It's 2023, and the world of marketing has changed drastically. Gone are the days of print ads and billboards.
Now, the focus is on digital promotion, especially through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. But how can you promote your hair salon in 2023?
Read on to find out.
Local SEO Marketing
Local SEO is an incredibly reliable way to market your hair salon because it allows you to reach potential customers searching for the services you offer in your area.
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Google will prioritize local businesses in its search results, so if someone searches for “hair salons near me,” your business will be one of the first ones they see.
This helps ensure that people looking for the services you offer can easily find them online.
Is Local SEO Better Than Social Media?
Social media can be a great way to promote your business, but with local SEO, you have more control over who sees your ads and when they see them. With social media, there can be too much noise and distractions competing for attention.
However, with local SEO marketing, all of the focus is on your business and the services that you offer. You also don't need to worry about needing large budgets or paying large amounts of money for ad campaigns that may not bring in enough return on investment (ROI).
Further, people searching for services on Google are already in buying mode. With local SEO marketing, you’re able to target buyers who are at the bottom stage of the funnel.
Tips to Get Started with Local SEO Marketing
Here are proven ways to succeed with local SEO marketing:
- Set up an optimized website for your salon business. The website must be mobile-friendly and contain all the information related to your business, including how to book appointments.
- Create listings on major online business directories like Google Business (formerly Google My Business) and Yelp or CoverClap so people can easily find directions or contact information without having to visit your website directly.
- Use a combination of keyword research tools and content marketing strategies (such as blogs) to help potential customers find out more about what makes your salon unique.
- When targeting keywords, use keywords that match the search intent of your customer and aim for long-tail specific keywords.
- Create service pages that include your targeted keywords. This will serve as the landing page whenever someone finds your site when they search for those keywords.
- Request customers to leave reviews for your services directly on your Google Business Profile, social media profiles, or website.
- Watch your competitors and see how they conduct their marketing online. Some tools may also help you analyze why your competition is ranking higher in the search results.
Social Media Platforms
Taking advantage of social media platforms is still a great way to promote your salon in 2023.
Social media is one of the most powerful tools for businesses to reach potential customers. Not only can you show off your work with before-and-after photos, but you can also interact directly with potential customers by responding to comments and messages.
The two most popular social media platforms for salon businesses are Instagram and TikTok. Here’s how to use both to your advantage:
Instagram is a visual platform often used by people to get inspired and see the next trending styles.
Here’s how you can maximize your IG profile.
- Create a business account even if you’re a solopreneur. This will help you add business features to your profile, like running ads and a clickable button to book an appointment.
- Add your basic business information like opening hours, location, and basic services in your bio.
- Speaking of bio, write an enticing description of why you’re better than the competitor.
- Don’t forget to include your contact info like phone number, e-mail, and a link to your website (if any).
- Make sure there’s a way to book appointments from your bio. Instagram is integrated with several booking apps to make this step easy.
- Use Instagram’s visual feed to your advantage. Consistently post stunning photos of your work and display before and after photos for that wow effect.
- Use Instagram Reels to create behind-the-scenes videos of your day-to-day operations.
- When posting photos, add some descriptive captions and use relevant hashtags. Don’t overdo the hashtags, though.
- Feature several customers on your IG page by showing how happy they are with their hair transformations.
TikTok
TikTok is the newest and most popular short-video social media platform that’s mostly used by the younger generation. Almost every Gen Z is on the platform, plus some older generations.
Here’s how you can use it to attract your target clientele.
- Don’t be too serious on the platform. TikTok is mostly meant to be funny, so use it to showcase a light side of your business.
- Experiment with TikTok Live to increase interactions and bring people to your profile.
- Complete all the details on your profile, like your business information and booking link.
- Don’t be afraid to express yourself and add personality to your videos. This will help you stand above the crowd and potentially become viral.
- Be authentic. Record what you normally do in the salon – from opening a shop to serving customers and cleaning up afterward. You don’t need carefully choreographed videos to do well on TikTok.
- Add hashtags to your captions since they help with visibility. Make sure to add Montreal or your city to your posts.
- Join trending challenges, such as dance challenges, even if they are not directly related to your salon business. This will increase the visibility of your profile which can increase the views of your other videos.
The key to a successful social media marketing strategy is creating content your audience loves consistently. That means regularly posting photos and videos and engaging with comments and viewers.
This can be exhausting in the long run, so you need to devise a doable strategy that lets you collect content and post it frequently.
When done right, social media marketing will help you build an engaged audience which translates to more bookings. It’s a form of organic marketing with the best returns for minimal investments.
Final Thoughts
Promoting a hair salon in 2023 requires more than just putting up a few posters. It requires understanding digital marketing strategies like local SEO marketing and social media marketing.
You can also explore other strategies like influencer marketing and email marketing.
Influencer marketing involves working with popular people with a huge social media following. You can offer them free services in exchange for posting a photo or video of your services.
Email marketing works if you can the capture email addresses of your target market. You can send them promotional vouchers and coupons or educate them about your salon's services.
Digital is the new frontier when it comes to advertising and attracting customers. By utilizing the strategies mentioned above, you'll be able to maximize your exposure and draw more attention to your business – giving it the boost it needs for success.