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When you give someone an amazing haircut, you earn their appreciation. But how do you translate that into customer loyalty and new clients?
Find out how to grow your salon business with these effective hair salon marketing ideas.
Hair Salon Marketing Ideas
The best salon marketing often means getting innovative and trying a lot of things. Different tactics will help attract new clients and keep your existing clients coming back. Consider offering freebies like a free drink to get people talking and excited. For example, local San Francisco business Cocoon Urban Day Spa offers your drink of choice while you’re getting pampered — and their customers love it. In fact, over 155 of their Yelp reviews mention the word “champagne”. Or you could have a happy hour during your slow times to bring in customers and help create a festive atmosphere. The next time they need a haircut, they’re more likely to think of your salon. If you sell with Square, it’s easy to see when your busiest and slower times are with your Dashboard analytics.
Email marketing is a powerful way to keep clients in the loop about new offers and incentives. Square’s email marketing service allow you to collect customer information right at your register. And if you use salon booking software, it can also help you capture clients’ email addresses.
And not only that — the tools automatically create lists of loyal, casual, or lapsed customers so you can target your emails. Let regular clients know about a new service you’re offering, or give lapsed customers an incentive (like a free deep-conditioning treatment) if they book a service within two weeks.
Social Media Hair Salon Ideas
In an image-driven business, photos say more than words. Share cool images on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to give your social media efforts a boost. Try theme days (complete with hashtags), like #MakeoverMonday to showcase before-and-after photos of clients. Use hashtags like #ManeMonday to show off your salon’s best looks of the week. Throwback Thursday (#tbt) and Flashback Friday (#fbf) are a fun opportunity to look back at the styles you and your staff regret from your past (hello, perm).
Speaking of hashtags, how you use them for hair salon marketing should depend on the social media platform. According to research by Sprout Social, tweets with hashtags get twice the engagement, and are retweeted 55% more than those without. They recommend one to two hashtags for Twitter, but no more or engagement drops. On Instagram you can go nuts with hashtags. Sprout Social finds Instagram posts with 11 hashtags receive 79.5% more engagement. Facebook bucks the trend. Research found that posts without hashtags have a 1.30% median viral reach per fan, compared with 0.80% for posts with hashtags. (In other words, you’ll reach more people on Facebook if you avoid hashtags.) Good to keep in mind when you’re combing through hair salon marketing ideas.
Hair Salon Website Ideas
- Design a clean site. A great haircut makes a strong first impression — and so does a modern, cleanly designed website. It’s the key to making a good first online impression with prospective clients. Our friends at Weebly make it easy to build your own beautiful website using their drag-and-drop interface. No web design skills needed! And your Weebly site seamlessly integrates with Square so you can grow sales on one platform.
- Think beyond the website. Your online marketing should extend beyond your website. It’s important to create a Yelp profile, adding photos and relevant keywords so prospective clients can find you and feel confident picking up the phone to make an appointment. Why stop there — once you’ve finished your Yelp profile, do the same on Google Places and Yahoo Local. Be sure to regularly monitor review sites and respond to customers who post critical reviews, doing what you can to make it right. For example, if someone writes that they were unhappy with the color of their dye job, you can empathize with their frustration and invite them to come back within the next week for a complimentary touch-up. Excellent customer service oils a squeaky wheel and you’re also showing prospective customers that you’re willing to go the extra mile.
Hair Salon Event Ideas
If your salon offers special-occasion hair services, book a booth at a local bridal show or offer to style models for a prom fashion show. Also reach out to wedding planners in your area to discuss a referral system. And don’t forget to post your salon’s best updos and event hairstyles on your salon’s Pinterest account. For more tips, read our post on how to break into the wedding and events industry.
You can also host your own event to raise awareness about your salon — and build your client base. Invite local influencers including Yelp Elites. To host a Yelp Elite Event, reach out to your local community manager with details, including the capacity of your salon. Many salons have art exhibits featuring local artists. This is a great way to get fresh art on your walls, and hosting an art opening can bring new, potential customers to your salon.
Hair Salon Ideas for Giving Back
Here are some hair salon ideas to make a positive difference in your immediate community and beyond:
- You’re in the business of making people look good and feel their best. You know the transformative power of a great hairstyle — so it could be a natural fit to support a group who organizes haircuts for people donating their locks to cancer patients and others in need.
- CUT IT OUT is a program that trains salon professionals to spot signs of domestic abuse and safely refer clients to local resources. Hairdressers are in a unique position to help fight domestic violence because of the intimate nature of your relationship with your clients. CUT IT OUT has great resources to help train you and your staff to identify possible signs of abuse and to know how to help.
- Did you know your salon can help clean up after an oil spill? We shampoo our hair because our natural scalp oils stick to it. Hair is excellent at soaking up crude oil too. You can donate hair clippings to Matter of Trust, an organization that forms it into hair mats and emergency hair booms, used to clean oil spills as part of their Clean Wave program.
When you give back, your hair salon is acting as a source of good. When you let your clients know about your programs, your efforts will also act as good marketing for your salon. Win win!
