This interview is with Brayden Beavis, Founder at Your Salon Support.

Brayden Beavis, Founder, Your Salon Support

Brayden, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey to becoming an expert in the digital marketing and beauty space?

I actually come from a bit of an unconventional background, originally working in Quality Engineering roles in blockchain video game development. But I've always had a deep love for creativity and branding, so over time, I found myself gravitating toward marketing, and especially the kind that blends storytelling with aesthetics.

The turning point came when I started working closely with hair salons. I noticed a huge gap: these incredibly talented business owners were often burnt out, stuck in manual processes, and totally underserved by the digital world. That's when I launched Your Salon Support, which at its core is a media agency built specifically for ambitious salons who are ready to scale, modernize, and build something that is a slice of the industry's future.

Since then, it's been a mix of strategy, tech, branding, and community building, and I think that's what makes our approach different. We're not just here to post pretty content. We're here to make salons industry-famous with real, clever marketing that cuts through the noise.

What pivotal moments or decisions in your career trajectory led you to primarily assist beauty business owners with their marketing strategies?

After I launched YSS, I quickly realized something I never expected. There was very little appetite in the industry for anything that looked or sounded like "tech." Even though I had seen again and again how much it would help the industry grow, the second I mentioned words like "systems" or "infrastructure," I would literally watch people's faces glaze over. That opened up a whole new can of worms. Because it's one thing to show up with something genuinely valuable, but it's another thing entirely to get people to notice or care that you're showing up. So I had to ask myself why.

The answer was simple. People just found it boring. So I decided to make it fun. That's when we launched "CAN WE GO LIVE?" which, at its core, is a late-night talk show for the hair and beauty industry. And it's an entertaining way to talk about marketing and growth without the dryness. Ironically, CAN WE GO LIVE? is also one big marketing exercise in itself. It's our way of showing, not telling, what clever and creative marketing actually looks like in practice. And it's been one of the most powerful ways to cut through the noise and start bigger conversations with the industry.

You mentioned the importance of a marketing plan for beauty businesses. Can you share a specific example of how a well-crafted marketing plan helped one of your clients achieve significant growth?

One that stands out is a salon we worked with that had a beautiful brand and great service, but their growth had completely plateaued. They were doing all the usual things like posting on socials, running the occasional promo, but there was no overarching strategy tying it all together. We came in and built out what we call the Industry Famous Marketing Plan. It's not just content or ads. It's a full roadmap covering brand positioning, digital infrastructure, email, SEO, referral strategy, and paid media, all working in sync. We also partnered with our sister agency The Modern Day Social to support the client end-to-end. One of the biggest unlocks was shifting their content from just "pretty hair" to a full street-style evergreen brand campaign that built status and visibility in the industry.

We also introduced retention tactics like a custom loyalty card YSSloyalty and automated campaigns based on client behavior. Within a few months, they were attracting a higher-tier clientele, getting featured in trade press, and eventually expanding their team. It wasn't one big flashy campaign, but it was the compounding effect of smart, consistent marketing backed by a clear plan. That's the power of a well-crafted strategy.

In your experience, what are some of the biggest challenges beauty businesses face when it comes to digital marketing, and how can they overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges beauty businesses face is thinking they don't have the time or money for marketing. I hear it all the time: "I can't afford it" or "I don't have time," but the truth is, if you're not doing any marketing, that's usually why you don't have money to invest.

And the good news is, great marketing doesn't have to be expensive; some of the best strategies can be started for free. The real issue is a lack of clarity and consistency. With a simple plan and a few smart systems, salons can start seeing results without burning out or breaking the bank. Just get pen to paper, and make a plan of who you are and what you are here to say.

You talked about using evergreen paid content on social media. Can you walk us through the process of creating a successful evergreen paid campaign for a beauty business, and what key elements should they focus on?

Right now, we're seeing reels outperform carousels by a mile for paid campaigns. They're more engaging, easier to consume, and perfect for showcasing personality and vibe. What we pair that with is a strong front-end offer like something compelling enough to get clicks, but with a condition. To unlock the offer, the client must book their second appointment at checkout and pay a deposit.

This way, you're not just chasing one-off bookings, and you are actually securing the return over lifetime retention from the start. We then tie that into the YSSloyalty program (a loyalty program provider for hair and beauty businesses), so the offer is trackable, and we can automatically re-engage those clients through push notifications and smart follow-up campaigns. It's a full-funnel system: attention, conversion, retention. Plus it runs on autopilot, so win-win.

Many small businesses struggle with creating unique content. Beyond using a podcast studio format, what other out-of-the-box content ideas can beauty businesses explore to stand out online?

I'm seeing a real rise in BTS and long-form, episodic-style content that follows founders and business owners behind the scenes. And I fully expect this to hit the hair and beauty industry next. And honestly, I'm all for it. People don't realize how much grit, resilience, and chaos goes into building a beauty business. But they should. The blow-dries, branding, and aesthetics are great, but the story behind it? That's where the connection lives. If you're reading this and you fit the bill, get ahead of the curve. Start documenting the real stuff now. By the time everyone else catches on, you'll already have those receipts.

Technology plays a crucial role in e-commerce. What are some essential tech tools or platforms that you believe every beauty e-commerce business should consider using, and why?

Technology is everything when it comes to building a high-performing beauty e-commerce brand, and the right stack can genuinely change the game. Here are the essentials I recommend to every beauty business we work with:

Shopify

Still the best all-rounder for beauty e-commerce. It's clean, flexible, and easy to scale. Plus it integrates seamlessly with almost every major tool on the market. It's the foundation we build most of our client stores on.

YSSMail

Think Klaviyo, but built for beauty. YSSMail gives salons and e-commerce brands powerful email and SMS automation, designed specifically for how beauty clients shop. From abandoned carts to loyalty nudges.

Hotjar

This is your secret weapon for understanding what's actually happening on your site. It shows heatmaps, click patterns, and drop-off points. So instead of guessing why people aren't buying, you can see it and fix it.

YSSLoyalty

Our custom-built loyalty program designed specifically for salons and beauty retailers. It's built to drive rebookings, upsells, and retention both in-store and online. It also plugs into your marketing to enable re-engagement through email and push, making every visit and every client count.

Looking ahead, what emerging trends in digital marketing, beauty, or technology do you think will shape the future of the beauty industry, and how can businesses prepare for them?

I genuinely believe we're about five years away from a massive digital boom in the hair industry, and the businesses that lean in now will be the front-runners when it hits. If you don't know how to work social media, that's a problem. If you don't know how to build a branded email campaign, that's a problem. If you can't calculate your marketing ROI or conversion rates, that's a problem. But here's the good news: every single one of those problems is fixable. Get digital education. Upskill. Hire help. The salons and brands that treat digital like a non-negotiable today will own the attention and the clients tomorrow.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise. Is there anything else you'd like to add?

If you're curious to see how we bring all of this to life, you can find us on Instagram @yoursalonsupport or check out our Spotify show CAN WE GO LIVE? It's where we mix real marketing strategy with a bit of fun for the hair and beauty industry. We'd love to have you join the conversation.