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Social media can be a tricky marketing platform to master. There can be a lot of channels to cover, content to create and things to learn. You also find yourself playing in a highly competitive space.
In this article, we’ll cut through the noise and confusion to take a look at how a beauty business, whether a hairdresser, a nail salon or a beauty product retailer, can make the most of social media marketing.
Why is social media important for a beauty business?
Beauty is an industry built for social media marketing. Your job is to make your customers look stunning, which means that the content more or less makes itself. This content is key to finding more customers.
When a modern customer is considering switching hairdressers, one of the first things they’ll do is look at a hair salon’s social media posts. This gives them an idea of the skill and quality of their potential new hairdresser. A picture tells a thousand words after all.
As a beauty business owner, you need to ensure that your salon social media posts are the ones that these new customers look at. Here’s a few tips.
Educate your audience: Beauty tutorials are one of the most popular forms of content on YouTube and platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Make the most of that fact by filming, editing and uploading some expert guides and how-tos to your social profiles!
Encourage User Generated Content (UGC): Is a customer particularly happy with your work? Encourage them to upload a photo and tag you in it! You can then share their satisfaction on your salon social media profiles.
Offer a freebie: There’s nothing quite like a giveaway to get people engaged on social media. Run a competition for a free product or service, asking your followers to like, share and/or tag a friend to enter.
Use an influencer: Why do there seem to be so many influencers these days? Because they’re effective. As a local business, your ideal influencer will also be local – which will usually mean they’re more affordable – and will be followed by your target audience.
Grow with your audience: “Understand your customer inside out,” said Erika Geraerts, founder of beauty brand Fluff, in a recent interview with Square. “How do they think, talk, act? How will you respond to them? Be willing to have a dialogue with your audience, and learn and grow with them.”
Platform-specific tips
Each social media platform is used slightly differently. Here’s how your beauty business can make the most of each.
- Ask for reviews: The review feature on Facebook is incredibly valuable for beauty businesses, so ask happy customers to give you five stars.
- Treat it like a mini website: Facebook offers more functionality than other platforms. Upload all your business info, and make use of the Shopping, Appointments and Messenger features.
- Always add imagery: Avoid text-only posts. Always add an attention-grabbing photo or video.
- Use hashtags: Hashtags are the engine of your post – they drive engagement. You can add up to 30 to each post.
- Mark your location: Add your location to every post, as this helps with local search engine optimisation (SEO).
- Upload Reels: Instagram’s answer to Tik Tok, Reels are short, scrollable videos that capture the eye. Try creating some before and after the content!
TikTok
- Introduce yourself: Customers want to get to know their hairdresser and beautician, so get comfortable in front of the camera.
- Avoid the filters: People will want to see what your work actually looks like, so avoid filtering and over-editing your posts.
- Answer common questions: FAQs are a simple yet super effective form of content on TikTok. Think of common customer queries and answer them in a short video!
Examples of beauty brands doing great things on social media
Looking for some inspiration? The following beauty businesses are doing fantastic things on social media.
- Fenty Beauty: In the beauty space, no brand knows their audience quite as well as Rhianna’s company Fenty. A range of beauty products built for every skin tone, the company’s approach to inclusivity and diversity is obvious at first glance of its Instagram feed.
- Joh Bailey: Famous Australian salon Joh Bailey offers up an ideal mix of content on their socials. Showcasing work, leaning on user-generated content and filtering in the occasional offer to their followers.
- Kyleen Garcia: Looking for Tik Tok inspo? Hairstylist Kyleen Garcia serves up perfectly binge-able content, expertly mixing education and entertainment.
Social media is a powerful way to attract more customers to your salon – but only if you use it well. The tips above should serve as a starting point for your social media adventures. Where they head, and the effect they have on your business is ultimately up to you.
The good news? With the help of Square’s complete suite of tools for businesses in the beauty industry, the process of attracting new customers, and making them happy, is more efficient and effective than it’s ever been before!
