Is it a waste?
Every time I convince myself I’m wasting my time posting on “the gram” and Facebook, someone will DM me or call to schedule whatever service I featured in our story.
Over the past decade, I’ve experimented with and continue to test what works best for my salon. Hands down photos of the team enjoying themselves in their work environment receive the most engagement.
Do the engagements translate to dollars? Many times yes, but other times I know we are building brand loyalty and community.
Since I manage all platforms, social media is also a great tool for customer satisfaction. My customers know they are speaking to me directly!
Things I’ve learned that make Social Media count!
- Take good photos
- Engage with your followers
- Have fun with it.
Once upon a time, I would post terrible photos just to post something daily. A Gen Z receptionist taught me the importance of the details. She explained how her generation is zooming in to check if it’s a perfectly polished manicure. That said, it is better to skip a day of posting than to post a bad photo.
Be on top of comments, DM’s, and likes. Follow back, like, and comment on their post! Be genuine. Some of my guests come in once a month for treatments, but we “talk” weekly. Social media allows you to be on their mind without being intrusive.
Have Fun, in a professional way. I use Instagram as a way to showcase what we offer, specialty services, and/or products. Stories allow me to announce availability for the next day to fill my book. Think of it as your commercial to persuade your customers to reserve an appointment or purchase something on their next visit!
One day, I’ll make a content calendar, prerecord videos, and schedule photoshoots. For the average salon owner, that’s a lot of time and money without a promise of an ROI
Until then, I encourage you to take photos every day in your salon. Before and afters, team silly’s, products, etc. Then use a scheduling app to preschedule a week’s worth of content at a time. Some weeks I have enough content to schedule two weeks out, other weeks I struggle to fill the week.