Top Tools and Tips for Spa and Salon Marketing

Why do people go to a spa or salon? To get pampered, to boost self-confidence, and to ultimately feel better about themselves. A haircut or beauty service is so much more than a product to be sold — it’s a personal treatment that’s part of someone’s lifestyle. 

Marketing your spa or salon should revolve around your client’s daily life and keep them coming back. The following tools, tips, and tricks will help boost your salon or spa’s digital marketing strategy this year to reach clients long after they leave your store.

Tip: Create Your Ideal Client

When beginning to think about a marketing strategy for your salon or spa, you must first understand who you are catering to. All aspects of marketing should revolve around the lifestyle of your ideal client. 

Maintain a sharp focus on what people really want. A useful trick to help you do this is to create an ideal primary and secondary client. Give them names, jobs, and families and think about their daily lives. 

For example, if you own a hair salon in Ravenna, Seattle, your primary client could be Sheryl. She’s 40 years old, has two kids, drives a BMW, works part-time at a boutique, uses an iPhone, and loves shopping on Etsy. Your secondary client could be Olivia, a 20-year-old student at the University of Washington who’s tech savvy and trendy. 

All your marketing efforts should target these two clients. Ask yourself: What time of day are they online? What social media sites do they use? What kinds of deals would get them in your door?

Tool: Pinterest, Your Online Lookbook

Pinterest is a visual collection board that works perfectly for a spa or salon’s online lookbook. Collect boards and pins that reflect the ideal lifestyle of your primary and secondary clients, giving your customers inspiration to come use your services.

A woman’s hairstyle is not only tied to fashion or special occasions, but also to her daily routine of getting ready for work in the morning or driving the kids to school. Think about your ideal clients and what they would be attracted to on Pinterest. Are they young professionals? Stay-at-home moms? Trendy fashionistas? Football fans? 

These spas/salons are great examples of Pinterest profiles that reflect a lifestyle and create inspiration:

• Gene Juarez has a Seahawks board for football-inspired beauty ideas.
• Habitude Salon incorporates nature, art, and community boards that touch upon its ideal client’s lifestyle beyond salon services.
• Gary Manuel Salons & Institute pins bold and trendy looks for its fashion-forward demographic.

[Related: Why Businesses Should Use Pinterest]

Tip: Set Photo/Video Guidelines

Use the best photos collected on Pinterest to create a shot guide for your salon or spa. Think about the staging, lighting, models, and overall vibe. Your photos and videos should have a consistent look and feel to give customers a glance into the experience they’d have there. 

Look beyond Craigslist to find models — offer customers a free service in return for modeling or gather some friends to strike a pose! Take some shots out of the shop to reflect the daily life of your ideal client.

>> Check out our photography and videography services.

Tool: A Beautiful Website

Your website should clearly communicate the services you offer while capturing your salon or spa’s unique style. When people land on your website, the things they’ll be looking for are:

• Do they have the service I need?
• What are the prices and availability?
• What is their reputation? Good reviews?
• How do I book an appointment?
• Are they a match for me?

What to avoid on your website:

• Images of services that you do not offer or an environment that you do not have
• No easy-to-find contact information 
• No call to action in the header
• Inability to schedule an appointment online

WordPress is the best platform for any small businesses. Thousands of easily customizable themes are available for less than $100. Here is a list of the top-selling themes specifically designed for spas and salons.

>> Check out our website development services.

Tip: Utilize Your Employees for In-House Marketing

Your employees are your greatest marketers. Their personal style, topics of conversation, friendliness, and professionalism are all important. Clients’ satisfaction with their stylist is what will make them come back. The experience at your salon or spa is crucial for customer retention and word-of-mouth referrals.

Tool: Using Instagram to Build Your Brand

A strong Instagram presence is free publicity for your brand. Create a profile that is regularly updated with photos of your people, processes, and products — a mix of what you sell and why you’re unique (similar to Pinterest!). 

Having an Instagram location and profile is necessary to maintain a relationship with your clients long after their visit. Those post-haircut selfies will give you more visibility and interaction with your clients’ network of followers.

We especially love what the following two salons are doing on Instagram:

• Essensuals London Seattle uses consistent angles and filters in their Instagram shots of client cuts, creating a feed that’s clean and cohesive.
• BANG posts Pinterest-worthy pictures of bold, colorful hair that match their clientele’s funky fresh styles.

[Related: Why Small Businesses Should Be on Social Media]

Tip: Be an Industry Resource

Don’t limit yourself to selling services only — your brand has so much more potential than that. 

Utilize a blog, email marketing, and social media to be a resource within your industry. Post relevant news, give shoutouts to other salons or spas in your area, do joint promotions, and stay up-to-date with what your competition is doing. Educating your clients will make your brand more reputable in its industry, building trust between you and your customers.

See how these salons and spas are turning their brands into industry resources:

• Pinup Salon blogs on hair and beauty tips, including lots of photos so clients can get a visual of potential looks.
• Stan Parente Salons uses Facebook to engage with clients through specials, promotions, and giveaways in return for client interaction on their profile.
• Caroline’s Lash Boutique provides seasonal makeup ideas and eyelash tips on their blog in addition to eyelash extension-specific posts.

[Related: Why Blogging Is Essential to Your Business]

Tool: Loyalty Software — Personalization

Let’s face it, people want convenience. One of the best ways for a spa or salon to do this for its clients is to utilize one of dozens of spa booking software systems. Virtually all of them allow for: 

Birthday discounts and specials, seasonal updates, and other features are ideal and easy to set up as well. No matter what, you need to be in the 21st century.

Tip: Give a Gift Bag

Give your clients something tangible to take home after their appointment. Whether it’s a product, sample, or coupon for next time, a gift bag will bring a piece of your salon home with them and entice them to return. Regular customers will have something to look forward to at the end of their visit, and new clients will be pleasantly surprised.

Need Some Help With Your Salon or Spa’s Marketing?

That’s what we’re here for. Schedule a free consultation with a Marketeering Group strategist to discuss which marketing services will best help you achieve your business goals.

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