SOCIAL MEDIAMATTERS

The Social Scene

ZOYA MAC shares social media advice & pointers to raise your business profile & elevate your content

About Zoya Mac

Zoya is a nail content creator based in West Sussex. After spending over eight years as a nail artist, she transitioned into roles in social media management and content creation for nail brands. Zoya is passionate about creating captivating and engaging product and tutorial videos. She helps industry brands to showcase their products in clear, authentic ways and teaches other nail artists how to confidently record their own videos.

@zoya_mac

TOP TIP

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the changes happening across Instagram ? You’re not alone. New features are discussed weekly, and it’s hard to know what’s real, what’s a rumour and what’s worth your time noting. I recommend following Adam Mosseri (@mosseri), head of Instagram since 2018, as he often shares updates via short, understandable videos. These explain what’s being tested, upcoming features and how Instagram is evolving. It’s the best way I’ve found to stay ahead of the curve and get the facts straight from the source, without relying on whispers or ‘hacks’ that don’t always work.

Starting the year afresh without pressure

January can be a funny month, can’t it? On one hand, there’s pressure to start the year strong with fresh goals, plans and energy. However, for many nail artists, the first couple of weeks can be a bit slow. Demand often dips and your energy might feel deflated.

So, instead of being hard on yourself, take a softer approach. If it’s a quiet time for your business, remember that this downtime is valuable. It’s the perfect opportunity to review your Instagram account, ready for the year ahead. Here are three tips to help you use this time wisely:

1. Refresh your page Start by giving your Instagram profile a light tidy. There’s no need to overhaul everything, but small tweaks can make a big difference. Could your bio be clearer? Do you need to update your working hours? Is there a treatment that you particularly want to promote this season? It’s good practice to update your bio every couple of months, especially if there’s something new you want people to see straight away.

Next, scroll through your profile. Are there any posts that don’t reflect what you do now? Instead of deleting them, archive them. This keeps the posts’ statistics and saves the content in case you want to repost at a later date.

2. Breathe new life into old content January is a great time to review your past work – not just to clean up your page, but to find content that can be reused or refreshed. Maybe there’s a design you created years ago that’s still relevant, but could look sharper with your current skills, better lighting or a more polished setup. Recreate it, then post the before and after photos to show your growth. or shaky, why not reshoot it? Maybe your studio has had a glow-up or you have upscaled your editing. Because you’ve filmed the concept before, it will be quick and easy to recreate. Once the new version is live, archive the previous one.

3. Learn something new When business is quiet, use the spare time to check in with yourself. Is there something you’ve been meaning to learn but keep putting off? You might want to explore how to use Canva to create carousels, edit with CapCut or get more out of Instagram’s built-in editor. Gaps in knowledge can build up and hang over you until you deal with them.

If the time isn’t right to invest in a training course, you can still enhance your skills. There’s plenty of free, beginner-friendly content on YouTube that can help you get to grips with social media basics. Watch tutorials and set aside an hour to practice. What you produce doesn’t have to be perfect – just get creative. Make a quick carousel, experiment with a new edit or try out transitions.

This will help you feel more confident, and even a small improvement can give you a boost to keep going. Later in the year, if you want to invest in training, you’ll know where you need help and feel ready to receive it.

Final thought January doesn’t have to be busy to be productive. If it’s a quieter month, take the opportunity to reset, refresh your profile and work behind-the-scenes to get yourself ready for a strong spring and upcoming annual price increase.

The same goes for past videos. If you filmed a great concept that looks a little blurry

Until next time, keep creating – and remember to wipe your camera lens!

#NOWTRENDING

WHAT’S HOT

Archiving, not deleting. If you’re tidying up your Instagram content, instead of hitting ‘delete’ on older posts, archive them. Archiving hides the posts from your grid, but keeps their stats, views, saves and reach – and the content can be reuploaded at any time.

Here’s why this matters:

• You keep the data. If you delete a post, you lose all of its statistics, but if you archive it, the post still counts towards your account’s overall performance. This helps the algorithm understand how your content performs.

• You can reuse archived posts. That nail design you posted in 2021 may trend again, and you’ll wish you had it ready to repost. Archived content can be brought back and refreshed with a new edit or caption when it fits your profile.

• You’ll have a cleaner profile, without losing your progress. Archiving lets you store your hard work behind-the-scenes, while only showing your current best content.

' WHAT’S NOT

Freebies and wasted PR. I feel like there has been a quiet shift in attitudes towards PR gifting. My experience as a social media manager and discussions with brand owners has highlighted that when PR products are sent out, very little comes back in return. Don’t get me wrong, it’s always exciting to receive something new. However, when gifted products go unused, or are shared in an Instagram Story with a half-lit photo and never mentioned again, it can feel like a wasted opportunity for both sides.

I do sometimes turn down PR products – not because I’m ungrateful, but because I don’t want to take something that I know I won’t use. For example, if a brand offers to send me nail stickers I’m unlikely to create with, I’d rather say a kind ‘no thank you’ than accept the gift and later feel like I’ve let the brand down. It’s not about posting everything; it’s about being intentional and respectful. This builds long-term trust with brands far better than a drawer full of unopened products.

Events & appearances

January is a busy month for me, and kicks off with a trip to Scotland, where I’ll be leading a content workshop for nail artists at Nail Order’s education centre in Paisley. Later this month, I’ll be teaching at an OPI event in London, before educating at a Sweet Squared ambassador event.

‘‘ January doesn’t have to be busy to be productive. If it’s a quieter month, take the opportunity to reset, refresh your profile and work behind-the-scenes to get yourself ready for a strong spring and upcoming annual price increase. ‘‘

Behind-the-scenes

While everyone’s feeds have been full of festive magic and sparkle lately, my studio has quietly shifted into a new season. I wrapped up all Christmas filming in November, so by the time December came around, I was already capturing spring and wedding collections for various brands.

The end of the year is always a surreal time. My first piece of festive content was filmed at the start of September, while it was still warm and sunny outside. Then, when Christmas music was playing and fairy lights were all around, I was swatching spring shades and creating floral nail art for launches that won’t be revealed for months.

I can’t show the full collections just yet, but here’s a sneak peek into what I’ve been up to, including some final winter product set-ups before the shift into spring pastels.

Content I created to showcase Essie’s 2025 holiday shades.

Creator spotlight

I have met Steffi Fernandes of @sfxnails at a few nail events. She is a lovely person – as well as a talented nail artist and content creator.

I asked Steffi to tell me about her career, and she shared: “My journey has always been rooted in a genuine love for making content. When I create from passion rather than pressure, my work naturally shines, and that’s when people notice it most. I’m constantly evolving, pushing myself to grow and explore new ideas, while learning to enjoy every part of the process. My ‘create with love’ approach shapes my work and the opportunities that come from it.”

Check out her Instagram account: @sfxnails