How to Promote your Salon or Spa on Social Media Step by Step

​Far too many salons and spas neglect or avoid social media.

Of those that do implement social media marketing campaigns, few are able to do so effectively.

Salon, spa, and tanning salon owners come up with plenty of excuses to avoid social media.  And we understand, as all forms of internet marketing can be intimidating.  Social media marketing, especially, seems to change everyday.

However, a little bit of education can go a long way.  Put a tried and true method into place and what makes social media so scarey becomes a boon.  The ever-evolving landscape creates more opportunities for businesses to take advantage of new platforms and features.

Social media marketing for salons and spas doesn’t have to be a complicated.  Just be sure that you take it seriously.  Your online presence should build your brand up, nothing less.

For successful social media marketing campaigns for your salon or spa, put all 6 of these steps into practice.

Target.

​The first step in any serious marketing campaign is always about understanding who your potential customers are.  Step “1a” might be figuring out where you can find them. 

In order for a marketing campaign to connect with an audience of potential customers, two parties must be present—the audience and the business.

Nearly 80% of the U.S. population has a social media profile.  If you’re a salon or spa owner, you can count on the majority of your target audience having multiple social media profiles.

​It’s obvious where your audience is.

Where are you?

It may be true that almost all sales occur in-store for salons, spas, and tanning salons.  However, the bulk of successful brand engagement happens online.  A social media presence is absolutely imperative for this reason.
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Be sure though, that you make use of platforms that your customers actually use.  There are certain social media sites that are crucial for salons and spas for different reasons.  

Facebook, for instance, offers a variety of advertising features that allow you to target people based on demographics and even personal interests.  This works out great as Facebook is so popular with the tanning crowd and is a great lead-in for other digital mediums such as email.

As time passes, social media platforms are going to continue to develop tools for businesses to more effectively connect with their markets.

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Tailor-Make.

The messaging of any marketing campaign should fit your target audience perfectly. 

Once you’ve identified your target audience, begin adapting your message to the market.  Hone in on those you want to target.  Cater to their wants and needs, but also to the language they use.  And don’t forget to give them good reason to choose you over the competition.

Your salon might do well with a classy approach: beauty tips and images for your portfolio.  Or your spa might do well with inspiring quotes and a virtual tour.  If you own a tanning salon, you probably want to focus on a younger crowd with a playful, pop-culture tone.

In the end, it’s on you to figure out what will resonate with your audience.  The more research you do up front the better.  Still, you’ll see later that a degree of flexibility is needed to maximize effectiveness long-term.

Promote.

This is where the return on investment is realized (or not). 

Promotion is an absolutely vital aspect of social media marketing that can help salons and spas drive revenue.  Individual promotions can maintain a constant point of contact between businesses and their clients.

Social media sites—and the business pages you can create for yourself from within—are a great medium to offer discounts from.  Social media promotion can be extremely effective for special events and limited time offers alike.

You can get people on your website, on your email list, or in the door through social media.  Discounts or other rewards work great.  But simply inviting people in itself can work better than you would expect, granted your calls-to-action are done well enough.

Regardless, social media is one of the best possible sound boards for your brand.  There are few mediums as versatile and intimate.

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Test. ​​

This is one of the real keys to having effective social campaigns long term.

You never want to neglect what is working, but don’t get stagnant with your efforts.  Keep doing what guarantees you new business but also be on the lookout for new ways to build exposure for your brand and drive revenue.

Any marketing campaign you run can be split tested in one way or another to find ways to make it more effective.  That’s one reason why we always recommend a scientific marketing approach for salons and spas.

Sometimes, the right title or call to action can make all the difference.  You’ll also want to test different methods across different platforms to see whether your various audiences respond differently.  You can even fashion specific messages for subsets of your demographic.

Finally, don’t forget to account for the fact that social media sites are constantly developing new ways to offer specialized services to businesses.  As they compete with each other, new options are going to continue to open up.

Experiment with tactics you don’t see the competition using.  Follow local trends.  And if you see a possible opening for your brand, go for it.

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ReTarget.

“Retargeting” is one of those new-fangled Internet marketing terms that typically refers to the strategy of continued advertising to users who have already clicked on one of your ads.

Here though, we want to repurpose the definition to “marketing to people who are already interested in your brand or have purchased your services before.  Social media offers huge opportunities to do this.

Sure, one of those opportunities is in fact pay per click (PPC) retargeting via facebook advertising.  But you don’t have to spend advertising dollars to connect with past clients on social media and market to them.

Plus, anyone who is following your brand on a social media network has already shown interest with that simple gesture.  Remember to customize these messages based on their past experience and test different approaches even with those already familiar with your brand.

New leads are certainly the lifeblood of any small business but the majority of salons, spas, and tanning salons could see significant revenue increases by maximizing returns from the fans they already have. ​​

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​Remain Consistent.

It’s pretty darn simple:

You’ve got to keep it up. 

Your social media presence has to be consistent for your efforts to yield lasting results.  Otherwise you’ll fall by the wayside.  Oftentimes, you’ll end up doing more harm to your brand than good.

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all use algorithms to put together individual news feeds for users.  Factors like your activity level and the popularity of your posts has serious impact on whose news feed you do or don’t show up in. 

The flow of information on social media sites is fast paced and constant. To stay relevant, you’ve got to stay active.  Moreover, online marketing becomes more and more effective as you build brand equity over time.  You may not move the needle at first, but you have to stay with it. 

Consistent doesn’t mean repetitive or boring.  Get creative with promotional material and offerings to entice your audience.  Remember, testing should be just as consistent as every other step.

It usually just comes down to making time for social media marketing and everything that goes with it.

If you take the first five steps we’ve laid out here and repeat them consistently, your salon or spa will certainly see benefits from social media marketing.

Every step is important, as they all work together to ensure you actually connect with your audience in a way that has potential to get results over the long term.

Remember, social media marketing is a long-term strategy that can help propel modern businesses into the future.  On the other hand, it also creates the very real possibility (or maybe probability) for others to get left behind.

One of the best things you can do for your salon, spa, or tanning salon is to get a good grip on the basics of social media marketing and dedicate resources put the above steps into place.

If you’re looking for proven and effective marketing advice for your tanning salon, you can find a wealth of resources on our blog.  Or, if you’re interested to see how Salon Touch Studios’ software can help you pull off more effective social media campaigns, don’t hesitate to contact us today.