If You Want It, Ask For It: The Power of Asking for Social Media Support

[00:00:00] Darine: If you want something, ask for it. What's the saying? Watch what you ask for. But no, this you want. Ask for it.  

[00:00:06] Darine: Welcome to this week's episode of Beauty Babble. Today we're talking about how to ask your clients to support you on social media. We haven't done a social media episode in a while or social media related topic. And this came up from, from an experience I had recently when I was getting my nails done. 

[00:00:25] Darine: So I'm going to tell you all about it. But hi, Suzanne. Let's kick it off and see how you're doing.  

[00:00:31] Suzanne: I'm doing good. Yes, it was a great conversation. And that's when we're like, oh, my God, we got to share this.  

[00:00:36] Darine: Yeah, so I was getting my nails done before I went to the Vegas Cosmoprof. 

[00:00:42] Darine: I went and got my nails done. I got my pedicure done. And I was in rough shape, but the, so the nail tech that was doing my nails at the end she asked me, she's like, oh, are you going to the beach or Where are you going? I said, Oh no, there's not [00:01:00] going to be a beach, but I'm going to be by a pool. 

[00:01:02] Darine: And I didn't understand where she was going with her question. And then she was like, Oh, well, when you're by the pool, can you take a picture of your toes and tag me? And I'm like, Oh, okay. Yeah, I can, which I thought was a great idea. And I don't think I've ever been asked to do that by anyone. 

[00:01:20] Darine: And so I'm like,  

[00:01:20] Suzanne: that's what people should be doing. Yeah. And I think it's interesting because I know some people have done this, but they don't share it on social media. They were taking a picture and direct message because everyone's doing direct messaging with their clients. So they have or text messaging, but to push it to that farther level and tag on social media. 

[00:01:39] Suzanne: I mean, that's, that's the ticket, right. Is, is getting the word out to there out there, I should say. Yeah.  

[00:01:47] Darine: It is, and I think like, you know, it makes me think of like, if you want something, ask for it, and I think that your clients would do it, they just, it might not come to them as an idea, [00:02:00] but once you've asked, the chances of them doing it increase. 

[00:02:04] Darine: It's not guaranteed that they will remember to do it, but it's a more likely chance that they will. And I would ask you to follow up on the ask if you if you've asked them to do that.  

[00:02:14] Suzanne: On the same idea, but I did it with the nail tech. She's newer in our area. I said to her, I said, well, cause I mean, amazing job. 

[00:02:23] Suzanne: And I said, are you okay if I share? Cause I didn't know her, right? I didn't know what she did. I didn't, I knew she had Instagram back in her country, but she hadn't even started an English version of it. So I actually she's from Ukraine. Amazing. Amazing. If you ever get a chance to try, these ladies are phenomenal. 

[00:02:43] Suzanne: Anyways. And I said, can I take you? And that's what I did. So then I could share because a lot of like my friends and that type of they know my background and they know I'm really picky. You know, and I will gently dismiss myself from someone's services. [00:03:00] If I, if I see they could do an amazing job, but maybe sterilization is not the best or right, you know, or they're not organized in the Oh, I'm sorry, I got to move your appointment again. 

[00:03:10] Suzanne: I can't do this. My schedule is too tight, you know, That's okay that you have to do it. It's just my choice. Anyway, so I actually had people ask me, So let me see your nails. And now they always ask me, And where is she? And I tell them, And there's free parking, And, you know, I do all that. So it does work. 

[00:03:28] Suzanne: You just don't get to see it on social media, right? And that's my point. People don't get to see it all. What's happening behind the scenes out in public, if you wish. So, I just want to share that.  

[00:03:38] Darine: Yeah, no, I totally agree. And I think that Thank you. Not everybody is going to remember to do that or think of doing that. 

[00:03:45] Darine: Like, can I tag you or something? That's great. And I think maybe because you're more like into the industry, you know, a little bit, you know, you want to help support. But that is a great thing to ask your clients to like, Hey, if you do take any pictures, feel free to [00:04:00] tag me or ask them to follow you on social media. 

[00:04:04] Darine: If you're on Instagram, you can actually pull up a, a scan, a QR code, and your client can just scan it while they're there and they would get to your profile and they can follow you. So even just have that readily available  

[00:04:19] Suzanne: to go.  

[00:04:19] Darine: Yeah. .  

[00:04:20] Suzanne: When my, where my brain goes when they go. 

[00:04:21] Suzanne: Oh yeah. Because then you got, you're waiting for them to follow through. So it's in your Instagram folder file.  

[00:04:28] Darine: Yeah, it's just off of your profile page, it just says share profile, you click on that, and then you have your QR code, and so you can have that available, and when you ask your client, just, you know, you can hold, show them your QR code, ask them to scan it, oh, would you mind following me, and if you take any pictures, feel free to tag me, or something like that. 

[00:04:49] Darine: Sometimes it's not always easy to find the person's  

[00:04:51] Suzanne: name, right? Well, I was going to say that. The other thing you could do is if you have it printed, screenshot it, save that, and send it out as a [00:05:00] mass email. Hopefully you have email addresses, right people? Or a mass text or something. Say, hey, would love if you could follow me and support me. 

[00:05:08] Suzanne: And the other thing I have done is I said, well I look it up on Instagram, pull up my Instagram. Type in your, your help me out, your handle, your handle. Thanks. And and then I'll, I click on it and then I start following and I'll tag them in it in a post. That's, I would reverse it if they don't want to do it, but I'm going to take charge and say, can I do it? 

[00:05:27] Suzanne: Jermaine, can I take you in my post on the fictional I gave you? Right. I said, sometimes you have to ask it in that way as well and you get them all rolling. So it's both ways of doing it because you know, which clients they mean well and they want to do it, but not everyone's going to do it. And then they forget. 

[00:05:44] Suzanne: Exactly. Right. Yeah.  

[00:05:46] Darine: But that actually brings up a really good point of consent, and you have to, I'm saying you have to, you must do this, you have to ask for consent, and [00:06:00] like get an okay to share somebody's image on social media. Oh, I really  

[00:06:05] Suzanne: want to start doing that. You know, a  

[00:06:05] Darine: lot of times, I've been actually in like yoga classes or meditation classes. 

[00:06:11] Darine: Or sessions, whatever they're called. And I've seen myself on social media, and I'm like, my eyes were closed, I was meditating, and nobody asked me for consent. But  

[00:06:21] Suzanne: did you when you signed up? Because there's little boxes in there. There was not when I signed up. Oh my  

[00:06:26] Darine: gosh. So, which is fine. I've made peace with that. 

[00:06:31] Darine: But I really think it's important that you ask for consent. Because, and not just, can I Can I post your picture? Can I take your picture? Because when a person is laying on your bed in a facial with their eyes closed, they're trying to relax. You don't want to take advantage of them being in that position and taking pictures. 

[00:06:56] Darine: I'm sure it's not ill intentioned, but it doesn't matter. [00:07:00] Yeah, right. So I think first and foremost,  

[00:07:02] Suzanne: yeah, you have to, because that's the Privacy Act. You cannot just take pictures of people. Without asking and sharing it in any aspects in any media, any posters, anything you have to either two different questions. 

[00:07:18] Suzanne: Yeah, exactly. So I had one that asked and they said, Oh, it's a great idea. But I made sure that like I said, take before and after pictures, but you need to ask them, can I take your picture? Are you okay if I share it? A part of my marketing or media or whatever you want to say. And if they say, no, I don't want it. 

[00:07:37] Suzanne: So, well, is it okay if I still take your picture? Cause I want you to see the before and after, and I will not share it.  

[00:07:42] Darine: Yeah,  

[00:07:43] Suzanne: it's just for your record. I have to be diligent on understanding. They're two different things So you better be organized and don't assume things of who you can you can do that with  

[00:07:55] Darine: I agree I think that with the before and after pictures though, I [00:08:00] think especially for but I think you should always take before and after pictures because sometimes the progress is not easily, you only see it when you look at the before picture. 

[00:08:13] Darine: That was the conversation. Yeah, but, but having said that, like, if you, and I'll give an example, I signed up my daughter for this sports class, and there was a waiver, but I had no option other than to click yes. I didn't like, but it worked. I couldn't like, she wanted to do this class. I'm like, fine. So I clicked yes, because they just said, we take pictures. 

[00:08:37] Darine: So I think as a part of your protocol, you can have it where they would, they would still have to agree. They'd have to like, check off and sign off on to say, we take pictures. To keep in your file for progress and documentation, whatever, because we talked about this in the insurance episode we did too, where it's important to have that, those pictures and then [00:09:00] have a second line where they can say no for whether or not they want it shared. 

[00:09:05] Darine: So you can do both, making one un negotiable, like non negotiable. You are taking that part  

[00:09:12] Suzanne: of insurance policy.  

[00:09:13] Darine: Exactly. . And then the second one where they can say yes or no, but you're right, like the first one, if they're, if you don't give them an opportunity to say no, then you can just, like you said, explain this. 

[00:09:25] Darine: I need this for your file. This is for insurance. This will not be shared out, be descriptive in your, in your little blurb, but yeah.  

[00:09:34] Suzanne: So just to add, like, what I mean by that is because you can be dermaplaning. Microneedling or, or appeal, and they left your facility, your treatment room perfectly fine, and the next day they send a picture, and you're like, what happened? 

[00:09:52] Suzanne: And you're completely fabricated, like, you're just like, oh my God, what happened? And you have the proof from that picture. Because you can blow it up. You [00:10:00] can, you can zoom in to see the skin if there's any potential issues because you do not know what they do when they go home. When you tell them from permanent makeup, don't pick the scab. 

[00:10:10] Suzanne: They clearly shows that they picked the scab, right? They could have done it in their sleep. They don't know. I'm not saying they're all in ill intent or malicious people. That's not the point, but you can see before they, and that's what people don't understand in this day and age, you should be taking that for the clients. 

[00:10:26] Suzanne: Non negotiable. And if, and people say, well, what if they say no? Well, I'm not doing your service then. I'll literally, I have no issues with that. I'm going to protect myself and my client too. So they understand. It's all about watching for them too. Like you're, this is why you're doing it. So I would totally, and home care.  

[00:10:45] Darine: I think most clients would be fine with you taking before and after pictures if you're very clear on how you're using them. And I, like that, don't be afraid to ask your, to just have that as a policy for yourself. I do want to point out that Folks to [00:11:00] our episode where we talked about this in more detail, and I know it's the topic of insurance But really we shared some like real life  

[00:11:08] Suzanne: Situations  

[00:11:09] Darine: stories that have happened to people and How insurance was really? 

[00:11:14] Darine: necessary in those cases so Check out episode 31, season 2, why beauty pros need insurance. If I remember, I'll link it into the description too.  

[00:11:25] Suzanne: So true, so true. Yeah, the plug for our previous episode. And I think people can also think of this we always talk about, you know, who's your community and who else, what other pros that are out there that are doing their services that you can help each other out. 

[00:11:42] Suzanne: So that's another way they can tag. You know, if you're a lash technician and I'm a nail technician, why can't we take each other?  

[00:11:50] Darine: Yeah.  

[00:11:50] Suzanne: And it's another way to get it out there because you're helping each other, right? So you can think beyond the client as well, asking the client and, you know, ask them to share it [00:12:00] with people, direct message people if they want to. 

[00:12:03] Suzanne: And you have to say like, I'm, I'm looking for new clients to have space in my calendar right now. I would love to have more people like you, you know, like, and that's the thing. If you don't ask them. Mm hmm. Because they assume you're really busy. Mm hmm. I had that. It's like, oh, well, I would tell my friends, but you're, I can't, I can't get in with you. 

[00:12:20] Suzanne: I said, well, I always made time. Mm hmm. And if there's someone coming, of course, I'll, I'll talk to them. We'll figure out a time. Leave that with me. I will do what I can to get that referral in. Yeah. And they assume you're too busy for it. So that's another thing. Sometimes, you know, I think we're scared to just ask. 

[00:12:37] Darine: Absolutely. And that was one on my list, asking to spread the word. Ask them to tell their friends and family about your services and telling them you're looking for clients. The other thing that you could do too is, so we, we said, ask, ask them to tag you when they post pictures, right? Ask them to spread the word, to tell their friends and family about you. 

[00:12:57] Darine: They can do this in person, they can do this [00:13:00] on social media too, right? And one way that they could do it on social media is by sharing your posts. So you can just simply say, you know, if you enjoy my posts, would you mind sharing it to your story? And that would help other people discover my services. So, and a way that you can spread the word about me, like feel free to share my post to your story really helps me get my, you know, my services out there. 

[00:13:23] Darine: And then another thing is asking them to like and comment on your social media posts.  

[00:13:29] Suzanne: Like and comment.  

[00:13:31] Darine: Yeah.  

[00:13:32] Suzanne: Yeah. Huge one, right? Exactly. And why is that, Jermaine? Tell them why. Well.  

[00:13:37] Darine: Because it's part of the heart. Even if it's a heart. Right? Exactly. Liking is a heart. Commenting is leaving some kind of Comment on the post, but it's really showing engagement and interaction with other people, right? 

[00:13:51] Darine: And so the more your content is interacted with, the better it does. On that note though, if somebody is commenting on your [00:14:00] posts, you should respond. Make sure you Stay on top of it. It's a two way street. It's social. So make sure that you're constantly on it, like, responding. Have your notifications set up, whatever you're doing. 

[00:14:15] Darine: Yeah, I never have my notifications on because I manage so many accounts or I wouldn't be able to get anything done. It'd just be dinging, but Yeah, just have, and whatever way, you know, sometimes I set it up where I check in the morning, I check midday, and I check at the end of the day. So, do whatever works for you, but do be responsive to those comments, and if somebody shares your story or tags you, comment on their stuff, right? 

[00:14:42] Darine: So you have to also reciprocate and be engaging that way as well. So both ways it works.  

[00:14:50] Suzanne: Yes. Absolutely. And that's a big one. I've seen where people take it and they're not giving it out. And I, and I. Because I follow quite a few different accounts and it's [00:15:00] like, you know, because I know some of them like, did they respond back to you because I asked them, you know, with the business coaching and they're like, no, they didn't. 

[00:15:06] Suzanne: I'm like, they're not getting it. It can't just be about you and your bubble. You know, let's burst that bubble, people, and help each other. Absolutely.  

[00:15:14] Darine: And I think sometimes, I, and I have this too, where it's like, oh, what should I say? You know, just always, have a few things handy, like have your go to phrases, if that's you. 

[00:15:27] Darine: If you're not like a fly, you know, just winging it kind of person, then have a few comments ready to go in your notes that you can copy paste over. Or, just, you know, just speak to it. From the heart. What would you say to them in person if they were there? How would you respond? Put that. It doesn't have to be complicated or witty or anything. 

[00:15:47] Darine: It just has to be, you know, authentic. Yeah,  

[00:15:49] Suzanne: I love that. Imagine they were standing in front of you and said that. How would you respond? And then it's more authentic. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, it's, we have to, yeah, that's such a good, good [00:16:00] point. Love it.  

[00:16:00] Darine: Yeah, I think, and I mean, Really, that's, that's it. It's just ask. 

[00:16:06] Darine: If you want something, ask for it. What's the saying? Watch what you ask for. But no, this you want. Ask for it.  

[00:16:12] Suzanne: Yeah, and I mean your clients are gonna be, I would say 99 percent of them are gonna be receptive to it.  

[00:16:19] Darine: Absolutely. And I mean, some of them are not even going to have, so Instagram, some of them might not have Instagram or wherever you are. 

[00:16:27] Darine: And that's fine, but you're not going to, you're going to ask, they're not all going to do it, but they increase, it increases the percentage of people who will do it.  

[00:16:37] Suzanne: If you get one out of the ten you ask. That's great.  

[00:16:40] Darine: It's one more than if you hadn't asked. And so that's like a referral,  

[00:16:44] Suzanne: right? It's the same concept as when you look at marketing and ask for referrals. 

[00:16:47] Suzanne: That's that. So if you can get one out of 10, that's great. Yeah. So I think people think they've failed if everyone doesn't do it and they don't really know them. Another class, another podcast.  

[00:16:58] Darine: Yeah, [00:17:00] exactly. We'd love to hear feedback too from listeners if they have a strategy that's always really worked for them and how they have gotten their clients to share their content or engage with them. 

[00:17:11] Darine: Because there's some creative, inventive ways that some would come up with. So we can't wait to hear from you to let us know what's worked for you.  

[00:17:21] Suzanne: Perfect. Well, it was a great topic today. Thanks for bringing it up, Doreen.  

[00:17:25] Darine: Of course. Short and sweet. That's it for today. We'll be back with another episode next week.