Maximize Engagement: Winning Instagram Marketing Tips
With more than 700 million users, Instagram has come to be one of the top social media platforms for both customers as well as businesses. So, engaging with your clients using Instagram for Marketing is a great option to reach them. When promoting your business online and engaging with customers, it is always better to leverage on platforms where your clients may be spending more time. For long, businesses have made use of Facebook as a potent tool to promote their business. However, not all social media platforms work for all kind of businesses.
If you are part of the salon industry, where pictures and visual imagery is king, chances are that your clients are spending more time on Instagram than any other platform. It is the perfect platform to ‘show off’ your work.
It is simple to use and allows you to keep up with the latest industry trends. These features have made Instagram the best social media platform for brand awareness and growth.
Also, with the salon software, salons can add their booking widget to their Instagram profile. Each time a client visits your profile, they can seamlessly take an appointment.
From trendy hairstyles to swanky nail art, the marketing possibilities of using Instagram for Marketing are endless. If you are a new kid on the block and don’t know how you can make use of Instagram.
We’ll Take You Through A Few Tips And Tricks To Engage With Your Clients Using Instagram For Marketing:
1. Create A Visual Theme:
Before you start posting pictures on Instagram, you need to understand what your visual theme or aesthetic is. Having a consistent and branded style will make a huge difference to your business and will be helpful for engaging using Instagram for marketing. Just putting random photos will make your grid look untidy and messy. All the pictures you put should have a similar vibe. A salon owner can decide the theme based on personal preference, but should also look into what the business needs. If you do plan to use filters, try and maintain one filter for all the pictures you post. You can also use background colors similar to that of your logo. Just remember, your Instagram profile is the face of your brand. Popular themes followed by salons on Instagram include bright and poppy, minimal, dark and moody, and faded and filtered.
2. Use Instagram’s Business Profile:
If you have a regular Instagram account for your salon, switch to a business account. It’s free of cost and gives you access to several features that are tailored to monitor and grow your salon’s Instagram presence. A business profile gives you a chance to add your business name, a profile description, and a call-to-action button. Just like a salon and spa software gives a business owner insight into how the business is doing, Instagram will give you data on your posts including impressions, reach, and engagement.
3. Fill In The Bio:
A bio on Instagram is a short description business can write about itself. Use the bio to fill in your location, contact information, specialties (hair salon/nail salon), and business name. One sad part about Instagram posts is that you cannot include a link on the posts. However, you can do so in the bio section. Make the most of it including your web URL here. Most salons use this feature to redirect customers to their salon software. However, as and when you run a promotion, you can edit the URL.
4. Post Consistent, High-Quality Content:
Gaining traction on Instagram is not something that is going to happen overnight. If you want to see gradual growth in engagement and followers, you need to post regularly. This is a great pathway to reach your clients using Instagram for marketing. Think about image quality and make the most of filters and cropping tools as and when necessary. You can also collaborate with a photographer near you to take some pretty pictures. You can post the pictures throughout the months to come. When taking pictures, consider your profile’s design and the story you want to tell. Making your Instagram feed look good will take a while. However, practice will make you perfect.
5. Instagram Post Ideas:
Like any other social media site, you want variety when it comes to your Instagram posts. Don’t stick to posting only one kind of picture. Here are some really cool ideas:
➭ Before And After Pictures:
Not all reviews and testimonials have to be in text form. Before and after pictures are the best way to show your client’s transformation. This can grab other users’ attention on Instagram. For example, if a client comes in for hair color, get a picture of their hair before the color and one after. Make a college and get a posting. However, whenever you are taking a picture of a client, make sure to get their permission and ask them if they are okay with it going online.
➭ Cool Hairstyles:
If your stylists have just done a really cool braid on a client, snap it and post it. You can also post DIYs, tips, makeup hacks, and more. Clients love reading content that is informative.
➭ New Products:
If your salon or spa sells beauty products, of course, you’ll want to advertise them. However, don’t overdo it. If a new styling product or tool comes into your salon, you can probably make a mention on your Instagram story to let interested clients know you stock that particular product.
➭ Thank You Notes:
If you’ve teamed up with a new vendor or completed a year of business, you’ll want to those thank your respective people.
➭ Upcoming Deals And Events:
If you are running a promotion or event, share it on Instagram. Tell your clients all the details regarding the promotion and till when you will be running it.
6. Targeted Hashtags:
The best way to draw more users to your Instagram profile is by using trending and popular hashtags. It is the easiest way to raise brand awareness. Don’t overuse them though. A maximum of twelve is good. If you are posting a picture of a client’s hair color, must include hashtags are #haircolour #haircolourtreatment #YourSalonName #YourSalonLocation#Hair #Colour #Style #HairStyles, etc. You can also use hashtag generation tools to give you the best and most relevant ones. You can also tag similar Instagram accounts. Another way of going about hashtags is by contacting potential followers. By liking and commenting on other people’s posts, you send out notifications to the users thus intimating them about your presence. This will urge them to check out your profile and engage with you.
7. Avoid Cross-Platform Posting:
Most salons connect their Facebook and Twitter profiles to Instagram to save time. This is not a very great practice. Remember, each platform needs different content. Your loyal clients will possibly follow you on all your social media handles and will definitely want to see different content. It isn’t always about posting, it is engaging with a community.
8. Add Instagram To Emails:
Whenever you are sending emails from the database on your spa software, add your Instagram handle or link. People who are interested in your business will immediately become your followers.
9. Use Ads And Sponsored Ads:
If you do plan to use Instagram’s advertising feature, you need a Facebook account. You can create photos, videos, carousels, and story ads. The feature will then allow you to demographically and psycho-graphically target these ads to your market. You can also add a call-to-action button with every ad.
10. Encourage Client Sharing:
Though you will consistently post pictures of your salon, you will also have to get your clients to participate. When their followers see it, your engagement and followers increase too. Therefore, encourage your clients to take pictures of their new hairdo, makeup, or nail art and post it on their personal accounts. When they do so, ask them to tag your salon and use it in the hashtag. This is the perfect way to grow within your local community. To encourage clients, you can also give them an incentive for doing this. It doesn’t have to be something big. It can be something like a free hair wash on a haircut or free cut, file, and polish. The choice of the incentive is completely your discretion.
Instagram allows your beauty business to focus on all things visual and beautiful. If you really want to put the name of your business out there and get clients through the door, having an Instagram business account is a must. Using the right hashtags and supporting apps can help your posts gain more traction, and further drive more business and referrals. MioSalon, salon software, allows salon and spa owners to integrate the online booking widget on their website and social media sites. Besides that, salon owners can also collect feedback from the salon and spa software and post it directly to their social media accounts. It is completely in the hands of the salon owner which review and rating they wish to post and which they don’t.
If you don’t have an Instagram profile for your salon or spa, it’s high time you do and engage with your clients using Instagram for marketing. Now is the time to showcase your work in the best light and express your brand values.
