9 tips to make your beauty business stand out on social media

Avril Kealy, digital content strategist at salon software provider, Phorest, shares social media marketing advice…

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.

1. Use high-quality visuals

Remember that your social media posts will pop up on feeds that are filled with high-quality content from other companies. While you don’t need a camera crew and professional studio to make your posts look great, pay attention to lighting, backgrounds and positioning. Try to emanate the vibe of your business through your content, for example by using relaxing music in videos to communicate your space as a sanctuary of serenity, or placing products in front of greenery to show that nature meets self-care in your business.

2. Show your brand’s personality

With many businesses attempting to curate a polished image on social media, audiences are becoming more interested in seeing the unique, authentic personalities of brands. What makes your brand unique? Is it the people? The services you provide? Or the outstanding client experience? Post content that shows this. Allow your audience to ‘meet the team’ through video content and show the behind the scenes of running your salon or spa. Creating personable content helps humanise your brand, making clients feel more comfortable and creating a stronger connection between you and your audience.

3. Post before & after pictures

Even if you’re providing facials, massages or body treatments, where the before and after images may not be as obvious as in other verticals of the beauty and wellness industry, they can still be effective. For nail treatments, it’s all about the finished look first – you want these posts to be aspirational, so focus on the end result first. Scatter these throughout social media to give visual proof of your work.

4. Share educational content

Sharing educational content and aftercare tips extends your services beyond the confines of the salon, creates an engaged audience who feel they’re getting more value from their treatments and helps position your business as an authority in your field. With an integrated online store, you can even link products you’re recommending to encourage potential sales.

5. Advertise last-minute availability

By announcing last-minute openings on social media stories with a link to book, you can quickly fill empty slots in your schedule and maximise your daily bookings and revenue. It’s also great for your guests, as they might see that you have a last-minute cancellation and decide to treat themselves, later associating your business as one that helped them engage in self-care, even at short notice.

6. Collaborate with local influencers

Partnering with local influencers can help expand your online reach, increase brand credibility, build a loyal audience and promote bookings. With 67% of people turning to influencers before making a purchase, leveraging influencers’ audiences that are within your catchment area can be successful. This could include gifting or paying an influencer to visit your salon to document their experience or review a particular service.

7. Share client testimonials & success stories

Not publishing testimonials and reviews could mean that you’re missing out on a huge cohort of potential clients. Gathering glowing testimonials is easy with Phorest’s Online Reputation Manager tool, which helps you request, reply to and publish reviews from one place. It’s important to ask permission before using client photos or videos on social media. To avoid back and forth, why not add this as a tick box on your consultation form?

8. Run social media promotions

One of the 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 followers through the door. Run social media competitions offering discounts, package deals or early access to new treatments as prizes to followers who like, share and follow your posts. Or, to boost product sales in your online store, set up a discount code and share it across your socials.

9. Utilise social media ads

Social media ads are paid adverts that can be used to target existing or potential clients according to their gender, location, interests and other demographics. Paid ads can be targeted to a larger audience, allowing you to significantly increase your reach and build hype around your brand. Social media ads can be created and run in the back end of Meta, or in an integrated tool such as Phorest’s Ads Manager.

www.phorest.com