It’s no secret that “Showcase”-style posts are staples of any beauty pro’s social media feed. 

After all, how else are you going to show off how good you are at your job!? 

Not to mention, beauty trends are some of the most popular social media posts that garner millions of views and quality engagement from your followers. 

Despite their implicit importance, we see salon suite owners posting less-than-stellar versions of these posts every day. 

Many times these posts are low-quality with sub-par photos of their work which undermines their effort and quality. 

With just a few small tweaks to your photo-taking process and post-building strategy, you can increase your posts’ impact, reach, and engagement.

How to show off your work on social media

1. Using before and after carousels to show off your work

The best way we’ve found to show off your work is showing your audience the process and the transition with a “Before and After” style post. 

Before and after carousel posts are best for a few reasons:

• This post can be built using the carousel option in Instagram, and carousels will pop up on your followers’ feeds more than once, giving you at least twice as many opportunities to get in front of the eyes of your followers, which is huge. 
• They give your audience a reference point of where you started, and how you finished, giving your work more context and more impact. 
• They urge those who see your post to look at it for a longer period of time, and the longer people look at your posts, the more likely Instagram is to serve up your content to them again!

Now that you’ve figured out what kind of post you’re going to build, it’s time to take the necessary steps to make it shine. 

2. Taking “before” photos for before and after posts

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen simply horrendous before photos. 

We get it, you want the comparison to seem miraculous, but many times they are so bad that it reflects poorly on the poster themselves. 

Usually these photos are in the form of a picture that was taken way too close to the back of the client’s head, the background is a messy studio, with water bottles, foils, snacks, and a mess of color boxes, and many times the photo isn’t even level. 

Instead of doing this, we suggest having your client stand about 2-3 feet away from a clean wall, or at least a clean station, facing to the left or right, which ever side shows off more hair, then using the portrait mode on your phone to take a higher-quality shot of your client’s current “situation.” 

This will give your work, and your photo a great baseline on which to showcase your talent. 

It shows the work that needs to be done, while also showing off the vibe of your clean studio.

3. Taking “during” photos for before and after posts

This is an optional element to add to your results posts but we find that those who do, and do it well, see higher engagement. For the “during” photo there is one main focus, action. This is an action shot of you performing your service.

This photo should also include you! People want to see who does the work, not just the work itself. 

So whether its a fun mirror selfie with you waving your foils in the air and your client in the chair, a true front camera selfie of you and your client vibing together, or a short video of you painting their hair/nails, the “during” photo is a all about action, vibe, and fun times. 

This will show off, not just your personality and your talent, but that you host an inviting atmosphere.

4. Taking “after” photos for before and after posts

Now for the money shot. This is the shot most people think they already have down, but we have some pointers for you here as well.

Place your client in the same position as you did with the before shot, making sure everything is clean, and again using your portrait mode on your phone to take a photo that is highlighting your work. 

If you really want to perform well, and your client is comfortable with it, have your client smiling in the photo and position them in a way where you can see how happy they are with their new hair, nails, etc. 

Have them play with their new hair, or pose with their new nails, the more extreme the pose the better. People like seeing something different. 

Another final result composition that performs well is putting yourself in the results photos. 

This could be in the form of you playing with their hair, just including your hand to fan out some locks, or posing with your client to assign proper credit to your hard work. 

Additionally, no one ever said you can only include one end result photo. So why not take a few photos in different poses and use a few?

5. Building your before and after post

As we mentioned in the beginning, using the carousel format is recommended because it allows you to post multiple photos in a single feed post. 

As for the order of the photos, we suggest posting the best-looking end-result photo first. 

We know that “save the best for last” is a saying but the Instagram algorithm feels differently. 

After the best end result photo we suggest queuing the “before” photo, then your “during” photo/video, followed by any other end results photos you liked. 

This way you can grab people’s attention, give them context around where you started, show them a sneak peak of how you do it, and then remind them again of how great of a job you did! 

Now that you have the core element formed, it’s time to finalize the supporting features.

6. Tagging your before and after post

This can be overlooked, but it shouldn’t because this is how you can drive even more traffic to your account. 

The biggest point of advice here is to tag your client in every photo you think they look good in. 

This will give them a chance to repost any of the photos to their story and promote you! 

Additionally, you should be tagging the accounts of the products you use. You never know when your work is just what they are looking for on their own account.

7. Writing the caption for your before and after post

The last part we need to worry about is the caption. These captions should consist of 3 major parts, a hook, a shout-out to your client, and quick synopsis of the service you performed. 

The hook should be a catchy little quip related to the work you’ve done. 

Think: “This blonde is so icy I had to pull out my space heater in August just to finish this!” 

Then shout-out your client for being amazing, pay them a personal compliment, and make sure to tag them in the caption! 

Giving them part of your spotlight is a great way to passively urge them to give you some of theirs in return. 

Finally, write a quick synopsis of the service you provided, and why you did some of the things you did. 

Including this will not only let potential customers know your experienced in your field, but it will also give them the language needed to ask for a similar service!

Showing off your styling work on social media

In conclusion,  the key to killing it when posting before and after photos is making sure you have a consistent look, highlighting your work in the best possible way, tagging as many accounts as possible, and having an engaging caption. 

The more creative you are with your content, the more likely people will be attracted to it. 

So don’t be afraid to let your creative side shine through and show off your amazing talents!