6 top social media secrets for your salon or spa
I talk with small business owners every day and the questions I get asked the most about social media are: I don’t know what to post? Where do I find the time? Shall I do Facebook or Pinterest, I just don’t know? In today’s social media frenzy, business owners can feel the pressure to get amongst social media.
After 20 years owning and running my salon business, I’ve spent the last three years helping hair and beauty business grow their social media and online presence. I’ve put together some simple tips for you to get started so you don’t feel left behind.
1. A moment in time…
If you’re going to engage in social media, then ensure you have a plan and you stick to it. Start with one platform and don’t start another until you conquer the first. Whether it’s Facebook, Pinterest or another, get to know where your customers are. Starting a page and then leaving it dormant doesn’t do your brand any justice. Having clients visit your page and find the last post was 2 months ago reflects badly on your business, implying it is outdated. Social media is fast-paced and only relevant each moment in time.
2. Your online shop front
How you present your Facebook business page reflects the overall experience your customer will expect. Think of your social media page like a shop window looking into your business space. It gives your clients and potential clients a snapshot of your brand and helps them make a decision on whether they might like to purchase from you today or in the future. Ensure you put some time and thought into these three key elements:
1. Your Facebook page header banner – use www.picmonkey.com to design a professional looking header image.
2. Ensure your page has links to your website, your contact phone number and online booking buttons.
3. Branded images – consistently show off your brand by uploading your images into ‘picmonkey’ and place a border and your logo around it.
3. Are you thinking mobile?
Did you know that of all the people on Facebook at any one time, 70% are on a mobile device? Trying to read something on a mobile phone that is too small or half of a photo is cut off is just frustrating. Don’t do it to your clients!
Use these four top tips before you post on your Facebook page:
1. Ensure your images are sized for a mobile device – Jon Loomer shows you exactly what size images to post for mobile.
2. View the links you add to your posts on your mobile phone to ensure they make for a good mobile experience.
3. Ensure your post words are short and easy to read on a small device.
4. Keep the information simple and fast to consume.
4. Stay open 24/7 – online bookings
We book travel online, dinner reservations and events…we’re in a time now where being able to book online is expected. Can your clients book with you online? Not only is it convenient for your client to be able to book a Brazilian wax from the privacy of her laptop (as opposed to a muffled phone call from the office) but research shows that people are highly likely to make bookings online after 9pm, at a time that suits them. With online bookings you’re never closed.
Here are four guaranteed ways to ensure you increase your appointment bookings with online booking:
1. Place your online ‘Book Now’ button on Facebook.
2. Create an inviting ‘Book Now’ photo, linking it to your online booking page. Post it a few times a week when your business is closed.
3. Ensure your ‘Book Now’ button is on your website.
4. Ensure your online booking address is on EVERYTHING – business cards, answer phone message, email signatures.
5. Get noticed – share the love
Getting your business noticed in your local community is actually quite simple. Supporting your local community builds relationships and referrals with other business owners and flows down to clients who shop locally. Take a few minutes every week to do these 3 simple steps:
1. Your business Facebook page should ‘Like’ other businesses locally. Their posts will show up in your news feed allowing you (and your clients) to see their content regularly. In return encourage them to do the same.
2. Like and comment on their posts. Their clients (and the owners) will see your activity, spreading awareness of your business.
3. Share their posts on your page and make comment – both businesses will benefit.
6. Always use images to increase engagement
Not only do photo posts get more engagement than links, videos or text-based updates, they actually account for 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook. According to Kissmetrics, photos get 53% more likes, 104% more comments and 84% more click-throughs on links than text-based posts.
Feel like too much?
Keep it simple; simply allot 30 minutes every week towards social media to pre-schedule your posts.
This means it will be done and you can just set it up and forget about it until next week. Remember to pop online quickly every day to check on messages or comments. Share someone else’s interesting and relevant post and like other complementary or local businesses.
I’d love to hear about your Facebook, online or web experience.
Share with me how you get on while implementing some of these tips for yourself.
This article first appeared in goodspaguide.co.uk.
Roisin
Helpful and concise.
It has helped me to see social media in a different light.
Something that is simpler than first imagined.
Wioletta Miller
Hi Larissa,
A great article. I changed my mind about using social media after reading it. I was just wondering whether you would be able to help me with something. I have recently started my own beauty business and I am looking for an appointment booking app/system that would help me organize my clients' visits as at the moment I am struggling a bit to get this done properly. Thank you!!