The days of social media being nothing more than a nice way to showcase your brand are gone. Today, it’s one of the main ways that you can make your salon stand out against the competition. What’s more, it’s also another route for your customers to book with you directly, so it’s a no-brainer that building your salon’s social media following and increasing your subscriber base = more money in your pocket.
Want more Facebook and Instagram subscribers and followers for your salon? Yes, please
Building a strong social media presence is a great way to find new customers and keep them coming back. These days, social media is far more powerful than just letting people know you’re out there. It’s one of the main places where we spend our downtime, keeping up to date with the latest gossip, news and trends. Treatwell can help you to make the most of your social media following, through an integrated ‘Book Now’ button – that lets your subscribers make instant, real-time bookings through your Instagram or Facebook page, which then sync directly to your Treatwell agenda. So, you can turn every ‘follow’, ‘subscribe’, and ‘like’ into a valued client.
Is your social media performing at its best? Or is it one of those things you only pay attention to during quieter times? There are several ways to quickly and easily build your social media presence. With Treatwell, a smart social media strategy is an easy way to get more bookings.
How to get more followers on Instagram
Unlike Facebook, which builds brand loyalty through engagement, Instagram is more about reinforcing the brand image of your salon and your expertise.
1. Fill in all the info on your salon Instagram page
It’s always worth starting with the basics – making sure that your salon information is up to date. Whilst the information on Instagram isn’t as detailed as Facebook, it’s still always a good idea to make sure your social media following, or any potential new followers, can easily find what they need to know.
We’d recommend including your address (or simply the area you’re in, so people know they’re looking at the right salon and can differentiate between places with similar names elsewhere). It’s also worth adding your opening hours, or any other handy info people would need to know. One of the greatest assets to add to your Instagram page is a ‘Book Now’ button – so new or loyal clients can go straight from admiring your handiwork to booking an appointment. Treatwell’s fully integrated booking widget makes this a possibility – so you can get those bookings rolling in, and make the most of your ever-growing social media following.
2. Publish quality content on Instagram
A strong Instagram presence is becoming increasingly important. A strategy to deliver a range of different content can really help with engagement (and subsequently boost your social media following). It’s ideal to post a little more often on Instagram than it is on Facebook, but don’t compromise on quantity over quality.
Instagram stories are a great way to keep your content engaging and create a story around your brand. Stories can show your business’s personality, share last-minute news and availability, or create some funny content to put a smile on people’s faces.
Well-curated content is a real winner, but takes a little time and dedication. Find other profiles that you like and take inspiration from them, if you’re a little lost with where to start.
3. Create salon promotions and offers, and share them with your social media following
Offers and promos are a great way to attract customers to your salon, as well as attract followers to your social media. Got some empty slots today, or find that you’re always quiet on a Wednesday morning? With Treatwell, you can add completely customisable promos – so, you can easily add a last-minute, off-peak, or limited-time discount to fill those slots in a few clicks. Then, what better way to spread the word than with your social media following on Facebook or Instagram? Creating a quick post or story will let them know the offer, and with Treatwell’s “Book Now” widget, they’ll be able to book in a slot straight from your social media page. Slots filled, without (hardly) lifting a finger.
Plus, of course, this all helps to boost your social media following – by posting the things that people want to see (and who doesn’t love a good offer?!), you’ll automatically be making your page more desirable, and boosting your engagement. It’s a win-win all round.
Interested in Treatwell’s marketing and promo tools? Book a free demo to find out more.
4. Use the right hashtags for your Instagram posts
Hashtags can’t be ignored on Instagram posts. Finding the right ones to use can make all the difference in how your post is found and your content shared. Take a quick look at posts from similar businesses, and any trending hashtags that relate to you and your content, and utilise these to get your content in front of a wider audience.
5. It’s like for like on Insta
Instagram engagement means really putting yourself out there. The more profiles you like, the more will like you back, boosting your followers. Find accounts that complement your business. Search for local hashtags and follow those people and businesses. Find your suppliers, industry influencers and all the content creators that are relevant to your industry. Yes, it’s tedious, but make a commitment to spend a little time each day liking other profiles and you’ll soon see your followers increase. Just don’t be fooled into buying subscribers – it simply isn’t worth it, and you could see your profile being removed as a result.
6. Organise Instagram competitions to boost your salon’s social media following and engagement
Competitions are a great way to boost engagement and attract new followers. There are a few options, but the most common format (and easiest to do) works a little something like this: Pick a prize, and ask your followers (or those that don’t yet follow you) to make sure that they’re following your page, then like, comment on, and/or share the post or story you’ve created about the competition. Then randomly pick a name from all of those entries, and award them the prize.
It’s really simple, and gets your name in front of a whole new audience, (especially if you’ve asked them to share your post). Plus, the extra comments/likes/shares go a huge way to boosting your engagement. You can then simply share the same competition on both Instagram on Facebook, to potentially double the number of people you’re engaging with.
Boost your social media following by increasing the followers on your salon’s Facebook page
Facebook is a great way to connect with your clients (and attract potential clients). Here’s what you need to know to grow your Facebook following.
1. Fill in all the information on your Facebook page
With Facebook, the information is much more detailed than on Instagram – so it’s a great place for people to turn to to find out what they need to know about you. So, it’s vital that everything’s up to date and readily available. Have you remembered to include your full address (and postcode)? Are your opening hours up to date? Are your phone number and website address listed? Have you included links to all your salon’s other social media channels?
Getting this all present and correct is a simple task that can make a difference. Facebook’s algorithms use all of this information, so it’s important that nothing’s missing. Facebook now acts as a search engine that your followers and potential clients rely on. If your information isn’t right – users will lose confidence in your salon and may turn to the competition.
Make sure that once that’s set up, and your clients have found you, they can easily and instantly book with you online – by adding a ‘Book Now’ button to your Facebook page. Increase your online visibility with Treatwell and allow followers to book an appointment at your salon 24/7.
2. Publish relevant content in your Facebook posts
Keep customers engaged, and build a strong social media following by sharing a wide range of content. Don’t just make your page all about promotions and last-minute appointments. Keep things fresh by including news, trends and a little humour too. Local happenings, staff updates (if someone is joining or getting married, for example) and industry trends all make for great content.
Aspire to be that page that people visit to keep up with what’s going on. With a little creativity, you’ll be amazed at how many things there are to share with your followers. Still, you should make sure that it’s all relevant in some way to your business, and to the topic of hair and beauty.
3. Building your social media following is about quality, not quantity
Facebook is a busy place, but you don’t need to be posting daily to keep your page current. If you post too often, Facebook can start hiding some of those posts, so a few times a week is plenty. When you post, make sure the content is high quality, something that people will be interested in and of course, make sure you give your content a spelling and grammar check to ensure everything looks professional. Need inspiration? Read our blog post for some great ideas on how to stand out online.
4. Create engagement on your salon’s Facebook posts
These days, it’s not enough to just have a Facebook presence – it’s all about that magic word – engagement. Engagement means that you’re creating content that followers are interested in, and it’s tracked by different metrics, including how many people like, comment on, or share that content.
Facebook’s algorithms favour profiles over company pages, which is why page engagement is so important. Every like, share or comment matters to how visible your page is in your subscribers’ feeds. One great feature for engagement is Facebook polls. It could be a vote on a new service (‘would you prefer ‘a’ or ‘b’?’), or which trends your customers are into – getting direct feedback from your customers is a great way to grow your business, and people love being asked their opinion. It’s a simple and easy way to build engagement and boost your page visibility.
5. Share your posts on your personal Facebook profile to boost your social media following
Because Facebook shares more profile posts than pages in people’s news feeds, sharing your salon content on your own page is a great way to increase your visibility. Include a call to action that sends people to your page, or to Treatwell’s “Book Now” button, so that people can instantly book. You never know what time people will browse their social media. So, it’s a great way to bag appointments long after you’ve closed for the day.
6. Send an invite to people who liked your Facebook posts to build your following
When you click on the number of likes on any of your posts, you can see who liked your content. Send them a message, inviting them to like your page if they don’t already. These people are the equivalent of what salespeople call a ‘warm lead’ – it’s your job to convert them. You could even offer them an incentive if they like your page or book an appointment with you. It’s a simple way to find (and convert) new customers.
7. Encourage your customers to leave you a review on your salon Facebook page
Third-party endorsement is a really powerful marketing tool. The weight of someone else saying you’re great is far more valuable than when you say it yourself. Are your customers happy with their experience? Politely ask them to leave you a Facebook or Google review. Google automatically publishes reviews from your Facebook page on Google My Business, if the information on both accounts is complete. This can showcase your expertise, and helps to prove that your business is trustworthy for any new potential clients or followers.
8. Share content from other Facebook pages or profiles
Share relevant content from other pages and profiles. This might be from other local businesses, or from industry experts and the brands you work with. It can help to increase your visibility and gives you an easy way to keep your social media content active when you don’t have much time or news of your own to share.
This can also build relationships with those pages or businesses, meaning that they may share your posts to their followers too – in turn, exposing you to a whole new audience and potentially growing your social media following even further. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t ever share a competitor’s post or the same third-party content as them.
9. Utilise stories, and share them between Facebook and Instagram
Instagram is owned by Facebook, meaning that it’s easy to create stories on Instagram and publish them simultaneously on Facebook. Stories are gaining more and more traction over post content, so don’t neglect these.
Key takeaways to boost your salon social media following:
While it takes effort to create a strong social media presence, the rewards are almost always worth it. Thanks to Treatwell’s “Book Now” button, social media is an easy way to bag more direct bookings for your salon.
And of course, don’t forget to follow us on our social media, for more helpful tips, information and inspiration.
Book a free demo of Treatwell to see just how we can help boost your business.