Word of mouth works wonders for those in the beauty industry, but it only goes so far. Target your local community and establish yourself as an expert in your field via social media with these five marketing tips.
Target nearby neighborhoods with postcards
Relatively inexpensive to produce and even less expensive to send, post card advertisements drive a lot of traffic. Start with an introductory postcard highlighting a new customer package or deal and use USPS’s Every Door Direct Mail program to target the areas closest to your business. The design of your postcard is of utmost importance – if it looks cheap or unprofessional, the mail will quickly get tossed.
Get writing
Today’s consumers gobble up DIY posts, health advice, and information on alternative remedies for a host of ailments. Capitalize on this and use it to market your services with a blog. Topics can range from techniques for relieving stress and recipes for healthy smoothies to home facial regimens and product reviews. When writing isn’t your forte, look into purchasing relevant post bundles from content marketplaces or hiring a writer to handle the blog for you. You can also share content you find valuable from other sources via social media, with a few sentences outlining your opinion or thoughts on the piece.
Start hosting open houses, workshops, and home parties
Invite locals to your business for an open house or clinic and encourage them to bring friends. Promote the event on social media and your local community bulletin boards; if you have time, flyers at medical offices, fitness centers, and similar locations also increase attendance.
Treat open houses as a meet and greet, setting up appetizers, drinks, and small gift bags. Then, plan a few competitions or games with a free service as the prize. For workshops, focus on what your clients ask you about or for the most, and base the event on those ideas. Massage therapists may want to host a class on shoulder massage techniques or using essential oils to destress, while estheticians could cover teen skincare or DIY face masks.
These same workshop ideas can be used for home parties, another way to introduce yourself to new clients via your existing base. All you need is one client who wants to host a massage or facial party at home and you’ll instantly be introduced to her friends and family. Discuss massage oils and products, destressing techniques, or offer skincare advice, and always explain the services you provide.
Get active on Instagram
Instagram advertising and engagement isn’t for every business, but when you work in the beauty industry, stunning images and quick instructional videos go hand in hand. Focus on posting beautiful photos with tips or quick product reviews as captions. Use Facebook Ads to run marketing campaigns through Instagram, targeting your local community.
Don’t overlook text marketing
When building your customer database, collect cell phone numbers so customers can sign up to receive text messages. There’s no need to send coupon codes to everyone on the list; instead, use texts to fill in when you’re lacking appointments, offering a discount on just that appointment block. Customers will feel special receiving the exclusive deal, and you won’t have to worry about losing a lot of money during peak timeframes because the entire town has a coupon.
You don’t have to spend a ton of money to market your services and leverage the positive word of mouth you already have going for you; get creative, be strategic, and watch your client list skyrocket.
