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Duration: 2 weeks

Improving Top-of-Funnel Clarity & Engagement for Textured Queens Hair Academy

Textured Queens

Hair Academy

BRAIDING | TEXTURED HAIR STYLING | WIG MAKING

Tools

Team

Focus Areas

Lilly Foord: Growth Strategy Consultant

Content Strategy

Role

UX & Growth Strategy Consultant

UX Research

Information Architecture

SEO

TOFU Growth

SEMRush

·

Canva Design

·

Hootsuite

Designing a Scalable Content & Experience System to Improve First-Time User Clarity

OVERVIEW

What I Did:

  • Led a 2-week UX and growth strategy sprint for a textured-hair education academy.

  • Translated research insights into a social media content system for the months of December 2025-January 2026, and publishing strategy

BACKGROUND

Who is Textured Hair Queens Academy?

Textured Queens Hair Academy is a specialized cosmetology school that teaches prospective students braiding, textured hair training, wig making and texture etiquette.

Their goal is to equip their students with the skill set to care and style textured hair

Impact & Outcomes

IMPACT

1

Established a scalable content and experience system

2

Improved clarity, credibility, and brand recognition

3

Delivered a roadmap for enrollment growth and SEO improvement

4

Enabled future design and development work

20+ Followers

Within 2 months of launching new Instagram templates

Software Knowledge Acquired

Despite having a strong visual identity and strong educational programs, THQA struggled with:

PROBLEM STATEMENT

  • Low user comprehension across the website and social platforms

  • Poor discoverability through social

  • Weak trust signals for first-time visitors

New users could not quickly understand the academy’s value, offerings, or next steps, limiting top-of-funnel growth and enrollment potential.

Objective: understand why users struggled with struggled with clarity, trust, and next steps across THQA’s website and social platforms.

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY

Methods

Rather than treating findings as isolated issues, insights were synthesized into system-level patterns that informed strategic decisions around information architecture, visual standards, and publishing cadence.

Synthesis Approach

Insights

Below is the synthesized insights gathered after our analysis of Textured Hair Queens Academy social media and website. Click the slides below to view all the insights.

INSIGHTS GAINED

  • High-Value Educational Content Was Not Systemized

    1

    Educational posts, transformations, and testimonials consistently outperformed other content types.

    Founder-led and educator-centered posts (featuring Anne-Juliette) generated the highest engagement.

    Posting frequency was low despite strong engagement rates—indicating unmet audience demand.

    Figure 3. Hootsuite Post Performance Data & Insights Showing Upward Engagement Rate + Summary Table

    (Jul 7, 2023 – Oct 8,2025)

    IMPLICATION: The problem was not content quality, but lack of structure and consistency with producing high engaging content

  • Figure 4a. Hootsuite Post Engagement Data & Insights Showing User Engagement (Jul 7, 2023 – Oct 8,2025)

    Figure 4b. Figure 4. SEMRush Keyword Audit Showing Limited Keyword Coverage

    2

    Social Media Was the Primary Conversion Entry Point

    Hootsuite analytics showed zero audience growth during periods of inactivity, but high engagement when content was posted.

    SemRush analytics showed Little organic traffic coming onto the website

    User conversions were more likely to originate from Instagram than from the website

    IMPLICATION: Optimizing the Instagram experience was the fastest way to increase awareness and interest in enrollment.

  • Figure 5. Competitive Analysis: @ibhessentials – Example of Modern, Cohesive Visual Branding for Social Media

    3

    High Engagement Competitors Have Content With Clear Content Pillars + Visual Cohesion

    High-performing competitors used clean visuals, storytelling-driven reels, strong thumbnails, and education-forward positioning.

    Brands combining education with transformation content achieved the highest engagement and trust.

    IMPLICATION: THQA needs a structured content architecture aligned to how users evaluate education brands.

Click to change slides!

Three Potential Directions

STRATEGIC DIRECTION

  1. Homepage redesign

  2. Instagram growth strategy

  3. New website page highlighting brand partnerships

CLIENT SELECTION: Instagram strategy was selected due to its immediate impact on awareness, engagement, and student acquisition.

Time for the Deliverables!

SOLUTIONS & DELIVERABLES

Content Architecture

Utilizing Hootsuite AI, I worked hand in hand with this software to create the right content pillars for Textured Queens Hair Academy 

Transformations

Before/After Shots

Strategy Rationale:


Transformation posts create emotional impact and high share-ability. 


Showcase the Academy’s mastery of textured-hair styling and visually communicate the value of proper technique.







Strategy Rationale:


Brand-story content deepens emotional connection and clarifies what makes the Academy unique. 


This pillar ensures that new visitors immediately understand the why behind the brand.






Brand Story

Founder Insights, Mission

Communiy

Events, Cultural Moments

Strategy Rationale:


Community-driven content boosts engagement and fosters belonging. 


It highlights that the Academy is a supportive ecosystem for learners and stylists


.






Education

Tutorials, product guidance

Strategy Rationale:


Educational content performs strongly on Instagram and TikTok,


especially within beauty and haircare verticals. 


These posts reinforce the Academy’s identity as a school first and position the founder as a credible educator.


Testimonials

Reviews, Workshop clips

Strategy Rationale:


Testimonials humanize the brand and strengthen engagement rates.


Hearing directly from the community reinforces the Academy’s impact, reliability, credibility, and trust with prospective students and clients.



Instagram Experience System

Working alongside Hootsuite AI, we created the following content calendars for December 2025 and January 2026 for Textured Queens Hair Academy

Click to change slide!

  • Content pillars alongside post ideas

  • 3–5 posts per week for optimal engagement, especially for education-based brands.

  • Hootsuite AI identified Transformations and Testimonials as the highest-engagement pillars for THQA; therefore, they were placed strategically on high-traffic days (Tuesday–Friday).

To maintain a balanced but dynamic feed, we alternated pillars weekly. Each week includes:

  • 1–2 Education posts

  • 1 Transformation post

  • 1 Testimonial post

  • 1 Community or Brand Story moment (rotated)

Contents of Calendars Include

IMPACT: This structure ensures educational authority, social proof, and brand personality are consistently present on the account.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Recommendations & Next Steps for THQA

After Textured Queens Hair Academy implements the Instagram content calendar and education and brand story thumbnail templates, Gilly recommends other actions items to complete to maximize Textured Queens Hair Academy’s customer reach (TOFU):

1

Optimize homepage architecture by adding descriptive dropdowns and fixing broken booking pathways to the Classes page.

4

Create thumbnail templates for the transformation, testimonials, and community content pillars

2

Improve mobile app experience to bolster SEO

3

SEO keyword expansion by altering the HTML code (meta descriptions, heading titles, image alt text) 

REFLECTIONS

Areas in my Expertise that I Strengthened

Leveraging my initial lack of cosmetology knowledge as an opportunity, I conducted thorough research that transformed the learning curve into a strength, enabling me to deliver educated and impactful design solutions grounded in a clear understanding of the domain.

Domain Adaptability

Adopting a start-up mindset, I navigated fluidly between UI/UX design, marketing strategy, and growth consulting to maintain brand consistency and cohesion across all touchpoints.

Multi-Disciplinary Approach

Most importantly, I learned that genuine expertise in hairstyling requires the skills and ability to work with all hair types. This project also reinforced how essential education is as a form of accessibility, as a more informed audience cultivates inclusivity through knowledge acquisition.

Inclusive Ethos