How To Take Your Salons Instagram To The Next Level

Instagram: whether you love it or hate it, has the ability to transform your business to the next level. With the average adult spending 2 hours and 22 minutes a day on social media, it is undoubtedly the most effective and efficient way to reach and engage with current and potential customers.

However, there are over 1 billion active accounts on instagram, and with 25 million of these being business accounts - competition is tough. Although, here at Hairdressing Supplies Lincoln we have some tips and tricks to help you take your Instagram and social media presence to the next level.

SWITCH TO A BUSINESS ACCOUNT:

If you haven’t already then switch your Instagram profile over to a business account. Instagram business accounts allow you to have access to a ton of extra features, and guess what… they’re free!

The first major and best feature (in our eyes) for your business is Instagram insights. Instagram insights, allow you as a business to understand who, when and where people are connecting with your company. This feature is great because it even tells you the demographics of your audience, including: genders, ages, locations and when your audience are most active.

In addition, Instagram insights also allow you as a business to understand what content is working and what is not. The insight feature also shows you changes on your account over the period of a week, and this includes: change in number of followers, impressions and reach, number of posts, and website and/or email clicks.

On the other hand, the Instagram business account also lets you have access to a contact button. This button is great addition for customers as they have the option to be directed either straight to a telephone call or email with your company.

GIVE YOUR CUSTOMERS A REASON TO RETURN:

Okay, so now for the dreaded part…how do you make your clients invested enough to ensure that they return?

The first thing you should do is tell your story through social media sites! Any exciting things coming up in the salon… document them! Maybe you have a new range of products coming in, or you are having a renovation, if so… shout about it! Giving your new and existing clients something to be excited about! This will certainly keep them coming back to check your social profile!

Always, always remember that consistency is key! The difficult part is getting over the fact that one post every month isn’t going to cut it. Instagram officials recently mentioned that the profiles with the highest growth rate were the ones that posted 3 times a day!

Okay, so 21 posts a week is a little bit excessive, however set yourself a target - maybe try one post a day, or even 3 week. This is where the scheduling features on social media comes in handy!

In contrast, another great way to give your customers a reason to keep on returning is to host competitions. What you decide to give away is up to you, but people love the chance to have something for free. Honestly, just try it and you will see your a huge engagement increase.

THEME YOUR INSTAGRAM:

It is also super important to have a concise theme on Instagram. Your Instagram account is effectively a personal portfolio: reflecting you, your team and your business. One of the most effective ways to gain followers and engagement on Instagram is through an aesthetically pleasing theme. An Instagram theme not only helps to create your hair salon’s story, but it builds a visual consistency for your salon.

Having a theme makes planning content for the future so much easier as you already have a basic idea of what your audience enjoyed. An instagram theme can be anything! From sticking to a certain angle of picture, or applying the same filter to all of your posts. Remember that your instagram should be fun, but it should also be pleasant to look at too.

POST FUN AND ENGAGING CONTENT:

When you open a social media website or app it only takes a matter of seconds before a meme pops up onto your feed. What was once seen as a trend; meme marketing is here to stay for the foreseeable future. Memes can be considered as anything visual, and they are one of the most popular types of visuals on the internet.This is due to them being so easily shareable and more importantly, relatable.

Memes are the perfect type of content to boost engagement instagram, or other social media platforms for that matter. Memes are popular among brands because they engage audience and drive traffic.

Below are two examples of memes that we have posted Hairdressing Supplies Lincoln Facebook page. Just look at the crazy amount of reach and engagement we have received from posting memes!

Additionally, if you are struggling to find memes to fit with the culture or customers of your company, then there is always the opportunity to make your own custom ones. Custom memes may even work better for your brand then reposting an existing meme, as they are tailored and speak direct to your clients.

It's important to understand that memes may not work for everyone, but meme marketing is definitely worth a shot!

INSTAGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

The last feature you should make use of is Instagram highlights. Instagram highlights are a relatively new feature to the platform, but they’re also a very useful tool to boost engagement. Highlights are formed from existing stories that were uploaded to your profile. As you will know, Instagram stories are only able to view for 24 hours since you posting, so highlights give your audience the opportunity to view these stories again.

In effect, the word highlight means the best, therefore this is not a place to dump all of your previous stories. Maybe you posted a story of your colouring work and it received a lot of attention and direct messages... if so, this is the perfect type of content to have as a highlight.

There are various ways that you can utilise the instagram highlight feature to increase reach and engagement. Featured below are a few suggestions which can really help to make your Instagram stand out from the rest!

• Showcase previous work
• Client reviews
• Post current trends
• Meet the team
• Special Offers

We hope that this blog has provided you with the information you need to take your salons Instagram to the next level! Don’t forget to like our Facebook page and follow us on our Instagram