7 online marketing measures for your hair salon

Since the Corona crisis, companies have faced more and more challenges. Hairdressers, among others, are particularly affected. In order to remain present in the market despite the pandemic, it is important for companies to focus more on the complex options of online marketing. In addition, regardless of the corona crisis, online marketing is an important tool that should be used today. In this blog article, you will find out what options are available to you.

What does online marketing mean for hairdressers?

Thanks to today's digitalization, we are able to address a wide range of customers. Acquaintances or friends usually talk about the famous hair salon around the corner, but now we independently search the Internet for the most popular hairdresser in the area. To be one of the most sought after hair salons, online presence is of great importance. This also includes the flow of communication with existing and potential customers. Online marketing pursues exactly these goals: strong presence in the competition and acquisition and maintenance of new or existing customers. Some of the most well-known areas in online marketing include:

• Search engine optimization
• Paid advertising
• content marketing
• social media marketing
• Online PR

1st measure: Optimize your own website

One of the most important tools to stand out from the competition online is, among other things, your website. If your hair salon does not yet have a homepage, creating a page is no problem, because there are now many websites that will help you build your own. It is important to define the standards that your salon presents, such as the offers that your hair salon offers, basic contact information. It is also a clear advantage if the target group is determined first. The design should be simple and modern, otherwise it could be confusing and messy to customers. Links between the site and, for example, your social media channels increase the chances that your site will be visited more often. Online appointment management is not only clearer from the point of view of employees, but is also ideal for customers who want to make an appointment professionally or even from home.

After basic information has been defined, design and usability are now the next step. As mentioned in the previous paragraph, a coherent design is recommended, as this is the first thing that catches the customer's eye. Tips for creating designs can be found in this blog articles.

In order to create a user-friendly homepage, it is of great importance to check the functionalities of the buttons, links and the mobile version. The latter is a must-have that today, the majority use their smartphone or tablet when searching for hairdressers on Google. You can also find some tips on this in the linked blog article.

2nd measure: SEO optimization

SEO, advertised as search engine optimization, is one of the most important tools in online marketing, because it ensures that your website is one of the first pages that appears in a Google search. In order to achieve this, so-called keywords must first be defined. Keywords, translated into German Keywords, are words or short phrases that you use in a Google search. Therefore, deciding on the keywords is of great importance, as it is through these words that your salon will be found. The more precise the terms are, the easier it is for interested parties to find your page. In addition, the selected words should be well researched, for which there are sites such as Ubersuggest, which can help you figure out the search volume of a keyword. In addition, these words should appear on your website as often as possible so that Google's algorithm can immediately rank them for you. However, make sure that texts still look natural.

The design of these texts is also part of SEO optimization, which means that the more words, the better. The website texts must meet various criteria so that Google regards them as relevant. One of these criteria is that a text should not be shorter than 800 words because, according to the algorithm, it is of no use to the customer. That is why a number of 800 words is the minimum number and anything above 1500 can improve your page's ranking. But also pay attention to the structuring of your texts, the Google algorithm checks that they are easy to read. This means that paragraphs, subheadings and logical hierarchies should be visible in the text so that potential customers have a quick overview and can easily follow information.

3rd measure: Advertisements

Everyone has seen one before, Google ads. Google Ads significantly increases your visibility when searching for a hairdresser online. Using the advertising system, you can easily activate targeted ads. Google Ads, which is also known as SEA (Search Engine Advertising) system, continuously optimizes your application. Basically, when creating an ad, they must pay attention to the following: on the one hand, they must choose a suitable ad title and text that attracts the attention of customers. After the first ad has been released, there will be no clear results for now. However, it is possible to use the click-through rate to get an overview of which direction the ad is heading after publication.

As an alternative or parallel to Google Ads, your hair salon can also create and publish advertisements on Facebook. A title and text are also required here, but Facebook also offers specific demographic settings here. Similar to Google Ads, you only pay when the ad is actually clicked on.

4th measure: content marketing

In content marketing, the focus is not on your product or service, but rather on potential customers. In the end, this content should ensure that potential prospects, so-called leads, become customers. The contexts must therefore advise, entertain and inform new customers. Both social media profiles and your own website must be updated again and again in order to achieve the desired effect.

Therefore, adapt your content to the subject areas that belong to your industry. For example, blog posts about hair types, hair care, or nutrition for healthy hair may be of interest to your target group. You are also welcome to research the latest hair trends here. Pictures of hair creations or videos about braiding and more are also popular. If necessary, create a plan which areas suit your salon best and how often you want to publish contributions. You are also welcome to ask your customers which subject areas they would like to see next. As you can see, there are many options available to you here.

However, keep in mind that the publications of your contributions are sufficiently promoted. Use your channels and link your social media to your website and vice versa. You can also use Google Ads and Facebook ads to inform your customers.

5th measure: Social media

One of the most popular ways to get customers noticed is: social media. Social networks are among the most frequently used advertising media, as that is where the desired target group moves the most. For this, it is therefore recommended to create an account for channels such as Instagram, Facebook and Co. However, these accounts must meet a few criteria to generate success. First, as on the website, elementary information must be clearly visible in the bio. With an Instagram account, it is also an advantage to provide a link to your own website. Furthermore, all such channels require a great deal of time, as they must be continuously updated and brought up to date. This means that new, relevant contributions must be posted, but at the same time they meet the quality requirements.

Also try to include promotional materials or your logo in the posts as often as possible. For example, you can also post the cover images you used for blog posts to your Instagram account. This creates another connection to your site. You can also link to the blog post on social networks.

Potential new customers react positively when they see that your hair salon is represented online, and they can also find you much faster. In addition, the social platforms offer an ideal flow of communication with your customers and you strengthen the customer loyalty of existing and new customers. In addition, customers can contact you more easily if they have problems here, giving you the opportunity to fix them right away. Of course, you can't respond to all complaints, but you can turn them into constructive criticism and improve your salon. Always try to respond to feedback in a professional and friendly manner, as soon as you can implement it, you will not only have satisfied customers, but also a positive image for potential customers.

6th measure: Newsletter

Nowadays, it is no longer assumed that email campaigns are having an effect, but it is still one of the most effective marketing tools. During a crisis situation, this is one of many methods that you can use to continue to inform customers. Whether it's an email campaign for special events, reopenings or new offers, they maintain customer contact through the variety of options. You can also measure the success of a campaign by opening rate or click rate and therefore optimize it. The following should be considered:

• Meaningful subject
• short and precise texts
• appealing layout
• personalized target groups

7th measure: Increase reach

In addition to social media channels, there are two other ways to increase awareness. Apart from blog posts, it is also recommended to write articles for other hairdressing sites, which then link to your own website. In addition, there are increasingly portals such as Treatwell, Werkenntdenbesten and forums that display and promote hair salons for you. Please also contact sites that focus specifically on the subject of hairstyles. Cooperation with portals, as mentioned above, gives you the reach you need to reach as many potential customers as possible. Here, you can also go one step further with social media and agree on collaborations with influencers, for example. They offer the person a free haircut in return, a post is created on the influencer's page. They thus achieve that a new target group is addressed and attract potential customers to their accounts.

conclusion

Nowadays, the online presence plays a central role in the success of a company. In this article, you have already heard about seven online marketing measures which, in a marketing strategy, significantly increase the chances of success for your hair salon despite the current situation. If you would like additional support, then find out more about the WiFi marketing package for hair salons and find out what other options online marketing has in store for you.

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