Have you ever wondered how you can step up your salon marketing game and attract more clients to your business than ever before? Marketing your business can seriously be just as much fun as your wicked scissor skills – you get to be creative, strategic and methodical yet also think on your feet. What’s not to love?!
Salon marketing is all about trying out new tactics and seeing what works. If you see great results, amazing! Keep doing that. If you don’t see any result, or things start to nose-dive, switch it up and try something new.
Now, let’s take a look at some HELLA EFFECTIVE salon marketing strategies…
1. Refer-a-friend rewards
If only you could put a price on referrals! Seriously, they are so incredibly valuable to your salon or spa business. Why? Because it’s not just you shouting to the heavens about how amazing you are. It’s your clients doing the shouting and validating.
And guess what? Their friends and family have so much trust in their opinion and are much more likely to act on their recommendation. So knowing this, make sure you have a rewards system in place for any client who refers a new client to your salon to encourage those golden referrals to flood in.
2. Make booking with you as easy as possible
Think about those missed opportunities that slipped through your fingers – the clients who made an inquiry but never returned your call or email. Until that appointment is locked in, your potential customers might explore other options, and you don’t want that. (Are you curious what your competitors are doing that you aren’t? Check out this blog for the inside story 👀)
Online booking is the key to capturing those valuable appointments before they slip away. It ensures that clients can instantly see your available time slots and secure their desired time(no matter where or when they happen to be) , leaving no room for uncertainty.
Oh, and let’s not forget the power of adding a snazzy “book now” button on your Facebook or Instagram profiles. Clients who are already enchanted by your social media presence can instantly take the next step and book with just a tap.
It’s all about removing barriers and making the booking process as easy as possible for your clients.
3. Encourage positive reviews
New clients who have found you online looove to do their research before taking the plunge. People like to have some insight into what their possible experience with a new salon will be like.
Expect your potential clients to check out your Google, Facebook, Capterra reviews – you name it! They will seek it out to make sure there’s no red flags before booking their appointment.
Ask clients to leave you a review or even run a competition in the salon where a review counts as an entry to win a prize to make sure you’re shining bright online. (Check out this guide on how to use client testimonials to get more bookings)
4. Make sure you’re on Google
Google is the biggest marketplace in the world! So why wouldn’t you want to be where potential clients are actively looking for you? Making sure you rank on Google isn’t as tricky as it sounds, but you do need to have the know-how and strategy backing you to make sure your efforts are worth the time!
One quick and easy thing to do to start with is claim your Google My Business listing. It’s the big box that appears on the right-hand side of the Google search page. This is the very first thing a potential client will see, so make sure all your details are up to date, such as your opening hours and appointment booking link. It’s also where your Google reviews are displayed so make sure they’re as glowing as can be!
Secondly, you need a gorgeous, but also optimised, website so you get the most bang for your buck. You can then consider if using Google Ads is right for you. While it can be one of the biggest drivers of online bookings and enquiries for your salon, speaking truthfully, Google Ads is also one of those marketing tactics that can either go very wrong or very right – it all comes down to strategy. (Curious how to start with Google? Check out this blog to help you on your journey)
5. Email and SMS marketing
Another salon marketing idea is to go “old school” with email and SMS. Email marketing is not dead! And in fact, it’s such an easy, effective form of salon marketing that you can automate it.
Within Shortcuts Marketing, our simple marketing feature, you can set-up automated campaigns to send at just the right time. These include happy birthday, no-show follow-ups, referral thank-yous, appointment acknowledgements and so much more! These campaigns can be sent as both email and/or SMS.
P.S. Did you know SMS marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing with open rates of up to 98% as well as high conversion rates? It’s a no-brainer! (Here’s 5 ways you can make a lasting impression with email and SMS marketing.✉)
6. A strong social media strategy
We hate to break it to you, but social media involves so much more than posting gorgeous pictures every now and again. And posting photos all over Instagram of your flawless work is so vital, it takes a few more steps to really build an engaging online profile.
Content pillars give you a structure to refer to and help you start to build a story your online audience can relate to and start to connect with. (Check out this blog all about the content pillars you need to know about today!)
If you need a helping hand with your social media, Pixsalon is a platform that provides a collection of eye-catching lifestyle images and gorgeously designed quotes – all paired with inspirational captions designed to engage your followers.
If you’re finding making a social schedule is giving you a headache, content schedulers like Plann can be a game changer. These handy tools make planning and scheduling your content a breeze, so why not give one a try?
7. Facebook and Instagram ads
If you haven’t noticed, it’s getting harder and harder to reach your followers on Facebook and Instagram, let alone potential new followers! The way these platforms are moving is to a paid model – you have to pay to play unfortunately.
The good news is, Facebook and Instagram ads can definitely be worth your time and money. Remember, go in with a budget, a strategy, and a try, test, and retry mindset. If your ads aren’t driving results, don’t just bin them entirely! Tweak them and try again until you spot an upwards trend.
8. Individual stylist Instagram accounts
It’s all well and good to have a killer Insta account for your salon, but what about your hair stylists marketing? If they’re looking to build their client base (ie. grow your business) then having a place where they can showcase their fab work, show off their winning personality, and put themselves out there to a wider audience is a must.
Work with your stylists to set up an account and implement a social media strategy for them. Identify what hashtags they should use to best promote their work and reach people who could potentially become clients.
9. Offer online gift cards
It’s the gift that keeps on giving! By adding online gift cards to your website, you’re opening the doors for new clients and it’s one of those salon promotion ideas you really can’t pass by! It’s the perfect gift for someone – either an existing client of yours, or someone brand new – to go onto your website and purchase a gift card using the widget that displays on the side of their screen for one of their friends, family or colleagues.
The gift card is sent directly to the receiver for them to redeem at their appointment with you. Win them over and they might just become a regular!
10. Create great salon marketing video content
Clients will often Google things like “How much will it cost me to go blonde?” or “What products should I use for my dry hair?” Make it your mission to solve these problems via engaging video content. Sit down each week and record an Insta story or reel video where you answer common questions like these and aim to educate your followers.
The idea is to build authority with them so when they experience these common hair concerns, you’re the first person they come to for help!
11. Salon marketing with influencers
Much like referrals, influencer marketing is a great tactic to get positive word out to a wider audience. Influencers often have a strong, loyal following who trust their word and recommendations, meaning you have a great shot at getting cut-through with their audience.
Tools like Scrunch can help you find the perfect influencer in your area to tackle your hair salon marketing from a new angle!
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Article updated on 1/08/23
