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How I Gained 25,000 Followers On Instagram In 90 Days! · Honest Esthetician Education

• 0:00
  Hi, I'm Victoria, a licensed esthetician and your host of your best edition podcast.
• 0:05
  This is Chris, my business partner and husband.
• 0:08
  Today, we're going to talk about how I gained 25,000 followers in 90 days.
• 0:15
  This is super exciting.
• 0:17
  And just to clarify, this is on Instagram.
• 0:21
  So we're just going to kind of touch base on this topic and then dive deep a little
• 0:28
  Yeah, we started in January of this year was our big brand new new year.
• 0:33
  New me push was to be more intentional on Instagram and really start to optimize the content and not be lazy anymore.
• 0:41
  I think there was a lot of laziness before.
• 0:43
  So we did start the year with about 20,000, a little bit less than 20,000 followers.
• 0:47
  So we did have a good jump.
• 0:49
  We built a lot.
• 0:49
  It took about a year to get 20,000 followers.
• 0:52
  So it took us slow growth.
• 0:54
  Yeah.
• 0:55
  So one year we were able to do that in 90 days with a lot more intentionality.
• 1:01
  Yeah.
• 1:01
  So what we mean by that is obviously still posting every single day, but like he said, not being lazy.
• 1:09
  So I think that's what a lot of people talk about is I post every single day and we have, you know, unique content, but we still were not tweaking things.
• 1:20
  We weren't
• 1:21
  really putting a lot of effort into our posts.
• 1:24
  So for instance, us, I look back at our old content and not that it wasn't good, but there were definitely clips that were way too long.
• 1:32
  The text wasn't pretty enough.
• 1:34
  The text didn't engage the audience enough.
• 1:37
  So with that, we also upgraded our
• 1:42
  look of what type of mood we wanted our videos to look like and to be honest i think it did a played a big part as well with the new growth is that it made us even more uh indistinguishable i don't know if it's distinguished
• 1:55
  Yeah, either way, but it made us look different.
• 1:57
  I'm too tired.
• 1:58
  It made us look different than what Wilson's on the market as far as high quality goes.
• 2:01
  Yeah.
• 2:02
  It made it look a lot more cinematic.
• 2:03
  I changed the way I did the lighting and even the way I shot the clips, the way I edited the clips to really try to make us look different because the market has been pretty saturated with high quality videos.
• 2:14
  Yeah.
• 2:14
  So we changed the look and then on top of that, you changed the editing style.
• 2:19
  And before I was doing most of the editing as far as coloring and then
• 2:23
  you know, clipping them up and then giving them to Victoria, she would add text.
• 2:27
  Wow.
• 2:27
  That's a really good point.
• 2:29
  I didn't even think about that.
• 2:30
  So yeah, he's right when, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off, but I think that when you are, for instance, he spent hours trying to color grade and just clip things together.
• 2:42
  And at one point he was like, you know,
• 2:45
  I'm tired of editing.
• 2:46
  Can you like clip these pieces together?
• 2:49
  And so that's, I think that's really when our Instagram started to grow more because I got the individual clips myself.
• 2:54
  And so I became just a huge editor and, you know, took everything that I color graded, I trimmed up.
• 3:02
  So it was only the good pieces through that all over to her.
• 3:05
  So now she has, you know, three minutes of footage and she could chop it up to a trendy audio.
• 3:11
  She could, it just gave you a lot more room for creativity and,
• 3:14
  Because when I was editing everything, sometimes I'd use a song.
• 3:17
  I had to pull it from YouTube and download it.
• 3:19
  I had to find trending music on Instagram, download it, put it in Premiere and go, here's the final video.
• 3:24
  Where now I can give you, you know, three minutes of footage and you can watch through them and think of, oh, I think I have an audio that's perfect.
• 3:33
  Or, you know, or not have an audio and trim those up and then find an audio for it.
• 3:37
  Yeah, I think that if you are...
• 3:40
  Let's say you don't have the gear or whatever.
• 3:43
  I think it's really fun to find a videographer that you feel fits your style and can give you the type of videos that you want your Instagram vibe to be, if that makes sense.
• 3:56
  So for us, it was...
• 4:00
  it kind of looked like stock video, in my opinion, very white, very light, bright.
• 4:05
  And now it's more moody, but still really, it's still lit up.
• 4:08
  But so I think it would be really awesome for like, you don't need to know how to film and how to make videos and all these things.
• 4:16
  So yeah,
• 4:17
  A word of advice that I would give to somebody that doesn't have that would be to hire somebody out and have them give you just like all the clips so that you can have endless amount of content to put together because I repurpose so much content.
• 4:32
  So we have a handful of video from one content shoot, but I'll.
• 4:37
  fix it up and make a video different each time.
• 4:40
  So I'll, you know, put text differently.
• 4:43
  I'll give advice or, you know, information on one of them.
• 4:47
  So like I said, you don't necessarily have to like have a videographer 24 seven.
• 4:52
  Yeah.
• 4:52
  Especially with how expensive it can be to hire a videographer.
• 4:55
  And to be honest, when I do do video for other clients now, I give them content the same way.
• 5:01
  And the problem is, is not everybody wants to edit video.
• 5:05
  But if you do want to grow and you do want to get better, don't let a videographer just send you like, here's three final edits.
• 5:12
  And now you have and it's always longer videos because they think you want longer videos.
• 5:16
  So now you have three one minute long videos with sound chopped up with transitions that.
• 5:21
  And so you put those three out and now you're out of content.
• 5:23
  So now it costs you, you know, anywhere between $500 and $1,000 for a content day.
• 5:28
  And you didn't get a lot of content.
• 5:30
  And the content that you did get maybe is cool, but that long form stuff doesn't get the reach.
• 5:34
  I mean, I wish it did, but it just doesn't.
• 5:36
  I think that's why a lot of people can feel discouraged with the high quality content.
• 5:41
  And I feel like...
• 5:42
  if there's been plenty of times I feel where I've worked for med spas and we did content days and they literally posted three things and that was it.
• 5:50
  So you definitely, if you are going to hire somebody, make sure you go into it with mindset of like, Hey, this is, I want like a bunch of clips that I can use for myself.
• 5:58
  Or if you are wanting to take the time to learn how to use a camera, um, what would be a camera?
• 6:06
  Would you recommend?
• 6:07
  Obviously we have like the big boy,
• 6:09
  year.
• 6:09
  So yeah, we, yeah, we have a lot.
• 6:11
  I wouldn't recommend anybody use what we use.
• 6:13
  I've been doing photo and video for 10 years now.
• 6:16
  Uh, even as far as lighting goes, it's very expensive.
• 6:18
  And if, I mean, this is what we generally use it for now, but I take on other clients as well.
• 6:23
  So it's not like that.
• 6:24
  I bought all this just to make some Instagram videos.
• 6:26
  I mean, kind of now it's what we use a lot of it for.
• 6:30
  Um, but yeah, so I think it's the, I just sent you that day.
• 6:33
  I think it's the Canon M50, um,
• 6:35
  I can go back.
• 6:35
  We'll put it in the description here.
• 6:37
  And also the Sony ZV one or two cameras I'd recommend.
• 6:40
  They already have lenses attached.
• 6:43
  They shoot.
• 6:44
  I think I'm going to, I would have to go with the Canon is going to be my favorite.
• 6:46
  That's what I'll link down in the description below because the color is just so pretty coming out of it.
• 6:51
  We're actually working on a course right now.
• 6:53
  In that course, we will dive deep on how to use that camera.
• 6:56
  We'll actually have a shoot day.
• 6:57
  We'll show you behind the scenes using that camera.
• 6:59
  So if you bought it, what your process entirely would look like and how you could do that by yourself if you didn't have a videographer.
• 7:07
  Or if you call your mom, your sister, your best friend to come in there and film, we'll give you all the tips on how to do that.
• 7:14
  But yeah, it is really important if you do want high quality.
• 7:17
  The amazing thing with high quality is that it definitely cuts out a lot of other room for error when using an iPhone.
• 7:24
  And it does, even with very simple clips.
• 7:27
  it just, it takes them to the max, right?
• 7:29
  So if you're shooting with an iPhone, the audio, the lighting could be a little bit off and next, you know, the clip looks all wonky, but with a high quality camera, a camera, as soon as you lock it and dial it in, it is just simple things will just look really cool.
• 7:42
  And it can make you feel, I don't know, give you a rejuvenation when it comes to filming content and putting out stuff on social media.
• 7:49
  Yeah.
• 7:49
  And one thing I also wanted to touch on was obviously we're talking about growing our
• 7:57
  you know, gaining 25,000 followers definitely took a lot of tweaking and time and dedication.
• 8:03
  So with that being said, I also wanted to address bringing somebody in and making them be your model.
• 8:12
  So not having to feel like you have to have...
• 8:15
  pressure to film in the treatment room.
• 8:17
  I personally think it's uncomfortable.
• 8:18
  It's awkward.
• 8:19
  You're basically using somebody for content.
• 8:22
  And I think if it's, I don't know, it just, to me, it feels weird.
• 8:26
  I just feel like it's ruining the client's experience if you're having a camera and they know they're being filmed.
• 8:32
  But that's just my take.
• 8:33
  I know that there's businesses that...
• 8:35
  Do do that and there's nothing wrong with that.
• 8:37
  But I would highly suggest if you're trying to get good clips, if you're trying to get angles, all the things and it wants you want it to be yours and yourself and you're on your Instagram.
• 8:47
  I would highly suggest bringing in a model, bringing in a few models and just constantly having content.
• 8:52
  I mean, we still have we haven't shot in a month, I would say.
• 8:55
  And I have a lot of videos from just building up and repurposing different clips.
• 8:59
  Because you're not in a rush either.
• 9:01
  There's no weird time thing.
• 9:02
  It's not.
• 9:03
  Yeah.
• 9:03
  If the treatment's going slower than usual, I mean, you can have a friend that you do that with.
• 9:07
  But I mean, you would definitely want to take it serious and go in there and go, this is not about giving an amazing treatment.
• 9:13
  This is about getting amazing content and then just give the best treatment you can around it.
• 9:17
  And then there's been times where we've been in there with a model before and everyone's goofing around and having a good time.
• 9:23
  Fortunately, with things like hydrofacial, there's no I mean, you can't really mess it up.
• 9:27
  They're going to get their skin's going to feel good after regardless.
• 9:31
  But it just loosens everything up.
• 9:34
  So it's not like, oh, they're paying.
• 9:35
  We can't goof around.
• 9:36
  We can't chat.
• 9:37
  We can't sit and debate on an idea for a minute where I go, Hey, I was thinking about doing this.
• 9:41
  And you go, I don't know if it'll work that way.
• 9:43
  And I go, well, this is, and we can have that back and forth time.
• 9:46
  And the model is just like, I'm just here to lay down.
• 9:49
  It's free, right?
• 9:50
  You guys figure that out.
• 9:51
  I'll be here when you're ready compared to somebody who's paying.
• 9:54
  It could just, I feel like there's a weird fine line there that can make people just kind of go like, wow, I just paid.
• 9:59
  Yeah.
• 9:59
  It was half price, but they were, you know, they kept setting the camera up or the camera fell over.
• 10:05
  I just feel like it's not a relaxing.
• 10:07
  Yeah.
• 10:07
  To charge for.
• 10:08
  And there has been treatments we have charged for before and gave a discount on because we've had times in our business where we couldn't, we couldn't give it for free because the cost of the treatment, like microneedling, um, or certain chemical peels where we're like, ah, business is kind of tight.
• 10:23
  We really need some content.
• 10:24
  Uh, let's give a super discount and just, cause those aren't relaxing anyway.
• 10:28
  And we didn't go crazy on the content those days anyway, but yeah, generally we don't like to, we'd rather give the service for free.
• 10:34
  It just kind of just you treat it differently as well because and you know content is your priority as you step in.
• 10:39
  I think that another thing, too, is if you do invest in a camera, don't get frustrated when you first get it and you're not getting the angles.
• 10:46
  It's not like other people's videos that you see.
• 10:49
  I think that's really important to to know that because when we first started, we look at videos and.
• 10:58
  Not that they sucked, but they just weren't what they are now.
• 11:02
  So I think it's really important to be patient with yourself in every aspect.
• 11:07
  So whether it's Instagram, social media, making videos, have patience with yourself.
• 11:11
  It's going to take time to fall flat on your face for a while.
• 11:14
  Yeah.
• 11:14
  And don't be afraid.
• 11:15
  Don't be ashamed to fall flat.
• 11:17
  I think people, I mean, people that know that Chris is my husband and videographer, I think people think that it's, oh, it's just easy.
• 11:25
  She obviously can do that because her husband's a videographer, but like, it's like, no, there's so much more to it.
• 11:32
  He could have clips, but I could not know how to utilize it.
• 11:34
  In the beginning, I feel like that's what it was, right?
• 11:36
  I mean, there was a long time that we didn't have this working back and forth.
• 11:40
  And I think that's a big change in January that we had to just keep screwing up and trying to figure it out.
• 11:45
  And, you know, just keep throwing stuff at the wall until eventually we both put our foot down.
• 11:49
  And I went, I'm going to film better.
• 11:51
  And you went, I'm going to edit better.
• 11:52
  Right.
• 11:53
  And there was no excuses.
• 11:55
  I think CapCut was really the step into me because I didn't realize how easy it is editing because I always thought he needs to put the clips together.
• 12:04
  And then on Instagram, I can edit on there.
• 12:06
  And it was just a lot of figuring out to do.
• 12:09
  You wouldn't realize how...
• 12:12
  Much work actually goes into these things, I guess, as far as what it actually takes in editing.
• 12:17
  Like once you get the hang of it, it's so easy.
• 12:20
  I mean, CapCut is my best friend.
• 12:21
  If you're trying to edit specific audios, I will say Instagram's easier because you can listen to the song, but Instagram's so annoying with editing and they'll take off the text and.
• 12:30
  Yeah, or the drafting.
• 12:32
  Yeah, it could be a headache.
• 12:33
  And then, yeah, with that being said as well, you know, we also try our best.
• 12:37
  I think one of our bigger factors for growth, too, is one, not repurposing the same thing over and over and over again and even not even the same style of content.
• 12:45
  So our content is very diverse.
• 12:48
  So we're not just posting the same cinematic clip over and over and over again.
• 12:52
  You know, we, we, we do reuse, but we try to make it crafty.
• 12:56
  We try to make it unique just because something's, something's working.
• 13:00
  We're not like, let's just do it.
• 13:01
  Oh, let's just run it into the ground.
• 13:03
  I think that's why we get hyper growth is because there's constant different type of style of content to our most popular reached post was a before and after.
• 13:13
  Right.
• 13:13
  So it's like it's not even like, oh, it's like that was an iPhone iPhone before and after.
• 13:18
  So and that's it to me, that should motivate everybody else to go.
• 13:22
  Even you don't want to do high quality.
• 13:24
  There's still amazing potential for reach.
• 13:26
  And it was all it was.
• 13:27
  It wasn't even an active transit.
• 13:28
  It was a beautiful glowing before and after of dull dry skin into a nice glow from a hydrafacial.
• 13:34
  I think people focus on reels because they think it's going to get them the fastest reach, but Instagram actually pushes out before and after is graphics.
• 13:42
  I think graphics are huge right now.
• 13:44
  I don't know what Instagram is doing with that, but I mean, yeah, you're right.
• 13:48
  There's so many different forms of growth.
• 13:49
  Those things go back to shareable content.
• 13:51
  And if you, and that's what we look at our content a lot and go, what's shareable?
• 13:55
  What can our audience already enjoy clients learn from and like?
• 14:00
  but then also shareable for other estheticians, other clients, anybody that might enjoy the content.
• 14:06
  So when you're making shareable content, you're doubling the growth because then you're not just going Instagram, you know, hopefully you show the perfect people this video.
• 14:14
  It's your friends, your followers are going to show the perfect people who are in turn going to become followers of you.
• 14:21
  Right.
• 14:21
  So that's I think it's a very important thing that we always look back to.
• 14:24
  Like, is it shareable?
• 14:25
  If something flops, we go, ah, yeah, maybe that wasn't super shareable.
• 14:29
  And sometimes it's okay.
• 14:30
  And sometimes you learn, do better.
• 14:31
  Yeah.
• 14:32
  I think the biggest takeaways for how we gain 25,000 followers in 90 days is tweaking things, obviously.
• 14:41
  So us making clips faster and making clips retainable so that people are constantly on the post and they don't want to leave.
• 14:51
  So yeah.
• 14:53
  that and then also making sure that we're adding value to the video.
• 14:57
  So whether it's, if it's a cinematic video, adding a specific text to it.
• 15:01
  So I think it's really cool to see the growth of us really being intentional with the posts.
• 15:08
  And then what was another one that you said?
• 15:10
  I mean, obviously there was you saying there's different forms of content that's shareable, but what would you say?
• 15:16
  Is there anything else that you?
• 15:17
  Yeah.
• 15:18
  And then I'd say, you know, trends are cool too.
• 15:20
  I think using trends in a way that is on brand for you is most important.
• 15:25
  You know, we go back and forth because Victoria loves the trends sometimes.
• 15:29
  I hate them.
• 15:30
  I don't like dancing trends, but I would if I could dance.
• 15:33
  Yeah.
• 15:34
  I think in general, I think it's using trends and
• 15:36
  that's on brand for you.
• 15:37
  So don't just do it just because everybody else is doing the trend.
• 15:40
  But if you see the trend and go, Ooh, my spin on that would be amazing, then do it.
• 15:45
  And I do think that helps because it sounds that people are familiar with its outcomes.
• 15:49
  People can assume what's going to happen.
• 15:50
  So if when the, when it drops, people know every time it drops, something funny happens or before and after something exciting happens, they're more willing to stay on your content to see what your, um, result of that trending audio would be.
• 16:03
  I think, um,
• 16:03
  Audios are actually really important when it comes to looking at your videos.
• 16:08
  I think that it, I think that helps with retention too.
• 16:10
  So whether it's, I mean, people, for instance, I had a video that I posted of clips of, it was literally, I, I did it purposely.
• 16:19
  So it, it's my current relationship status is staying hydrated and minding my business.
• 16:26
  So for instance, I look at that trending audio and.
• 16:29
  And I think, okay, what can I add of my clips that flows together and then I can add text to?
• 16:34
  So I'm not only getting them visually, but I'm also getting people who are more retained by reading.
• 16:42
  So you're getting two different audiences in my opinion.
• 16:45
  So for instance, it's, you know, my current relationship status, I'm cleansing her skin is staying hydrated.
• 16:53
  The hydro facial tip, literally hydrating her skin.
• 16:58
  And me spraying the hydrinity spray.
• 17:00
  So that's staying hydrated.
• 17:02
  And then minding my business was where the towels go over her head.
• 17:06
  So, I mean, that's just one example.
• 17:08
  I don't know if I went too into detail, but.
• 17:10
  No, I mean, yeah, that's where your thought was in that video did, I think, 400,000 views.
• 17:15
  So, and then also it's the top.
• 17:17
  video in that trending audio.
• 17:19
  So I wouldn't necessarily like reach for that because you're going to get audiences that aren't in your niche, but it doesn't hurt anything.
• 17:26
  And it is possible to find people that maybe want to be into your niche, uh, all because of that.
• 17:31
  So it's kind of a double whammy.
• 17:32
  I mean, if you start a trend though, I think that, I mean, I see so many people using that audio that were in skincare.
• 17:40
  So yeah.
• 17:41
  Yeah.
• 17:42
  So clearly it reached a lot of new people.
• 17:43
  I mean, I think it was the aesthetics industry.
• 17:46
  That, yeah, it was being used already, but it wasn't a lot.
• 17:49
  Yeah.
• 17:50
  But you can start a trend to get people in your industry to start using that audio.
• 17:55
  And you're going to be the first one that pops up because it's going to keep trending.
• 17:59
  Yep.
• 17:59
  And you were the most popular.
• 18:00
  Everyone used it from you.
• 18:01
  So Instagram pushes you up.
• 18:02
  So yeah, those are all great things.
• 18:03
  Also shows your account is in good standing.
• 18:05
  People like you, they're using your stuff.
• 18:07
  So when Instagram sees that people are using stuff that you started,
• 18:11
  it makes them very happy.
• 18:13
  So they're going to push your account more.
• 18:14
  They're going to push your next videos more because they're assuming you're a trend leader and they want the trend leaders to be in the front of the pack to keep people on the platform.
• 18:22
  And it'll take time for you to get your groove of what you're making things, your own style.
• 18:28
  Cause you can be a copy and paste.
• 18:29
  I say this all the time, but it takes true separation from you making things your own and
• 18:36
  for people to follow you from that.
• 18:38
  So just keep working hard, keep tweaking things and keep working at it.
• 18:44
  If you are consistent and you are being intentional and looking at your analytics and making sure you're always trying to do better, you're gonna get growth.
• 18:52
  So I think we'll wrap it up right here.
• 18:55
  I hope that this video was helpful.
• 18:57
  If you did enjoy it, make sure you like, comment and subscribe.
• 19:00
  Make sure to comment below if you have any other questions, but thank you so much for tuning in and we'll see you next time.