Social media is a great way to promote your salon brand, as well as get in touch and engage with your target audience. With its more than one billion users, Instagram is a channel that will allow you to expand your reach and communicate your brand message in the best way possible. This visually-oriented platform is a must for every salon, as the beauty industry heavily relies on the “show, don’t tell” mantra. In other words, taking advantage of Instagram feed, stories, and ads can significantly boost your brand awareness. But the fact that this social networking service is so powerful when it comes to building a strong online presence in your niche also means that the competition is fierce.
Here are some tips to help you stand out from the crowd and capture the attention of your potential clients while they’re scrolling through content on Instagram.
1. Set Up a Business Account
If you want to promote your brand, it’s crucial to make sure that it’s easily found on Instagram. You can do that by setting up a business account and adding all the relevant information about your business there.
This way, you’ll be able to run Instagram ads and add contact information such as your physical address, phone number, business hours, and website.
Besides this, a business account also offers valuable insights into how your followers interact with your content and allows you to target your audience precisely. For example, such advanced analytics will tell you the average percent of video watched and show you an audience retention graph for your IGTV videos.
Similarly, with powerful Instagram targeting options, it’s possible to pick the right kind of audience for your ads based on their interests, demographics, location, and numerous other parameters. You can even target a lookalike audience, that is, people who share similar preferences with your existing followers and clients.
Finally, a business account has another perk in the form of call-to-action buttons. It provides your clients with an easy method to call your salon, visit your website, or even book an appointment.
Even if you already have a personal account that you use to showcase your salon, it’s best to convert it to Instagram for business and start growing your following.
2. Produce High-Quality Content
Don’t settle for anything less than images and videos of superb quality.
If you want your salon to be perceived as trustworthy, credible, and capable of delivering the best beauty services, the visuals you post should also be top-notch.
Instagram offers a wide range of filters that you can use to accentuate your images, as well as video effects such as Boomerang.
It’s a good idea to combine professional shots and relaxed, impromptu snaps.
Besides showcasing your works, don’t forget to add value to your followers by sharing some useful tips and how-to videos.
But, before you do anything, you should understand how branding works and why it’s so important for your business.
That’s why you should have brand guidelines in place and ensure that your visuals are in line with the brand image of your salon. For example, if you want to be appealing to young audiences, don’t hesitate to experiment with visuals and tone that gives off a fun and modern vibe. However, if your audience prefers a more classic look, it’s best to stick to iconic, straightforward themes.
When it comes to the type of images that perform well on this social media platform, here are some that you should use:
- UGC images. User-generated content can help you connect with your audience on a more profound level because of its authenticity. Re-posting images of your happy clients serves as social proof and has a stronger impact on the credibility and reputation of your brand.
- Behind the scenes images. Show your followers unstaged images or videos of your stylist working on a hairdo. Also, when your employees post images related to your business, share them. Your followers want to see the atmosphere in your salon and what they can expect if they decide to use your services.
- Motivational images. Even though they might seem a bit outdated, sometimes, these types of posts generate engagement. People like posts that show everybody can become the best version of themselves – and of course, your salon can help them look their best.
- Before and after images. There’s no better way to showcase the skill of your stylists than by posting images that show your clients’ transformations.
3. Do Contests
Instagram is great for contests that leverage user-generated content.
Your salon can greatly benefit from this tactic because it can help you increase your follower count and raise brand awareness relatively quickly. Stats say that Instagram accounts that do contests achieve 70% faster follower growth compared to those that don’t.
There are different contest ideas to try out, and some of them include:
- Tag to win. Ask your followers to tag their friends in comments and enter the contest. This will boost your organic reach.
- Selfie contest. Selfies are among the most popular image types on Instagram, so it’s only logical to include them in your promotional strategy. Ask your clients to post their selfies after getting a haircut in your salon. Create a unique hashtag for this contest so that people can use it when they post their selfies. This will help you find all the uploaded pictures and pick the one you like best.
- Photo caption contest. Post an interesting, funny, or unusual photo, and ask your followers to post the caption in the comments section. You can either pick the best caption yourself or ask others to vote for the one they prefer.
All these ideas can be used to engage your audience and get the conversation about your brand going.
4. Post Consistently and Respond to Comments
One of the most important rules for promoting your brand on Instagram and any other channel is that you need to post consistently.
Getting traction takes time, and it’s crucial to post at least once a day.
You can’t expect to promote your brand if you disappear for a week or two.
Though research studies have found that most brands post between 1 and 2 times a day, those who are more prolific don’t see any negative effects.
The key is having a well-thought-out Instagram strategy and posting only relevant and valuable content, meaning that you should not flood your followers’ feeds with images and videos that don’t appeal to them.
Similarly, if you want to build engagement, you’ll have to respond to your followers’ comments and initiate conversations. Although it’s not exactly a conversational platform like Facebook or Twitter, Instagram can be successfully used for this purpose.
5. Add Hashtags to Your Posts
Hashtags are an essential element of every well-performing Instagram post.
They are used to categorize posts and help users discover new, interesting content and accounts. By adding hashtags to your captions, you make your posts visible to people who aren’t your followers. According to stats, posts with more than 11 hashtags generate more engagement.
If you aren’t sure what hashtags to use, there are tools that can help you, such as RiteTag or Hashtagify.
However, you can also try one of the following ideas for inspiration:
- Check what your competitors and other salons are using
- Use the most popular hashtags in your industry
- Use hashtags that are trending in your industry.
Analytics will allow you to figure out the hashtags that improve your organic reach and optimize your future posts.
Instagram is a social media channel that’s particularly effective when it comes to the beauty and fashion industry, which is why it should be your core platform for promoting your salon. These simple tips will help you make the most of it and increase your brand visibility and awareness.
About the Contributor:
I’m Rebecca, a translator and avid traveler, a book worm and horror flick enthusiast. My job has given me the amazing opportunity to travel to dozens of countries around the world, and writing on Rough Draft gives me a chance to try to showcase some of them.
