Are you looking to increase your visibility in the marketplace?
Traditional spas and salons are still around, but today there are many other options that the owner can choose in order to jazz up their shop! The definition has broadened for beauty and health today, and isn’t defined by traditional beauty salons anymore; it’s pretty obvious that the industry has branched out to encompass other areas! Think in terms of spas and fitness centers… Since these transitions are popular today, why stick to the old business methods? In order to move mainstream, you have to embrace the tech-savvy world and focus on where the people are. They are more apt to be perusing the internet and websites than they are looking at pamphlets and newspapers.
You will find people blogging about every event in their lives, and sharing their universe with each other. To better take advantage of this trend today, you need to understand people’s dreams and desires. And it’s actually pretty easy! Just get set up with an account on Twitter and Facebook, and your career can take an incredible turn!
This is a handy guide to maintain your networking presence; to allow your creative juices to flow and to sow good seeds!
1. Find or Create Good Content
“Much like great products, great content will only find the best people to love it if it’s leveraged well.” – Shannon Paul
Always check your work to make sure you are only putting out the best content. You may not be a storyteller, but everyone has real life experiences they can share with their readers, professional or not. Let people know how you started your salon, how long it’s been open, and how it expanded to the current state. Introduce your staff and what they specialize in, and then try to explain the inner-workings of a spa or salon. Try to spread awareness about spa treatments and how people can benefit from them. Be giving and share valuable content for free. People will be receptive to this approach, and will naturally join you if they find your writing note-worthy. Adding well-detailed descriptions about the industry will brand you as the resident expert
2. Enrich Your Website with a Blog
One of the great things about blogging is the sharing aspect, which leads to connection and bonding. If you want to form a bond with your followers, this is one of the best ways. Blogs show the kind of person and professional you are, and you will also gain expert status when more people start to comment on your articles. Mack Collier rightly points out, “If there’s a firestorm erupting via blogs, your customers will expect you to respond via those same blogs, not via a carefully-worded press release 4 days later.” The basic message from that is not that you should always be putting out fires, but that you should learn to be more regular and consistent in your blogposts and comments. It’s a great idea to establish a separate company blog attached to your website, but if not you can always post on your personal blog to help establish your brand. In addition, if you have a regular blog site, always be sure to post a link for the RSS on your fan page.
3. Remember to Tweet!
Twitter is a very useful social media tool when it comes to business. It will let you promote links and announcements without sounding too pushy!
On the other hand, Facebook is more of a dialogue generating tool. The purpose of FB is meant as a way to mingle and mix with other friends, family, or customers with a sense of community. That is why they work great in connection with each other! You can also always pair up your Facebook and Twitter accounts if you would like and update them together. This will allow you to keep both the announcements and dialogue together!
4. Try to Widen your Net!
Start blogging outside your sphere of influence, and try to expand to other groups and interests! Check into online directories, both local and non-local. Freely share tips and information with them and get promoted as an industry expert and gain outside exposure. Make sure to place your Twitter and Facebook URLs in the online directories, as this is a great tactic to introduce customers to your page. As Matt Rhod puts it: “As a general principle, the more users share about themselves, the more others in the community will learn about them and identify with them.” This seems to be very sound advice in the business of marketing.
5. Try to Use More comments from Brand ambassadors
We don’t mean forking over tons of money to bring in celebrities for endorsements here… There are plenty of local people who may have used your product in the past and liked it so much that they are willing to endorse it for free. Some you may have to pay a small amount, but it can definitely benefit your salon or spa in the end. Potential customers would like to see a down-to-home approach instead of something that is clearly made-up. Think about posting some great quotes or comments from satisfied clients, and in addition, videos also make awesome social proof intros, where you can share great views by customers on your salon. When it comes to social media, your ROI all depends on your followers, so make sure that they get the absolute best you can offer!
6. Are you Transparent Enough?
Make sure you don’t leave out your negatives, even though you don’t want to emphasize them. Welcome the criticism as a way to generate feedback on what areas you need to improve in, and what areas you are excelling in. Getting this real time feedback is the best way to understand your flaws and what you need to do to correct them. Understanding is the first key, then you should take action once you know what to do. According to David Cooper, “You as a brand have to be completely confident about your position, because you will get criticism. You will have a negative reaction. If you didn’t get a negative reaction, that means you’re standing neutral and you have no point of view. Who wants to participate in that?”
Hopefully this will help you get on the right track for marketing your salon or spa!