The Makeup Insider
The Makeup Insider is a fortnightly one-on-one podcast exploring the life and career of makeup artists, hosted by freelance mua Vanessa Barney.. Finding your community of other likeminded mua’s – the creative, artistic, talkative, flexible, adaptable with a good eye for colour kind-of-people, can often be daunting. Like, where do you start? The Makeup Insider is designed for just that. To build a collaborative online community of artists to build their confidence, connections and help drive their career to the next level.If you’re just starting out or have been in the industry for a long time, tune in now, check out the key takeaways in the show notes and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Find Vanessa @vanessabarney @the.makeupinsider
The Makeup Insider
How to transform your content into cash and earn income through product recommendations with Victoria from Hairstyling Formula
Unlock the secrets to turning your social media influence into a lucrative business with me, Vanessa Barney, and the insightful Victoria from Hairstyling Formula. We're peeling back the curtain on the untapped potential of digital content for beauty professionals, questioning the common practice of tagging brands in posts. Should you really be giving away your marketing magic for free? Victoria's expertise as an independent hair educator, combined with my own experiences, is set to challenge your approach to social media and help you grasp the true value of your work.
Transform your creative passions into a profitable venture as we delve into the world of affiliate marketing. It's not just about the size of your following; it's about smart, strategic moves that retain sales within your artistic domain. From promoting personal services to navigating affiliate programs, this episode is a treasure trove of practical advice for both established artists and newcomers. Join us as we reveal how to make affiliate marketing work for you, allowing your content to not only attract clients but also to generate a steady income stream.
Finally, we explore the gold mine of affiliate links in the beauty industry through my personal narrative of financial transformation during the pandemic lockdowns. Learn how to seamlessly integrate these links into your services, creating an effortless shopping experience for your clients while padding your wallet with extra earnings. Whether you're touching up a client's hair or teaching a makeup class, we discuss the convenience and benefits of leveraging affiliate marketing to its fullest potential. So grab your brushes and tune in—this conversation is a game-changer for beauty pros looking to level up their digital prowess and financial savvy.
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Hi and welcome to the Makeup Insider. I'm your host, vanessa Barney, makeup artist, hairdresser, educator and all-round beauty junkie. If you've ever felt lost or lonely in your makeup career, this podcast is for you. I'm here to interview makeup artists and other industry professionals, to give guidance and be the mental I needed earlier in my career, with a new episode every Tuesday. Don't forget to hit subscribe so you don't miss a trick, and if you like what you hear, please rate and leave a comment. I hope you enjoy. So I'm going live tonight with Victoria from Hairstyling Formula, so I'll just wait for her to pop up. Is it working? You're there? Oh, we're here.
Speaker 2:I'm here Just making sure all the sound's down high.
Speaker 1:Hello, hello, thank you for joining me this evening. Thank you for having me. I'm very, very excited for our chat. Victoria, this is Victoria from Hairstyling Formula. Victoria, do you just want to start off by introducing yourself and telling everyone what you, who you are and what you do?
Speaker 2:Yes, amazing. I do want to start it by firstly saying thank you to you, vanessa, for having me on. I love at the start of your podcast where you say that if you've ever felt lost or lonely in your career, that this is the podcast for you, and that definitely resonates with me. As an independent artist, I often feel that loneliness. I think what you're doing by creating this resource for artists is very important. So I just wanted to say that first, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:So background about me. So hi, I'm Victoria. I'm the owner of the Hairstyling Formula. I am an independent brand, free hair educator from Melbourne and I have been educating for 11 years. I've been hairdressing and hair and makeup artist, been doing that for 20 years and for the last two years I've been a finalist for Australian Hair Educator of the Year. And my passion, my real passion, is producing education that's for all hairstylists, to help them increase their skills, their confidence and their income. So I do this through in-person education and also online with courses and seminars. So that's a little bit about me. It's my background.
Speaker 1:I love that. So what sparked my interest with you for our chat was the other day. Sorry about that. The other day you posted something on your stories about the fact that artists shouldn't be tagging brands anymore and I was like, oh, I like this, Let me hear some more. So can you tell me a little bit more information on that? Why shouldn't we be tagging brands?
Speaker 2:Yes, Sure, I'm glad, I'm really glad that it caught your attention and I did post that and I think I did get quite a response. I think because it's probably an unpopular opinion and possibly a bit of a controversial opinion. So, to answer your question as to why I think artists should be tagging brands in their product posts is because your digital work is valuable and you shouldn't give it away mindlessly and for free and you should not be directing traffic that you have worked so, so hard to get on your socials away from your business and towards someone else's business. So, yes, so that's the sort of short answer.
Speaker 1:Does that resonate with you? Yeah, it did resonate with me and I think after we spoke about that, you went on to talk to me about my post with the Dyson Airwrap, which I have posted about, and you said to me that you almost bought it because of me and I don't really feel like I necessarily sold it that well, but maybe it was just the fact that I was showing how I was using it. Yeah, I don't. Is that what?
Speaker 2:it was.
Speaker 2:It's really interesting because, like you said, we don't really see the value in digital work. Like we're only as hairdressers and makeup artists, we're really only on the verge of seeing our value in her physical work. So to be talking to hairdressers and makeup artists about the value of their digital work is really quite foreign, because you're like I'm not actually doing any work by posting, but that's what I want every artist to understand is that is work, that is work that generates sales, that drives traffic, and you should be paid for that work, I believe. So that's where I was going with the about tagging the brand, and I wanted to sort of explain it in a little bit more detail because obviously I've thought a lot about this. But I want to take a step back and think about like why, as artists, why are we on social media in the first place? Like, why are we here? Why are we posting? So I'd ask that question to you, vanessa why are you on social media posting for your business?
Speaker 1:I suppose to gain visibility, and I suppose it's probably visibility from potential clients and depending on, you know, I've got my, I've got we're on here at the makeup insider, so it's possibly to find new listeners, whereas on I've got three pages and each one has a different, you know, a different sort of audience that I'm trying to attract and I suppose I don't know why I tag brands. Actually, I think it's to maybe gain their attention. Yes, and to be honest, I don't really think it does that too well. I think I think it's done it once, to be honest.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that's a lot of work. Like you say, you have a lot of. That's not a lot of work to me that you're doing. So, like with all things, I just really believe we should be mindful about what we're doing with our time and our attention and especially with our work. So I think there's lots of answers to why we're here on social media, but I think it really boils down to the fact, like you said, we're here to get clients. We're here to get you know. Essentially, we're here to get clients and we're here to increase our income by doing that.
Speaker 2:So when I tag brands because I used to sometimes I still do. I'll explain why sometimes I still do tag brands. But when I think about it, like you, what do I tag them? Like same, I think maybe I'd probably seen other people tag them. Maybe this was a strategy that really worked when Instagram first came out. Maybe someone at a course told me to do it Like. To be honest, I really can't remember. I really don't know and, like I said, I just think that this is a really terrible reason to do anything, especially in business, like shouldn't be doing anything in business and be like I don't really know, I'm not really sure, I haven't really thought about it.
Speaker 2:Now, what I really believe is there's sort of four sort of camps, if you will, that we sit in when it comes to why we're tagging brands. So I'd say the first camp is oblivious, like we don't know, and that's the camp I was in. I don't know, I just sort of do it. It's what I've always done. I don't really know what it does. So that's sort of camp one. Camp two is we do it to signal. We do it to signal to our clients like here's quality products, I'm tagging them. Therefore I am a quality product or service. So I think that's another reason Now maybe people think to tag brands.
Speaker 2:And the third reason, the third sort of camp, is to get attention, like you said, to get attention from the brand, so maybe possibly be shared on their larger platform and again be aligned with their business. And the fourth reason, which is one that I do a lot and I'm sure you do too, you're doing it right now you use it to send attention to another brand. So I will do this for my friends, I'll do this for my colleagues, like if they have a business, if I want to promote that business. That's how I would do. I would tag them to the cows come home because I want to send the traffic that is coming to me to them. It's an active choice, so I want to be clear about it.
Speaker 2:It's no right or wrong, like there's no right or wrong reason to do it. It's, like I said, it's just about being mindful about what we're doing and what matters. What really matters is understanding the value that you are giving and that you're giving essentially for free. So, and what is the value? And that's what is your content, like you said, like you posted content, and if we want to use that as an example and I have this in here, because the direct example of this and how this works is you posted I think it was a story, I think it was a story and it was probably what four seconds of your kit you know, like just a kit swipe. We've all done it.
Speaker 2:It's that post. I remember it specifically because I remember it? Because, as a fan and a follower of yours, as soon as you post that kit shot, I'm looking, I'm looking, I'm zooming, I am like I'm checking that out because I love your work, I love what you're doing, I want to see what you're using, all those reasons that I talked about, like these, like if you use that brand, I'm going to try it based, and this is based on your ad, the ad that you created for free, and your recommendation. You know, unless I tell you which which I did you'd be completely unaware that this is even happening. You'd be completely unaware of how valuable that content is and drove, drove sales. I'm sure it drove sales and if not, it grow. It drove. Your traffic to their sites so does. Well, how do you feel about that, hearing that that was from your, your piece of content?
Speaker 2:Well, because I've been known to screenshot stories and look at other people's what they're using, and zoom is right, of course, but like it's the best possible recommendation, like you are creating an ad for those products, whether you realize it or not. That's exactly what it is and it's based on your recommendation. It's based on your I don't care the product is. You could you could say it's this product. I've never heard. I'm buying it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like you know, that's that kind of advertising and I know I know yourself as someone that works in this how valuable is that kind of advertising Like what would companies pay to be able to get that kind of engagement and that kind of click through rate to a sale? Like it is humongous Huge.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I hope that I have. This is a really long. It's a really long answer, a detailed answer, but that's that's what I want to say about this is that be mindful about why you're doing it so and be aware, be really aware, of how valuable it is that the content that you're creating is. And I support, like I said, I support any artist who want to do this for free. Do it for free. I want artists to do everything they want to do. Do it for free, but know. Know what you're doing, know what you're doing and be mindful when you do it.
Speaker 1:So how can we turn this into income?
Speaker 2:Aha, aha. So this is what this there's a really actually a really simple. There's a really simple way to do it that we all do immediately. So that's what I meant in that video. I think it's obviously it was a bit of clickbait to be like don't tag brands, because it's quite detailed. But what you can do right now is one stop tagging brands. What you can do is you can tag yourself.
Speaker 2:So if you sell products, if you have a salon and you have retail stock or you buy products for your clients, tag yourself and tell your clients how to purchase those products from you. Because, without being salesy all the time, like it's not about that, because if you, you know, we all know, if you really go in for the hard pitch like that, like it doesn't work, but what works is you're just saying it. So just, instead of saying go here to buy it, you say, did you know I have it? Dm me, you know, dm me, shop at my online store, come into my salon. Like just, don't all that hard work. Like I said, if you're a retail stockist, you've already spent the money on the product, you've already paid the company, you've already paid the brand. So why are you buying product and then sending people away to buy it from somewhere else. Like, when you think about it, that's what's happening. So that's that's all I'm saying is, sort of like, be mindful about it, and immediately. What you can action right now is stop tagging, direct the direct the traffic back to you, so that will immediately increase your income if you're selling physical retail.
Speaker 2:So, more on that question, though, is how do you get, how do you get paid for this? So the example of your content yes, the example of your content, because that I'm I'm big on this. Now, as you can see, I'm inboxing everyone being like you should be paid. Like airwraps should be paying you for this, like you probably talk for airwraps with that one four seconds story post. So this is what I do. This is what I do.
Speaker 2:So I sell retail online using affiliate codes, and I I sell them. I sell all sorts of brands, and that's how I direct that sales flow, instead of directing the sales flow from me, from my recommendation to someone else. I recommend. I I still, you know, only talk about the things that I know and love and use, just instead of sending having to send people away because I I'm not a stockist for airup, for example. I can't be a stockist for airup, it's an independent stylist. What I can do is be an affiliate for these brands so I can have a code that links that connects those sales back to me.
Speaker 2:And and and not only do you get paid commission for those sales, which you rightfully should. Like I said to you I would have based it, I would have bought it, based on your recommendation, I want you to be paid, like I, I'd be more than happy that you got paid to post that content and for the recommendation. But probably more importantly is that you can track that sales flow. You can track how many people are clicking, how many people are buying. It is mind boggling, can I tell you, like I did not realize, like I'm not an influencer I hear this all the time.
Speaker 2:People say I'm not an influencer, I'm not an influencer, I don't have a large social media following. It's got, it's always got nothing to do with that. Because if you think about when you've bought by clicking on affiliate links, I can guarantee, I can always guarantee you have you know, you could have bought it a viral video about an Amazon gadget. You know, like you've just said, oh, that's a slap chop, awesome Click buy. That person's been paid. That person's been paid.
Speaker 2:So I think this is it's not new.
Speaker 2:That's where I go. This affiliate is not new. The first time I heard about affiliate links and affiliate marketing, I got a bit of a yick and I was like it sounds a bit MLM, like it like multi-level marketing, like it sounds like something I'm really not interested in. But the fact, the fact of it is that most companies use affiliate marketing now, not just hairdressing and makeup brands. We're talking about that. Most makeup brands use it now, most hairdressing brands use it now.
Speaker 2:But it's not only in our industry. It's actually quite new to our industry. It's big companies like Nike, like Eddie had airlines, like Lego, like Lulu, lemon, like all of these big brands. If you have a Google, have a Google. I wouldn't say right now, have a Google, after this, live Google. Most brands offer affiliate programs, so we're just not utilizing them. So what it's not new like I said, it's not new at all, but what is new about it is how I'm utilizing it in the industry and it's just so applicable to hair and makeup artists in 2024. That's why I'm just really committed to just telling as many people as I can about it and like educating people and trying to make it as simple as possible, because this is very exciting and this can really work well for us.
Speaker 1:So what you're saying is that when I did my little story, I could have had an affiliate tag with Dyson. Yes, and then if you had a purchase it, then I would have got some form of commission for it. Yeah, yes, yes. And so then what you're saying is that if artists we won't use the Dyson for like as an example, we use like, let's she's like a foundation, let's say a Marnie Luminous silk, because that one is so, so popular, If someone's putting that or posting that to their stories, then they could put an affiliate link to that. And the affiliate link, because I did a little bit of research last night and Sephora, it has an affiliate program so you could then post it to like. You could get the code for that from Sephora. I think you even mentioned to me that Adore Beauty has affiliate links.
Speaker 2:Did you? Yes, adore Beauty, sephora, charlotte Tilbury, frank Green everyone's posting their water bottles. Post your water bottles, frank Green. I was like now I've seen it. I kind of can't unsee it, if that makes sense. So, yeah, don't get me wrong Not that I think you should monetize every single thing you do, I'm not saying that. But I'm saying that you possibly can. You possibly can like you don't have to be doing this for free and to be an affiliate for something. Like I said in my experience, I've been doing this for four years.
Speaker 2:When I started, it was the lockdowns of 2020. I was at home with a newborn. I had no idea what I was doing and I just know that I made money and I was a bit confused as to how that had happened, and so what came from that is this whole thing is like this is really work, like that's it. I'm home with a baby, salad's kind of open. This is working. What is this? So, yeah, uber and another really great way, actually, that a particular makeup artist and hairdressers can use this. So it's not about just being digital, because, again, this is where it's not new. It's not new the affiliate linking digitally. See them all the time. But what is a really unique way that we can do it.
Speaker 2:In our industry we're forward facing. We see clients all the time. So as a working example I have, every product in my kit has an affiliate code on it that's scannable. So when I'm working on a client and say they're like, oh, I love that foundation, this is the perfect match. You go great, scan this code. They scan the code so then it directs them exactly to the product that you're using. If you're an affiliate for that brand, it directs them to exactly what they're using. And then here's the kicker they don't even have to purchase them. So say you're at a wedding and exactly they're looking at the foundation, but then they're not worried about purchasing. You don't wanna be like quick, buy this. Like you want them to enjoy their time.
Speaker 2:Once that person has clicked on that link, most of the time that link is active for 30 days. So for 30 days if that client purchases from that site, it will be traced back to you. So it removes the pressure. It removes like you scan it. So it's like buy it, don't buy it it. There's no pressure, which is a big part of why I've always hated selling retail, like the pressure to move stock and like not having stock completely removes that element. It makes it all about the recommendation, what we're already doing, what we do all day, every day, I'm sure you get it to work. Like where are your classes from, where are you? Like we're doing it all day, like it's been all day long? It's just about like having a way that can really work fast and I, like I said, I really think it really works for me. It's been really working for me. That's why I'm really wanting committee to telling everyone how to do it.
Speaker 1:Because I think we also. I think when we were messaging last night, the other thing I mentioned was a lot of people do lessons now where they teach people to do their own makeup, and you could just have it all scannable and then people can purchase or not purchase, but they've got it there and then, rather than them going into Mecca or wherever, yeah, and you get the commission for it or whatever. Whatever you get, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, so the commission structure is a little bit different. I go into that in my seminar. I go into a bit more detail, so I go into that in my free seminar, just breaking down exactly what the commission is. I have spent the last two years negotiating commissions and working this out to make it as viable as possible, so that's what I'll cover in my course as well.
Speaker 2:Like this, the commission, we don't have to take the sticker price. This is about, like I always talk about it as being the opposite to being a stalker. So, especially as a hairdresser, if you're in a salon, you know the hoops you have to jump through to be a stalker. You know, like that's why I can't I don't even qualify to be a stalker for most brands because I have a home salon, I'm an independent stylist. Like they're not even gonna talk to me. So there's, but not being an alternative, I'm still selling their products because I'm still recommending my clients.
Speaker 2:So this is just a way. This is a way that I've found to utilize this amazing tool to do our jobs and do it in 2024 and be paid for our recommendations that we're giving to brands. The traffic that we're driving yeah, that's what it's about, for me, is making sure that artists, like I said, really see the value in what they're doing and don't have it by stock Like you're saying go to America and buying, you know $4,000 worth of stuff. Like the stress of that like and the pressure they said the pressure and that pressure comes across when you're selling to clients, when you're recommending. That pressure comes out because you've got all this stock sitting there, you got $1,000, like it makes me feel ill, whereas, yeah, you can just imagine. Just, you know, here's your lesson. This is the products that you use. Scan them if you like them, don't scan them if you don't like them. You don't have skin in the game.
Speaker 1:You don't have, you haven't already invested money.
Speaker 2:So I think that's really, yeah, a really viable way that hairdressers and makeup artists Another great way, sorry, another great way to do this specifically for hairdressers. Like stocking electrical is super expensive. The markup on electrical is nothing, you know, the markup on electrical is nothing. I see it in the Facebook groups all the time. Like you know, I want to stop this brand. I'm sending everyone to buy them. I'm sending everyone to buy this straightener because I love it so much. But I just can't justify being a stockist and having to spend $5,000, whatever it is to buy stock. So this you don't have to just do this. You can have physical stock, you can sell stock in your salon. You can just do digital retail for your electrical.
Speaker 1:Like the possibility like I can see your mind.
Speaker 2:You know it takes like the possibilities are just amazing for us?
Speaker 1:Yeah, wow. So in your is it a workshop seminar? You go into more detail about this.
Speaker 2:Yes, so there's two things coming out. The first thing that's coming out in two weeks. The first thing that's coming out in two weeks is the free seminar. So the free seminar, which is called how to Sell Retail Without Ever Buying Stock, and the Ultimate Hedruses Guide. That's gonna be free Because, oh I said, I'm a fan of giving. I'm a real fan of giving stuff away for free. I know the value that this is. This information is not no, it is all out there. What this seminar does is curates it in a way like my specialty is simplifying complex things. That's what I do as a hair styling educator. That's what I do as a business educator. So this is a way that I think it's 11 minutes. You're down to 11 minutes now. I know I sent you one of my final drafts, but it's hard to think.
Speaker 2:I want it to be concise I want it to be, you know, jam packed with information. No fluff, no, and just really so. When you start the course, you have no idea what I'm talking about and by the end of the free seminar, you, your mind, hopefully, will be opened and just excited.
Speaker 2:Like I said, it's the feeling like excited at the possibilities that this has for us. So that's launching in two weeks. That will be free, and then I do have a course. That's my seven steps. So how I have exactly done it. So, like I said, about how I'm negotiated the commissions, what brands that you know work the best, what platforms work the best, why you should work with brands, why you shouldn't work with brands. Like, exactly how I do it is gonna be a paid course, but how you can do it is gonna be free.
Speaker 2:And that's where I was really passionate about sort of teasing that apart, because I think this is, I think this is baseline information. As an artist, I really do. I think we all need to have a baseline knowledge of this to be able to move forward. And then sort of much like I think I imagine like a color course. You know we all should learn how to color. When we're hairdressers, we should learn how to color. But if you wanna learn someone's specific technique, if you wanna learn something that they've developed, then you go to their course. I think that's how I've planned it out, so hopefully that it gives a lot of value to everyone.
Speaker 1:And how can they? How can people register for this? Is there something somewhere on your Instagram page? They can do this.
Speaker 2:Yes. So if you go to my Instagram page, like that's it, follow me on here. Selling formula I post. I'm posting more and more content about this all the time, about tips and sort of different things that you can do and, like I said, do immediately and do for free, and in my in the link in my bio see join the mailing list. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna make the free course available first to everyone that's on the mailing list, so that will happen in two weeks, and then everyone that's on the mailing list will also get a discount when the paid course launches, which will be a couple of weeks after that.
Speaker 1:Mm-hmm, and just so people know you're saying it's for hairstyles, like hairdressers, but it's all transferable, isn't it? For makeup artists?
Speaker 2:You can do this Like you. You can literally. Oh sorry, sorry to cut it off you can. So no, you can literally be anyone, like anyone. So this doesn't what I have found. What I have found is that it does not matter about a follow account, you know, because if it did, I wouldn't be successful. I wouldn't be successful. I don't have them, any followers. I'm not on Instagram to get followers. If we think back to what you said at the start, I'm not here to get followers, I'm here to get clients. I'm here to drive income. So I don't care about how many followers I have. Neither does being, neither does being an affiliate. They don't care because they know that it's not as valuable as the traffic that you're driving. That's what's valuable. Your content is valuable. So I'm not saying that he's a follower, but you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I know what I'm saying yes, so this can be applicable to anyone you do. There's really nothing that you the only thing sorry, I tell a lot there's one thing that you have to have sorted out, and that is your traffic source. So your traffic source, which I go into in depth in the free seminar, is your social media or website. So there's things on there that you really have to have. It's not difficult. Like I can't I can't stress that enough. Like, like I said, I don't have a big social media following. I'm not a tech savvy person. I'm not like. There's nothing special about me when it comes to doing this. The special thing about it is maybe that I figured out a path for us but, it's not specific to me.
Speaker 2:This is available to all of us. That's why I think the information should be available to all of us. Yes, so yeah, so that's it.
Speaker 2:What do you need to get started? I say you need an open mind and a willingness to do some hard work, and if I know hair and makeup artists, you know we get up at three and we are not scared. We are not scared of hard work. You're already creating the content, you're already doing the work. So let's just figure out how to, yeah, drive traffic to your business, drive traffic, drive income to your business and not away.
Speaker 1:Great idea. Now I feel like we've covered everything we want to talk about. I'm just thinking, maybe if anyone has any questions that they want I know there were some questions earlier, but if anyone has any questions, what about if you don't sell products or have a retail space? I think we answered that.
Speaker 2:I love your space.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Victoria. That was from Wade.
Speaker 2:Oh, what was that.
Speaker 1:I missed that sorry, wade said I love your way of thinking, victoria. We love that. We love it too, Wade, thank you. Thank you, that's a very good point to say. What would you say is the best way to approach these brands? I think you mentioned that you can just do that through the website, but you go into more detail about that in your free workshop, maybe Free seminar.
Speaker 2:Yes, yes, so I don't quickly the quick answer. I don't recommend going straight to brands. Yeah, that's the quick answer. The more detailed answer about that, like exactly how to do it, what brands are looking for, what companies are looking for, how it is easy in the free seminar. So, like I said, this is covered in the free seminar because, like, I don't think I can do it justice and I don't think I can make it as concise as what it is in the course as far as, like, what are you?
Speaker 2:And then, like I said, specifically exactly how I do it, and I mean there is the emails that I sent, there is the templates of everything that will be available in the course as well, but, like I said, the free course will give you enough information, hopefully to be able to get started. And then, if you want to know how I do it, if you want to know how I'm successful doing it yeah, being an independent home salon, owning, you know, loan stylist, like with no followers, no tech then you can find out through my paid course as well. But and actually question, if you don't mind, I did get two answers when I posted about not tagging brands.
Speaker 2:I actually asked for rebuttal questions, so if you don't mind, can we?
Speaker 1:go in time.
Speaker 2:Go go wild. I did get, because where are we? Yes, so I did ask for rebuttals when I said that because, like, like I said, I've thought really long and really hard about how to approach this. That aligns with my values. I thought very long time about it, but I really encourage questions. I really encourage like I've tried to blow holes in this. You know I'm a bit you know part of is a little bit scared that some giant hole I haven't seen. So I'm quite happy to get rebuttal questions.
Speaker 2:And the two rebuttals that I thought actually made that made good points. That made good points about why you shouldn't tag brands in your content. The first one was that they had received products in exchange. So they'd received products in exchange or like as a reward for their content. So it wasn't pre-organized. They posted about the brand, the brand seen the content and sent them some products and some stock and they were happy with that outcome. And again, like I said, I'm about I'm about stylists being happy. So if you're happy with that income, if that's what you want to do, that I have no problem at all with that. That is, that is great.
Speaker 2:My counter to that would be how much content exactly have you made for this brand? You know so if they're sending you product, the product's really not well, it's not costing them retail, right? Like they're sending you some product but it's untrackable how many sales you've sent them. You could be sending them like hundreds of sales and you wouldn't know. So it's not. I'm not having to go with the brand in this case. Like it's business, it's business practice. No, no problem with that at all. And if you but, like I said, know the value of what you are doing, that recommendation I would have only purchased that because they posted it and I think they have like 10,000 followers. So that got as paid, user generated content. That would have cost a lot of money, that would cost more than what they've received in product. So that was one good counterpoint that I thought.
Speaker 2:And then the other, the other point that I received that I thought was really valid, was that that content has different values. So content, some content's less valuable, like some contents more involved, like we're talking about your like before and afters, like you know, I see oh my God, I saw it today the most amazing in depth content about a styling tool like so incredible, nothing to do with where to buy it from that person, only sending to brand, and I'm assuming but I'm assuming they're not being paid for that Like and all I can see as a content credit, all I can see is the work, and then they're being sent away. So so that was the argument, though that was the that was. The rebuttal is that there's different sort of values in the content, and I guess my rebuttal to that is how much effort did you put into your four second kit video?
Speaker 2:Was that really highly produced? Was that, you know, really well thought out? Did you really plan that and, like, look at it from the best angle. I'm really creating this. No, I'm not running this on a read. You did it, you did it.
Speaker 2:So so you really can't judge how valuable his content is, because I know myself I've bought, like I've bought Amazon gadgets on viral videos of like dogs jumping in a pool. Like you can't you can't possibly judge.
Speaker 2:You know what is going to be valuing what's not. I myself have posted like a stock photo with my affiliate link and not expecting anything, and the sales like have gone off and I'm like what? Like it's probably a combination of all the you know the points before that that post, but the fact is that we can't possibly know how valuable a piece of content is, so we should treat all of our content as if it is valuable. That's my opinion.
Speaker 1:Yeah, great point, Great point. Has anyone got any questions? I feel like I covered all of them above. There was someone that mentioned something the power of a micro influencer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, this is, yeah, that's a great point. I touched on user-generated content, which could have its own podcast. But yeah, in case, I'm sure everyone realises with it when they're following their socials, if you're following a big influencer and they post about you know, the great example is like SkinnyT. We all know they're getting paid. We all know they're getting paid for that post. You know. We all know they're not drinking that skinny tea in a tree. You know in the front, we know Like it's fine, like it's business, it's fine, but we know.
Speaker 2:So what I have found in my experience, as someone, like I said, who has none of that, is not a big influencer, not an influencer at all with no big following, is that it's really unaffective. It's what's sort of as effective as it once was. What is super effective. What is super effective is your four-second kit video, and that's not based on the video quality. It's not based on it, it's based on you. It's based on you. So you know that's where, like, I believe that's where content is. And if you look at any paid ad that comes on my Instagram, like I said once, you see this, you can't unsee it. It's all user-generated content. It's people in their bathroom like oh, this is amazing, that's paid, that's paid, that's paid handsomely. So the brands that you're tagging for free. This is probably the kicker for me is that you're tagging for free and most likely purchasing that content. So they'll purchase content. We just do it for free, so why would they pay Like we do it, like I said we do?
Speaker 1:it?
Speaker 2:We don't know why we do it. We just do it. So yeah, there's not a user-generated content creator, that's just doing it and just tagging.
Speaker 1:There's no plan. There's a question here how do you organize the code to stick onto your products? Do you just do that yourself?
Speaker 2:That's in my course, exactly how I do. It is in my course, yeah exactly how I do.
Speaker 1:It is in my course.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because, like I said, getting access to codes and knowing about the codes should be common knowledge. It should be common knowledge the way that I have developed to specifically use it for me. It's taken me so long to figure out how to do this, so that's why it's in that part of the course.
Speaker 2:I'm sure you definitely can figure out a way yourself. I'm sure we're all like I said. We're hard workers, we're savvy. You can figure out a way yourself. If you want to know the way that I do it, it will be available in the course Exactly how I do it. There's a video of me doing it.
Speaker 1:Victoria, thank you so much.
Speaker 2:This has been awesome, thank you.
Speaker 1:I could talk to you for hours about this, but I think we've done well in about half an hour. What's?
Speaker 2:that half an hour. I thought I was talking for about four hours.
Speaker 1:Sorry. Thank you so much. I hope it was valuable to everybody, me too.
Speaker 2:I hope it was valuable. Bye.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining me today on the Makeup Insider. I hope you've enjoyed the show. Please don't forget to rate and subscribe, and I'll see you soon. Bye for now.