BLOG: Salon Evolution’s Steven Gunnip on using social media to promote your salon
Steven Gunnip is director of Salon Evolution and a business and marketing specialist.
Word of mouth communication is one of the best ways to promote any business. Social media has taken this and magnified it, meaning what was once a conversation between a few friends, is now a platform for an individual to reach thousands of people with their views. One of the main advantages of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube is that they are all completely free and, with a basic strategy in place and some innovative engagement ideas, they can be very effective. If you have a good social media following, engage regularly with your followers and ensure that they are sharing their positive views with others, this can really boost a business, reaching people who may not otherwise have come across you.
Content is king
First and foremost, ensure that you are providing fun and useful content to your followers that they look forward to reading. Remember that, where social media platforms are concerned, quality trumps quantity every single time, both in terms of content and the people that follow you. If your social media accounts are littered with nothing but self-promotion, clients can quickly lose interest. Likewise, don’t make the mistake of thinking that the number of followers you have is the ultimate aim of your social media channels; it’s far better to engage with a few hundred interested followers that are receptive to your content, and are therefore likely to visit your salon, than a thousand people who aren’t listening to your message.
Branding opportunity
In creative fields such as make-up, beauty and hair, sharing images is a brilliant way to promote your business, showing potential clients the great results they can expect when they come to your salon. Have your salon logo or name professionally printed onto salon roll paper and take pictures of finished manicures, pedicures or eyebrow treatments against this backdrop, before sharing the images on social networking sites. So many salons upload images of completed client treatments, but neglect to say where potential clients can go to get the same look, thereby missing out on a great opportunity to promote their business. By including your logo in the image as well as a fantastic visual, your client base will have no trouble in finding out where they need to go to receive the same treatment.
Interact and incentivise
When posting content, keep in mind that social media is meant to be a conversation, so dedicate as much time to interacting with your followers as you do to posting new content. Respond to every query or comment in a timely manner, and be sure to include posts that show your human side too, such as photos of a team day out. This takes away from the feeling that your followers are communicating with a business and makes your content more relatable. Social media can also be a brilliant tool for satisfied clients to shout about how great you are. If, for example, you have given a client with problem skin a course of treatment that has left them with a glowing complexion, they will be ready to tell the world how happy they are. Incentivise them to leave an online review, or share images on social media, by offering them their next course of treatments at a discounted price or with one treatment free. Satisfied clients will be happy to recommend you, particularly knowing they will be rewarded, and potential clients that search for you online will see a wealth of positive reviews about your salon.
– Steven
Salonevolution.co.uk
Twitter: @salonevolution
