It is now more important than ever for businesses to have a social media presence as it can greatly help attract new customers. While entrepreneurs can get into all of the big social media platforms with ease, special attention must be put into Instagram as it has tremendous potential in helping with growing a business through beautiful photographs and succinct photographs.
Much of Instagram’s power is in its emphasis on the visual element, and that’s what made the platform tremendously popular. Whether it’s just a normal person who likes to share his/her everyday life or an entrepreneur looking to market a business, people from all walks of life now have Instagram accounts, so you are sure to find an audience among them.
1. Utilize Hashtags Properly
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You can search popular hashtags used in posts that are in your particular niche, then use them for your own posts. This is a great way to be seen by new people who are interested in that particular field of interest.
The hashtag should be something short and memorable, like a phrase or slogan. It shouldn’t be too long and it should be relevant to the topic of your post. Also, you shouldn’t jam too many hashtags into your post since that’s poor form. As long as you are on a public account, people searching that hashtag should come across your post as well.
You can go with something like #hair, #haircut, or something similar that leads people to pictures of people’s hair styles, including those done by your salon. Or even better if you can come up with your spa or salon’s own hashtag
2. Run Giveaways Contests
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This has been proven to be a great way to attract new customers. Giving away freebies to a select few drawn at random not only lets you endear yourself to your audience, but also bring in new fans from all over the place. Bringing attention to the contest can be done through hashtags and sharing on other social media platforms.
You can have them do things such as liking and following your business’ social media profiles, enter their email addresses, and so on. You can increase your social media follower base and build up your mailing list this way, as well as get more eyes on you and your business online.
A spa or salon can do a contest in the local level that offers haircuts and other services for free to winners, which can make your business more visible in the surrounding area.
3. Focus on Engaging Your Fans
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This makes up most of what you do on social media. Engaging with your core audience is the most important thing as far as your business’ social media presence goes as it is the most effective way you can employ in converting them into actual customers. Also, it further solidifies the relationship between your business and your current customer base.
You can do various things like replying to their comments, actively take their suggestions for future content, post their feedback and so on to show that you do care about what they have to say and that you are willing to hear them out. In turn, your audience can become more receptive to your content and marketing.
As a salon, you mostly do this with patrons who frequent your establishment. Hair salons are known for being personable with their customers while cutting their hair and fixing their nails. Therefore, this can be extended to social media, especially Instagram.
4. Have a Distinct Instagram Style and Follow a Certain Color Theme
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Few things in the world look better than an Instagram profile with a unique and uniform look. Aesthetics are everything in Instagram, so having a distinct style for your profile makes you stand out and draw people in. This goes along with your branding, so it should be easy enough if you already have a brand that can help you be consistent with.
If you are not that tuned in with visuals, then you may want to either consult an expert or your audience for suggestions. Having a consistent visual style for your business’ Instagram profile can go a long way to making it more visible in the long run.
5. Use Short Videos Creatively
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Since Instagram first implemented its video feature, people have used it in various ways. You can take advantage of this feature by taking advantage of the short video format. Whether it’s a video that showcases your products and services, takes a tour of your salon, and so on, there are plenty of ways for businesses to make use of Instagram’s video feature.
Just make sure they are not too dependent on audio since most people on their mobile devices either won’t be paying that much attention to the sound or the speakers on some phones won’t be not loud enough to make it audible. It’s fine if there is sound in your short videos, but make sure that it is still fun to watch even without it.
You can do things like time lapses of your best work, as well as short hair care tips to help customers learn more about caring for their own locks.
6. Post Fun and Authentic Photos and Videos of Your Staff
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Fans love behind-the-scenes looks into just about anything, whether it’s the movies they watch, the games they play, or the businesses they frequent. They show the people who work hard to get them going, and it’s something that a lot of people can relate to. It is certainly a good idea for you to show a good bit of what is going on in your business.
It does not need to show the intimate details of your business. The focus should mostly be on the staff and the day-to-day operations that you are able to show. Give them a glimpse of the goings-on without scripts or plans and let them know more of your staff to build a story around them in your business.
You may find this to be a surprisingly effective method as it gives your audience something else they can follow other than just your products and services. Your business becomes more than just a place where they can buy things, but also a world onto its own with its own stories.
7. Ask Questions About Your Business
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One of the great things about businesses being in social media is they can directly ask for feedback. Take advantage of this by asking your audience questions regarding what they like and don’t like about your business. People are opinionated, and customers are always raring to say something about the businesses they get products and services from.
Make sure to provide an environment wherein they can express their opinions freely so you get honest and constructive feedback. Do this by making sure whenever your business gets feedback, whether it’s positive or negative, they are thanked for their input and discussions remain civil.
8. Crowdsource Photos from Customers
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Another reason why having your business be present in social media is that you can have customers participate in your online endeavors through crowdsourcing. You can have them post pictures on Instagram while linking to your profile and/or using your hashtags. You can then repost them on your profile and share it in other social media platforms to have more people see them.
You can just encourage them to post pictures of them as patrons of your business, availing of their services (haircut, manicure, etc.), and share them on their profiles while tagging your profile as well. User-generated content is actually some of the best stuff you can latch on to, so make sure to feature them whenever you can.
9. Make Use of Geotagging
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One of the features in Instagram that people don’t use enough is geotagging. Being able to have Instagram automatically indicate where a photo was taken is something most people don’t see much value in, but is actually good for letting people know where you are at. This is especially useful for businesses as it is good to let people know where to find you.
10. Bring Your Offline Events Online
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It is good for businesses to participate in events as it brings people in that niche together. Live events are good opportunities for networking and face-to-face marketing, whether they are seminars, conferences, conventions, or so on. Of course, you would want to let your customers know about it so they can attend if they wish.
You can post an image of the poster for the event along with details, and you can also post photos from the event as it happens. It is certainly a great way to create more content for your Instagram profile and shows your audience that you have things happening.
Conclusion
Instagram is a great social media platform for growing your business, especially if that business is something that deals with appearances like a salon. While it’s not the only social media platform you should have a presence in, it is perhaps the one you should focus most of your attention on as far as both visual content and fan engagement goes.
With consistent content and interaction, you may find it to be a good long-term investment of your time and energy for your business.