Self-care and self-improvement are hot topics these days and now’s a brilliant time to own a skincare clinic or beauty brand. Why? Because the sector is tipped to reach £39.4 billion by the end of this year, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.3 per cent from 2016 to now.

As these Global Data stats show, this is a pretty big pie and now’s the perfect time to try and grab a bigger slice of it… but how do you go about spreading the word about your business and how do you really make a name for yourself in an increasingly competitive marketplace? Here are a few tips to help you do just that.

Focus on social proof

This concept first came to the fore in 1984, in Robert Cialdini’s book Influence - and, of course, in the digital age, it’s become a truly essential part of any successful marketing campaign, no matter what kind of brand you have or what industry you’re in.

The idea behind it is that people will copy the actions of others in order to help them navigate their way through a range of different situations - and you can take this and run with it as a way of helping to increase your customer base.

In practical terms, this means shouting about all your positive online reviews, featuring case studies of business successes, posting customer testimonials, sharing information about collaborations with big-name brands, displaying your awards and accolades on your website and sharing user-generated content across your digital platforms.

Remember that people are very discerning these days and they’re spoiled for choice when it comes to where to spend their money. The vast majority read online reviews before they buy anything and growing numbers are following new brands based on recommendations… and social proof is the psychological tool you need to have in your marketing arsenal in order to tap into this.

Talk to your clients

People like to feel valued and respected by the brands they interact with - and communication and engagement is the best way to build up a loyal following. The key to this is, of course, having a true understanding of who your clients are, so make sure you’ve found your core market before you begin.

Once you’ve identified your main demographic, start up a discussion! You can easily do this online with polls, surveys and fun Q&A posts - something that is being increasingly seen on Instagram via the site’s Stories feature.

Or you could think outside the box and do something akin to Glossier’s strategy, which involved setting up an online community via Slack for some of the brand’s most engaged followers so they could chat to one another and to the Glossier team even easier.

As senior vice-president of marketing Ali Weiss explains, this is a great way of sourcing feedback and using it to inform decisions on new products, really getting to the heart of what people like and what they don’t.

Go offline!

Naturally, the focus when it comes to marketing these days is to think digitally, but if this is your sole area of priority, you’re doing your brand a big disservice and missing out on all sorts of opportunities to connect with people and drive interest in your business.

Experiential marketing is big news and there’s a lot of technology at your disposal that you can take advantage of to engage with prospective clients and show that your brand is at the forefront of innovative thinking in your industry.

Interactive screens could be used in store, for example, so that customers can see what they look like in the latest makeup styles, or what scalp micropigmentation would look like after the treatment has been completed.

You could even leave your clinic behind for the day and take your brand on tour! Pop-ups represent big business and people love something new and fresh - and it could be the perfect opportunity to educate them on certain up-and-coming techniques and innovations in your industry, giving an even better impression of your brand.

The key with experiential marketing is to make sure that you’re genuine, however, and customers can smell a gimmick a mile off… so focus on authenticity and honesty, and you should be absolutely fine!