, and she teaches about hair photography, um, but the ph- the, the actual photography of the work has to be polished nowadays.

It's just a non-negotiable. Yep. And then other than that, you have to show...... how your experience that you're offering and how your expertise, um, matches what the client is looking for, and how it provides solutions to the pain points that they have, um, and also, uh, uh, how it's different from maybe the negative experiences that they've had in the past as well too.

So, contrasting that. Yeah. I love that. What are your thoughts on trends?

'Cause I feel like hairstylists focus a lot- Mm-hmm. you know, because we're in that aesthetic industry and it's, like, very fast-moving, feel like there's a lot of focus on making sure that your content is, like, trending and, and hopping on all these. What do you think of that strategy for hairstylists? Yeah, so I think that we get really caught up with trends just because the inherent nature of social media- Yeah.

and, like, what it's meant to do- Mm-hmm. at its, at its core as a personal user, for personal use. Mm-hmm. Right?

Like, we look at the numbers of likes, shares, comments, and all that stuff, and we want to do, we naturally want to do what it is that is going to get those numbers up. For sure. 'Cause we value those numbers just naturally as human beings. Right.

Um, but when you look at social media really analytically and you, like, take a step back as a business owner, you start to understand that, like, a lot of those numbers don't matter, and that the money that you're bringing in from your activities on social- Mm-hmm. is actually what matters at the end of the day. And so, trends are, like, fine, like, trends are cool for you to chase because they will help in amplifying your reach. Mm-hmm.

Um, ho- however, and also, too, they can be engaging and they can even push you to be more creative and, and diversify- Right. the type of content that you're putting out there. So, I don't think there's anything wrong with, like, utilizing a trend and, and making the most out of something that is happening right now, if you can capitalize upon that. But I think where the issue becomes is when we don't have a foundational marketing strategy that we're confident in being consistent with, that just at its, at its core already does what it needs to do for you without getting the likes and the shares and the engagement, right?

Right. Um, and then we expect or bet on the trends being the things that get you the success, because if you don't have your core foundational marketing strategy in place for using social media, then you can trend all you want and you may get a shit ton of likes and follows and, and whatever it may be, but that's never gonna get a client into your chair. For sure. So, as far as trends go, you know, they're good to capitalize upon if you already have something that's working consistently to make you money.

Right. And, and if they can help you be more creative and push you out of your comfort zone, but if you don't already have that work done, if you're not using, like, data-backed research and, and real marketing strategy to consistently get new clients into your chair and retain clients, then the trends don't matter at the end of the day and we should stop chasing them so much and putting so much importance o- on them. I love that. So basically, you're saying that trends can be okay to amplify what you're already doing, but we can't rely on them essentially to get clients in the chair.

Yes. Right. I love that. Yeah.

Trends, trends are something that you can use to amplify what you're already doing that's already working. Mm-hmm. But they shouldn't... But on the flip side of that, trends shouldn't, trends don't even matter at the end of the day.

They don't have to matter at the end of the day. Right. You don't have to chase them- Right. if you already have a great strategy in the first place.

Right. That is so true. So, when it comes to how, 'cause I know you work with a, a lot of hairstylists who are, you know, social media savvy. Mm-hmm.

When you start to work with a stylist and, you know, you're talking about that social media strategy, what are the main changes that you typically prescribe? Yeah. Like, when you're, you know, looking at their content, what do you typically find that is the most effective change they can make? The most effective change is just getting really clear on who you're speaking to, what your specialty is, and what sets you apart.

Right. And the person who you're speaking to understanding what they need to hear- Right. at every part of their journey with you to want to trust you and want to actually work with you. And we do that with research.

Like, the very first thing that my students do with me through Chief Marketing Hairstylist or through my other programs, whatever it may be, is they literally do research of the p- uh, with the people that they're trying to get more of into their chair. Right. And that way, you have actual data. It's not just, like, a guess or, like, throwing- Yeah.

pasta at the wall, right? Um, you have actual real data and, and you see these consistencies of what the client would actually search- Right. when they're looking for a hairstylist in their local area, what they would describe as the specialty that they would look for in a hairstylist. Right.

And that definition and what that looks like is so different than what it looks like for us as cosmetologists. So true. You know? Like, we may call this...

Like, for the, a classic example of, like, the discrepancy between a hairstylist definition or vocabulary of things versus a, a client's is, like, a lot of the time, a client will sit down and they'll be like, "Oh, my hair's so red. Like, I see so much red in my hair." And it's like, "Girl, your hair's not red." Mildly gold.

You just... Yes. Literally, it's literally just gold. And so, you know, that same discrepancy or that same, like, misunderstanding or miscommunication happens with the language that we use as far as, you know, our marketing goes and what a client would look for and how they understand the services that you're doing and what you specialize in.

Right. And so, using that research, first and foremost, literally gives you a proven...... a proven strategy- I see. that's, like, bound to work, right?

For sure. Um, versus just, like, throwing stuff out there and hoping that it hits, or making your best guess. And I think that that's, like, honestly, for me, personally, and, you know, and I know I'm biased, but I think, like, that's what sets my students apart the most. Right.

Like, it's that they actually are doing things based on, like, real data- Yeah. versus just, like, a good guess or what's worked for people before, I guess. Yeah, that's so smart. I think the, the language is so important when it comes to ...

'cause, you know, social media's getting so much more search-based now. Yes. So, do you feel like once they do that, their clients are finding them more on social? Absolutely, yes.

And that is, like, such a big thing we, we focus on, um, is the SEO of your social media. And it's something that nobody talks about. Everybody focuses a lot on, like, the content that we post- Right. and we continuously post, which is, of course, important- Right.

but at, at the foundation, if you don't wanna post as much on social media- Yeah. like, if you don't wanna make your job so hard with social media, make sure that your foundations are set up really well on your social media pages- 100%. so you are set up to actually be discovered, because all the work that you do in posting all this content- Yeah. it all goes to waste if nobody sees it.

Mm-hmm. And w- we said earlier how, like, social media's just becoming really saturated- Yeah. and discoverability is a little bit harder now. And so, you can't rely on a, your next post to reach new people- Right.

as much as y- as much as you need to make sure that your profile will be discoverable or that post will be discoverable- Right. if a person in your area is looking for a hairstylist. Right. Does that make sense?

Yeah, absolutely. I think that's super important. So, earlier you mentioned, 'cause I wanna pull this back 'cause I think this is really important, the client journey. Mm-hmm.

So, can you talk through what that looks like in terms of social media? Because I feel like a lot of the time, people focus strictly on the visibility content and that's it, and they won't necessarily think about the other phases. So, can you break down what that looks like in terms of client journey and how that applies to the, the strategy that you would use? Yeah, absolutely.

So, if we're talking about, like, levels of awareness, which is, like, the official marketing term that everybody- Mm-hmm. like a lot of marketers know out there, right? So, if we're talking about levels of awareness, I think that this is truly, like, a big thing that it will actually help people set themselves apart- Yeah. in a saturated social media market- Right.

is really understanding how to meet somebody where they're at- Yeah. in your messaging when you're posting, or when you're marketing at all. And so, the levels of awareness are thinking about where a client is in their journey with you while they're discovering you for the first time. Or, if they have not discovered you for, discovered you for the first time, what are they thinking, or what do they need to hear to then move to the next step?

So, for example, we have Suzie, right? Suzie's the name of this random client that I- We love Suzie . We love Suzie. Whoever she is, I love her.

Um, let's say you have Suzie. Suzie, Suzie finds you on social. Right. And she has no idea who you are prior to that, right?

And so, she finds you on social for the first time, and she, like, scrolls through your Instagram and she likes what she sees, so then she hits follow, right? So, now, she knows who you are, and your content that you posted, just from an outside perspective, maybe the blurb that you have in your bio, whatever it may be, something attracted her enough to you to hit the follow button, but she was once unaware of you, and now she is aware of you, right? And so, whatever you, however you set up the foundation of your, of your feed to be, or your profile to be, you got that person, who had no idea who you were before, to actually be interested in you. Right.

Right? So, now Suzie's following you, right? So, now Suzie needs to read and see more from you that will make her want to actually book with you, or go to your website, right? And so, the way that we do that is we continuously speak to her pain points.

So, we figure out, like, who is Suzie? Why does she ... What does she struggle with at home? What is she trying to achieve?

And what are maybe some of the experiences that she's going through right now that I can educate her about, or that I can slightly help her about, or make her understand, um, a little bit more and a deeper level? And what that, that'll do is it'll make that person trust you, right? When you can make somebody trust you, then you'll make somebody more likely to actually wanna spend money with you. 100%.

And so, this, Suzie went from unaware with you, to aware with you, and then interested. Mm-hmm. And now, she is seeing your content on a consistent basis, and then she, she's, she's learning more about her, her problems that she has with you, and also learning about your solutions. And then, she decides, after following you for a couple months- Right.

to go on j- Because sometimes that's how long it takes. Yeah. 'Cause, like, the shit that we're doing on, in our marketing, like, it's not always for instant gratification. Like, sometimes it- Of course.

takes months, years for your efforts to actually pay off. Mm-hmm. So, keep it pushing, friend. Yeah .

Um, so, Suzie then, after seeing your posts for a couple months, she's like, "Okay, I, I really trust this person. This person obviously knows what my problems are and what, and what they're talking about with my specific hair issue." Mm-hmm. So, they go to your website, and now it's time for them to figure out whether or not your price is worth it or not.

So, then you need to figure out what are this person's objections to, to coming to see me, like, right? Like, maybe what were their negative experiences that they've had at the salon before- Right. or when they've tried to go to a hairstylist to solve this problem, what did they experience? Or, what do they believe about themselves that is going to stop them from, from being confident and actually coming and, and getting their hair done with you?

Right. A classic example, and this really, like, objections, like this part of awareness, it speaks super well to people who do extensions. Right. When it comes to extensions, it's so important that you are super aware of your clients' objections, because you may have ...

There's so many objections that people have with extensions. And objections, I could al- you could also describe them as, like, misconceptions- Right. or, like, beliefs that somebody has. So, somebody may go onto your website and be, like, totally down to get extensions with you, are really excited, and they really trust you, but they may be thinking to themselves, "My hair is too th- too thin."

Right. "So, there's no way that these, that wefts won't show on my head," right? So, then on your website, you wanna have some sort of copy or some sort of FAQ, something that will tell that person ahead of time, as they're literally thinking whether or not they should book with you or not because they don't wanna waste their time- Mm-hmm.Oh, no.

You're, that's a misbelief. Like, don't worry, if you have thin hair, then we can take care of you in this way or another, you know? Or this is still a good fit for you. Um, and so if you think about all the things that I just shared, right, you, you're predicting, like, what somebody in their journey, a brand new client, you're predicting what a person needs to hear and see at each level of that journey- Right.

in order to want to continue forward in taking steps with you- Right. to then book an appointment with you. Right. Right?

So I hope that I broke that down step by step - Yeah, absolutely. in a way that made sense. No, that was great. I think that it's really important too to break down the why behind it, because so often, like you said before, people are so concerned about the vanity metrics, like those analytics that are, that are keeping, you know, them distracted almost from the things that are important, like getting clients in the chair.

So I think that's a really beautiful way to break that down. Yeah. What are your, what are your thoughts on testimonials when it comes to... and sharing social proof, um, w- whether it's on social or your website, where does that fit into that client journey?

As far as the client journey goes, um, my simple answer is it's most important on your website. Right. Because when somebody's, like, on your website, they're really considering price. Right.

Like, that's what they're considering, like, mostly out of anything else is price. Interesting. And so you need, you need to prove the value of your price. You need to make it so, like, "Okay, I know that I'm gonna get..."

You need to make the person believe that they're gonna get an ROI on the price. Right. That it's gonna be worth the price. Right.

And testimonials are a really great way of doing that because it's, it's not just your own bias of, like, in your own work. It's, like, sharing, like, other people have had great experiences and find my service to be worth it. And so testimonials are most important on your website. Right.

Um, and I would just blast them all over the place as much as you possibly can on your website. Right. In a tasteful way, of course. Of course.

Um, a little tip for testimonials, that you have a mix of short and long ones. Mm-hmm. If you're going to showcase ones, like let's say, like, on your home page, for example, I recommend if you have, like, multiple paragraph-long testimonials, I recommend that you shorten them and you only showcase, like, the most important, impactful parts of them. Right.

Because a lot of the times, if somebody sees, like, a bunch of words in a testimonial, a lot of the times they're just gonna skip, skip it- Oversee. and not actually consume it. Um, so I recommend that you take the most important parts of, like, long testimonials and you just kind of shorten it down to, like, one paragraph or less. Love that.

Um, but yeah, for me, that's where it matters the most. I think on social it's fine to do it every now and again. I think a great place to put it is, like, in your story highlights, let's say, on Instagram. Right.

Um, and then, of course, Google My Business or Yelp or whatever it may be, those are just inherently in your- Right. in your, um, in those, those platforms. And of course, you wanna get a lot of reviews on those as well too. But as far as, like, on social, sometimes I feel like it can kinda junk up your feed.

Right. Right. Like low-key. You know?

Like... I think it depends, yeah, and the presentation for sure, you're right. The presentation is very important- Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

and it can be done tastefully, but I just think that it matters way more that you showcase it on your website than on social. That makes sense. Yeah. Awesome.

When you were building your clientele, when you first moved into your salon suite, what role did social play in that? Would you say, like, a strong social strategy was a big part of that journey for you? 100%. It was, it was a- it was, like, 80% of my referrals.

Wow. Yeah. So i- i- like, for me, like, social media was it. Yeah.

And I was in a brand new area, so it's not like I had, like, a base community of people- Right. to kind of rely on for referrals, right? Like, um, I, so social media, it was the majority of it. Yeah.

And even the word of mouth came from my social media efforts, because I would have, like, a client come from social media, and then they would post on their social media, right? So then they would tag me, and then they would go, and then their audience would go to my social media. Right. So, like, social media was a massive, very important part of me blowing up my clientele with my salon suite in a brand new area.

Absolutely. I love that. So based on kind of all of the advice in this conversation, like, I know there has been a little bit of conversation about does social media still work to attract clients in 2025, and I would assume your answer to that is gonna be yes, it's absolutely still gonna work. Yeah.

I believe that if you, if you're... if you have a great understanding of who your client... if who your ideal client is, and you're gonna lean into that proven marketing strategy of, of really understanding a specific person and specializing in a specific thing and wanting to speak to that person very specifically, and you understand what platforms they're showing up on- Right. and then you make it so you have done your research of knowing how to show up in front of those faces, in front of those people on those platforms- Mm-hmm.

then abso-freaking-lutely, if you're doing it strategically, then social media can be super lucrative for you. Right. 100%. I love that.

So last question. If there was... if a stylist was gonna take one little nugget away from this episode, what do you think is the most important thing for them to consider moving into 2025? Just stay consistent in spite of not getting vanity metrics.

Mm-hmm. You know? Like, if you don't get the likes, if you don't get the shares, if you don't get the engagement, just keep staying consistent. Like, it's...

and, and it's really difficult to stay consistent when you're not getting dopamine release. Right. Right. So a lot of the times, like, you'll post something and it flops, and so then you, like, kinda wanna delete it, you kinda wanna hide it, and you don't have any motivation to post again- Mm-hmm.

because you don't see the metrics, right? But you have to understand every single effort that you're making, even if you don't get that immediate gratification, it's not just for now, it's for a long time. Mm-hmm. Like, Suzy may have had to see that post, and then another post, and then another post, and another post to actually want to take the next step with you.

Um, so if you stick to a plan, and if you're strategic about what you're doing and what you're posting, like, just stay consistent with it in spite of if you get a like, or a comment, or a share. Right. Yeah. That's great advice.

This has been amazing. I feel like a stylist can now take this information and really, like, revise their strategy and do something that's gonna be so effective. I feel like you've gone really in depth on really important points today. Thank you so much for great questions.

I appreciate it. Amazing.

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