Despite most of us scrolling on social media every day, harnessing its power for your business can be a daunting challenge. Did you know that a massive 93% of small business owners report that they struggle with social media marketing? As a salon or spa owner, embracing the power of social media can help you attract new clients, connect with your audience, grow your brand, and fill empty spaces in your appointment book. Who doesn’t want that for their business?
In this blog, we’re going to share some practical tips on social media marketing ideas to help your business stand out from the crowd, as well as how you can use your salon or spa software to help with a number of them.
High-Quality Visuals Form the Basis of Great Social Media Marketing
When creating social media content, remember that your posts will live on feeds that are simultaneously filled with high-budget, high-quality content from other companies. Don’t fall behind just because you’re not focusing on your visuals! While you don’t need a camera crew and professional studio to make your social posts look great, you should adhere to certain quality guidelines. Pay attention to the lighting, backgrounds, and positioning you use; whether posting photos or videos. Similarly, try to emanate the vibe of your spa business through your visual content; i.e. using relaxing music in the background of videos if you want to communicate your space as a sanctuary of serenity, or place products in front of lush foliage and greenery if you want to show that your business is a place where nature meets self-care.
Check out Canvas Salon & Skin Bar’s Instagram below for an example of high-quality imagery that really gives that premium feel!
Tip: For more information on capturing the perfect picture for social media, read our Guide to the Art of Salon Photography.
Lift The Curtain: Go Behind The Scenes & Show Your Brand’s Personality
With many businesses attempting to curate the perfect, polished image of themselves on social media, many consumers feel their social media feeds are full of dull, homogenous content. Because of this, audiences are increasingly more interested in seeing the unique, authentic personalities of the brands they love.
What makes your brand unique? Is it your people? The services you provide? The outstanding experience that clients have once they enter your doors? Post content that shows this. Allow your audience to “meet the team” through funny videos, capture clips showing the “behind the scenes” of running of a successful salon or spa, or bring people through your daily routine in photo or video logs.
Creating personable content like this helps humanize your brand, making clients feel more comfortable, especially when they can see the personalities and expertise of the individuals providing the services. This creates a stronger connection between you and your audience, which also boosts client loyalty and increases positive reviews.
Cleveland’s Studio Wish Salon Spa is masterful at this, showcasing the energy, fun, and personality of their team through Instagram reels, highlights, and stories.
Share Before & After Pictures for Visual Proof
Many beauty salon and spa owners underestimate the power of before and after photos, and underutilize this tool compared to hair and nail salons in the industry. Even if you’re providing facials, massages, or body treatments, where the before and after images may not be as obvious as they would be in other verticals of the beauty and wellness industry, they can still be effective. Scatter these throughout your social media feeds to give visual proof of the great work you do.
Think, for example, about sharing two images of a client’s face; before vs after a deeply relaxing massage. In the first image, the client could look stressed and/or tired, while in the second, they’re smiling, relaxed, and happy with a glass of prosecco in their hand. Planning before and after images like this can be a quirky and funny way of showing just how good you are at your job, advertising to clients; “you, too could feel this good after our treatments!” and showing the fun of your brands’ personality.
Phorest makes sharing before and after photos easy, allowing you to take and share these images to your social media accounts right from your spa software!
Boost Engagement with Educational Content & At-Home Tips
Add value to your social media profiles and engage more clients by sharing educational content and/or at-home treatment tips. This extends your service beyond the confines of the spa and creates a more engaged audience who feel they’re getting more value from their services.
Sisu is one of Europe’s leading aesthetic clinics and uses their social media profiles to share educational content about all things aesthetics, making things more accessible and understandable for clients.
Educational content and at-home tips can be shared through videos, images, or stories/highlights on your feed, and could include you and your team sharing wellness tips, self-care routines, product recommendations, or relaxation advice. As well as showcasing your brand personality and introducing your audience to the real people behind your work, providing educational content like this can help position your spa as an authority in your field.
Tip: When recommending products on social media, why not link your Phorest online store, letting your audience order the products you’re talking about immediately?
Advertise last-minute availability on your stories with a link to book
By announcing last-minute openings on social media, you can quickly fill empty slots in your schedule and maximise your daily bookings and revenue. While this is great for your spa, it’s also great for your guests! Some clients prefer spontaneous decisions, especially when it comes to beauty and wellness treatments. They might see that you have a last-minute cancellation for a massage and decide to treat themselves, later associating your business as one that helped them de-stress and engage in self-care, even at short notice.
Broadcasting last-minute availability and making it easy to book with a link straight to your spa’s online booking system, ensures your appointment book stays full all day. Clio Skin & Body Clinic regularly advertises last-minute availability through Instagram stories, ensuring slots fill up quickly to reduce white space in their calendar.
Collaborating with Local Influencers Can Help Build Your Brand
Partnering with local wellness influencers or bloggers can help you increase your following, build a loyal audience, and increase bookings. With 67% of people turning to influencers before making a purchase, leveraging influencers’ audiences to expand your business’ online reach and brand credibility can be successful and lucrative for your business. This could include gifting or paying an influencer to visit your spa and document the experience, or gifting or paying them to review a particular treatment/product/service you provide. How you engage in this type of marketing will vary depending on your unique business goals.
When it comes to influencer marketing, remember the importance of choosing someone relatively local, meaning the majority of their followers are in your spa’s catchment area and can travel easily to you for appointments.
Share Client Testimonials and Success Stories
Did you know that 52% of people search on social media when looking for a new spa or salon to visit? Not publishing testimonials and reviews could mean that you’re missing out on a huge cohort of these potential new clients! Gathering glowing testimonials is easy with Phorest when you use Online Reputation Manager; our industry-leading review management tool that allows you to request, reply to, and publish reviews all from one place in your spa software system. Make review management a habit and watch your online reputation and revenue grow.
Amico Eco Hairdressing in Dublin, Ireland sprinkle reviews throughout their Instagram grid, putting them front and center to both attract new clients and show the quality of their work from real-life clients’ perspectives.
Tip: Always ask permission before using client photos or videos on social media! To avoid any unnecessary back and forth, why not add this as a question or tick box on your pre-treatment spa consultation forms?
Run Social Media Promotions to Turn Followers Into Clients
One of the major struggles many businesses face with social media is that it can be difficult to convert followers into clients. While this is not always the goal in social media marketing, running social-specific promotions can be a great way to get those followers in your door and trying treatments in real life. Run social media competitions that offer discounts, package deals, or early access to new treatments as prizes to social media followers who like, share, and follow your posts.
Or to boost product sales on your online store, why not set up a discount code and share it online across your socials, allowing your followers to get more “bang for their buck” on professional products? By blending online and in-spa/salon promotions, you can start seeing your booking numbers increase alongside your online following.
Ready To Become a Social Marketing Pro?
Whether you’re ready to up your photography game, knuckle down and focus on gathering reviews, or start partnering with influencers, we hope you’ve found these tips on how to market your spa or salon business on social media helpful!
Phorest looks after the management of your salon or spa, leaving you more time to do the things you love!
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