Posting More Won't Fix Your Med Spa Marketing Strategy

Speaker A: If you have a personal social media and you are out partying the night before and then you are doing a service the next morning, I am concerned as the person. So that's great that you were at a club in Vegas and partying. I'm not having you inject me the next day. So your person, like you said, your personal brand can hurt. Unfortunately, it is what you wear or what you say or your political. If you're going to take that your personal brand now, you have to know that the consequences come with it.

Speaker B: Welcome to keep what you earn the show for business owners who want to scale profitably and build a business that's actually worth something. My name is Shannon Weinstein and I run a fractional CFO firm to help seven figure aesthetics and wellness practices scale with clarity, cash flow and confidence without burning out or guessing their way into growth. Each week you'll hear practical CFO insights, real stories about scaling and exiting, and clear financial strategies designed to help you understand what's holding your business back and how to fix it. If you want to follow along with the exact framework that we use with our clients, sign up for the free five part video series for aesthetics Practice Owners where I walk you through the financial building blocks required to scale your practice and increase enterprise value. You'll find the link in the show notes. Hey Robin, welcome to the show. Hi.

Speaker A: Thank you so much for having me, Shannon. I appreciate it.

Speaker B: Thank you for coming. I always appreciate having some amazing guests. I'm so excited for this episode, guys because, because I love these conversations around marketing. You know, I can't get enough of telling you guys about my thoughts on marketing and spending money on marketing. Uh, so Robin, would you mind just introducing yourself really quick to those listening, let them know what you do. Sure.

Speaker A: I'm Robin Diamond. I'm the CEO and founder of Fifth and Core. We are a marketing and innovation company based out of Florida.

Speaker B: Love it. And Fifth and Core has a meaning behind it, right? Could you just like give me the origin story a little bit of that? Cause that was really interesting. I actually read into that.

Speaker A: Yes, thank you so much for asking. Actually, because it's everything is in a name. I think I'm like Shakespeare that everything means something in a name. So Fifth represents the five senses and Core is Latin for heart or courage. And we really needed courage to start this business. But I wanted to get back to the heart of marketing. And I was working for corporate and it was data, data, data, data, which is very important especially for those of us who do financial. It's very important. But knowing why you're doing something and the heart of behind it. That's what we were focused on.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I love that because it also kind of. It kind of subtly means intention, too, where it's like, we don't do things haphazardly. We do with intention and all in. And that's what I think of when I think of that word, too, is just like. It's just that, that core, literally C O R E core, but that fundamental belief that this is what we're designed to do and we're gonna go all in on it.

Speaker A: And that is 100% what I've done is go all in on this. Double down, whatever you want to let it ride on black. I say if you're in Vegas, that is what this is all about. And it's really putting your whole heart into something.

Speaker B: Speaking of which, we were just talking about your travel schedule, and I go, yeah, she is going all in, guys. Like, no sleep. It's like that thing that's like, no sleep. Another club. Another club.

Speaker A: I swear, that's this industry and no one understands it. Right now in spring is crazy. And it is, like, where I really should do, like, a, uh, video about that.

Speaker B: Like, another show. Another show, another speech, another podcast out. It's so true that if you. If you work with medical aesthetics, like, there is a show every week and some amazing people at every one of them, which is what's so fun. Like, I love this industry because they all fill up.

Speaker A: It really does. And you get FOMO if you don't make into it. And you. You and I are like, oh, are we going here or here? And then we'll be like, split. Because sometimes there's two shows in a weekend and you're like, yeah, you can't make it to everything.

Speaker B: Yeah, but I love that there's such an abundance there. And. And that's actually kind of what I want to talk about, too with you, is so much of this par. Parallels into the industry with practitioners. Because now we're talking about marketing a lot, and there's a lot of, I would say, distractions and things pulling attention. So just like we just talked about with, like, all the different shows you can go to and all the things you could do, there's an abundance of options available and things you could be doing in your marketing. And I think that's what makes it so difficult, is when you have an abundance of choice, it's overwhelming because there isn't one thing that's working or one thing that you should be doing. How do you help people who come to you distill that into, here's what you should be doing. Like, are you one of those you need to be everywhere and be doing everything? Or is it more like pick a thing and run with it? Like, what's your general approach when you advise clients?

Speaker A: We do it like a roadmap. What are the results you want to get? That's what I first ask. What are your results? Okay, great. How much time do you have time to dedicate to this? And it's kind of like my treatment plan when I go to my provider and I'm like, I want this. And she's like, well, what are your end results that you're trying to get rid of? Okay, great. Let's start there and let's create a roadmap for you. Because you can't do it all, and you definitely can't do it all in one day or one quarter or one year sometimes. M. And you have to financially budget for it. You know, and that's another thing. Like, we really work with, you know, your accounting team, your financial team, to sit there and say, what do you have budget for now? Let's see what the biggest lift is. Don't do everything at one time.

Speaker B: Yeah. And not only your money budget, but your time budget, your energy budget, because you could have a decent amount of spend available. But if you don't have the energy and the time to commit to say it's making content or doing the business development, then the dollars really don't go as far. Right.

Speaker A: And I have some practices who will come to us and they'll be like, we don't have anyone to answer our phones. And I was like, then you don't need marketing right now.

Speaker B: Right.

Speaker A: We need a pause. And I. I want to look at brands like that and be like, okay, look, your practice doesn't have that. That's the first one. Because why send you more traffic if it's not going to be answered? Exactly.

Speaker B: If you don't have a bucket, why

Speaker A: turn on the faucet 100%? And I think that's one of those first ones that you do. And then there's different layers and levels of that.

Speaker B: Yeah. So when you come into a, uh, practice, let's say, I mean, how often do you hear practice owners kind of like, ordering one thing off the menu and thinking you're going to do one thing? And then they kind of pull a 180 and go, actually, you're not ready for that. We need to Do X, Y and Z first. Like, how many times do you. I'm going to say, kind of disappoint them with the fact that you can't wave a magic wand or that you're not going to propose some miracle drug of a marketing strategy, like, so many times.

Speaker A: And we don't have a. There's the one thing that's different about us, and this is a business. We're not a one fit fits all. Just like, you might not be able to just do my taxes right away. You know, you have to, like, look at it. And if I haven't done any of the work before. So we are not a. Like, we're not a menu. It's not an option of those things. So sometimes it's going in. And actually, this happened yesterday. Someone came to us and they said, we need social media and we need to drive it there. And when I looked at their competition and who they sent as competitors, I was like, you actually don't. I actually. By the way, when I went to your website, I got the Spinning Wheel of Death. So I'm gonna connect you with one of our partners who could redesign this right now. And by the way, I don't know if you know this, but you have Google Ads running and, uh, you need to turn those off. And they were like, that's the most honest anyone's been. And I'm like, great, let's clean up those things and then come back to us. And here's people who I'm gonna send you to to do that. We had another conversation yesterday about somebody who doesn branding. And I was like, well, why would we go out there if you don't have brand colors and we don't have a branding tone? Let me connect you with this person who's an industry leader in branding. Come back in six months to us when you have all of those things in place. You need to. And I know sometimes it's disappointing, but also to walk them through. I wish. I wish in the first day that when I was starting this business, someone said, you don't need all of these things, right?

Speaker B: Because you're hearing all these voices. Like, you need a podcast, you need a this, you need a that, and like, to. To be. To keep up with everybody. You need all the things, right? You need the Louis, the Gucci, the Prada and the. And it's like, you don't though. Like, you need one thing that works and maybe one other thing to supplement to hedge it. Like, that's about it. That you have to really be Focusing on what's, what's actually working for you. And you won't get that feedback unless you actually go all in.

Speaker A: And it's what your niche is, too. Certain things work better if you're B2B. Why the heck are you doing a TikTok video? Like, let's put your budget where we really need to put your budget and let's double down. And I always say test first. And some people, I'm like, here's the smallest one that we're going to start with and then we'll increase scope when we start seeing it work. And people are like, wait, what? I'm, um, like, yeah, why would I want you to go gangbusters, go, uh, rent podcast equipment when you don't even have time to shoot a podcast? It took you three weeks to get on this meeting. You only had one hour block. What are you going to do?

Speaker B: One of the biggest questions that we get as CFOs is when am I ready to expand? When am I ready to exit? Unfortunately, it is a complicated question, but the answer can be simplified into a framework that we've developed that helps identify the five financial vital signs that are indicating if you're ready for expansion into new locations or possibly an exit. You can find the link to the video series in the show notes that walks you through the simplified framework and helps you identify the biggest thing in your way to those goals. Yep. And go back to your other analogy with the roulette. Right. Is like putting it all on black. I go, when you're almost. When you're betting on a single channel or you're betting on something like that based on trends, you're not just putting it on black or red, you're putting it on an actual number, which is a much lower likelihood you're going to win. You're going putting all your chips on something that's very high risk. When you haven't really thought about what are my chances to succeed here and

Speaker A: what is the market dictating? You know, and some things I think people expect to go viral. They're like, I want to go viral. And I'm like, why? Uh, there's influencers right now who can't go viral, who are pushing five videos a day. Going viral doesn't mean anything. And so really showing them what the platforms are, they'll be like, my competition down the street's on TikTok. I'm like, are you on TikTok? Let's go after LinkedIn. You know why? Because Zoom Face makes the business owners who have the money go, I don't want to look at this. Why is my forehead moving? So I just thought about that while we're doing this.

Speaker B: Ah.

Speaker A: Why is my forehead moving? Okay, after I get off with Shannon, I'm going to go book an appointment, and I'm probably going to get a couple other things. It's, you know, where is your target demographic? Let's spread it, let's do omnichannel, um, marketing, let's see what channels are working and then layer new things on.

Speaker B: That makes total sense. And I think another big important point is that people think they have to post. There's this, like, I don't know, this responsibility, this guilt even, that if you're not posting, you're not keeping up, or that the more you post, the more clients are going to come in, the more you'll have brand visibility. And that's not completely incorrect, but I just feel like there's a better use of time and energy than thinking. That is the one thing I must do today, is I just have to make sure I post every single day. Like, what's your thoughts on how posting translates to, say, profit?

Speaker A: Oh, that. That is the magic key. I think it's what you're posting. I, uh. You don't need to post every single day. That's like going, you know, joining up a CrossFit workout right now. And, like, you're gonna throw up. Great. You had a great first week. And you. You can't move your whole body, but it's being consistent. So I say if you can only dedicate three days a week to it, dedicate those three weeks. Um, what we tell people is to dedicate an entire day of creating a bank of content so that that one day you're like, all right, I'm all in. I'll drink my Red Bull. I'll get ready. I'll take my B12 shot, and we're good to go. And then space it out. Don't go. Because that's the worst thing for the algorithm, too. If you go all in at one time and then you have to back off and then go back in. But also look at channel diversity. And I feel like everyone's here's post and what they thought right now. Shannon was like, okay, Instagram or TikTok, and I'm like, stop it. There's other platforms. YouTube, who's owned by Google, Pinterest, which is our number one highest converting for the low. Take your content and spread it out and do that. And you don't need to Post every day.

Speaker B: Yeah. And I heard, wait, I don't know if it was you that said it. Actually, I heard YouTube shorts are. There's like something with YouTube shorts now because they're owned by Google, that they're kind of like plugging into the searchability.

Speaker A: You start ranking so much faster, so stop wasting. And you get the data and it's going straight to your Google and it's helping Google reviews, it's helping you rank, it's giving you SEO value, it's giving you GEO value. I'm like, go there. Stop worrying about your Instagram. Reel in a, in a dance that you shouldn't be doing.

Speaker B: Yeah. And you know how there's always the advice that people give that's like, where is your ideal client hanging out? Like, where are they? But I want to go a step further with it because I think people misconstrue that. Where, let's say your clients are actually on TikTok, I go, but what are they doing on TikTok and what mind state are they in? So, for example, even if my clients were on TikTok, if my business owners were playing around on TikTok, I go, but they're not buying my services from TikTok. They're watching funny videos of like talking animals and they are or something. Like, it's not, it's really not designed like they're. They're trying to escape and be in like a flow state of escape. They don't want to be thinking. So there's, it's not only where's your client at, but where are they at mentally and where are they showing up where they're probably open to that conversation. Because I think that's the big thing is where are they looking for you? Like, where would they be going to think about this? Like you said, you have zoom face. Oh, my God. I need, I need some, um, work here. I need this or that. I'm not going to TikTok to be like, let me go see if I can find an injector on that platform. It's. Where are they going when they realize they have a problem? Where are they going when they realize that they need, they need this? How are they finding you? It's probably Google or some type of search engine, right? I mean, even we're Even talking about ChatGPT knowing that you exist through probably a high volume of content and reputation. And then it's really being there when the demand gets created. And I think when you have to create your own demand and feel like you have to generate demand. That's when it's exhausting. Do you agree?

Speaker A: A hundred percent agree with you. And you said it's your searchability. You might not have a social media problem, you might have a public relations problem. When's the last time you did thought leadership? When's the last time you celebrated your anniversary of be? You know, if you've, you've had your practice for four years, did you celebrate every four years? You know, like put a press release about that? Did you bring someone new on, Talk about that. If you are an industry expert, get an article, get a blog, get a podcast. That's marketing. I don't need you to post it. And it will have a ripple effect. That PR piece or that podcast will lead into your social ones. So stop focusing on just one area. Uh, there could be solutions in those and find out where your market is. Like you said, people go to social media to educate, entertain themselves or escape. That's it. So if your content is not helping people escape, then they're probably just swooping by. If it's not entertaining, making me laugh or keeping me, or if it's edgy like those ones, if they're not doing that, I'm just gonna slide by that content.

Speaker B: Right? And it's, you know, it's a lot to try to keep up with because there's so many people in that area, like in that pool, right. So to be recognized there is much harder versus if you have a specific, for example, if you're geographically bound, right. Like I run a virtual business, so it's a little bit more vast. You know, the whole Internet is my oyster basically. And but if you're running a practice that is, you know, a brick and mortar, obviously now you have a certain amount of geographical presence. And I'm like, there's so much you can do. You can go to other places, you can partner with other stores, you can do physical M mail. You can do so many things that people just don't think about anymore because they think they have to be on Instagram. And I've told this to my fellow accountants too, where I go. It's not good marketing. If you can do it in your pajamas from your couch, it's probably not going to be as effective as getting your butt up and going to talk to people.

Speaker A: Sorry, that's so true. And so geographically, yeah, if you are in Lakeland, Florida, go and connect with every public CEO or high level director or VP or first of all, they're going to be in your financial range to come in and use your services. So look at, if you're in Dallas, look at the big corporations that are there outside of Southlake or and all of a sudden on LinkedIn, you're going to start getting those that exposure. That's the clientele that you're looking for anyways. And so when you say geographic, yes, I am based in Florida, but all of our clients are all over the US and internationally. The world is our tiny oyster, but we also need to know who we're talking to. And so the same thing, if you're geographically bound, do stuff, do community gift backs and then start doing collaboration. Stop with this influencer stuff. Look at other businesses that you can work with. If you are a provider and there's a Pilates studio, if you know someone's paying a hundred and something dollars for one Pilates class, that's your target demographic. Do a collaboration post with each other, do an event with each other, bring community back because that's going to do better and your marketing dollars are way better spent that way.

Speaker B: Totally agree. And it's kind of this back to basics mindset of like do what we were going to do in the 90s, like go back to pre social media, right? But like, you know what's funny is the most effective thing I've seen, I actually do physical mail and it's more effective than email because everyone deletes their email. But if you write a handwritten card it's like holy cow, I gotta read this. And it's actually gone in reverse where it's so rare to see physical mail that you actually differentiate. So you just have to be different enough to be noticed and then compel with the M message. And that's the other thing too is you have to get the attention and then keep the attention. But to your point about collaborating, like it is this simple. Just think about this like you have clientele. Let's go back to Zoom face. You have a corporate CEO or executive that is your already your client, right? You know where they work because you probably talk to them, you know, you chat with them, whatever. And you know where they work. Well, guess what, you should probably send something to that office for everybody there. You don't have to tell them that your person gets Botox. Like let's not, you know, we don't have to reveal their secrets, right, of how they look so great. But you could say, hey, there's a lot of people who there who are probably on Zoom all day. That is a great message. I already know this company will need it. Let's do a targeted campaign at this particular company to get more of those people in and refer. You know, that effort probably relatively low is probably the same amount of time it would take you to do like how many TikTok videos and would get you so many more actual clients. I think people disconnect from the results. They think that the effort. They're measuring on effort and not on outcomes, not on the actual results.

Speaker A: I love that you said that. So we do some weird things that anyone can steal ideas from. So I'm just gonna drop them here. So one is we send everyone a card. It's a black card. Why? Because our colors are black, obviously. Uh, and then I said wet all in black. So black is our thing. And it has a red wax seal. Well, people are obsessed with this. They think it's a wedding invite. So everyone never gets thrown out. And I was like, haha.

Speaker B: It is kind of.

Speaker A: It is kind of. It's got that really like soft touch paper. We open it up, we have our own company sent and which I said scent. We literally engage with people and people are rubbing constantly that red wax seal. And I'm like, it looks like a wedding invite. Done. We sent out. We work with law firms and we sent out our case study on pink paper and said not legally blunt. People are like, what the heck are you doing? And I'm like getting your attention.

Speaker B: Yep. I sent out one that said tighten foreheads, not margins.

Speaker A: And what do people do?

Speaker B: They.

Speaker A: Because it's like this way, click on words. And I love that. And you said go back to basics. So when I started, I started in direct mail. I try not to talk about that part of my life. And billboards. So at a billboard we had maybe three seconds to get someone's attention. And that's where we need to start going back to the basics. And I know you're like, well, you do digital marketing. Digital marketing might not be the thing that's bringing in the leads. Unfortunately, you have to have it. So I'm not saying don't have it, but it supplements.

Speaker B: It can enhance. It can then enhance the natural features. Right. It can enhance your reputation more. And I would say this on social media really too quick with digital marketing is once you develop reputation too, people will go find you on social media. So like they'll get the mail and they might go to your. You've got to make sure that they can find you in the Internet ecosystem once they know you exist. But that's the first step, right?

Speaker A: Yes. So it's just like Having a website, social. If you're sitting there asking me if you should start a social media, you should have started it 15 years ago. That's like asking M if you should have a website or a phone number. It is a mandatory thing, but you have to think outside the box to bring in revenue. Also, you have to understand what the market is demanding. If you're trying to do paid Facebook ads and paid Instagram ads at the same time as Black Friday, you're losing your budget. You're not competing against the other competitors. You're also competing against everyone else. Nike, everybody else who's selling during that time. And so cut your budget back, look at different options, think outside the box during those times.

Speaker B: Absolutely. And I think that what people lose touch with is, again, uh, going back to. They're measuring it based on the effort they're putting in. So what message do you have for people who are in that position where they're like, okay, I've been posting nearly every day. I have been doing X, Y and Z marketing. You know, I'm trying my best. I'm putting all this out there and I'm hustling and I'm working so hard, but I'm not getting the results that I want to. You know what, what is your advice for those people who just feel exhausted and burnt out from doing all the things that come to you? What do you normally say to them?

Speaker A: Let's change it. And I don't give them an answer right away. I'm like, do you mind if I do research? Can you give me two days? And we go through everything. We go through their website. We go through, like, where is it broken? And that's what makes us different. It might not be it. It might be. I called their front desk and no one answered. And I'm like, hey, I found your problem. It wasn't your social. It wasn't your public relations. It wasn't your website. Nobody picked up the phone. And I've been trying to book an appointment for the past two days, and guess what? I went someplace else. Or I went to your booking link and it said, every space is full. Are you really booked until. For three weeks from now? Why are you even coming? And they're like, no. And I'm like, something's broken on your square. So it's really getting research, and it's getting. We're not. We're not trying to get everyone as our client. Not everyone is our client. And that's okay. Uh, and, uh, I don't think everyone's Your client either. So it's. It's knowing what is there and that we can come up and we can work alongside it. And if you're exhausted sometimes, and I think you, Shannon, you might have heard me say this from stage, but I am, too. Coffee? Let's. I'll send you a bottle of wine and we'll cry in our pillow, because sometimes things don't work. And that's what I have to say. I have. If I walk down into my kitchen, I have these three friendship bracelets. And I was like, we're just going to be friends. And they're like, you don't want us to client? I'm like, no, you don't need my services. So I bought them friendship bracelets so they know I still care. But it's not, it's not about that. I understand that. It's. It's exhausting, it's tiring, it's putting yourself out there. If it's not working, let's try something different. And that's kind of like going to a fitness trainer. If it's not working and your body, you're not losing weight, we have to think something different. Your body has got used to it.

Speaker B: But here's what I like about that, is, like, you have a full dedication to their goals, even if you're not the solution. So it's like. And that's what you have to be like with those clients, though, as a provider, too, is you also have to be relentlessly obsessed with them achieving their goal and disconnect from whether or not you have to be the solution. And then you have to figure out whose solution. Am I?

Speaker A: Yes. And you are not that facelift solution. If someone comes in asking for Botox, same way, you'd be like, hey, I can't give you that snatched back look with 10 units of Botox that you need from a facelift and a neck lift, you know, like, you have to know it. So we are not. And we have partnered with some incredible people in the industry that I will happily copy you into an email and introduce you and say, hey, this might be your solution.

Speaker B: Absolutely. And the same thing goes with us too, right? I would say if they don't have. If they're poorly managing their money and let's say the owner's taking out $20,000 a month that they don't really have to take out and bleeding out the profits, then I go, okay, or an extra 20, 30, right? It's like, okay, so as long as you're still doing that, there's really nothing I can do for you? Like, I can't fix this. I found your problem. It's you. You're the problem. Sorry, um, I found the problem, but it's this habit or this behavior, this needs to stop. And I rightfully can't charge you on a month to month basis to tell you that every month. Like, I can't keep doing that. I've done that with clients countless times where I said, I told you your problem, you refuse to fix it. You continue to pay me to tell you the problem again, and I go, I love cashing your check every month, don't get me wrong. But if you're not gonna change this, my services are not worth it. It's not gonna generate a return for you, and we're setting ourselves up for failure. And that's just the truth of it. You have to actually put the work in, but you also have to be able to, uh, like, shed the ego in a way and be like, you know what? None of us know what we're doing, especially with marketing. None of us know what we're doing with digital marketing. None of it. Like, I'm gonna give you the best advice I have and then, you know, take it or leave it. But you have to be committed. The person also has to be committed to their outcome, committed to their results.

Speaker A: That's something we have to talk about too. Because if I wasn't committed to my results of like, going back to being a provider, if I'm going out and baking in a tanning bed, there's no point of me doing a laser to fix the problem, you know, so like, and I'm putting it very simple, and I don't understand why it's translated differently if you are not. If your goal is to retire in a year, don't get social media with your face on it. Start showing your practice. Like, there's, uh, we need to know what your goals are and let's work towards those. If you want to have a work life balance and you only want to provide on Tuesday and Thursday, let's book up your Tuesdays and Thursdays. So it's really what works for you. But then you have to do the work. Don't sit there and say, I can't do a content shoot because we, we have. The content has to come from someplace. So, you know, if you don't give rounds of approval, then what are we supposed to do? If your own team members don't like your post, then how do you think they're promoting your business when they're coming in, they should be your biggest fan. Their money comes from that. I have people saying, oh, our, our esthetician doesn't like it, or this, or we only have two likes. I'm like, the people you pay on salary don't like your stuff. Do you think they're really pushing you? This is not a marketing issue. I think it's when they come in there, they should be so gung ho about the practice.

Speaker B: I think that comes back to like, the things you have to have before you have a solid social media strategy. So, uh, like my, my is that your social media is kind of like an evolution to your point. It's like the website or the landing page of when people find out about you, they'll go there to see what you're about or to go see the before and afters and see the photos. So they'll go there and start combing through and exploring. Right. But if you're trying to generate content to pull people in, to pull attention in, you have to have a solid strategy where your entire team is behind that messaging. And I think you have to include your entire team in that content so that there's familiarity, there's trust being built with as many faces as possible. And, and I want to get into this too, actually, with you on the topic of reputation. You hit on something really important. That personal brand.

Speaker A: Yes.

Speaker B: Okay. I have an opinion on like having a practice and a personal brand, but I think those two don't mix. I think personal brands aren't really what's bringing people into a practice. And I think personal brands can actually harm you when you're trying to distinguish yourself, like, distinguish the practice. Like you said, when you wanna retire, you wanna sell. I go, ooh, it's tricky because you have to have. Because reputation is key, especially in the medical field. Reputation equals trust. So people think personal brand is the way to go. What's your take on personal brand? When it comes to, you know, your practice, It's.

Speaker A: I look at it as like a digital ebitda. So it really depends on what you are trying to do. If you are trying to sell your practice at the end of this, then go ahead, be a personal brand. But just know that all the money that you're pouring into that personal brand will disappear when we pull you out of the practice. There's no more money. Because if you are the only provider, there is no more money. If you're okay with that and you're gonna do this till you die. Perfect. Let's pour into your personal brain and have those things. But if you're doing a practice, if you look at Fifth and Core's marketing, I have our public relations person talk, I have our influencer manager talk, I have our operations team. Fifth and Core is not named Robin Diamond Marketing because it's. I'm sorry, this is really sad, but if I die tomorrow, Fifth in Core keeps going. Our clients are still okay. It is not built on me. And so that is a very, It's a very fine line. Push your business, highlight those employees, highlight the next generation who's working there and the services. If not, if you're the only one, you're. You're going to die. You know, don't ask your esthetician to build a book of business if you as the plastic are only being the face of it.

Speaker B: Yeah, that's the hard part. Because, uh, think of it this way too. Think about plastics, right? That your customer has to fully trust you and know your reputation. And they want someone who's reputable. They want someone who potentially that personal brand helps when it comes to making a decision. You know, they want to help build reputation. But it's really hard to distinguish between I'm, um, building my own reputation as a medical provider and a, um, reputation for my practice, where distinguishing those things must be really hard. What advice do you give on how to balance that out? Where it's like you want to build trust and reputation, but you can't do it for yourself and not the practice.

Speaker A: You have to do it. It's great that I get to speak, but I share the names of my employees who work for M. Me. I sit there and say, public relations was never my idea. I didn't graduate with it. And I named the employee who came up with it and now runs a department of it. You have to build the next generation or you're always going to be on that hamster wheel. And so if that's what you want to do until you die, that's fine. If you know, there's a legacy plan or, you know, you want to sell to, you know, a private equity in the future, you want to sell to another provider, start highlighting them now because they need to do it. And look at, you know, diversifying yourself. I do also want to say personal brand hurts. And I will tell you one other thing. And for some reason, some of you don't get this understanding. So I'm going to say it here. If you have a personal social media and you are out partying the night before and then you are doing a service, the next Morning. I am concerned as the person. So that's great that you were at a club in Vegas and partying. I'm not having you inject me the next day. So your personal, like you said, your personal brand can hurt. Unfortunately, it is what you wear or what you say or your political. If you're going to take that, your personal brand now, you have to know that the consequences come with it.

Speaker B: Absolutely. That's so important. That's so important that if you're going to leverage your personal brand for your business, it means you've signed up for every part of that reputation being affected by the social media. Right?

Speaker A: Yes. So don't post dumb things.

Speaker B: Yeah, I agree. It's not worth posting. Um, if you wouldn't want an email to all your customers.

Speaker A: All we're doing, like, we don't. We don't need that. And they can see it, you know, or they see you with this or they see you with that or moving up your prices, like, understand how it translates. And so that is really important. Your personal branding should be the part that you're educating yourself, that you're going to this conference, that you're taking a cadaver course. Post that stuff.

Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. You know, it's so funny. I see people skip that. Like, they'll post that, and I'm like, oh, my God, post about that. Like, boast about this. This is great. Like, you know, we talk about wins all the time. We start every CFO call with wins and things. And it's like, oh, I got to go get this amazing training and do this. I'm like, great. Like, have you done, um, a contact to all your patients about that? And, like, do they know this is a new offer? Because although I'm not a marketing expert, I think I'm like, a closet marketer in another life. But, like, I love marketing. I don't like doing it, but I love, I love the theory. And I talk to my, my clients all the time about, well, I think what you need is, like, a new acquisition strategy. We need to expand audience. Like, we've tapped into this. Like, we need to. We need to expand. And like, this is where you need to call a R.O. right? I extend. I can extend to a certain point. And then I'm like, I'm not gonna tell you what to post. I'm m. M not gonna tell you what platform. I'm just gonna say, we need more acquisition of audience or we need to dip into this more. Here's what's broken. Here's the constraint. And if it actually is leads in the door, which, like, by the way, 90 times, 90% of the time, it's not right. Even though they think it is. It's more about if it is a lead problem. I go, okay, great. What? Like, what aren't you already doing that you don't have to make new things? I go, you're just probably not sharing the stuff that matters like that or, you know, other things that you're up to in the community that would be actually a great brand enhancer. Instead, you're coming up with all these, like, again, the TikTok dances and things like that. I go, that's not helping reputation. It might be a little entertaining, but I'm not picking my injector based on how well they dance to a trending audio, right?

Speaker A: Not at all. But when I see my. And this is me, I have a provider. When I see her at a different conference than mine and she's talking about this news, like style or this, I'm like, oh, can we wait? I forgot you guys do that. You know, like, it just is a refresher and you need. You need that. And I also love that she's constantly educating herself and like, okay, great. I. I want to go to somebody who's educating. If you're doing the work, if you're paying. These are not cheap conferences. We can say that these are not cheap courses. This is why your clients don't need to come in here for that discount. It's because you went and educated yourself. You learned about these things. You've, uh, learned about hormone testing. You know what that is? I love that my provider knows that it's my hormones that are affecting my skin. Not let's. Let's do a treatment or chemical peel. She's like, wait, maybe we should do some blood work. And I'm like, we probably should. We should probably do those things. That's what I want. And that education is driving us, and I think that's the things that we need to highlight. It's great that you went on Rodeo Drive. Fantastic. You bought a purse. But you were at a conference, and I want to see that education that you did. What did you learn? What did you come back with? Who did you talk to? Who did you partner with? Tell me those things so that as a consumer, I feel more confident walking in.

Speaker B: Exactly, exactly. We do the same thing, right? So it's showing that I'm going to these conferences too, and I'm learning about. I learned so much more about medical aesthetics as a business, and it's funny because I'm not. I'm actually going, this is so funny. I go to maybe one accounting conference for every eight medical aesthetics conferences. Not only because, yes, it's business development, but it's also to get educated and get immersed in your ideal client and to hear what they're looking for and what they're learning and the new treatments that are coming out. And I'm like, ooh, what's the margin on that? Like, I'm such a nerd going, I wonder what the labor rate's gonna be on that. That's gonna increase utilization. We should totally get that at this practice. I should go back and tell them about that. So in a way, I'm actually going to these conferences in a, in a mindset of I'm on behalf of my practices that I work with. And I'm going in and like fetching new information and brochures and going, oh, my client could use you or my client could use this. I'm going to bring this back to them. And that's also value add for me and my clients. And I think as a practice owner you have to be kind of approaching it that way and say like, you're actually going there on behalf of your patients.

Speaker A: Yes, learn what your patients are looking for. And I love that you're saying that because I didn't get to see you at a conference because you were in the business track, which was where I was supposed to be, but I was over in clinical learning about if we should aspirate or if like. And people are like, why do you need to know that? I'm like, because that's a great marketing tool. And so if you are going there and learn where your clients are. If you think your clients are in a location, let's go see if they are. Let's ask their opinion. You know, what are people searching? If you're a plastic and people are searching motivo, well, maybe that's the reason why you should bring something in. Don't bring it in because they have better marketing. Bring it in because you know your client are looking for, your patients are looking for it. And that's really important. Educate yourself on what they're looking for. If your education target demographic is a 35 to 45 year old woman, start talking about hormones, start talking about how that could affect your skin and talk about how it can affect your products. That's where they want to see in the education. Move yourself into where your ideal clients are and your ideal ones. I'm going to learn everything I possibly can about the new devices and what is coming out and what the market is demanding for those. Because the other thing about this industry which is so great and I fell in love with it, is it's innovative and it's a disruptor. So if you're not disrupting yourself, the market is disrupting, then you add a layer of marketing and social media. You are not fighting over other providers. You are now fighting for a 23 year old who is giving me hormone advice.

Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And I think, when I think it's really hard for providers who have a lot of integrity and a lot of ethical value to like, same thing with us too. This is why I think I love this industry is because I can relate to this so harshly. It's like, okay, there are going to be people out there who are shelling out horrible advice that you think that would get them a malpractice lawsuit, that would get them, uh, a huge risk. But these people are popular. These people are getting 100,000 followers. These people are saying aggressive, like hard things that are clickbait and it's really annoying and it pisses people off who are trying to operate with integrity. And they're like, this is so unfair. I feel like it's like the tortoise and the hare thing, right? And I feel like I'm working so damn hard to get the results that they have, but they're doing it in a very weird, it feels malicious, cheating kind of way. And then you get bitter and resentful. And I've been there. And I go, you know what, though? Like, that's not the point. Like, that's not, that's not the point. You can't get distracted by that. They're doing this for a different reason. And yes, it's gonna tick you off, but you cannot succumb to, oh, maybe if I do something their way, I'll get these results. It's like you could take a page from their book, but like, you know, it's a very different outcome they're trying to get. And I think that's what people don't

Speaker A: understand and do what's good for you. Be authentic. Right? Everyone told me I was nuts to do a marketing, first of all, a marketing company. And they're like, well, you're offshoring it. It's cheaper. You can hire a bunch of. And I was like, no, you can fly to Florida, meet our entire team in person. You will always see their faces. And they're like, wait, what? I'm like, you get a team of people. We don't do account executives. You get three people. Because three people. We're selling you three different services. You're going to see the faces of those people and they're going to speak. And everyone's like, that's not smart as a business. And I'm like, I'm sorry that. But this is what my integrity was built on. And it took a lot longer and it will probably take me four more years to catch up to other agencies. And we're not going to offshore stuff. We're not going to sell it, send it over to the Philippines. We're not going to just use AI and generate all your content. We're going to sit there and work with you and make it special. And that's what we're doing.

Speaker B: Yep. And of course, enhance with AI. Yeah. Like, we can't ignore AI, but it's all about. Right, but it's all about understanding deeply what the goals actually are and not just taking some strategy that AI generated and taking a chance with it. You know, it's more about being intentional, to your point. And I really, I wanted this episode. And we did really center around reputation over just the posting, over just the volume. Because I hear all this advice all the time about, you know, do more, more, more, more. And I'm like, well, do more of what's working and actually generating, uh, customers for you. Because you might just need that couple extra customers who are going to be good refers, who are going to be repeat people, who are going to need a whole treatment plan. That might be the only unlock you actually need. Instead of a dozen Botox treatments, you might just need a few really good, loyal customers. And that's all it comes down to. You can. You can afford to be a little bit more specific. I say, um, when it comes to my marketing, I call it prospecting, not marketing. Because I say we're hunting with a harpoon, not a net. So we're looking after, like, I like that client. I want that person as a client. I'm gonna go, like, invite them on a date. You know what I mean? Like, we're gonna go. Instead of swiping Tinder, it's like walking up to the person at the bar and it's just like, you're cute. Do you wanna hang out? You might get worse results in 2026 doing that. But like, it's. But it's more about the intentionality.

Speaker A: Yes. And it's. Do you want, uh, can you handle a thousand leads? I can get you a thousand leads. They're not going to be qualified at all. And now you're on a hamster wheel of answering unfollowed.

Speaker B: That sounds like homework. I'm like, now I have to filter through 995 of them to figure out who I don't like. I don't want to do that.

Speaker A: And if we open my personal bank account, which we won't, as Shannon is a financial advisor, if we did, 10 robins in your practice will change your practice. Because I'm like, I need this. I need this and I want to like. I'm like, there's another show and I'm going to need to treat this. 10 robins will change your practice. I haven't left my provider for seven years. I'm not that her picking up the phone or her liking my. My Instagram changes who I am. So get to know who your patients are. See what your ideal patient is. You know, she's not turning and burning the Botox clients anymore who are like, I need 50% off my Botox. Well, we can't even give you that now look at the clients, who you are like, that's my ideal client. And you know who they are. The good person, the sweet person, the person who brings you a gift or brings you a coffee. The person who comes back and pays for it. The one who actually recommends it. People the influencer in their life. And I like to say I'm not an influencer. I'm not a 23. Don't get. Nobody needs one more influencer doing their lips. No one. Stop it. Go find out who a real influencer is. If it is a 70 year old woman who brings in her entire poker or you know, tennis club, that's going to make you more money all day.

Speaker B: Do the whole pickleball league.

Speaker A: Yeah. Think of what it was called. I'm like, go pickleball and find those people and those women who are sitting there who have disposable income, who have more things that they're going to sit there and they're going to spend more money. They're not nickel and diming over a thousand dollars. They're dropping a treatment plan of 12 syringes. You're going to make more money off of that.

Speaker B: Mhm, exactly. It's about these types of strategies. I think if you take nothing else away from this episode ideate and take that time, that energy that you're spending on editing your reels or doing those videos to thinking about who are some of our favorite clients. Also who are some of our non favorites too, by the way. But who are some of our favorite clients? We want more of them. I'm like, I want more Michelle's. I want more Sarahs. I want more of these people. Great. Where are they? What are they doing? Who do they know that they can recommend or refer? And then like, just get your face, get your product, get your brand in front of that type of environment. It's much time and money much better spent.

Speaker A: 100%. Let's put a pin in that one. That was amazing. Yes.

Speaker B: Yeah, right? Like just, just like do what makes sense for your time and money and get you the most bang for your buck. It's not rocket science, guys. Like, I feel like we, we could say, I think we say this from stages every other day, but it's so important to understand that you have to have results based marketing and not just volume and effort based. Just because you're putting the effort in doesn't mean that you're working hard. Doesn't mean that you somehow deserve, unfortunately, the results. Yeah, you know, it's not tied to that, unfortunately. Robin, thank you so much for joining. I know we have to wrap things up, but fifth and core, tell me where people can find more about you and working with you guys and take that next step with you.

Speaker A: Absolutely. We would love for people to go to our website. There's a hello at 5th and Core. So F I f T H A n D, C O R. No E. Um, connect with me on LinkedIn. It's Robin diamond with no A. Seems like I just keep leaving out letters on everything. But we would love to connect with you if you. I always say it's worth coffee or cocktails, meaning let's just have a conversation. If we leave with drinking one of those, that's fine. Talk to us about your practice. We're not there for everybody but fifthandcore.com love it.

Speaker B: Thank you, Robin.

Speaker A: Thank you.

Speaker B: Hey, thanks for tuning in to today's episode. If it left you feeling inspired to take action, make sure to check out our free video series that walks you through the same framework that we use as a CFO team to identify what's holding a practice back from growth and how to fix it. Links in the show notes. See you on the next episode.

Speaker A: Sam.