Your Beauty Posts Need A Cover
As we all know, there is an overwhelming amount of content posted on Instagram each day. Whether it be photos from our friends, summer vacations, IGTV tutorials, or promotional posts from our favorite cosmetic companies, we are constantly bombarded with thousands of images each day. The beauty industry is no different. Thousands of makeup artists, hair stylists and beauty influencers upload content everyday. As a result of this, users have become increasingly strict when it comes to the type of content they choose to consume. Uploading content that catches the eyes of potential clients has never been more important.
This is why before posting any content, it is important to ask yourself the following questions:
- What makes my content as a black beauty professional good enough for someone to give me those extra seconds of their day?
- What makes my beauty content unique enough for someone to stop scrolling and open my post?
The most effective way to get potential clients to stop and view your video is through your cover. As a black beauty professional choosing the right cover for your video is crucial.
You may be wondering what I mean when I say “cover”... Well, a cover is the first image you see on a video before it is played. Think of it as a thumbnail on youtube. Covers allow you to pique the interest of potential new clients and is a way to encourage those individuals to stay and watch your video! Over the years, I’ve noticed some dos and don'ts when it comes to choosing a great video cover, and I’m about to spill the tea!
Don’t: Post a video without choosing a cover
When You Post a Beauty Video Without Choosing a Cover, One of Two Outcomes Will Happen:
- Your cover could end up being a plain black screen
- Your cover could end up being a random ineffective thumbnail taken from your video
When your cover is a black screen, it keeps potential clients in the dark about what your post is truly about. It leaves users guessing, making it difficult to pass their initial screening process. Potential clients are also less likely to open videos without getting the gist of what’s to come in the video. With the vast amount of content out there, people are not looking to waste their time with images and videos that are not of interest to them.
Allowing Instagram to choose a random thumbnail from your video is never a good idea either. When you do this, you leave the possibility of your cover displaying an image of you in an awkward or embarrassing position. You are also at risk of having something completely unrelated or uninteresting being displayed. Think of it as allowing Instagram to randomly choose a picture from your gallery to post. Would you ever do that? Only you can make the right choice. Never leave it up to Instagram.
Additionally, whenever you shoot a beauty tutorial displaying your skills, think of ways to be creative so that you have interesting video clips to choose from as cover for that video. Here are some great tips for creating the best video covers for your beauty posts on Instagram.
DO: These 4 tips for creating the best video covers for your Instagram beauty posts
- Show That Gorgeous Face Off!
A good cover for any beauty post shows your face or the face of the person that you're doing makeup or hair on. When it comes to hair or makeup, “before glam” photos tend to do very well. They do better than “after glam” shots because they have viewers wondering what the end result will be.
- Make Sure You Show Action in Your Beauty Cover
When you look like you're being active in your cover, it gives off the impression that something is about to happen. Viewers will be interested to watch because they feel as though they will either be entertained, or they may learn something. In order to choose a cover that makes you look active, stop at a time where you are in the middle of your makeup or hair technique. For example, choose a frame of the video while your hands are in someone's face and you are brushing on setting powder or concealer.
- Choose a Beauty Cover With an X-Factor
When I say add an X-factor, I mean to add something that is going to give it that “oomph”... That wow factor! A wow factor will immediately catch peoples’ attention, and get them to consider watching your video.
If you are a makeup artist, an example of how to do this is to uniquely show cosmetic products on your face. As a hairstylist, you can have your hair looking crazy as a way to pique interest.
Another example of an X-factor could be to add something in the image that pops. Let’s say you are a hairstylist making a wig tutorial and the colour of the wig is very bright (i.e. bright neon pink), this would be considered an X-factor that pops out of the screen and grabs the attention of potential clients. A final example of an X-factor could be facial expressions. Having a silly or shocked facial expression, something extremely theatrical, is also something that could draw in the attention of potential clients.
- Make Sure the Beauty Cover you Choose is High-Quality
It is extremely important to choose a high-quality cover. If you choose a still image from a video, your cover can easily be blurred. Now if you've done steps 1 to 4 perfectly, but your image cover is low quality, you’ll forfeit all of the views and engagement you would have received from those previous steps. With all of the images that users are bombarded with every day, they are not going to take the time to strain their eyes and try to understand what is going on in your video. Taking the time to select a high-quality cover will help attract potential clients to your video and ultimately to your Instagram page.
These steps are very important, however, depending on the type of video that you are shooting it can be difficult to incorporate each of these tips to your cover . Think of these tips as weapons in your arsenal depending on the beauty video that you are shooting. After incorporating these tips, monitor how well your post is doing and compare it to other videos that you have posted in the past. Continue to monitor your future videos to see if you notice any results and give us a shoutout if you do. We would love to hear from you about your progress! If done right, I can guarantee that you will see results. Keep in mind that when you are analyzing how well your post is doing, look at the reach of your post in comparison to the number of views. The closer this ratio is to 1:1, the better.
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn our tips on making a great video cover for your beauty posts! You may be curious about how to specifically grow your clientele and reach a wider audience? Don’t worry, we got you covered! The Beauty N Brushes website helps black beauty professionals do just that while helping you manage your bookings.
Don't forget to:
- Register your beauty services on the BeautynBrushes platform to help you manage your business and watch your clientele grow.
- Stay tuned for helpful tips and blogs such as this one.
- Follow our Instagram @BeautynBrushes for everything black beauty.
- Get connected, start asking questions and interacting with amazing people such as yourself!
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