Owning your own hair salon is a great way to give back to the community while also maintaining your own freedom and time flexibility. Whether you are launching your very first hair salon or if you are searching for ways to drum up business and attract new clients, it is important to establish a marketing plan that will work for you. When you are familiar with marketing and become an expert at reaching your intended clientele, keeping the constant positive flow of customers for your business is much more sustainable.
Define Your Target Audience
Before you can create a successful marketing plan of any kind, it is important to define your target audience and the demographics you intend to reach. Consider the age, gender, location, and even specific hobbies, activities, or interests your target client is likely to have in common with one another. Defining your target audience goes a long way whether you are purchasing print ads in a local newspaper or magazine or creating social media marketing campaigns with the use of tools such as Facebook Ads or Instagram Ads.
Set a Budget
Setting a marketing budget aside for your salon is highly advisable, especially if you are just getting started or if you are unfamiliar with the marketing process altogether. Avoid overspending on one marketing campaign and instead, spread your marketing budget across different platforms and campaign advertisements to test their success rate before spending even more.
Choose Your Marketing Platforms
Determine where you plan to market, the duration of each individual campaign you intend to launch, as well as who you want to target for each strategy you have in mind. Local marketing routes may include:
- Local newspaper ads
- Local magazine advertisements
- Printed direct mail advertisements
- Printed coupons or discounts
- Direct mailers
If you intend on creating a marketing plan online, there are many ways to do so, including:
- Email marketing
- Content marketing
- Social media marketing (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tiktok, Snapchat, and more)
- PPC, Pay-Per-Click marketing
- B2B Link Swaps
Create an Image and Message for Your Salon's Brand
Having a message, an objective, and an image for your salon's brand can help you to stand out from the local competition as you work towards establishing your hair styling business both online and off. Consider the logo of your salon, the colors you have chosen, as well as the audience you intend to reach with your advertisements and marketing campaigns.
Research Trends and Keywords
Research keywords and trends that are most relevant to your hair salon, the products you offer, and the services you provide to clients. Use tools such as Google Trends and Google Alerts to stay informed of current hashtags, keywords, and phrases that are most relevant to your hair salon and brand when creating new marketing campaigns.
The Importance of A/B Testing
Using A/B testing is imperative for any marketing campaign, especially when launching multiple campaigns online simultaneously. A/B testing is the process of testing multiple advertisements while implementing small changes to imagery, messaging, and even sales page URLs. Using A/B testing can provide valuable insight into the wants and needs of your intended audience. A/B testing allows you to learn more regarding the best methods of communication with online followers and prospective clientele.
Understanding the basics of marketing and how to reach prospective clients in the beauty industry can fundamentally change how you operate your business on a day-to-day basis. With the right working marketing plan in place, maximize your online reach, establish yourself locally, and create a brand name for your salon.
