5 Social Media Best Practices to Boost Engagement
It’s no secret that social media can give your business a major boost, and this is especially true for salon owners and other beauty pros. But not just any post will get results. Try these best practices on your social media accounts to attract followers who will also want to set up an appointment and meet you IRL.
1. Image Is Everything
Twitter posts with photos get 35 percent more engagement that plain text; on Facebook, the numbers are more like 37 percent. Start treating all your social media accounts like Instagram to get those pictures out to your followers. Ideally, these will be your own photos, so snap some pix every day and develop a library you can go to as needed. Before and after shots are excellent, as are still-life photos of your equipment and candid shots of your salon.
2. Go Local
Having lots of followers is awesome, but your customers are local. Attract their attention by tagging your Instagram photos with location stickers so you show up more easily in local searches. You can do the same on Facebook posts by always tagging your business location. If you have hometown hashtags that local businesses use, add those too. These additions should become a habit on every post, every time.
3. Play Games
Getting your followers to interact with your social media account can be tricky, but it’s a great way to boost your appearances and attract more attention. Instead of thirsty “like and share” requests, try getting your followers to interact more naturally with games. Ask a trivia question about hair care techniques, start an opinion poll about favorite skin products, or host a GIF contest based on a salon-worthy theme. When you make it fun, the clicks happen naturally.
4. Give It Away
Your followers trust that you’re an expert in your field, so drop some useful knowledge on them. Demo a tricky technique, give tips for healthy hair, or host a Twitter Q&A session to offer advice. You can also give away promo codes and coupons as added incentive to get people in the door. By making your site truly valuable, you’ll keep them coming back for more.
5. Stay on Brand
It can be tempting to post any old meme just to have something out there, but your followers are interested in your professional services, opinions, and pictures. Stick to relevant topics on your professional site. For Instagrammers, this can include making sure your photos all have a similar color palette and style for a cohesive look.