In the age where reviews play an important part of decision making, your salon needs to have a strong online reputation. There are a lot of salons and spas out there, offering similar services as yours, hence your salon’s online reputation becomes a deciding factor for potential clients.
A 2023 survey found that 83% of consumers prefer not to choose any salon or spa with an online rating lower than 4 out of 5. This further highlights the importance of maintaining your online reputation. Prospective clients often check reviews about your business online before booking an appointment.
Read on as we explore four ways you can boost your salon’s online reputation and scale your business.
1. Optimize Your Website
Your salon or spa website needs to include important information like your exact location, work hours, and services offered. Did you know: there are 1,394,483 Hair & Nail Salon businesses in the US as of 2023. This means that if your website isn’t properly optimized for search engines, it might not show up when a potential client is searching for a relevant service.
It is also essential that your website shows up when someone makes a local search. For example: instead of searching for “salon”, a potential client might search for “best hair salon near me” or “best-rated salon in Queens”. Incorporating these common, yet specific keywords, into your website content will help your website rank higher on Google for relevant searches and improve your salon’s online reputation. Ensure that your website is mobile-friendly as most people tend to search from their smartphones, and you might miss out on potential clients if it’s frustrating to use your website on a smartphone.
2. Use Google, Yelp & Facebook for Reviews
Potential clients can be extremely cautious when it comes to selecting a new service or product. After all, they need someone reliable for their beauty and hair needs.
No matter how flashy your website looks or how many followers you have on Instagram, if you have negative reviews online, you run the risk of driving clients away. When you set up your website, remember to claim your listing on Google, Yelp & Facebook and ask existing clients to add detailed reviews after they visit your salon or spa.
All three platforms have an extremely detailed review system and potential clients can take one glance at the reviews posted and decide if they want to visit your salon. You should encourage existing clients to post pictures of services they received – haircuts, hair treatments, skin care services, etc. It is also important to respond to reviews, whether positive or negative, but especially to the negative ones. People generally look for negative reviews and if they find a lot of unhappy reviews, they will quickly look for another, better-rated salon or spa.
3. Build Your Social Media
According to research, 67% of social media users in the US are likely to search for your salon on social media before booking an appointment. A picture speaks a thousand words, and there’s nothing better to boost your salon’s online reputation than posting pictures of your services on your social media. Posting before and after pictures allows you to show off your skills and also gives potential clients a glimpse into what you can do for them. You can also use your social media profiles to promote new services and let clients know when you run promotions or seasonal discounts.
Your social media profiles can incorporate both organic and paid solutions, which means you can boost certain posts if you want to reach a larger audience. A lot of salons and spas even tie-up with influencers to promote their services. They can share behind-the-scenes footage of their salon visit via Instagram Stories or Reels and encourage their followers to visit your salon or spa. You could limit yourself to just one social media platform like Instagram, but utilising visual platforms like Pinterest or TikTok will boost your online presence significantly.
4. Run Special Offers & Promotions
Another way to improve your salon’s online reputation is by making your clients feel valued. Regularly running special offers and promotions is a great way to keep clients coming back as well as attract new clients. For example: You can offer clients a 15% discount if it’s their birthday or let them create a special package that caters to their needs along with a complementary head massage. This is a great way of saying “thank you” to your clients and improves retention as well as reputation.
In turn, clients can be encouraged to leave a positive review on Google, Yelp, or social media (or all three!) for your salon or spa. You can also start a loyalty program to reward long-term clients. This will encourage more clients to return and use your services more often.
Conclusion
Building and maintaining your salon’s online reputation might seem daunting at first, but it will pay off in the end. Your marketing strategy needs to include a fully optimized website that ranks locally on Google when clients search for relevant services. Update your website regularly with fresh pictures, utilize the right keywords, and clearly display the services offered by your salon or spa, making it easy for clients to find what they are looking for.
Asking for feedback and reviews from existing clients helps boost your salon’s credibility and gives potential clients an idea of what to expect. Don’t ignore social media, as a lot of your clients may want to engage with your business online before visiting your salon in person. Post the best pictures from your salon on your feed and share positive, 5-star reviews that will encourage people to book an appointment.
Lastly, don’t forget to engage with your community – whether you’re responding to reviews online (including negative ones) or interacting with followers on social media – always be polite and professional. Consider collaborating with local bloggers or influencers who can promote your salon or spa.
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Hey, I'm Anshul and I'm a 2-comma club award winner with over a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry. I specialize in helping salon and spa businesses scale their business using proven digital marketing strategies.
Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working with a diverse range of clients, from world-renowned motivational speaker Tony Robbins to marketing guru Russell Brunson, as well as internet sensations like Julius Dein and Dan Henry.