Brígh Findlay-Shields of Millbrook first got her start in social media marketing as a sixteen year old. She had developed an e-boutique selling her own equestrian accessories and was looking for a cheap (or free) way to drive traffic to her online shop. The result was an organically created social media strategy in which she demonstrated her intuitive grasp of the medium. The number of followers of her Instagram account grew to tens of thousands.
Participation in Peterborough & the Kawartha’s Summer Company as a high school student helped her focus her business which continued to flourish throughout her university studies in Toronto. Upon graduation, Brigh continued to develop her social media skills in jobs as a free-lancer and Social Media Strategist, but eventually decided to go back to running her own show. Brisa Social is the result of that decision.
Brigh has always been interested in beauty and aesthetics, so it was natural to select this industry as the niche she would pursue in her new venture. Brisa Social is a social media agency specializing in the aesthetics industry, helping businesses stand out on Instagram and TikTok with customized strategies targeting markets Brigh understands, including those in Gen Z.
Her target customers are spas, cosmetics professionals, plastic surgeons and dentists offering cosmetic procedures. She builds customized on-line strategies on Instagram and TikTok, platforms that are the most popular for her customer’s target audience, creating content including static and video posts that incorporate her customers’ branding. These platforms she believes are the best vehicles for social media marketing in this industry. Tik Tok videos under the hashtag #plasticsurgery have attracted more than 16.4 billion views, so it’s easy to understand why her customers are eager to tap into this market.
There is a wide range of beauty products and aesthetic procedures on the market. Not all aesthetic customers are seeking the same look. Some of the variations are driven by demographics- age and ethnicity. In North America, there is a trend towards authenticity, particularly in the Gen Z demographic, which includes ages up to 26. This is Brigh’s sweet spot. These customers are not looking for facelifts, but facials, body sculpting and cosmetic dental procedures might be on their wish lists. These potential customers also look for transparency in their service providers, and seek attainable and natural results. They want to see real before and after shots. Among all age brackets, lipo suction continues to be the most popular surgical procedure.
Brisa Social also represents international service providers in what is known as “medical tourism”. Brigh explains that not only are international procedures often less expensive, but the service providers can also have more experience. She is careful in her screening of all customers, but explains that many North American plastic surgeons are trained internationally where expertise abounds. For example, Turkey is known as the best destination for expertise in rhinoplasty. She does her homework, and strongly encourages all customers to do the same. The objective is to have the service recipient and provider to have a positive experience, which means the experience and results were as advertised.
Brigh’s advice to would-be entrepreneurs is “Just start!” A self-professed perfectionist, she understands the reluctance to make mistakes but explains that you learn quickly once you get going. She also advises entrepreneurs to know what to outsource, saying you don’t have to do everything in your business.
This spring, Brigh returned to PKED to participate in the highly competitive Starter Company Plus program, and was one of seven successful applicants to receive a microgrant at its completion a few weeks ago. Even with her business experience, she learned a great deal in this program, including forecasting cash flows and honing her script. Brigh’s pitch to earn the grant took the form of a promotional video in which she demonstrated the power of a $7 social media ad that generated four new customers for her client, representing a potential 6,700 % return on investment. That’s speaking the language of business and gave the advisory group a video case study. The grant money will be used to purchase a new laptop and some accounting and editing programs to keep her on top of her business.
Need some help focusing your business ideas? PKED is there to help. To learn more about their entrepreneurial programs visit www.investptbo.ca/bac. KG
