Stop talking about yourself
If you frequent skincare forums - not the ones about making skincare, but the ones where people talk about their fav brands and routines - you have undoubtedly heard of a "hun bot". If you have yet to hear this term, let me tell you a little bit about the infamous "hun bot".
Typically, this name is reserved for people who sell MLM products. A hun bot ONLY talks about the product she is selling. If she sends you a message, it's about the company's newest face cleanser. If she calls you, it's to get you to sign up to become a distributor. If she wants to hang out and grab a bite to eat, it's to talk about why your shampoo is full of dangerous chemicals.
Pretty soon, you stop talking to her. You despise the company she works for. You REFUSE to ever buy anything from her.
In the beginning stages, if you only talk about your business and your products, eventually people will stop listening. Once your brand is established and people WANT to know more about your products (by signing up to your newsletter, following you on IG, etc), feel free to talk about everything your brand has to offer. Until then, focus on developing a relationship with your potential audience.
Start talking to others
How do you develop a relationship with your potential audience? By talking to them! When you try to make a new friend at school or work, you make conversation (and it's not conversation that's always about you). It's important to remember that conversation is a two-way street. You can quickly (and easily) do this in three different ways:
1. Comment on other people's stuff. If you're on Facebook, this means leaving comments on other people's posts. If you're on Instagram, check out posts in a hashtag related to your niche (for example, if you make face serums, look up the hashtag #shelfie or #cleanbeautyblogger)
2. Reply to comments on your posts. It's as simple as that. Say "Thank You" and answer any questions, at the very least.
3. Ask questions in your posts. Start some casual conversation! The question doesn't even need to be directly related to the picture you posted. You can ask "Whats your favorite song currently?", "What are you doing this weekend?", or "Tacos vs Hamburgers?" Once you get comments, go back to #2
One of the keys to this is to NEVER just leave an emoji. It looks spammy. Stop. Stop it now.
Create content with value
If you just post random pictures with little-to-no value, why would people want to engage...or even continue to follow your business? While amazing photos will grab attention, you need to create some CONTENT too.
What is content? In this case, your content will be the words that accompany the photograph. Just saying "in the lab again" is content, but it's content without value. If you want to create value, you'll need to consider what your readers want to see/hear/learn about.
When you post a picture of a new product, don't say "Isn't this pretty?"
Say "Did you know that vitamin C can help fade dark spots AND protect your face from harmful sun exposure? Our Brighter Days face cream is formulated with a stable form of vitamin C to fight off signs of aging while giving you an instant, natural glow. Its on our website for 25% off until xx-xx!"
Never assume people know what you're showing in your picture, always give an interesting piece of information, and if you can...seal the deal with a call-to-action.
Create solutions to problems
One thing I've seen a lot of "beginner" crafters do is only make what they enjoy making. This is great if you're a hobbyist or just doing your business for a bit of side cash. If you're ready to really make a living, this becomes a problem.
You may love making cute, fruity scented soap bars. I know I sure did! The more elaborately decorated it was going to be, the more I enjoyed making it. The problem was that nobody wanted to buy it.
"It's too pretty to buy" was the most common complaint. Yep, I consider that to be a complaint because it was something that was holding them back from buying the dang soap bar.
You know what did sell well though? Face cleansing oil. Double cleansing was becoming very trendy and everyone wanted a 100% natural face cleanser. After the formulating and testing phase was over, the cleansing oils were super boring to make. I did a masterbatch, filled the containers, labelled the bottle...and that was it. The creative aspect was done.
But they sold well. They were a solution to a problem (heavy duty makeup removal and step 1 of double cleansing).
Most people don't buy skincare products just because they're pretty. They buy skincare because they have a problem that needs a solution.
Figure out the problem your market is facing (acne, dark spots, dry skin, oily skin, fine lines, etc) and start formulating a product that will FIX that specific problem.
Make it easy
If I like a product you've posted on social media and have decided to click on your website, there is a decent chance that I'm going to make a purchase.
If your website sucks, there's also a decent chance that I'm going to try to find a similar product on a DIFFERENT website from a DIFFERENT brand.
If you want to attract new customers to your skincare brand, make their shopping experience as easy as possible. Web designing is not everyone's forte, but there are a lot of ways to make it easy on yourself.
Etsy, Wordpress with Woocommerce, Shopify, and Squarespace are just a few options to get you started. If you have a larger budget, consider hiring a web designer that can streamline your website AND make it easy for you to fulfill orders.
With the uprise of small businesses in the skincare realm, there is a lot of competition. You can overcome a decent portion of that competition just by making the purchase process simple and straightforward.
There you have it! 5 insanely easy ways to attract new customers to your skincare brand! Give them a shot for a few weeks and see how it works for you. Keep in mind that nothing guarantees overnight results.
Leave a comment if you have some additional ideas.
Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash