Social Spotlight is a feature where we highlight and analyze social media campaigns and/or accounts that are doing things right.
When you’re marketing online, you have so many options for types of content; short-form or long-form text, photo, video, audio, infographics, etc. Not only do you have to pick the right medium that works for you, you have to pick the right platform, and deliver value as you grow your audience. Lastly, it’s important to not bite off more than you can chew.
Rénelle Latour is doing all of this and then some.
Rénelle is a hairdresser at Chatters Hair Salon in Corner Brook, and since January has been posting before & after photos of her clients on Instagram with tremendous results so far. She currently has a 140 Instagram followers, and 40 likes on her Facebook page, which are great numbers for this stage of the game.
We’ve all seen those beauty, makeup, and hairstyling videos on YouTube… Rénelle always wanted to do something similar, but knew that it would be best to start off small. She knew it wouldn’t happen overnight, and that putting photos on Instagram would be a great stepping stone between her and YouTube. Just this week she started posting videos to the platform as well, which is another step closer!
She watched a lot of her posts get very few likes, but she kept at it because she knew what it could lead to. She knew that her photos wouldn’t be widely received right away. Over the last four months her photography has improved with each new post, she’s constantly learning new tools and techniques within Instagram, and using those to improve her following as she adapts her strategy, hashtags, photo style, etc.
A lot of people get down on the ROI (return on investment) of social media. It is often regarded as a waste of time and money, since businesses won’t have something to point to and say “That’s what we paid for.” What people aren’t seeing, though, is the return on developing an audience who are actually interested in what you offer, and will buy from you over ‘the next guy’ because you connected with them in the place where they play.
While there isn’t always a set formula for the ROI of social media, there will be a return if you provide value, and Rénelle definitely is. Not only have her follower counts been going up, but so are the number of clients she has. Typically a new hairdresser at Chatters is a ‘junior’ for three to twelve months until they build up their client base. Rénelle has gotten such an influx of new clients that she was bumped up as soon as she could be.
The value that she’s providing is simple… She’s showing people what’s possible, and that there are no rules when it comes to personal style. Whether people come to her looking for just a touch of one colour, or a whole head of different hues, you can tell from her Instagram account that there are no limits in expressing yourself.
It’s amazing that we live in a world where Rénelle Latour can show you her work instead of just telling you about it. In her own words…
Social media can help you make things known.
Couldn’t have tweeted it better myself!
Make sure that you follow her on Instagram and Facebook, because you never know when she’ll have another giveaway!
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