3 Social Media Tips For Hair Salons and Barber shops

By now it’s clear that social media presents a great opportunity to visualize our work in a digital environment. The era of social media marketing has brought a benefit to a large variety of entities including personal accounts, brands, and businesses. Social media is so powerful, it has even started movements. So of all the businesses out there, why wouldn’t hair salons and barber shops alike want to get in on this new way of communicating with customers. As a hair salon, there are a few ways to get your brand out there.

1. Yelp

Some business owners love it, some hate it. Regardless, this is one platform where your business needs to be. Customers today look for reviews about a product or a service before even stepping foot in their door. We’ve all been there, and quite frankly I don’t remember a single time where I haven’t looked up reviews for something before trying it out. If you want your local business to fare well, Yelp can definitely help with that. Doing so will provide your business with a voice to establish your brand on the web. It also lets you show your exemplary customer service when other potential customers see how you handle negative reviews on the web. A negative review is not always bad for business. In fact, it is an opportunity to publicly showcase extraordinary customer service.  Without Yelp, your brand will lack a voice so get on and claim your business name. Make sure you add contact information as well as the hours of operation and anything extra that will help a customer reach out.

2. Instagram

That’s right, the social media platform that was once used for selfies can be leveraged to give your business a visual touch. This is critical as most customers won’t trust you with their hair just because your doors are open. You have to give them a reason to want to come. Therefore, take before and after pictures of your clients (with their permission) and upload your mad skills to Instagram. Make sure they smile! By providing this content online, customers will be able to review your work making it easier for them to choose to be your customer. Ensure that your photos are visible by adding relevant hashtags. In this case, #HairCut, #HairSalon, or #Barbershop should be a good start. This ensures your photos are being pulled into the right streams. However, don’t just use these hash tags alone. Add something that makes your business personal or easier to find. Do you give the best mohawks in  SouthSide Chicago? Incorporate #SouthSide, #Chicago, or #Mohawk if you want your audience to know where to go to get the best #Haircut. Mix it up a little, so you reach a wider demographic. Do a search on Instagram and Twitter to determine which tags will be best for you. The last piece of advice that I have is to not only showcase your work, but the shop itself. People want to know how awesome your businesses is before actually having to spend their time and money there.

3. Word of Mouth

This last tip is pretty basic and rather easy to accomplish. Generally, contests make a great way to promote word of mouth marketing, but we’ll keep word of mouth simple by incentivizing customers to promote the business by offering a variety of ways to keep the customer happy. Offer a free service to someone who brings in a friend, and offer that friend a referral discount. Do something that creates a win-win situation for everyone, and your customers will be pleased to help you grow your business by telling their friends and family about it. Put together a Facebook page and reward customers for checking-in, likes or public reviews/comments. After all, you don’t need to be the only person promoting your business if you can have your own customers help you. Give them a future discount or a little extra for tagging you in their next #haircut selfie, following you on Instagram, or even leaving you a good review on Yelp!

There are many more ways to utilize the great power of marketing, but these are definitely a few to get your business started. Are you doing something similar, or something entirely different? What has worked for you, and what could you have done without? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment or sending us a tweet @BoxlessMedia.