Calling all salon owners, beauty therapists, barbers and stylists, it’s time to step up your marketing game and turn your attention to TikTok and Instagram Reels. Here at Salons Direct, we know a thing or two about leveraging these powerful social media platforms to attract new clients, build your brand and show off your work to a broader audience.
We’ve previously written several blog articles on how to use social media to boost your business, and here, we’ll be focusing on how and why you should use TikTok and Instagram Reels as part of your salon marketing efforts.
How to use TikTok and Instagram Reels as part of your salon marketing strategy
TikTok and Instagram Reels give you a space to create short, snappy videos that really capture people’s attention. Alongside static imagery, these short videos, when shared on social media, are a perfect match for the salon industry due to their visual nature. Stylists, colourists, beauty therapists, and barbers can all showcase their work to the masses with just a click of a button.
How many people can you reach via TikTok and Instagram Reels?
According to Business Of Apps:
“TikTok had 1.2 billion monthly active users in the latter portion of 2021 and is expected to reach 1.8 billion by the end of 2022. Most TikTok users are under 30, with the largest age bracket between 20 and 20”.
Social media specialists, Hootsuite, offer a similar story on the impact of Instagram Reels:
“Instagram owner, Meta, reports that up to 675.3 million users can be reached with ads on Instagram Reels. Whatsmore, in 2022, Instagram users will be on the platform for more than 30 minutes daily!”
That’s a lot of potential eyeballs on your work and a seismic opportunity to build your brand and garner new clients to your books!
What is a salon marketing strategy?
In 2022, TikTok and Instagram Reels should form part of your salon marketing strategy. All of your marketing efforts must be cohesive and tell the same story. Ensure that your branding is aligned and your values and messaging are the same. This will not only look incredibly professional and slick, but it will also demonstrate to clients that you have consistency in your salon business.
A well-considered marketing plan will encompass all of your efforts to attract new clients whilst building your brand’s online and offline presence. Your offline strategy may include the promotional offers you advertise within the salon, such as birthday marketing ideas to woo your clients or taster events encouraging people to come into your salon and see what you do.
Your online strategy includes the content that you share online via your social media pages and website. It may also include how you communicate offers with your clients via SMS or email. Did you know that some salon booking apps can actually help you with this? Check out our guide: The best salon booking apps to use in 2022.
Related: Our top 15 tips on attaining more clients
Every salon business or salon professional requires a marketing strategy to help grow their client base, retain existing clients and show off their skill set. You may already be using Facebook and Instagram to upload static imagery, but have you considered TikTok and Instagram Reels?
Let us share with you some of the benefits of doing so…
The key benefits of using TikTok and Instagram Reels as a stylist, beauty therapist or salon owner
1. It’s FREE marketing.
Social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are free to use and upload to. You may wish to put some ad spend behind some of your videos to promote them, but at its core, using these social media platforms is a free and convenient way to market yourself or your business, especially if you don’t have a ton of cash available to spend on marketing. Simply make your account and start uploading. It really is as easy as that.
2. You can build and grow your following.
Building and growing your social media following may be one of your marketing goals. Perhaps you’d like to reach a certain number of followers, likes or views? TikTok videos and Instagram Reels will help you to reach more people that will enjoy following and engaging with your account.
3. It’s a golden opportunity to show off your skills.
Set yourself apart from the competition and use this opportunity to show off your skills. By putting yourself out there and showing people what you can do, you never know what opportunities may come your way.
How to market your salon business or service using TikTok & Instagram Reels
TikTok and Instagram Reels allow you to really flex your creativity. You can create content that truly shows off your professional personality in a style that is true to you. Perhaps you’d prefer to produce show-and-tell videos; maybe you love a fast-paced transition between clips of you transforming a client’s hair? Whatever your style, here are some ideas on the kind of valuable content you can make.
1. Create step-by-step video tutorials.
Depending on your goal or ambition, you may want to showcase what you can do with the view to becoming a salon educator. You can utilise Instagram reels and TikTok to do just that! Show off your skillset with a short, snappy step-by-step video showcasing your work from start to finish.
Think about the story you’d like to tell. Is it about a client that has come to see you for a cut or colour transformation? Be sure to tell all parts of the story, especially if it’s a complex job. You can also create follow-along video content that gives people a helping hand with tricky tasks such as how to create the perfect updo or how to create effortless beachy waves at home.
Related: How to become a salon industry educator.
2. Make your videos reach far and wide by leveraging the power of hashtags.
Use a hashtag to help users find your content when they search for particular keywords such as #hairtutorial #Hairhacks #beauty #skincare. The more optimised your video is with the correct title, description and relevant hashtags, the further it will reach.
3. Create question-based content.
Find out what your clients would love to know about specific techniques, your favourite products, recommendations, or tips and tricks and make video content around those questions. It will make it easier for you to be found by users searching for answers to their questions and position you as someone knowledgeable with expertise and integrity.
4. Repurpose your videos on other platforms.
We recommend uploading your TikToks or Instagram Reels to all of your social media platforms to ensure that you reach as many people as possible. You may also want to put some videos on specific platforms, especially if you are shooting a longer video for Youtube or wish to go live on Facebook, for example.
5. Show off your salon, logo and any products you’d like to push.
Film your video in front of your salon logo or any products you’d like to show off. Some social media platforms don’t allow you to upload your logo to the video. Therefore by doing some strategic positioning, you can still showcase your brand logo and anything else you’d like your audience to see, such as a sneak peek of your salon.
Related: 10 Viral TikTok Products Hair & Beauty Professionals Can Buy From Salons Direct
6. Check out the competition
When planning your TikTok or Instagram Reel debut, we also recommend searching for your competitors in the app and seeing what kind of content they are producing. This way, you can gauge what kind of content people have an appetite for and what you can do to stand out more.
How often should you post on TikTok and Instagram?
Consistency is key to a successful social media marketing strategy. We recommend posting high-quality content once a day, if you can, to keep your work circulating and to keep people interested. However, we understand that this isn’t always possible when you’ve finished a busy day in the salon. In this case, try and upload a few times a week at the very least to keep people engaged and checking back for more.
We spoke to Salon Directs Social Team and asked them for their top tips for creating amazing Tiktok Videos and Instagram Reels! 👇
Social media algorithms are far from your best friends. They’re tough to understand and it’s important you don’t get bogged down if a video doesn’t do well, or the likes aren’t reflecting the amount of effort you put in. We have four main tips when trying to create content on our platforms, check them out below:
- Understand Your Audience
Make sure you know who your audience are. What do they want to see from you? Do they want education tips, or are they looking for relatable content?
- Stay On Top Of Trends
EVEN when we say we don’t know how social media algorithms work, one thing we do know is that trends come and go within a week or so and unless you hop on them, you might miss an opportunity to reach a larger percentage of your audience.
- Personalise your brand
Putting a face to your brand can massively improve the trust you have with your audience. It will create brand recognition and people love relating to other people. Why not try it?
- Consistency Is Key
We like to try and have a consistent schedule with reels, however it’s not always possible. Try spending a day or two smashing out lots of content, then scheduling throughout the month. This will save you time and effort.
Other helpful guides we have written on how to use social media in the salon business.
- Social Media Hacks to Boost Your Salon Business
- Ask the Expert With Jaymz Marsters: Social Media Special
- Salon Social Media: 5 Top Tips for Nailing your Instagram Strategy
- Social Media Basics: Creating a Successful Facebook Page For Your Salon
- How to attract new clients through social media with Not Another Salon
TikTok and Instagram Reels are the perfect platforms to contribute to the conversation, share inspiration and create content people want to watch. Will you give it a go?
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