Special Occasion Hair & Makeup
Special Occasion Hair & Makeup
Services: Website Design, Headshots/Brand Photos, Digital Audit, Social Strategy Refresh
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story can make all the difference.
Chrissy is a seasoned and expertly talented hair and makeup artist in the Rochester, NY area who specializes in luxury on-location services for weddings and portraits. With 20+ years of industry experience and now over a decade of entrepreneurship under her belt, she was consistently booking business, but noticed a few gaps in her brand presence. She discovered she was missing out on opportunities because her website and social channels didn’t effectively communicate all the services she was offering.
From Chrissy’s lips/fingertips:
“I had most of my processes set up already, but I was having trouble connecting with my ideal client. I also wanted to raise my prices, but I knew I didn’t have a strong enough brand identity in place to support that.
Natalie, knowing my business well, had proposed a name change to clarify my business offerings. Initially, I was dead set on keeping the name as it was, but I let the idea roll around for a couple of weeks and realized she was right. I decided to hire a graphic designer to revamp my logo and color palette. I was aiming for “fresh and trendy”, but Natalie encouraged me to go with more timeless choices - I think we landed somewhere in the middle, and it ended up being perfect.
And that was true for my entire experience with her - while I had a general direction in mind, she assisted me in refining my overall brand identity to better align with the client experience I was already providing. I fully trusted her opinion, so I brought a lot of the ideas I wanted to implement to her and she was able to put them in place for me.
I also knew that my website needed to be modernized - this was the biggest area I needed help with.
“I wanted my website to align with who I am TODAY, not who I was when I started my business, or even five years ago. I’m neurotic about staying on trend - I’m always taking classes and updating my education in the beauty industry. But I didn’t stay on top of my online presence as much as I was focused on staying up-to-date on my craft.”
“Natalie was able to help make my service offerings very clear to people who visited my website and now I don’t feel like I have to explain myself as much. People who reach out are already incredibly interested, love my work, and love what I bring to the table. It hasn’t been as hard to close a sale - it’s less of me explaining WHO I am and what I do.
This has been achievable through my social media presence as well - Natalie and Nina suggested processes that have helped me stay SO much more consistent. I was already using a scheduling platform, but with Nina’s insights and suggestions, I switched to a different one that had better capabilities, and was able to build on the framework they provided. My schedule is systematized now and I don’t find myself stuck in the “analysis paralysis” stage anymore.
My brand imagery also needed a refresh, and even though I’ve worked with Natalie for 13+ years, I can probably count on one hand how many times I’ve agreed to be photographed by Natalie - not because she’s not insanely talented, but because I don’t love being in front of the camera.
“But I realized I have to be present, people have to see me - Natalie encouraged me to do that, and now my clients can put a face to the name.”
“If someone is looking to elevate their brand or to get more clear on their offerings, Embolden brings a TON to the table. I’m getting better-informed leads and clients come to me already knowing my expertise, my minimums, my style - my brand speaks for itself now. I’m so glad I kept an open mind - I have 0 regrets!!”
- Chrissy Weyrauch, founder and lead stylist of Special Occasion Hair & Makeup
Featured Element // Website Design:
The Problem: Chrissy had a functioning website with a great foundation already, but she wasn’t drawing in her ideal clients or communicating her services clearly. Her website wasn’t serving her brand anymore, didn’t feel current, and didn’t set her up for success.
Before:
The Solution: Timeless and seamless web experience was achieved by weaving her updated portraits and brand photos, colors, clear and concise services and glowing testimonials. We also wanted to highlight Chrissy’s expertise in the industry and her many distinctions to establish her as an authoritative figure in the hair & makeup industry, both locally and in different markets.
Featured Element // Portrait Photography
Problem: As Chrissy mentioned, she has never been super comfortable in front of the camera. She had outdated headshots on her website that didn’t reflect the image she wanted to put out to her audience anymore. It was also difficult for her ideal client to connect with her without proper photo representation throughout her website + socials.
Solution: We provided a simple but impactful portrait session with polished headshots + details that captured Chrissy’s essence and professionalism. They’re bright, clean and match her new branding beautifully. She is now easily recognizable to her new clients and she’s able to form an emotional connection before they even meet her.
Here are some highlights…
Featured element // Digital Audit & Social Strategy Refresh
Problem: Chrissy was bogged down with the everyday task management of running a business, especially during peak wedding season. Her social media presence was regularly falling to the wayside, and she was missing out on an opportunity to market her business and connect with her audience.
Solution: After a full digital audit with Nina, we were able to suggest a new scheduling tool (Metricool) and provided Chrissy with a clear strategy + goals to help her stay consistent. She is one of our biggest success stories to date when it comes to social media marketing improvements! She is now posting consistently with eye-catching graphics + visuals and AMAZING hooks that reel (see what we did there..) in her ideal community.
Head over to @specialoccasionhairmakeup to keep up with Chrissy!