Social Media in 2025 

[00:00:00] Darine: It's literally in the name. You need to be social. You need to go on there and you need to have conversations. 

[00:00:04] Darine: Hello and welcome back everyone. Today we're talking about social media in 2025. I was gonna say social media trends but one of my points is not to follow trends so I'm just gonna say social media in 2025 because we're always You know, looking at how to adjust our approach to social media. It's always changing. 

[00:00:31] Darine: And so all the different platforms are releasing reports and what's happening. And so I thought I would just, like, kind of simplify what you can do. It's, it doesn't have to be big, but it's just a few points of how we can change our approach to social media this year.  

[00:00:51] Suzanne: Awesome. Well, let's hear what's, what are your suggestions, Doreen? 

[00:00:56] Suzanne: Actually, if people could see us, I died laughing. As soon as [00:01:00] she put her hands up in the air, she goes, okay, wait, because the trend word I knew was probably going to come out, and she stopped, and she goes, this is something I don't say. So I love that, it's hilarious. Trends.  

[00:01:10] Darine: And I'll tell you, I don't like trends, because I feel like trends just keep us in this, like, chasing mode, and we get overwhelmed. 

[00:01:18] Darine: Especially if you're an independent. beauty pro, like you have enough things to do, then now you need to add chasing what's popular on social media. You're not going to do anything. You end up freezing and you don't want to move forward and that doesn't help you. So then we're in a vicious cycle. But I think the first and most important thing is stop. 

[00:01:41] Darine: Stop and just listen. Sometimes that's really important, too. And I do this unconsciously, and I think a lot of us do it unconsciously, so maybe watch what you're watching on social media. Like, what, what are people saying about, like, do you do facials? [00:02:00] What's, what are the big facials? What, what are people talking about on social media? 

[00:02:05] Darine: And doing that will help you to figure out ways that you can customize it to yourself. So we did an episode on microneedling. So maybe microneedling, you're noticing that that, there's a lot of microneedling talk out there. Talk about how you offer microneedling so you can come on to that you know, popularity of that, that service. 

[00:02:28] Darine: So social listening is the technical term for it, but. It actually costs a lot of money if you're going on a platform to do social listening, and it doesn't have to be fancy and it doesn't have to be big. You can follow hashtags, like if you're on Instagram, you can just follow certain hashtags. Maybe it's a skincare treatment, maybe it's a product line, maybe it's a lifestyle, like maybe it's natural or holistic or whatever it is, organic products, like whatever it is that aligns with what you're doing. 

[00:02:58] Darine: Fine. [00:03:00] That and follow that hashtag to see what's out there so you can, you are in the know and you're not having to always go search for it. So that,  

[00:03:08] Suzanne: yeah,  

[00:03:09] Darine: that's my one thing. Just like take a moment to see what's going on around  

[00:03:12] Suzanne: you. It kind of, it kind of keeps you still focused without getting overwhelmed by the loud noise as you like to say. 

[00:03:19] Suzanne: Right? Mm-hmm. What's out there with social media? Bring it back in. Yeah. Focus.  

[00:03:23] Darine: Absolutely. And then. The second point, and this will come as no surprise, embrace AI. 

[00:03:33] Darine: Don't be scared because I think sometimes when something isn't new and I've been on a lot of settings where I've heard people be like, Oh, I really need to learn how to use chat GPT. Oh, I know nothing about like there's so much out there It can be intimidating. But all you can do is just start and ways that you can incorporate AI is maybe brainstorming. 

[00:03:56] Darine: Maybe you want to help use it to help you plan. You can [00:04:00] use it for creating some of your content. Like I know even in Canva, there's some AI features that help you create your graphics and whatnot. So step outside your comfort zone. Take a look at how are different ways that you can incorporate AI. And I'll tell you that it's might be big at first, but I think it does save you time. 

[00:04:23] Darine: In In the bigger picture, and it can help you to unload some of the things that you might not want to do and might not be in your wheelhouse. So  

[00:04:34] Suzanne: I can add to that, or I know some people who exactly said, I don't know how to begin. I don't know what to do. How does this work? It's like, literally, they just said, started by asking it questions. 

[00:04:46] Suzanne: And now it's like, I did some follow ups just suggesting to people say, Hey, have you done this one? You know, it's hard to think about all these things all the time, whether it's you're updating your website, your menu, your service, your whatever it might be. And now they're [00:05:00] like, Oh my God, this is the best thing ever. 

[00:05:02] Suzanne: And then I laughed. I said, do you find now that you don't have to think so hard? And like, yeah, I said kind of worried that it's like when the cell phones came out terrain. I used to know phone numbers of people. I don't now, so I kind of wonder, like, oh, I better watch that side of it. We kind of joke with it. 

[00:05:18] Suzanne: But it does help, especially when you're on a time crunch. If you limit yourself to how much time, especially the solo entrepreneurs, you know, this is a way you can get things done, for sure, in an optimal time. And keep typing in until you find what you're looking for. Change that word. Change trends to something else for me. 

[00:05:39] Suzanne: Yeah, exactly.  

[00:05:41] Darine: Another way that I recently used, tragedy, GPT, and it was I wrote a blog and for my website and I was in my draft of my blog. I put that in chat, GPT, and I said, argue against my [00:06:00] points. Tell me why my points don't make sense, basically. Oh, cool. 

[00:06:04] Darine: I love that. And that gave me a different perspective. So I think, like, as a service provider, like, maybe it's facials or waxing, whatever. Maybe you're thinking of a description for your treatment. Put that description into Chat, GPT, let's say, and say, you know, how is this, you know, is this, not just, is this a good description? 

[00:06:26] Darine: How will this entice my client? Yeah. Yeah, just say, you're a client, how, what do you think of this description? Or, what doesn't work in this description? What can be better? So I think just having somebody to counter you, to help you think differently. So you can use it that way  

[00:06:44] Suzanne: too. Love that idea. So  

[00:06:46] Darine: there's, yeah, I mean. 

[00:06:48] Darine: In endless ways. This is its own, I mean, maybe its own next topic that we talk about is AI, but just carrying on with the non [00:07:00] trans with the 2025 social media stuff. Number three is showing off your unique personality. And I think We've talked about this before and I think that it's not, it's, you know, when, when you're on social media, it's not really just about promoting your product or promoting your service, but it's really about getting people to know who you are. 

[00:07:26] Darine: And that's really hard because sometimes we're uncomfortable. We don't want to put ourselves out there. I don't want to be on video and it doesn't have to be that much or that deep, you can use client testimonials because that gives people a little peek into who you are or how your services are. You can do a behind the scenes, like maybe you set up a little your camera and give a a look into what a treatment would look like with you. 

[00:07:52] Darine: You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to really be in the focus, but that gives the, the the vibe of the whole service that [00:08:00] you're able to provide, and that speaks volumes more than, you know, the technical terms that we would, we would say. And if you do feel comfortable, like, What do you use on your skin? 

[00:08:10] Darine: What are some things that you struggle with? Because bringing your humanity into it, I think also helps to set you apart. But how do you set yourself apart? Like maybe, you know, this is, I do this before every treatment and bring my clients in and give them a cup of tea and sit them down. Like, maybe that's your thing. 

[00:08:30] Darine: Let people know that.  

[00:08:32] Suzanne: Just show like you're preparing a tea, getting it ready. My client's favorite tea is this and I'm getting it ready, bringing it into the room so it's ready to go with her fluffy slippers or it's a waxing treatment and they love to have the eye pads with the you know, the silk pads and essential oils and like whatever that might be. 

[00:08:52] Darine: Yeah, I love that because you say,  

[00:08:54] Suzanne: yeah,  

[00:08:55] Darine: and that is so like, Oh my gosh, I want to go get wax there. Like, you know, it [00:09:00] gives you that edge, but it sets you apart. And also like, I think, I think of this, like when I worked in the spa and my clients were my clients, because, you know, we just, Fit and I've sometimes you'll cover for your co workers and you'll do their you know If they're away or whatever and do their clients, you know be like now I know what this is not my client, you know There's but people need to see your personality And showing that a little bit on social media is maybe just stepping outside your comfort zone a little bit and put yourself out there. 

[00:09:38] Darine: Point number four is something that I do talk a lot about with my clients. And it's the word that people often use is engage. What the heck does that even mean? What I like to say is have conversations. So don't look at social media As like a billboard where you're posting an ad about your [00:10:00] services. 

[00:10:00] Darine: Social media, it's literally in the name. You need to be social. You need to go on there and you need to have conversations. Don't do it forcefully and don't do it unnaturally. Like think of ways that you can engage with people that feels good to you and feels genuine. You're actually doing it because you want to because that will also. 

[00:10:20] Darine: Show up. So, what are some things you can do? Like, I think maybe, think about a local coffee shop that you that is in your neighbourhood or in your city. Like, if they post something about their featured drink of the season, make a comment about that. Oh, this is your, whatever, you know what I'm saying? 

[00:10:39] Darine: Like, yeah it doesn't have to be related to aesthetics necessarily, but keep it local to where your customers are also going to be, because that's how you can bring new people. If you  

[00:10:51] Suzanne: started a new book, if you started a new book,  

[00:10:55] Darine: yeah,  

[00:10:57] Suzanne: it's outside of the business of [00:11:00] aesthetics  

[00:11:01] Darine: as well,  

[00:11:01] Suzanne: as well.  

[00:11:04] Darine: Exactly, like it doesn't, don't have to stay in aesthetics on your professional social media because you need to be able to like be more, like find points of connection, right? 

[00:11:17] Darine: And we're not always going to connect on Aesthetics per se, like maybe you post an inspirational quote and then like see that and I'm like, oh my gosh that like I connect with that quote, that's going to lead me to explore more about your page. So it doesn't always have to be. I mean, don't go too far off. 

[00:11:37] Darine: There's a fine line you know but you have to kind of think of it strategically in who is it that I'm looking to have as clients and where are they going to be. So  

[00:11:48] Suzanne: I've got a question for you. That's kind of the solo entrepreneur. What if I have staff? I'm trying to work on my business, my spa, I'm promoting. 

[00:11:57] Suzanne: How do we get, do you have a suggestion [00:12:00] on, not to put you on the spot, but if we think about this, you have staff, so how do you bring personality? into staff?  

[00:12:07] Darine: Yeah, I think that's a really good question. And I know that I've seen this happen a lot with businesses that do and they do staff features. And we're not just doing staff features and like, oh hey, meet, you know, meet Suzanne, and she offers these services, get fun with it. 

[00:12:25] Darine: Like, Suzanne's favourite colour is blah blah blah, her favourite drink is this, and you know, Maybe something all the co workers say about Suzanne or her clients are always saying this, something like that, like get keeping it, getting a little bit more kind of  

[00:12:44] Suzanne: deeper, but not too much. Yeah, it's now your families, your staff and your staff is your family of that place in a sense. 

[00:12:50] Suzanne: So how do you feature them? And that's, that's a great idea.  

[00:12:55] Darine: I do want to note though, and this is a point that is my own personal [00:13:00] perspective, so it could be different depending on who you ask, but your business is its own personality and its own voice. So although you do feature your staff and you do want to support and promote them, you also want to keep your clients engaged and connected with you and your brand so that When your staff change, your clients still know who the brand is, and they go with that brand. 

[00:13:24] Darine: So there's, there's something to be said about doing that, but within the umbrella of the persona of your brand, if that makes sense. Right.  

[00:13:34] Suzanne: Yeah, it does. Think of your brand as a  

[00:13:36] Darine: person.  

[00:13:37] Suzanne: Yeah. Like if you have a staff member, I think I have an example. If you're, let's say you're into the holistic side of aesthetics. 

[00:13:44] Suzanne: And you know that Doreen loves yoga. Did you know that Doreen goes to yoga every Wednesday morning before work? It's now bringing in a person, but it's tying into your beliefs or your brand of your business and what you [00:14:00] stand by, right? So, an example, right? Suzanne go to the beach in the winters . Yeah. 

[00:14:06] Suzanne: Nothing to do. No, I'm kidding.  

[00:14:10] Darine: like, yeah, I was gonna say, I'm like, yeah, so you can, you know, talk about how for your one staff, oh yeah, you could do party. You went to a yoga or you had a yoga. Per like a teacher come and do a private class and you're a spa. Mm-hmm . For Suzanne, they brought in, you know, some sand explanation and we're not taking you to the beach 

[00:14:34] Darine: But yeah, I think it's, it's keeping it, getting, getting them out there, but always linking it back to your brand and what you stand for and what your brand's missions are not, I mean. That is what it is. I think that for me, that's how I always approach it with my clients. This is about your brand. We'll support and promote it, but you always got to bring it back to the company, the business. 

[00:14:59] Darine: Yeah.  

[00:14:59] Suzanne: I was [00:15:00] joking about the beach, but honestly, actually I brought it up because I did book a winter vacation. Can't wait to go. However, on that note, in the spa, when I had my business, because I noticed how many people couldn't go away in the winter, Either one. They, they can't because of kids in school you know, work wise, whatever it may be. 

[00:15:20] Suzanne: So I brought vacation, love the beach, want to get away, come join us for these treatments. Blah, blah, blah. That's a good idea. Yeah, see? There  

[00:15:28] Darine: you go. It's  

[00:15:29] Suzanne: a stay vacation. So I was being kind of smarty pants about it, but you can play around with it and say, you know, Dreen loves to go away at Christmas skiing. 

[00:15:39] Suzanne: Can't get away this year. Come join us at blah, blah, blah. And then you can play with it with your staff and also offering, you know, they're getting together. Yeah. And you're having fun at the same time.  

[00:15:47] Darine: You need to, you need to be playful and have fun. Don't be serious all the time, it's boring. Like, people do go on social media to be entertained. 

[00:15:56] Darine: To be distracted. To be inspired. Like, there's [00:16:00] so many reasons that we are there, and we're not always there for some soul shaking, like, You know, serious stuff like it's, it's good. I think people connect with the humor, like look at memes and they're so popular because people just see themselves in this, like, you know, that humor and the silliness and whatnot. 

[00:16:18] Darine: All right. So point number five, measure what matters to your business. And this is. I mean, common practice. I think that part of stepping back and taking a look, when you're on social media, are you focused on, you know, nobody likes my post, or I don't have enough followers? If that's your first reaction, stop, and remember, why am I on social media? 

[00:16:50] Darine: Your why will help you understand. Is it, is what I'm doing working because if your why is that I need more clients, then yes, you need to be [00:17:00] measuring your, you know, your followers, you need to actually be measuring your engagement. Am I getting any clicks onto my links? Are people going to my website? 

[00:17:08] Darine: Maybe you don't have a website and you just book through DMs. Am I getting these DMs? So knowing why you're doing what you're doing helps you. figure out if it's working or not. Because we don't know if something's working if we don't know what the goal is, right? And that can Just measuring it,  

[00:17:23] Suzanne: yeah, yeah, exactly. 

[00:17:24] Suzanne: It's  

[00:17:24] Darine: measuring. How do you measure success if you don't know what you're working towards? And a lot of times we get lost in likes and comments and shares and followers that we don't know exactly what we're measuring. In my opinion, again, I think it does really always depend on your goal, but Word of mouth is the one thing that if I think of, how do I, if I'm looking for a new service, the first thing I do is ask the people around me. 

[00:17:51] Darine: Like, hey, do you know, do you know a massage therapist? Do you know, I want to get this, do you know somebody? Because there are so many choices that, [00:18:00] that word of mouth, I will trust more than doing a Google search. I don't think I'm like unique in that. So if we take that word of mouth, how do, how does that appear on social media? 

[00:18:14] Darine: And that would be through shares. If somebody shared my post to their stories, that to me is like a word of mouth. It's like, you know, it's like the digital word of mouth. So if there's something that you are going to strive for, that would be, that for me is the thing. It's like a  

[00:18:31] Suzanne: referral, really. It  

[00:18:33] Darine: is like a referral. 

[00:18:33] Darine: It's  

[00:18:34] Suzanne: a recommendation, yeah.  

[00:18:35] Darine: 100 percent. What that person is saying is, I trust you enough that I'm sharing your content on my page, to my people.  

[00:18:42] Suzanne: On that note, We forget to ask our clients to do that. Exactly. Help me build my clientele. Don't be shy. If you don't ask,  

[00:18:54] Darine: you, you're never going to get it. But if you do ask, you might get it. 

[00:18:58] Darine: And listen, you might ask and you don't get it, and [00:19:00] that's fine. You can just ask. I've been asked before. The nail tech that did, does my nails. She's like, oh, if you're going away, take a picture by the beach or whatever. And tag me if you don't mind. Tag me in it. Yeah.  

[00:19:14] Suzanne: Exactly.  

[00:19:14] Darine: These things are. Are important, but imagine reminding your client and having that request increases the likelihood that that will happen. 

[00:19:24] Darine: It's not a guarantee, but it's just one more thing that you can do the love that you brought that up.  

[00:19:28] Suzanne: And even if they don't share it or take you on social media, they could be talking about you to somebody. Exactly. I take a lot of that, like, I probably have more texts than I do on social media messaging me. 

[00:19:41] Suzanne: I have more people direct message me, like privately, do you recommend for this or this or that or whatever it may be? Yeah, I've got a few people, you know, it's like, oh, just send me a message and they don't want to highlight that they're asking. Right. People still have a bit of privacy, but at [00:20:00] the same time, there's things around it. 

[00:20:01] Suzanne: So, yeah, some will, some will definitely do that or, you know, have them, Hey, do you mind while I'm doing your nails? Do you want to film it just quick? And just a quick post saying, so excited. What's what color should I do this time? You know, or something, and then just tag where you are. It's a huge thing, you know, and that isn't, that isn't the more norm of today. 

[00:20:23] Suzanne: It's not unusual for that to happen.  

[00:20:25] Darine: Yeah. It's not. You're not going to be the first one who asks your client. Okay, so, and this leads me perfectly into the last note. Where it says, don't follow trends, but you can create your own buzz. So when you do ask your client, maybe you ask them to use a specific hashtag. 

[00:20:40] Darine: Can you hashtag, you know, whatever the name of your business is? Or your city or whatever it is, you can decide what the hashtag that you want to use is. You don't have to jump on trends, but you can look at what is happening that is relevant to your clients and maybe take advantage of that [00:21:00] and create something for yourself. 

[00:21:01] Darine: Like, you know, I don't know if a lot of your Clients are parents than being conscious of when kids are all back in school or you know what you know what I'm saying like it's really understanding who they are and how can you incorporate that into your own brand. So create your own thing instead of jumping on stage. 

[00:21:22] Darine: Something else. Because that can become tiring. You're not going to keep up. No,  

[00:21:28] Suzanne: nobody can. You kind of said that was kind of into the last point, so if we could, I'm going to sit back and listen to this and say oh my god, I've got so much to do. Is how I feel. How can we just point form, if you can, just generalize, point form these tips. 

[00:21:48] Suzanne: I know you dove deeper into it, just hit replay if you need to hear it again. As Jareen kind of lays out, keep it simple for us now, what can we do, especially for that sole entrepreneur that has to do [00:22:00] everything.  

[00:22:00] Darine: For sure. Okay, so here they are. Number one, listen. Listen to your clients listen to your competitors, so basically just Pay attention online. 

[00:22:13] Darine: Number two is embrace AI. Number three is showing off your own personality and what sets you apart. Number four, have conversations. Don't just post things. Number five, measure what matters. So know your goals and then you can know if they're working or not. And number six is create your own buzz. 

[00:22:36] Darine: And that's just like what we talked about, your own hashtag, you're asking clients to tag you and share your stuff. And that's it. That simplifies that, right? Yeah, yeah. And you know what, don't do all of them. Pick one. Pick one. Okay, that's easier. That's the thing, like, you don't have to do all of them, this is, this stuff is overwhelming, it is, and if you do [00:23:00] feel overwhelmed by it, you're not alone. 

[00:23:02] Darine: And so, maybe you can't do all of them, but you're gonna, you know, take on one thing, just pick the one thing that aligns best with you, and take that on.  

[00:23:12] Suzanne: And if you have any questions, send us a  

[00:23:14] Darine: message! Let us know! We do,  

[00:23:16] Suzanne: I mean, that's what we're here for. There's more and more people reaching out, which I love it, is they come up with the questions or they're giving topic ideas. 

[00:23:27] Suzanne: We are hearing you. We're doing our best to keep up with what people are asking and pertaining to. And sometimes I'm responding back saying, could you give us a little more detail on what you mean by this? And if you don't respond back, we need to hear from you. So please remember, or it's a simple call. 

[00:23:45] Suzanne: We can make a phone call. Like, yeah, we're here to Change your world and keep you going in this industry and stimulate you and motivate you and get excited again It's a new year new year new year  

[00:23:59] Darine: You know, [00:24:00] I'm gonna I'm gonna be annoying you it's the new it's a new year, but it's the same old you so just You have to be too big either. 

[00:24:09] Darine: It's take one thing. That's all you need  

[00:24:12] Suzanne: Absolutely small pieces. Love it. All  

[00:24:14] Darine: right. Well, that's it for today and we'll be back  

[00:24:18] Suzanne: in two weeks