Social Media tactics to grow your salon

Table of contents

 

Welcome back! To part two of my ultimate guide to salon marketing. In this post, I want to examine how social media can play an important role in how you market your salon. And how this can benefit your business and take you from strength to strength. If you missed my first post to begin this guide, check it out here!

I hope to have covered most boards when it comes to social media platforms, so feel free to browse through this comprehensive guide and get out of it what you will.

If you are new to this, or need some direction for your salon business get scrolling – because there will be something in here for you for sure!

Hope you ‘like’ it!

How Social Media marketing can help your business

Social media, we cant get away from it can we? Instead of fighting the status quo, why not embrace it and all it has to offer us and our businesses?

Let look at some of the positive aspects:

  • It is free to use and gives us a platform to outreach further than we ever would traditionally.
  • It gives us a virtual voice to speak freely and get our thoughts expressed – to the benefit of our businesses.
  • It enables us to communicate and engage with our customers online.
  • It boosts the visibility of your company to solidify your brand and salon message.

Read more about these benefits plus much more below…

Utilise social media platforms

 

To get the most out of social media platforms, you first need to work out how to properly use them to be the best fit for your business.

In business, we mainly use social media avenues to further outreach and boost the visibility of your company. So it’s only logical to utilize most if not all of the major platforms available to us. This will maximize reach results for your salon.

Which outlets will likely benefit your salon the most do you think? Think in terms of outreach and how you do business?

Hairdressing is a mainly visual industry when it comes to sharing content. So platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest which have some of the highest growth rates would be a great place to start!

Check out Forbes lowdown on how to properly use social media to fit your own business strategy.

They recommend using management tools such as HootSuite, as they allow you to plan posts in advance and select the specific channels through which you would like a particular message to be shared.

Another great example of how social media marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses is from Wordstream. They put together a helpful guide, social media marketing 101, which provides you with an introduction to social media marketing, and some starter tips to improve your business’s social presence.

The bottom line is, good use of these platforms should have a positive impact on your revenue and profit.

Create great social media content

 

You already know you need to create content for your various social media platforms. But how do you create great content?

The power of good content is its ability to build your brand and authority in your niche.

Learn how to build an unstoppable social media content strategy in 5 simple steps with help from Entrepreneur.

And download a free template from CoSchedule blog, and learn how to develop a winning social media content strategy.

Even consider outsourcing content development if needed. There is a lot to think of while maintaining a social media presence. Can your business keep up with the massive undertaking that is associated with this?

Things like; reading and sharing good content, responding to users comments, asking questions to help engage your audience. Click here for more on outsourcing.

Social media examiner have some great tips and more on this topic, so be sure to check them out!

Don’t try to be a martyr and spread yourself too thin. If your attention lies elsewhere within your business, there is no shame in outsourcing some of your social media campaigns…what is that saying?

‘Jack of all trades, master of none’.

Post content on social media that will intrigue your target customer

 

People get bored quickly, our attention span is waning after just a few minutes if the content is nothing but riveting, our butterfly brain is off again.

How long do you sit and scroll for before something grabs your attention? Unless it holds your awareness immediately, it is increasingly harder to concentrate and stay focused.

You need to think outside the box, give people a reason to engage with your brand and ‘like’ your posts. Don’t be a mindless drone just regurgitating old material, inject some fun into it and post good valuable content.

I stumbled upon a great post by Neil Patel, that highlights the 6 types of social media content that will give you the greatest value. This also includes a free guide including challenges. Check it out here.

Need some inspiration for some content for your social media? Look no further! The team at HootSuite have come up with a cheat sheet 10 content ideas to get you out of the rut.

And remember, get brainstorming and put a fresh spin on it. What will resonate with your audience most?

Create a Facebook local business page

 

We have already established that having an online presence on the many social media platforms available today is paramount.

Now you need to know how to do it and what are the benefits to your salon? In a nutshell: It connects you with your customers, markets your business for free and brings traffic to your website and store. Click here for the fitsmallbusiness ultimate guide on how to create a small business Facebook page. I like this one because it gives detailed steps with images for each stage from creating the account and what to expect when you reach each one.

Another great guide is from Post planner with their beginner’s guide. Which offers some insightful information that will be useful to apply. Such as ‘How to create great status updates for your business’ and ‘Determining your advertising objectives’.

By following these guides, you should be building relationships and engaging with current and future clients. Furthermore, getting local exposure for your salon on Facebook.

Promote your salon on Facebook

 

Now you understand the importance social media plays in marketing your salon. You need to know the best methods to follow up with.

Facebook is about more than just scrolling, liking and posting. There is a whole other side to it, one that can open up your salon business to the world.

Using Facebook as a marketing strategy can help you gain online recognition for your salon, hike interest levels and increase sales. Do you want to promote your salon? Facebook has a tool for that!

Once on the Facebook business page, you have the option to ‘Find a marketing tool for your goal’. 

This gives you 6 different options ranging from ‘Drive discovery’ to ‘Boost sales’.

As we are looking to promote your salon today, we still stick with ‘Create awareness’. This will help people discover your business.  

You are able to tell your story with formats that capture attention and reach the people who are most likely to be interested in your business by connecting with people who are similar to your existing customers.

Use these 3 top strategies

 

Page engagement: To find the people likely to like your page posts. Boosting your post turns your post into an advert so that you can share your posts beyond your page.

Brand awareness: Tell your story to the right people. Brand awareness adverts help you tell people about your business, product or campaign.

Video views: Put your brand in motion. As people watch more videos online, video adverts are a compelling way to tell a story about your business, brand or products.

They make use of case studies for each example with stats for each one as a result of using each tool.

So get promoting and get your salon ‘reacted to’ through Facebook business today.

Run a Facebook competition

 

By running a Facebook competition or contest, you increase your chances of audience engagement than just regular posts. You can easily do this by posting a status update and manage your salon contest in the news feed.

Here are some ideas for competitions you could run on your page:

  • Like this post to win a free haircut at the salon.
  • Want a free haircut? Like this post and comment on why you should win. We will pick a winner at random.
  • Post a picture of your new hairstyles by our salon, and win a free blow-dry and style.
  • WIN! A month of free blow-drys by answering this question; what year did the salon open?

The latter is a particularly clever ploy to get people to pay attention to your salon because participants will be eager to upload their photo for the chance to win. Whilst giving your salon free publicity, double whammy.

Over at post planner, they show you the easiest way to run a Facebook timeline competition for free.

Run targeted Facebook ads

 

If you have ever used Facebook before, you have most definitely experienced targeted Facebook ads. If you have ever been susceptible to these ads, you know just how effective they can be. Now try putting the shoe on the other foot.

Using Facebook advertising yourself to promote your salon. It works by seeking out audiences that are likely to be interested in what you are selling. So they become a fan or customer to grow your base. You can choose to target specific audiences to get the most desirable results according to your ad choices and parameters. A few examples are location, demographics, interests, and behaviours.

‘Reach the right people, every day, everywhere, to get more traffic and sales to your website.’ Through Facebook business

Click here to find out how to do this.

Use Twitter as a marketing tool

 

We have all heard of Twitter as a means of communication (sometimes for the wrong reasons when a celebrity goes on a Twitter rant!)

It allows you to send out messages (up to 280 characters to be exact), follow people of interest and have them follow you.

However, you want to know how this is going to help your salon right?!

This is a great attention grabber in today’s distracted world. You have heard of the principle ‘keeping it short and sweet’ right?! Well, this is Twitter’s MO.

Write a short description of any new products you are using. Or use the opportunity to give one last push for Christmas appointments? Something along the lines of: ‘Last slots remaining before the big day…be sure to schedule your festive hairdos so your hair is party ready for the celebrations’. You could include a link to your online booking system or salon website for ease of use.

Your tweets can also include a link to any web content, a photograph or video. Any helpful information that can be actioned, for example, hair care tips, styling ideas, how-to guides. Helpful being the operative word here.

No one likes a narcissist, so focus on what your followers want to hear, not what you want to tell them. Give people a reason to follow you.

Find out more about how to use Twitter to further your business here, and to be even more specific here.

Create an Instagram profile

 

With over 300 million active users, Instagram is most definitely a platform you should be utilizing for your salon businesses.

Sharing photos (and more recently, videos) is what Instagram is all about.

As a business, you are able to paint a picture of who you are, what you represent and your brand through this medium.

Instagram perfectly compliments the other social media platforms you are using, so is a great one to add to the mix for ease of cross-posting content.

OutboundEngine specialists in marketing automation, show your HOW to strategically use Instagram for business. This will help you build your brand’s identity on Instagram and grow your follower count.

Already have a personal account on Instagram that you want to convert to a business one? No problem! Click here for a step by step guide.

Market your salon on Instagram using professional photos

 

Now, this could be photographs of your salon and interior itself and/or photographs of the work produced by you and your team.

Use it as a business card, to publish images that are less formal than on your salon’s website. Take advantage and give your audience a candid look at what your brand is about to make it a more personal experience for customers.

Don’t have the latest DSLR camera equipment? Don’t stress! With smartphones having replaced traditional cameras though, we all have the resources to be ‘photographers’ in a sense.

If you are on a budget, you don’t need to shell out to have expensive professional photos taken to upload to your Instagram account. Learn how to edit your Instagram photos like a pro right here.

Create beautiful visuals for your feed to help differentiate you from the competition. And don’t forget to #hashtag!

Create a Snapchat profile

 

You need to view Snapchat as more than just a way of viewing and sharing pictures but as a business opportunity.

71% of Snapchat’s US users fall into the 18-34 age range as cited from Social media examiner. So it is another avenue worth exploring to market to this key demographic.

I don’t know if you are a fan of Snapchat. But if you have scrolled through their feed recently it is becoming more apparent that brands are utilizing this platform to appeal to the younger audience aforementioned, by producing daily stories that are current and captivating.

Part of its appeal is the fast-moving, ever-changing nature of the app as embodied by its very name.

Here are 5 ways from Social Media Examiner –  in which to use Snapchat for your business. They also share 10 more ways to use Snapchat for business.

Create a YouTube channel for your salon

YouTube is the second biggest search engine, which boasts over a billion users. That’s almost one-third of all people on the internet.

As I have been banging on about getting your salon ranked up there on Google, you guessed it, you will need to mirror your efforts on Youtube.

Get a slice of the action for your salon business by creating your own Youtube channel.

There is a whole video world out there that has untapped potential to grow your salon from the click of a button. (Recording button that is!)

Check out Buffer social to find out how to create your own channel. 

You will need to think about your channel name when creating your YouTube channel. Design Wizard have created a step by step guide to picking a channel name that will stand out, to get you started on the fight foot. 

Why you should be marketing your salon on Youtube:

Like with many successful businesses nowadays, you expect to see a social media presence right across the board so your salon is no exception.

This is because when used correctly, your level of authority in your industry is elevated. It is another great platform for customer interaction.

There is a reason people love watching puppy videos or people falling over…because it is entertaining! Make sure your videos uphold some entertainment value and provide a unique insight into your brand that traditional marketing is unable to do.

For more on why you should be marketing on Youtube, click here.

Take some inspiration from these salon Youtube channels for some inspo. Check out Redken videos on YouTube too.

Pre-roll ad videos on YouTube

 

What are Pre-roll ads?

You know the annoying adverts you have to sit through preceding the video you have set out to watch originally… and you can’t discard them until the timer has counted down?

Let’s look to turn that negative into a positive. Adverts are a thing in modern day society, it is how Mark Zuckerberg made his fortune on Facebook, they are on most channels we watch on television (even on catch up!) So we accept them as a part of everyday life. Why not make this work for your business?

Getting in front of the average customer is no mean feat. But experimenting with YouTube as a platform to gain exposure to your salon brand, could open up a world of opportunity.

I found this great post from Viewbix on ‘How to set up a killer Youtube pre-roll Ad campaign’. It details more on what they are and how to create your pre-roll ad video.

Idea Rocket also features a great article on ‘YouTube Pre-roll Ad targeting: How it works and what it costs. Check it out here.

Create a Pinterest profile

 

Pinterest is a platform for inspiration and to discover and catalogue your ideas.

So how does this fit into your business? Let’s start with the basics…

Well, first of all, you need to make sure you open a business account as opposed to a personal one. This is because business accounts give you access to Pinterest analytics amongst other great tools.

These will help you understand how users interact and engage with your content which is a useful resource to have.

It also allows you to create ads by promoting your pins. This works very much like the Facebook ads scheme (which I touched on above) you pay to have them seen by more people.

So how does Pinterest work?

The basic component of Pinterest is…surprise, surprise, THE PINS! They are images that link to a website, blog or shop.

You can create boards according to how you wish to arrange your pins. For example, you could have a board for ‘Hairstyles’.

Here you would assign all your hair ‘pins’ to this board to organize complimentary pins together. Boards can be published as public or private so you have full control as to who sees what.

For an excellent guide from seer interactive: ‘Pinterest: A guide for Marketers’. Click here!

Pinterest can play a leading role in promoting your salon brand if used correctly. Uploading images of your salon and hair creations, can introduce users to your brand, linking back to your website so they can find out more.

Get your salon noticed and exhibit your work to the millions of users today. Find out how to set up your Pinterest business account here.

 

Post regularly to these platforms

 

‘Timing is everything’.

Never is this more applicable than when it comes to posting regularly on your salon’s social media platforms. The most successful businesses stick to this mantra, and you should too.

There are different social media platforms for a reason, this is because they are all different. Therefore, we should alter our content creation with this in mind. For example, people go on Instagram because they want to see interesting pictures.

The frequency of which your content is posted and the time of day that it goes ‘live’ can make or break your salon’s social media marketing success.

Here is everything you need to know about perfectly timing your posts on some of the most popular social media platforms.

Create something viral

 

So what does it mean to go viral online? Viral in an online sense means a piece of content that has been shared and appealed to the masses.

If you can create a piece of viral content, you can get a lot of exposure in a small amount of time without much continual effort.

There is no magic number of shares, likes, retweets or reblogs that constitute a claim to viral status.

Social networking has made it much easier to share such content with a call to action with just the click of a button. Click here to explore more on how content goes viral on the web.

Now, unfortunately, I don’t have the secret formula for creating viral content. I do, however, have some tips on behalf of Lifewire. A site specialising in getting the most out of your technology, to help enhance your chances of success.

It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible!

Here are a few to get you started, but read the whole article for a more detailed read.

    • Focus on current events or trends – If something is current, you have a better chance of getting your content viewed because people are searching for it. So what’s new in the hairdressing industry? What’s a fresh new style?
    • Make a really great video – If you upload a video to YouTube, Vimeo or Facebook, you could be discovered. People who share your content because they like it, do all the promotion for you. Consider uploading a video of your salon tour or your team doing something funny. Think Flashmob.
    • Be mindful of keywords and tags – This is important for your content to get exposed to the right audience. People are typing in keywords and phrases to search for stuff, so you want your content to show up in the results.

A hashtag with your salon name and stylist who completed the work, for example, are great ways to be seen. Along with #hairstyles, #ontrend and #blondebombshell are just a few examples to get you started.  

Post photos on all your social media

 

You could upload all your pictures manually to each of your social media platforms. But if you are time-pressed as a busy salon owner, why not consider a tool like HootSuite? or Everypost?

These are social media publishing tools which curate and schedule content, saving you time to get on with what you do best. This is because you are able to respond to messages promptly and automate content scheduling across all your socials all through a single dashboard.

Marketed as: ‘The complete social media marketing solution’. HootSuite enables you to manage multiple social networks, connect with customers and grow your brand on social media.

Find out the top fifteen social media tools from SearchEngineJournal, Hootsuite & Postplanner are featured in this list.

Post before and after photos

 

It is no secret that before and after photos are a persuasive tool. We have all been victim to them on an infomercial, laying claim to change your life if you buy [insert product] now.  

For decades the fitness industry have implicitly used this tool as a way of winning us over and profiting from our need for perfection. So why not muscle in on some of the action?

They are a driving factor behind customers purchasing decisions and usually convert well to sales. The pictures help your customers decide whether your product or service is able to deliver the results required by them.

How does this translate to the hairdressing industry?

Taking a picture of your customer’s hair before their treatment in your salon, then one after the service has been completed, can work as a portfolio showing the transformative value of your work.

What is that saying? A picture speaks a thousand words? You could use it as a platform to show your latest work, a portfolio if you like.

Learn more about before and after picture and their effect on sales here!

Have a selfie station inside your salon with your salon's hashtag

 

Hands up if you still hear those catchy lyrics ‘Let me take a selfie’ from Chainsmokers, #Selfie hit that was EVERYWHERE a few years back? Please tell me I’m not the only one?!

A selfie has fast become how we document our endeavours, holidays and major events in our lives. And who can forget the invention of the selfie stick?!

I have noticed it being used in environments such as weddings, graduations and other special occasions as a means of capturing emotions and feeding our desire for vanity.

The power of the selfie.

So how does all this translate to your salon?

Let’s be honest here, how many of us have taken a selfie when you feel you look your best?! Before a night out, when you have just had your nails done, and so on.

Consequently, many clients will take a photo of their new hairstyle and publish it on their OWN social media profile when they get home. This is where you [insert salon name] come in. Add this as part of your marketing strategy and get exposure for your salon.

I cannot stress enough how client testimonials can underpin your salon brand. Who better to advocate for your salon than the very clients that make your business what it is?!

To echo a great point I read from Beautymark marketing is to add a decal sticker of your business name or hashtag on a mirror (or all of them) to encourage selfies taken in the salon.

For more on this, please click here.

They have an excellent post on ‘how to create a selfie station in your salon’. As quoted from their site: ‘Take advantage of the ‘selfie trend’ – it’s a fun part of our culture that translates to a purely organic form of salon advertising that should be added to your marketing strategy.’

 #SELFIE

Read more about salon interior ideas in our post ‘Salon interior ideas‘. We look at how the design of your salon can help your business by incorporating your branding and making a space that serves functionally for clients and staff. 

Work with local bloggers

 

Reaching out to local bloggers is good for your business for two reasons:

  1. It can help build relationships with local influential people to boost your search rankings.
  2. It gives your brand authority. Not only are you raving about your services, you have someone else doing it for you by generating high-quality leads.

Niched micro-influencers can really help give your salon the push it needs to take it to the next step, so consider partnering up.

Examples of bloggers you could reach out to for your salon are local fashion writers, local business bloggers or if you are lucky a hair blogging specialist in your area.

You could offer a free treatment at your salon and ask them to consider writing about your salon in return.

In this article, you’ll discover five ways in which influencers can boost your digital marketing efforts. Along with some great examples, you can pull ideas from.

Contribute to top salon blogs

 

We just looked at how having an influential blogger to review your salon can grow your business. But let’s switch roles and consider YOU contributing to salon blogs to help establish relationships and engage a new audience through the process to make a lasting impression on consumers.

First, you need to identify the influential bloggers in the hairdressing industry that you want to build relationships with and whose networks you want to tap into. Find out how here! 

Then determine your guest blogging goals. Here is the ultimate guide to guest blogging from Kissmetrics.

Monitor your salon on social media

 

Now we all love a bit of online stalking at times. (Whats going on with Tom from high school these days?!)

This is perfect for you super sleuths out there, because monitoring your salon online means digging deep to see what is being said about you AND your competitors.

This way you can make improvements according to the feedback you have sought out. What are people saying about your competition? Could you enhance what they are doing in any way to entice clients to your salon instead? Could it be negative comments? In which case you need to strike while the iron is hot and draw the attention to your business, whilst ensuring the negative experience is not repeated in your own salon.

Click here to find out 8 ways in which social listening can benefit your business. 

Social media has transformed the way we market our businesses. In spite of our best efforts to show our services and products in the best light possible, unfortunately, we can’t control everything everyone says about our businesses all the time. Now more than ever, clients turn to social media to express their experiences and share it with the world.  

You must ensure you have a social media ‘listening’ strategy in place to attain the best information to help your salon grow. There are many tools available to put ears out there in the realms of social media.

Find out some of these tools available by clicking here, to view business.coms article on the importance of social media monitoring and the wealth of benefits it presents.

Listening in on social media is a great way to get ahead of your competitors and keep your customers coming back for more.

Get hair ideas shared on social media

 

We work in the fashion industry, so it is ever important to stay up to date and be seen as current if you want to be a successful salon. Now that we have been blessed with even more opportunity to advertise for free on social media, we need to embrace it.

Instagram and Pinterest are top contenders given their visual nature and outreach ability.

Bplans have come up with the ultimate guide to Instagram for hair salons, why not check it out. 

The more you share across the board, the more reach you can potentially attain. Clients are now coming in with pictures from their own social media feed, so why not use this opportunity to cash in on the growing trend by adding pictures to your salon’s profile.

With very little effort or cost on your part, shared content can boost your reach to new audiences and help build your brand by establishing your expertise and leadership within an industry.

It, therefore, validates your content and by extension your business.

Check out these 5 tips from HuffPost on how to increase your chances of online shares.

Solve a problem through content

 

What problem does your client base encounter?

Not enough time in the morning to style their hair? Not sure how to care for their hair in between salon visits? The condition of their hair is shot to pieces? Are they experiencing colour fade?

These are just a few of the many problems your clients could be facing. If you post content with these problems in mind and find a solution for people, you can win customers over and convert new ones.

Focus on giving actionable advice so that your readers can walk away with at least one thing that they can improve on, try or do better. This will aid in giving you credibility and authority in your niche.

You could even conduct a small survey on Facebook and ask people to respond with an everyday problem they face with their hair, then source these problems to feed your content.

Alternatively you could publish a case study and demonstrate how you solved a problem with a can do attitude.

Try it out yourselves! I Googled ‘hair problems’ and this is what came up. Some great examples to sink your teeth into, so get brainstorming and finding those solutions.

Create a marketing calendar

 

Calendars are around to create order in our lives, so we don’t bypass big events and can plan ahead. They create structure, which is what you need to assist your marketing efforts. It is all very well coming up with these great marketing events to assist in growing your brand. But if you leave it to the last minute, all these efforts will be wasted and therefore not give you the returns you had hoped.

Planning is key in every aspect of a business before you start out you create a business plan. A template from which you can refer and amend accordingly.

It serves as a sort of blueprint and helps identify what messaging you will use and through what channels you will distribute it.

Start by brainstorming every occasion throughout the year that you might want to offer deals. For starters in February we have Valentine’s day, March is Mother’s Day, Easter and so on. Now you need to decide what offers or deals you are going to promote, and how far in advance you are going to need to advertise to make your clients aware.

Once you have decided this, input all this into your calendar and see how creating a salon marketing calendar can boost your business this year.

Don’t worry if you are reading this and it is not January 1st! It is never too late to put into place a marketing calendar. Better late than never!

Read about the benefits of creating a marketing calendar here!

Check out this guide from b the balance and learn how to create and use a marketing calendar.

For more salon marketing ideas, head over to our post ‘Salon Marketing Ideas – the guide for 2020‘, where we look at how marketing strategies can help your salon business with rich tips on how to action this.

Create a Valentine's Day campaign

 

Love is in the air! But February can be a slow month in the hairdressing industry. Christmas & New Year has been and gone (along with our bank balances) and customers are careful not to overspend unnecessarily.

Que Valentine’s day! Have customers fall in love with your brand, give them an excuse to splash out and use this Hallmark holiday to bring new clients to your business and appreciate your existing following.

Here is a couple to get you started:

  • Replace your ‘recommend a friend’ loyalty card momentarily, why not ask them to ‘give to someone you love’.
  • Two for one offer – On Valentine’s day bookings only – have this offer available.

Check out Lockhart Meyers awesome marketing ideas for hair salons for endless inspiration  

Create an International Women's Day campaign

 

“Celebrating all the women, salute, salute!” – As sung by Little Mix.

March 8th is celebrated as International Women’s Day around the world. This special day is dedicated to focusing on issues such as gender equality and female empowerment.

To pay homage to all your goddesses out there and show appreciation, why not use this day to spread to word and highlight some great deals in your salon.

Create a call to action and offer a discount on a service or product placed before March 8th (International women’s day).

Target your male client demographic to remind them to celebrate the women in their lives by informing them of your up and coming deals and services.

Why not offer all your female clients a free glass of bubbly as they enter the salon. Or donate your tips to a charity helping to fight for equality or a local cause campaigning for women?

Want some more ideas for marketing your salon in time for International women’s day? Check this article out!

Create a Mother's Day campaign

What better way to show how much you care than celebrate Mums everywhere with a special salon campaign dedicated to Mothers Day?

That’s good news for you salon owners as it encourages a spring spike in sales. Try and think outside the box a little and plan ahead. Launch your campaign at least two weeks before, this gives time to build momentum and gage as much interest from clients as possible.

According to research from Experian Hitwise, shoppers spend a million hours searching for mothers day gifts online. This is your opportune moment to get in front of these consumers and have them come to you for Mother’s Day inspiration.

Ensure you have your gift cards displayed by your till and any offers posted on your social media profile in advance.

Check out Phorests salon Mother’s Day marketing ideas to help you stand out this March. 

Create a Father's Day campaign

 

Don’t forget about all the Dads out there when it comes to creating successful salon marketing campaigns. It couldn’t come at a better time too as June can be hit and miss for sales as it is the start of summer holiday season for many.

To mark Father’s day in your salon, why not extend it to Fathers week as this gives you more potential reach (plus many salons are closed on Sundays). You would do well to remember that it is usually women who buy for Father’s Day so they are your target promotional audience, gear your marketing efforts towards them and you are on to a winner.

You could create some ‘men’s themed packages’ in your retail area. Focus on your male best sellers and bring them to the forefront. Make them easy to buy by creating service and product packages at price points for all budgets.

For more great tips on Father’s day marketing ideas for salons, check out Lockhart Meyer.

Beautymark Marketing has created a great ebook on “How to plan the Daddy of all Father’s Day promotions”.

Create a Prom campaign

 

Prom hair is big business and has become even bigger over the coming years. Marketing to the millennial client can be tricky, you have got to grab the attention of the tech-savvy millennial market.

To win their business you need to utilize your salon social media accounts, offer prom-themed package deals and plan ahead like with many campaigns to achieve the most out of this great little earner.

Remember as well, that is most likely going to be parents that are footing the bill here, so a great Instagram profile isn’t necessarily going to win them over. Deals and referrals will most likely have more weight in this instance.

Get prom prepped and ready in your salon with these top tips to grow prom season business

Build the prom season into your marketing calendar every year to seize the opportunity to turn a prom appointment to a loyal client.

Doing this can really boost your earnings as a salon because millennials are often more adventurous with styles and want to experiment with colour according to the latest fashions. They are far more clued up on their hair requirements, therefore will want it done professionally like their Insta idols. Parents are generally accommodating in this situation, as they would rather pay a professional to carry out the work than compromise the integrity of their child’s hair.

Create a Halloween campaign

 

Halloween is fast becoming a contender for the ‘Hallmark holiday hotspot’ with shops preparing for pumpkin sales and costumes aplenty.

It doesn’t have to be a scary affair and in our industry, we hope it isn’t! We don’t want any shrieks coming from within our salon walls!

But why not get involved and think outside the box a bit to use it as a method to promote your services and products.

For example, you could endorse your stronghold hairsprays for fancy-dress do’s or get in some temporary colour/glitter spray for the kids.

Play around with words for your social media marketing platforms and offer ‘frighteningly good deals, freakishly good hair or hair so bad, it looks good’.

Or use this as an opportunity to get your creative juices flowing and offer some ‘Halloween themed hair ups’. People are all too happy to get dressed up and the hair is an all-important part of the costume, but often it is that that lets them down as they are unable to perfect it themselves.

You could offer Halloween hair tutorials or take bookings for them to boost your profits this Autumn.

For more ideas on how to attract more clients with unique Halloween salon marketing ideas click here. 

Don’t forget your window displays, dress your window for the occasion to attract more customers, see here.

Create a Black Friday Campaign

 

We have been hearing about Black Friday increasingly in the last few years in the UK at least. Of course in the US it marks the first day of Christmas shopping after Thanksgiving. Which comes at a good time for us in the hair industry as November can be a patchy month, clients are holding off for their Christmas cuts etc.

Take advantage of this new marketing fixture and boost your books for November to avoid the slump.

There are endless possibilities put in place to jump on board the ‘Black Friday train’. Check out Phorests fun marketing ideas to boost black Friday retail sales. If you have overlooked this great marketing opportunity in the past, be sure to grab it with both hands and witness your November profits increase like never before.

Haven’t planned ahead this year for Black Friday in your salon? Don’t despair, why not have a flash sale and advertise it on social media that day?

Have some fun with it, play around with the meaning, why not call it Pink Friday? or Blonde Friday? To make it more hair oriented and differentiate from all other businesses cashing in on the hype.

Changing the name could also create some buzz around your salon, as it will tempt people unaware of the event to click and find out more. To read more about this idea, check out my post on ‘How to Capitalize on Black Friday‘.

Create a Christmas campaign

 

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year”.

It is also the busiest time of year for us salon workers. But it is what gets us through the slump in January, so we need to make the most of this festive period.  

The key here is to plan ahead, we all know how chaotic December can be so don’t leave all your promotions to the last minute. (Please see create a marketing calendar section).

Having a Christmas marketing plan allows you to anticipate and eliminate potential problems over the challenging month. Easing you into organised chaos!

For the ultimate Christmas Marketing plan for salons and spas look no further than right here. 

Remember it is a time for giving, so reflect this in your offers, promotions and reward clients loyalty to your business.

For 27 more Christmas marketing ideas click here.

Create a New Year campaign

 

New Year, New You seems to be the prevalent message pitched to us every January.

We are in the perfect position as hairdressers to make this colloquialism a reality for many. But how do we promote this message and spread the word particularly when people are tightening their purse strings after the festive season?

Embrace the January Sale and banish those winter blues to keep your January cash flow positive.

New Year’s Eve is another great occasion to market your salon’s availability to assist in the ‘New Year, New You’ culture.

How about a workshop offering tips to put your hair up to show off the perfect New Years outfit? Jump on the New Year’s resolution bandwagon and encourage clients to make their hair a priority for the coming year. Offer a free service after so many visits to provoke their booking habits and solidify their custom.

For more inspiring ideas to boost your New Year bookings check out Lockhart Meyers tips right here. 

Share your salon promotions on social media

 

Running a promotion in your salon currently? How have you set about promoting it? Word of mouth? An ‘A’ board outside your salon?

Before I go on..let me let you into a little secret. Sharing your promotions on social media will not only encourage more sales, it is a powerful source of social proof. This is because you can ask for clients to comment on promotions they have received via your salon or post pictures of their ‘free blow-dry’ or ‘complimentary conditioner’ to help spread the word.

As mentioned before, there will be some social media strategies that prove to be more powerful in promoting your salon than others. This is all dependant on your key customer demographics as to which promotional avenue you choose.

Here are a few routes from easypromosblog to get you started.

Promote a daily salon deal

 

Now, this doesn’t need to be as scary as it sounds. It doesn’t have to be a daily deal EVERY day of the week. You could pick out the weeks or days in your calendar that appear to have a depreciation in your books.

For example, if Tuesdays can be a bit slow, promote half-price blow-drys before 12 noon. This way you can fill in your blank slots and it encourages people who were perhaps on the cusp of booking. You fill slots that would have remained vacant and a loss of earnings for your salon by putting a restriction on the time, creating a sense of urgency. If clients miss out on the deals for that time allotment, encourage them to check back for your other offers on services coming up.

Make sure you highlight the offers on your social media profiles and notify your clients in advance to enhance your booking potential.

You could also go down the route of one of the coupon sites, Groupon, LivingSocial etc. They are a great way of finding new customers because they only cost you if you someone actually uses them. Check out Entrepreneurs post on how to make daily deals pay off for your business.

Hold a contest for clients

 

Everyone loves a contest right?! The chance to win and a competitive edge rears its head in most of us. Well, then why not use this as a tool to build your online presence?

By posting the competition on your social media feed, you are opening up the gateway to engage your audience and increase likes which boosts your salon’s online visibility

They also provide a rich source of data because participants are prepared to share more information with you as a means of entering the contest. Read more about this here! 

Now you are aware of the benefits to your salon growth, you need to settle on what you are going to ask people and what the prize giveaway is.  

You could hold a selfie contest and encourage clients after their service to snap a picture, upload it to your chosen social media platform and the picture with the most likes wins 20% of their next service with you.

Or, ‘Like this post for a chance to win a free blowdry at our salon winner selected at random’. The options are endless!

On your marks…Get set…GO!

Gift card promotion

 

Gift certificates are the new tender for retail. Have you noticed them everywhere? They are always by the tills in stores for that reason. Patrons pick them up as present ideas for loved ones and let’s face it, who doesn’t like receiving a gift certificate for your favourite store? They are easy to give and easy to use.

They are a great extra to add to your retail as they don’t cut into your profits, as usually, consumers spend more than the face value of the gift card. They generate revenue in advance of sales and immediately improve cash flow because you are paid in advance for any products or services rendered. And they can introduce new customers to your salon.

Click here to read about 7 benefits of gift cards for your business. 

You could offer different types, such as a gift card for retail or for specific services as well as the standard value denominations. This way clients that are on a budget can pick one according to the limit they wish to spend. Alternatively, customers can pick out a specific service card. For example ‘One blow-dry’ etc.

Finally don’t forget to get promoting those little cards – in salon, social media, your website and your email marketing campaigns.

So try expanding your retail to accommodate gift cards today and see how your salon retail profits grow.

Signing off…

Experiment with these ideas in your own salons to feel the full force of social media from a business perspective.

Even if you only take away one of these tips to action or choose to work through them as a series of lessons, the aim is to make small improvements to help grow your salon business. 

Thanks for reading.