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Effective salon marketing ideas don’t go out of style—they evolve with your brand and your audience. This article shares 15 proven strategies to attract new clients, retain loyal ones, and amplify your salon’s presence. Whether you’re building from scratch or refreshing your plan, these ideas offer timeless inspiration.
Some studies suggest that the simple act of introducing online appointment scheduling results in a revenue boost of between 34-125%! Utilize online booking to automatically distribute your open appointments on Facebook, and send custom email and text marketing messages (I personally like to recommend Booker). That’s an easy salon marketing idea to implement!
When dealing with something as intimate as appearance, clients are going to do their research. They are going to want to know exactly who they’re dealing with, and more importantly, they want to be able to trust them. What better way to accomplish that than by introducing your salon with a video?
Showcasing a short, professionally produced video on your website gives you the opportunity to connect with prospective clients before they even walk through your doors. It allows you to tell your story, demonstrate your technique, and explain your services by highlighting your employees and explaining your motivation for doing what you do.
Most importantly, it’s the closest you can come to a face-to-face meeting online, which establishes trust and entices prospects to turn into clients. Learn how to create a pro-quality video with just your mobile phone, or hire someone to do it for you.
Instagram will be one of your best friends when it comes to marketing your salon. 44% of American women are on Instagram, and 100% of brands use it, so should you – no matter how big, or how small your business is.
Tip of the Trade:
Put all of your relevant hashtags, figure out the best time to post, and experiment with captions that work best.
Most of your potential clients are already on Facebook every day. That built-in audience makes Facebook one of the best ways to reach new customers. You can use Facebook’s marketing parameters to target users in a specific demographic, such as age, gender, or location, and get better results than if your ads are broadcasting to a more general audience.
Pinterest has grown rapidly in recent years, and its millions of daily users are quick to “pin” anything that catches their attention. Use this to your advantage by posting eye-catching photos of your establishment, showcasing elements that will increase traffic and grow your business.
Make your salon advertising budget go even further with some help from professionals that specialize in supporting small businesses. BeautyMark Marketing offers social campaign creation, management, and monitoring, and runs social advertising campaigns for you.
Have a selfie station – everybody is all about social media and great hair, so why not have a small area set up in front of your company logo or stylist station and have the clients snap photos and share them all over social media?
If you’re looking for some faster traction when promoting your salon, why not try a monthly promotion to entice repeat clients with a value-add service?
Are most of your clients coming in for hair coloring or styling, while you also offer many other services? After their first visit, offer them a discount for an additional service for the next time they book an appointment. Add value instead of discounting. Small extras are, more often than not, perceived as little luxuries. The aim is for your clients to love the results so much that they will pay for the same treatment on their next visit.
Mix up your promotions based on each season or upcoming holiday. Don’t discount, instead create full-priced promotions to bring awareness to exciting services that go well beyond your cut and color. Promote services such as wedding hair and makeup, hair smoothing, facials, nail services, and waxing. Special events, birthday celebrations, and weddings are just some of the reasons consumers need salon and spa services.
Tip of the Trade:
Run a special for Valentine’s Day to help improve first-quarter period business.
Online salon or spa gift cards are the perfect solution for last-minute shoppers during any gifting season. Whether it’s the day before a major holiday or just hours before a special occasion, digital gift cards let clients give something thoughtful—even at the last minute. By offering gift cards online, your salon can capture impulse purchases right up to the final hours. In fact, up to 25% of all gift cards are bought just before the occasion, making instant e-gift cards a smart and profitable strategy.
Email Sequence
Email 1: “Give the Gift of Self-Care – Special Offer Inside” (Send 10–12 days before the key date)
Email 2: “Reminder: Still Time to Shop Our Gift Card Special” (Send 5–7 days before)
Email 3: “Only 3 Days Left – Grab the Perfect Last-Minute Gift” (Send 2–3 days before)
Email 4: “Last Chance: Today’s the Final Day to Send a Gift Instantly” (Send on the day before or day of)
Why not give your customers a little bonus for doing your advertising for free and sending new clients your way? Be generous with friend referral marketing incentives. Tempt and reward current clients to spread the word about your fabulous services to their friends and family. Calculate the dollar value a new salon guest is worth to your salon over the period of a year and mark your incentives accordingly.
A simple card referral system works beautifully, it gives your clients something tangible to “pass on” to their friends and return to your salon. Create a Referral Card with the verbiage “Thanks for referring us to your friend! We’re so pleased you thought of us, that we want you to know we’re thinking of you, too. Here is $25 off your next visit.”
Customers in loyalty programs return twice as often. Be generous with your marketing incentives.
10% off is hardly going to tempt someone to try your services.
As a salon, we utilize our network of clients to help with the personal aspect of our marketing. We carefully select our own “influencers,” who might have jobs that connect them with a lot of people in the community, or they are our perfect billboard head of hair that we would want to represent our work (ie Sorority House Member).
While mobile apps were once something only accessible to big businesses with even bigger marketing budgets, it’s now possible for small businesses like salons to create their own app. Some of the benefits of an app for a hair salon include in-app booking, push notifications, and loyalty programs.
Apps are an excellent way to boost customer loyalty without having to spend big on producing physical loyalty cards. You can even create a geofence (a virtual geographic boundary) around your salon premises and send special offers in the form of push notifications straight to people’s phones that are in your area.
Put together a monthly giveaway that all clients that rebook are automatically entered to win. Announce the winner at end of the month on social media. A win/win. Increase rebooking/pre-booking rates, increase social media engagement, and create client loyalty.
By implementing these salon marketing ideas, you’ll create lasting client relationships and strengthen your brand over time. Remember, success comes from consistency, creativity, and staying aligned with what your ideal clients value most. Start where you are—and grow from there.
Modernizing a brand identity and website shows clients that you are still relevant as a salon and brand. Why choose BeautyMark Marketing for your salon’s brand identity and website design projects? BeautyMark specializes in beauty business marketing. That’s all we do and the only industry we serve.
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