We were lucky to catch up with Peyton Parker recently and have shared our conversation below.

Peyton, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

I manage all my social media platforms myself. I believe in learning how to do something yourself before hiring someone else to do it. I’ve always been photogenic and since taking a photography class in college, my eye for a good shot that’ll get people engaged has sharpened. Starting out, I would test different types of content just to see what my audience responded better to. Back then and still to this day, they love when I post tutorials, before & after transformations, or just a step by step video of the entire makeup process. Those are the videos that get the most engagement. I know my audience the best and I love creating & posting content so I don’t see me hiring anyone for that aspect of my business anytime soon lol.

Peyton, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Peyton Parker and I do makeup & brows in the Towson, MD area while specializing in soft/natural makeup. I focus on creating skin-like, lightweight, and long lasting makeup. My clients struggle to find a makeup artist that does truly “natural” makeup and that’s where I solve their problem. I love giving them exactly what they want!

Honestly, curiosity got me into makeup. I’m the type of person that wakes up one day and wants to try something new, it’s the creative in me (currently it’s crotchet lol). And one day in 2015 that thing happened to be makeup and it’s become a strong passion of mine. 15 year old me wouldn’t believe what my work looks like now, I’m amazed with my growth everyday.

This year has been really great for my business, I taught my first makeup class, did makeup for Missy Elliott’s dancers, and the Baltimore Met Gala. I never thought picking up a makeup brush would lead me here but I’m grateful for all the opportunities it comes with.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

I love this question because BOY, does it take resilience to be successful in business! I learned very early on that you can’t become emotional over things that don’t work in business. You find the flaw, fix it, and try it again. If that fails, you do the same process again. Don’t quit until something sticks.

While trying to build my clientele, I would take models and post everyday hoping to get a booking and I got nothing but crickets and a couple likes. When I say I was posting everyday, I mean literally. I knew that my customers needed to see & acknowledge my brand at least 7 times before they made a decision, so it wasn’t hard for me to keep my momentum with posting consistently. The fact that I would go 1-2 months getting maybe 3 clients was getting discouraging but I was determined to figure out WHY I was being overlooked. I could have easily given up, but l like things that challenge me to improve.

Once I evaluated my business and decided to niche down to doing only soft/natural makeup, I was able to use my social media to speak directly to my target audience. After 2 whole years of posting consistent and effective content, I began to see bookings every week. In today’s world, people want instant gratification but building a strong brand takes time. As long as you follow the plan and enjoy the process, things will unfold for you overtime. I always say that if you work at something long enough, it has no choice but to work out.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Building my audience on social media took time. I took models every week just to post content since I didn’t have clients. I showed up consistently, posting time lapse videos and before and after transformations to keep my audience engaged. I would also give makeup tips, my audience seemed to like that a lot. My goal was to show my potential client that I’m the MUA they should choose. You have to stay at the top of your customer’s mind, so I would recommend posting on your story everyday. And don’t let people fool you. There is no “best time” to post. Pick a time you want to post and stick to that same time every time you post on your feed. I would recommend posting on your feed at least 3 times a week. Show some behind the scenes of what you do, people love to see authentic content. Whatever you know about your industry, share it online, what may be old information to you, could teach and help someone else.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://msha.ke/peytonp
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peytonp.artistry/profilecard/?igsh=cHZqY3V4b2Rva2h3

Image Credits

@kls.imagephotos
@kapturedbykasper
@kk.visuals_