Notifications On for Sean Garrette

I get asked about my strategies for gaining an audience all the time, but I truly turned something that I loved doing as a hobby into my career as a professional esthetician. I just loved talking about skincare and other things that interested me. Sharing my experience with people has been so heartwarming. When people send me messages that I helped them save their skin or even with a situation that has nothing to do with skincare at all, it’s so special. 

When I first started, though, I attached a lot of videos and photos to my Tweets, which I don’t think people were doing much of on Twitter at the time. The [timeline] has so many words so I think a video of me using a product that I love stops the endless scroll. I still use visual elements in my content because I think it makes people want to investigate it and know more. Then when a Tweet about a product does well, you can take that Tweet to the brand and be like, “I talked about this organically and it did so well.” That can lead to a partnership and Twitter can be a portfolio, or a platform to grow yourself, your business, and the things that you're trying to do.

Now, though, my audience feels sort of sacred on Twitter, so my approach to what I share is different than it is on other platforms where I do a lot of branded work. On Twitter, I don’t feel the need to really sell my followers anything on my timeline. Lately, I’ve been involved in some sponsored Spaces with brands and that’s been really cool to be able to talk about new launches and just add to the conversation. I’m also loving the Communities; it’s like a private room directly in Twitter and people’s questions and Tweets don’t get lost in the shuffle. 

The best thing about Twitter is that it’s a conversation-driven app — you don’t feel separate from your audience. You can start a conversation about the smallest topic and then connect with people in real time. For example, recently I Tweeted about how oat milk made me nauseous, and it started a whole conversation about other people’s experience with it and other types of milk to try. That’s the heart of Twitter, finding and building your community.

It’s funny how Twitter works when someone you admire is following you and you have no idea. The artist JT from City Girls recently congratulated me on my new job with Dior and Retweeted my announcement, and it was really nice. It’s cool to know these people who — you listen to their music and watch their shows — are also invested in what you’re doing. I love following a mix of people on Twitter, too, not just skincare creators. Both Scottie Beam and Sylvia Obell are so funny, and Nygel Simons and Bri Malandro are both interesting, nostalgic pop culture and fashion archivists. Of course, you have to follow Esther Olu for smart, scientific breakdowns of cosmetic chemistry, and Dr. Michelle Wong for skincare myth-busting and correcting misinformation.