The beauty market has changed tremendously in the last 20 years and actually everything about trends, sales and professional expertise now moves through social media.
As a makeup artist, it is very important to be aware of this fact and think about the possibilities that everyone can have by studying the strategies to promote ourselves online. Of course, the main idea for makeup artists who want to create an audience online is to reach new clients and make more contacts. On social media, everyone can create a space for their work and promote it. Just a small mix of platforms can help us to reach more of these new contacts.
A Bit about My Work
I’ve been in the beauty industry since 2011, studying makeup in my hometown, Verona. In 2015 I learned new techniques in Romania and even in Rome. I learned a lot following several famous makeup artists like Roshar, Alex Box and Apropo Makeup.
Currently, I’m working as a freelance makeup artist, collaborating with photographers, stylists and designers around Europe, and working for high-end brands, too. Meanwhile, I’ve started to work as trainer in several makeup academies, and this gives me possibility to meet a lot of beauty enthusiasts who also follow my work.
Basically, I’m working as a trainer in all regions of Italy and before the pandemic, I worked abroad, too, in Europe in some countries like Poland and Bosnia. I have 50 students per month and every single one is unique. So it’s important to give them the right support during the process.
I have a mix of ethnicities and genders, starting from young artists, 18-20 years old, and continuing with 40-45 years old professionals that are already working in the industry. I think that, for me, the best part of my work is the incredible team energy that is there on the set and in a class too.
Social Media for Makeup Artists
MUAs are an incredibly big category who use socials to work, first of all as creators, and after this, as makeup artists promoting their services. It is a very strong and powerful method to make a name in this industry. Moreover, it is very important to create real connections with the people who want our services, and social media can certainly help with that.
Credibility is the first thing to build when one is trying to create a name for themselves as a makeup artist online. The main requirement is not just to be a professional who knows about beauty, but to be honest with your online community so that they can be loyal to you. Explain your work, explain how you plan and build your work. This is an incredible key that will help you reach your customers in the best way. Building your image online means to confirm and declare all your professionalism very clearly.
What to Expect from Social Media Marketing?
With personal branding online, it take some time before you can expect to see results. It is totally different from MUA to MUA. I started my way on social media in 2014 and actually after 10 years, I’m proud to have an audience that wants my services and my beauty tips online, but just because I built it very slowly through the years.
There are MUAs that have a good impression on their online community and can communicate in a very direct way. Then, there are also MUAs that move much slower via socials and less directly. I can say that you will be able to see the first results of your hard work after approximately 1 year.
The kind of results or benefits MUAs can expect from social media marketing include more visibility in terms of numbers of reach. There are many more benefits to using social media for makeup artists. It will also help you improve your communication with customers with a clear image in mind. Moreover, there is a benefit of goodies from sponsors that support your work, live and online. Working as a creator and makeup trainer has also made me more aware of new trends without any stop moments.
Tips and Social Media Marketing Strategy for Makeup Artists
Let’s start with what social media platforms MUAs should use. Personally, I use all platforms because every single one is different and has a different focus. I’m more focussed on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest, but I also have profiles on Tiktok, LinkedIn, Be Real and YouTube.
So let’s go over how to use each platform of social media for makeup artists. The platforms MUAs can find useful will be very different for each of us, and how we use them.
Post good quality content and very interesting images or short videos.
YouTube
Post content with a lot of tips, suggest or test new products.
Create a clear and very clean profile, using it as your personal and formal website.
Twitter is a very “natural” social. You can write opinions and discuss about reality here.
Facebook is the king and the ancient platform. This was my first approach to social and it’s actually not as popular anymore as it was years ago, but it is a status quo to post content that is very sleek.
Tiktok
Try to be more “real” without too many filters. Tiktok is a quick platform that speaks a very fast language to communicate with the audience.
With social media, the trick is to absolutely avoid posting content that is fake, unrealistic and not good for our community. For example, using filters and apps that modify your work. This fact doesn’t help us to promote our skills in a good way.
Now, let’s get to the toughest part of social media marketing for MUAs. How to get your first few followers? The solution is to post, post and post! To create the first connection with your community, it is essential to create a gallery of mixed content that will be portfolio pics or videos with copy that explains your profile and your idea of community.
So how much daily time on average do beginners need to spend on social media for makeup artists? I think that 1 hour is basically the time we need to manage all and try to convert requests into proposals via email or direct messages.
Using Instagram for Makeup Artists
Instagram is the main way to create connections and build loyalty. It can be time consuming to see real results from Instagram, but it can be worth it. If a makeup artist wants to reach new audience and create a community, they have to create a minimum of 3-4 stories each day, taking care about trends and explaining some tips. 1 post per week, I think that could be okay.
What’s Better for MUAs: Instagram or YouTube?
Every platform changes constantly and over time, Instagram has too. Since last year, I have noticed it become a very different platform than it was before. Now, it is basically more focussed on video reels and no more on images. It’s up to us to decide the way we prefer to use it, but actually Instagram wants more quick and fast video-based content. That’s why I suggest MUAs to try creative ideas that can be showcased in the video format, like trends and tutorials.
These days, Instagram and YouTube are the platforms I spend most time on. My preferred social media platform is more static and formal like Instagram. There is no right or wrong platform when using social media for makeup artists. YouTube is based on speaking, which will be better for those who are good with verbal communication. But I feel much better in my zone with images. I suggest to MUAs who are good speakers, to try posting videos on YouTube and feel free to experiment with the platform.
Being Unique on Social Media
It’s important to be authentic and explore what you’re good at. The process of creativity is the most difficult part of a makeup artist’s career, and the most important too. When you have to develop your style, you have to work first by using imagination.
I’m inspired by the fashion industry, especially that one that reminds me of the 00s era with iconic looks. I’m also very fascinated by nature that gives me a lot of inspiration to draw from using colors on faces using makeup.
Personally, I’m really fascinated by editorial makeup. It can express something using just a combination of colors, a shape of line or a new texture of products mixed for a project. And it has an incredible amount of possibilities to work and play around with your mind.
It can help to always be prepared for new inspos that you should give to your community, so that your followers want to see your feeds and reels every day. For example, I’m famous for my glam technique based on a glowy base, shimmery looks and bold contour. Basically, I’m working teaching the perfect use of colors to create the Butterfly eye look, specifically for social media.
The most challenging part of my work, I think are my emotions. I’m very sensitive and my character sometimes gives me doubts about my work. I can say that it is very interesting studying ourselves, starting from our inner soul.
In the coming years, I would like to keep improving my work, learning something new about artistic and pictorial works perhaps.
Tools and Inspiration
There are a lot of social media scheduling and editing tools and apps available that MUAs can use these days. However personally, I prefer to work not just with apps, but with tools that are more detailed. That’s why I use Photoshop to create my communication with images and Adobe Premiere for editing video tutorials and reels. For MUAs who are not so good with editing tools, something more intuitive like Capcut and Inshit will be very much appreciated.
For inspiration, you can follow the work of other MUAs or makeup influencers, too. I think that the web world is full of talents that can be so Inspiring for all. I suggest Celine Bernaerts, Sasha Nikolina and the talented Priscilla Ono, the key artist for Rihanna.
Social media has helped me a lot to be on the inside the market. It has helped me focus on studying some strategies that can improve my skills and also my work overall. I started when I was younger and I started with very basic posts. Because of where I’ve reached now, I can say that I understand how the web market works at this point. I feel that every single experience evolves us and our professionalism.
Also read: Makeup Artist Omar Turrini Shares Our November Cover Story
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