10 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TIPS TO USE IN YOUR SALON

As social media users continue to increase – Facebook is now used by half of the world’s online users – business-to-consumer marketers (those who promote products and services to consumers) can promote their offering to a global audience.

You’ve all seen the glowing statistics; now it’s time to translate the hype into returns by using the following ten insights to shape your salon campaign.

1. Plan around key ecommerce dates and events

Professionals in the beauty business will be all too familiar with the pre-December rush, beach season spending and a Valentine’s Day surge every year, alongside the costs of setting up an event. Treat an important business calendar date the same as a personal one by planning ahead to stay ahead of the competition and market your business early. It may take some time to consider how to differentiate your business from the competition, which products to promote based on sales from previous years and how to write up a range of unique content pieces that you can promote on social media channels.

2. Promote customer praise

Testimonials can be some of the most cost-effective and advantageous bits of content for businesses. Discerning social media users have more choice at their fingertips than ever before and developing trust can become difficulty in a saturated. Testimonials and reviews can quickly showcase your excellent levels of customer services, alongside your ability to form business relationships.

3. Focus on action

It seems that swamped social media users require a slight nudge in the right direction with a few actionable words. Posts that use direct words or phrases, such as ‘Download’, ‘Tell us’, and ‘Re-tweet’ can increase clicks by up to 13%. Try taking a more direct approach next time you promote.

4. Take a visual approach

The beauty industry can create colourful visual campaigns to promote their products, treatments and high-quality results. Recent stats in 2015 epitomise the importance of using imagery online: the average Tweet receives 18% more clicks, 89% more favourites and 150% more retweets when paired with an eye-catching visual aid.

5. Know your audience

Knowing your target market is fundamental when creating a social media campaign. If you think that social media sights are all the same then you’re missing a trick. Female browsers make up 80% of Pinterest users in 2015 but only 44% of LinkedIn members. Google Analytics has the tools you need in one handy place to create targeted marketing campaign that ticks all the boxes.

6. Replies raise retention

Despite the publication of numerous studies in 2014 that suggested that replying to customer complaints, praise or queries online is probably a good thing (according to a Lithium study, 72% of consumers expect a response within an hour) a new wave of studies in 2015 found that a large chunk of customers were not receiving any communications at all; a Northridge Group survey revealed that 33% of those who took part had not received any response on more than one occasion. Good social media management will free up some time to respond in a timely mannerƒ, which leads neatly to the next point.

7. Streamline your social media management

Social media marketing may seem like a fairly easy task on the surface, however, demanding marketing channels have contributed to understaffing issues for businesses in 2015. If you do decide to take your efforts in-house, social media management tools like Hootsuite will allow you to schedule posts in advance from one streamlined dashboard, with reports and analytics on hand to measure your efforts.

8. Discover the resurgence of the slideshow

Slide shows have shifted from basic PowerPoint presentations to sophisticated promotional marketing tools that are far less complicated to create than infographics. The most popular SlideShare presentations – the world’s largest slide show community – all combine the elements of humour quotes or statistics to maximise appeal.

9. Worthwhile PPC data

PPC ads provide a number of benefits that are worth considering. Although the cost of pay per click advertising (PPC) is increasing, businesses who do opt to invest in this ad model (in which advertisers pay a publisher/website owner when the ad is clicked) will have access to quality user data that will be invaluable for other digital channels moving forward. For example, Facebook allows you to target very niche audiences online rather than a bulk audience that may avoid your ad altogether. This targeted data can aid your content marketing approach, product management and when you should post on other social media sites.

10. Keeping up with trends

The pace of change in the beauty industry is enough to keep any business on their toes. From monthly trends influenced by the latest catwalk shows around the world to customer behaviour influencing salon products, staying ahead of the curve can be challenging without social media. Once you targeted your ‘Following’ list on Twitter to receive the latest industry news, branch out to sites such as Google Trends and Buzzsumo to research what people are searching and sharing on social media to shape your content offerings and social media posts.

Whether you are just starting up your own beauty business and are looking at a software system, or you’re an established salon looking to optimise your time and profits, iSalon salon management software can meet your business requirements with minimal fuss. You will be privy to the latest marketing tools, including automated texts, email marketing, integrated SalonSpy to generate client ratings, reviews and likes, to drive your business to the next level. Get in touch today to find out more.