Are you using SMS marketing? You should be! Here’s why….

The average open rate for text message marketing campaigns is 98%, compared to 20% for email marketing campaigns. And with most of us opening a text message up within 90 seconds of hearing that little beep which gets our curiosity soaring, it’s no wonder using text messages as a marketing tool is considered one of the most effective ways to reach clients and promote your services or products.

So, if you haven’t tried SMS marketing for your salon, is it because you are unsure of how you should engage with your clients (what type of information should you be sending?) or perhaps because you simply have no idea where to start?

To help you realise the full potential of SMS marketing, we’ve listed some of its benefits here.

Exclusive Deals
One way to use SMS marketing for your spa or salon is to send out exclusive deals to your clients. People like to feel special, and there is no better way to make your clients feel special than by making them part of an exclusive club. You can do this by promoting exclusive offers, discounts, VIP sales & events through text that you do not promote via any other marketing channel.

Last Minute Specials
On slow days, you can help increase your sales by sending out a limited-time offer available that day only. This incentive will help drive people to your business, turning a slow day into a busy one!

Inform Clients of New Services
When you add new services to your spa or salon, you want to inform your customers about them. You can use SMS marketing to let your clients know about the latest services offered by your salon or spa. You may also want to provide a special reward to your mobile subscribers and offer an exclusive trial of the new service before it becomes available to everyone else. This extra step can make your clients feel special and valued while driving traffic to your salon.

Appointment Reminders
One common problem spas and salons face is loss of business due to clients forgetting about appointments or mistaking the time. It’s natural, we’re all human, but a simple text message is an easy way to send a reminder – and will hopefully cut down on the number of missed visits. This will help you not only maintain a busy schedule, increasing your bottom line, but it also provides an added level of customer service which helps build client loyalty.

It’s Time Efficient
Email marketing is wonderful. It’s free, it’s effective, and it’s easy to do. But sitting down and writing and designing an email takes time, and that’s one thing many of you don’t have. With SMS marketing, your message is to the point, rather than being buried in a 500-word email (which can also get skimmed past in your inbox).

Let’s get down to business.
SMS text messaging can be an effective tool for building your salon, reducing the amount of missed client appointments, and improving your customer service. It can help to strengthen your reputation and increase your profit potential. If you are ready to start on your text messaging campaign journey, here are a few companies you can try.

• Click Send

• SMS Broadcast

• SMS Solutions Australia

• Direct SMS

6 Key Areas that are often not updated on your Business Facebook Page – and they should be!

When was the last time you gave your Facebook Business Page a spring-clean? Often, we find ourselves words deep in creating great Facebook posts but overlooking the marketing obvious? Is your page letting your salon brand down?

With the constant changes to Facebook’s rules and algorithms, it makes sense to refresh, declutter and update your page regularly.

We like to think of it at a salon social audit! Make sure you dedicate some time and give your page a makeover.

First stop…. your ‘About page’

It is essential for your business that this information is correct and up to date. This is where many clients and potential new customers will go to get in contact with you. Make sure all relevant fields are completed from location, phone number and opening hours to website details and links.

When was the last time you updated the cover photo on your page?

If it’s been more than four months since you updated your latest cover photo or video, it’s probably time for a refresh.

Here are some other reasons or times when you may want to switch up your cover photo:

• If you’re launching a new campaign, product, or service.

• To celebrate a new season or upcoming holiday.

• To promote an upcoming event.
  

Is you pinned post out of date?

Nothing looks more out of date than a pinned post promoting an event or competition that’s long since passed. Pinned posts need regular changing otherwise they will look stale. Make a calendar note when you pin a post to revisit it in a week.

When was the last time you updated your services tab?  

Did you know that you can add your treatment menu to your page? And it’s super easy to do! Firstly, you will need to add the Services tab to your page.

Here’s how:

1. Click settings at the top of your page

2. Click Templates and Tabs in the left column

3. Scroll to the bottom and click Add a Tab

4. Next to Services, click Add Tab and then click Close

5. Now that you’ve added the services tab to your page, you can add your services

To add services:

1. Go back to the front page of your page and click Services in the left column

2. Click Add a Service

3. Enter info about your service, then click Save

4. To list another service, click Add a Service
   

Is your call to action current?

Facebook is no different to any other salon marketing channel; you need to lead clients towards your end goal (book an appointment, pick up the phone or visit your website for example) with a call to action. This call to action simply tells them what you’d like them to do next.

To add a call-to-action button to your business age:

1. Click + Add a Button below your Page’s cover photo

2. Select a button from the dropdown menu and fill out any required information

3. Click Add Button.

Once the button has been created, it’s a good idea to test this. Simply hover over your button and select Test Button.

Do you have Facebook reviews?

Social proof showcasing the quality of your salon, spa or clinic is key for converting casual browsers into new clients.

Once they are there, you can’t change or delete Facebook reviews (unfortunately you’re stuck with them). If you notice a handful of average reviews you will need to spring into marketing mode.

Here are 4 tips to encourage clients to leave a Facebook review and boost your star rating:

• Remind clients while they are in your salon, spa or clinic. Pop strut cards or mirror decals throughout the salon asking for a review. Eg “Loved your salon visit? We’d love your Facebook review.”

• Encourage Facebook reviews via your e-newsletter. And don’t forget to include the link to your Facebook Page.

• Always reply to every review quickly and thank them for taking the time and trouble (even if it’s not as glowing as you’d hoped). We all like to feel appreciated. 

Banned hashtags that could be damaging your salons Instagram account

Did you know that Instagram has banned a bunch of commonly used hashtag? And by using these hashtags, you could be potentially damaging your salon brand across social media?!

Here are some innocent-sounding hashtags you may be currently using on your salon social posts that are banned - #tanlines #newyears #valentinesday #ig #beautyblogger #beautydirectory #sunbathing #instamood #humpday #likeback #besties #followforfolllow #goddness. Some of these hashtags are banned temporarily, while others are permanently prohibited. But either way, using them on your posts could shadowban or penalise your Instagram account.

Using hashtags on your salon Instagram marketing

Hashtags are valuable for your Instagram marketing as they can increase your reach and get your salon seen by a new, relevant audience. Which in turn leads to more new clients for your salon business. So rather than dropping them all together as they are such an important part of your salon social marketing, we suggest you read on to discover how you can avoid these banned hashtags.

Why Instagram bans certain hashtags

Instagram is on a mission to reduce spam, fake accounts and scammers. It was revealed that spammers were jumping onto popular hashtags and abusing them, so now their bots look for Instagram accounts that use certain hashtags and flag them as spam.

What is a shadowban?

Using banned hashtags on Instagram could results in your account receiving a shadwoban from Instagram. This means your posts don’t show up in general Instagram searches, which means you become invisible to potential new followers and clients. This is not good news for those salons looking to grow their business!

How do I know if an Instagram hashtag is banned?

The bad news is that Instagram doesn’t make it easy for you, and their list on banned hashtags change on a daily basis. To check if a hashtag is currently banned by Instagram:

• Go to the explore tab.

• Type the hashtag in the search bar.

• Click on it.

• If you see a message along the lines of ‘recent posts from #sunbathing are currently hidden because the community has reported some content that may not meet Instagram’s community guidelines’ then it’s banned.

• Don’t use it.

Avoid these hashtags on your salon social

Take a look through this list below and see if you’ve used any of these recently. If you have a post that didn’t perform well and it used one or more of these hashtags, you might have found your answer.

If you are desperate to use one of these hashtags then make sure you check it out first as some hashtags are only prohibited temporarily, so listings are never totally accurate.

How to make your salon social media marketing stand out!

To kick off our brand-new Salon Marketing Education Blog Series, we are starting with one of the top marketing tools when it comes to the success of your salon, spa or clinic – social media!

There’s no question about it, if you’re a salon, having a social media account is a MUST. Not only is it an extremely valuable and reliable resource for engaging with existing clients, but it also doubles as a huge marketing asset for attracting new clients.

In an industry that relies heavily on word of mouth, in today’s day and age the success of salons is dependent on “word of the gram” just as much (if not more)! Social proof is vital to your business; from sharing client testimonials and before & after photos, to exciting new product releases, and everything in between.

Before we get started on the who, what, where, when, why and how of it all – here’s our #1 Pro Tip that you should never forget when creating and managing your salon social media accounts; ALWAYS have a CTA (call to action). Whether it is a “Book Now”, “Call Now”, “Enquire Today” or any other button – it is imperative that your profile has a means in which existing and future clients can get in touch with you. Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty of salon social media…

The 5 Basic W’s to help you with your salon social media:

WHO
Understand who your audience is.

Understanding who your target audience is might seem relatively basic but rest assured it’s essential to each and every post that you share as a business. Never just post to fill in the feed or because you think you haven’t posted in a while. Be specific and be purposeful in who you want to read and engage with for each post. For example, one post you do might be targeted at females aged between 20-30 that are suffering from hormonal acne. Whereas, your following post might be targeted to an older demographic with sun damage concerns.

WHAT
Always be on-brand.

Creating a consistent brand that your followers can always recognise is vital the success of your salon social media. Pick a style and stick to it! That way your followers know what to look out for and know when they see a certain style of post that it’s yours, hence reducing the risk of scrolling past. Check out these Australian salon’s that create consistent and aesthetically appealing social media feeds below.

Our #1 tip to get you started, always use the same profile pictures (preferably your logo) across all social media platforms and your website.

WHERE
Use location tags.

We couldn’t recommend this more! Use hashtags and your post location to your advantage and always let your followers and potential clients know exactly where you are located from the get-go. Not only will this filter your potential clients better but when future customers are looking for a salon nearby, they may stumble upon your photo thus, your salon.

WHEN
Don’t post too much, or not enough!

The “when” refers to how often you should post, what day and what time. This details can become a little overwhelming to try and perfect, but as a general rule of thumb we recommend posting to your feed at least once, every day. Of course, if you have more to share you can but often too much can be overbearing and too little can leave followers bored and begging for more.

When it comes to specific times of the day to post, a recent study by the social media scheduling service Hootsuite showed that for cosmetics-focused personal care services, posting in the early afternoon (especially Tuesday-Friday) resulted in the greatest success.

Don’t be afraid to test out different posting times, even those that are well and truly out of the periods that you know already might know work well!

For Instagram and Facebook stories, we suggest uploading content daily to keep your followers entertained and engaged. Stories are fast becoming a more sought-after resource for consumers and they are a great means for sharing content that is a little less formal, a touch more authentic and even fun. It doesn’t have to be anything major, a simple behind the scenes glimpse mid-treatment or a post-treatment glow photo of a lucky client will suffice. 

WHY
Create a community.

Your social media account should double as your salon community space. Creating an interactive community for all your existing and potential clients, as well as your followers, is a great way to increase customer loyalty and trust. We suggest posting engaging content, such as; “What is your favourite treatment in salon?” to get your clients responding and interacting. We also encourage you to ALWAYS communicate with your followers, don’t just “post and ghost”! Instead, reply to their comments, reviews & questions consistently and authentically.

Additionally, it is also a great idea to encourage all your clients and customers to share. Whether it be an Instagram story that shows their post-treatment glow that you can then reshare or a post they’ve uploaded to their feeds of a product you send them home with – all user-generated content works great! It also works as an amazing way for potential clients to see another form of testimonial-based proof.

Head to our ‘Top 10 Salon Social Media Post Ideas’ blog to get into the “how” of perfecting your salon’s social media.

2019 PBS Roadshow is coming to a capital city near you!

How do you take the brands you stock, the treatments you offer and the clients you serve and bring them all together to create a profitable, predictable business that works for you, your family and your staff? Find out this July and August when the Professional Beauty Solutions team hits the road for the 2019 PBS Roadshow!

Coming to a capital city near you, the PBS Roadshow is a full day of business education packed with practical growth strategies to help you increase profitability and take your business to the next level! Covering an array of business-building topics in a fun, engaging environment, the PBS Roadshow is a great opportunity to connect with fellow small business owners and therapists, whilst gaining key insights into growing your business and boosting your profits!

Topics covered include:

• The most critical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for small business and how to measure what matters most.

• The growth of the clean beauty movement and the wellness revolution, and the business opportunities they offer.

• How to get the most out of our “Marketing on a Platter” (MOAP) service so you’re able to easily and effectively market your salon, your treatments and the brands you stock.

• What it takes to become social media savvy regardless of which generation you’re from.

• How to stop selling and have your clients spend more by consulting with pride.

• Why coaching your clients for optimum skin fitness is the best way to get them visiting you more frequently.

• Everything you and your team need to know about the new training content on the PBS Online Education Portal.

• QLD July 29th - Pacific Hotel, Brisbane

• WA August 5th - Crown, Perth

• VIC August 12th - Quay West Suites, Melbourne

• SA August 19th - Majestic Hotel, Adelaide

• NSW August 26th - Pullman, Sydney Airport

Whether you’re a salon, spa or clinic owner, manager or team member, the 2019 PBS Roadshow will benefit everyone and is a must-attend event for your whole team! Everyone is welcome to this industry event.

To book your tickets click here