Growing any business is difficult, but the challenges are doubled when you have a large competitor pool and when word of mouth is important to you getting visibility in your industry. This situation is exactly what salons have to deal with when thinking about expansion.

A good salon or spa can retain clients for many years. These clients will, in turn, pass on their recommendations to their colleagues, friends, and families. Word of mouth is not, however, the only means for Marketing your beauty business.

Digital marketing, particularly in the area of Social Media, has become the norm in the marketing industry. Social Media Marketing is now a huge part of business growth, with 70% of the US population currently having at least one social networking profile. That means that a significant pool of potential customers is at the fingertips of any savvy business.

Salon Social Media Marketing – How Does It Help Growth?

Social media has taken the world by storm. We live in an age of increased connectivity and now have the ability to instantly convey a message or idea across the world. This capacity has meant that brands and businesses have had to rethink how they present themselves and how they target potential consumers. This situation applies to salons, be they small and independent or part of larger franchises.

Blogs are one key way to market your company on social media. Business blogs are now not merely online journals. They are also large money-making ventures that provide useful information and marketing for their industries. For example, salon growth blogs such as Phorest have an increasing online presence. Loyal subscribers tune in for more industry information with each new publication.

Consider also the fact that the average Facebook user spends 50 minutes a day scrolling through his or her newsfeed. That’s 50 minutes of prime advertising time that businesses could target at specific audiences. Facebook is still the top dog when it comes to business-to-consumer advertising.

Facebook’s Ads Manager gives you an incredible amount of room to customize your ads when creating them. Specific demographics, time of day, and preferred platforms are just some of the parameters that you can set to target your ads. Ads Manager also has a budgeting tool, meaning that you can see exactly how much you are spending and where your money is going.

You can combine Google AdWords with Facebook advertising to create a robust, diverse, and effective marketing campaign. Although AdWords is not a social media platform, it deserves a special mention due to just how vast its reach is. It combines the search power of Google with incredible marketing strategies and knowledge. Google AdWords is therefore a powerful tool to convert search queries into business leads.

Notably, consumer services has an average conversion rate of 5% on the Search network, which is an incredibly high amount. By using the right parameters when setting up an AdWords campaign, you can market yourself to consumers looking to buy your services. You then bypass the need to convince consumers that they need your service or product. You can find a beginners guide to AdWords campaigns here.

Because salons are physical entities, customers need to have knowledge of them before they can inquire about them. Keeping this fact in mind, it is critical to your success that you ensure you can reach a wide audience. It is for this reason you should advertise online, whether through Facebook or some other digital platform. Doing so removes the restriction of only attracting new clients who are in close physical proximity to your salon.

Find the Right Information

Social media marketing is not the only resource available online. There is a wealth of knowledge available for any subject you could possibly desire. For every problem you encounter, chances are that at least one other person has already encountered it, documented it, and posted its solution on the internet.

The amount of free advice available online is astounding. As mentioned earlier, blogs are a great way of gathering information. Videos are often available that outline in detail every step you need to take for any process in which you are interested.

And content creators almost always provide contact details. Should you encounter any problems with their advice, you can reach out to them for clarification. You can also drop comments within their websites so they can directly respond online. I cannot stress enough just how much direct contact with content creators can help enhance your understanding of a topic.

Picking the Right Demographic

There’s no point in marketing a comb to a bald man! When choosing your audience, you have to make sure that you have targeted the right demographic. This process is slightly different for salons because a wide variety of people use their services.

Luckily, AdWords and Facebook advertising allow you to target audiences specifically by search terms (AdWords), as well as a by whole range of specific micro-targeting parameters (Facebook). For example, you can run an AdWords campaign that targets people who have searched “Best salon near me.” AdWords also allows you to limit the area targeted, ensuring better relevance. You can avoid having people in Shanghai find your salon in Seattle!

This advertising is not free, so make sure you get the most bang for your buck. Social media and search engine marketing can be powerful if combined with the wealth of information available online. If you utilize these resources correctly, they could make your salon business an overwhelming success.

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