3 Top Tips for salon PR success

3 Top Tips for salon PR success

Most salons or aesthetic clinics are typically local businesses that serve a community which is within a relatively short drive-time of up to 20 minutes so, when planning any public relations (PR) activity, it makes sense to think local first.

We’ve put together three simple tips for salon operators that require no previous PR experience and can be implemented for very little cost beyond a bit of effort and organisation on your part.

1. Make friends with your local or regional press.

This can be easier than you think and can begin with an invitation to review a new product or service.

Once you’ve created a new relationship you need to maintain this with a number of tactics;

• ensure that they are the first to hear of your latest developments, appointments and treatments.
• use their positive review on your point of sale material and social media channels.
• Organise promotional competitions exclusively for their readers.
• Offer yourself as a columnist (if you are not a confident writer you can recruit a local copy writer to provide the words on behalf of your salon)

2. Organise a local event

Local events are a great opportunity to unlock revenue, consolidate your customer base and boost your prospect database.

Partnering with a local newspaper, magazine or radio station to offer an in-salon event exclusively for their readers / listeners will increase conversations about your salon and boost visits from both new and existing customers.

People love a good cause so, if you can link with a local charity this will further increase your chance of achieving widespread awareness of your event.

If you want to be a bit more creative you can run an external event where you take a few your staff to a local business or summer fair to showcase a range of services and distribute promotional vouchers to everyone you meet. Or better still, offer exclusive discounts for prospects who sign up for your email newsletter.

Remember to have a simple data-capture mechanism at any event you run. This will provide you with a great source of prospects and you can follow up with anyone you meet with a Thank You card and an invitation to visit the salon to experience any specific service.

3. Work with Influencers

We all know the promotional potential of social media but to win new customers on social you need to focus more on ‘telling’ rather than ‘selling’.

To encourage new local prospects to follow you and engage with you, you need to share interesting, relevant information about your business or provide a few free benefits before you can earn their trust.

This will normally be a long-term strategy, but you can get a lift by working with influencers who have already built a loyal following that trusts and respects their views. Influencer marketing can help boost your brand’s authenticity, which is necessary for building trust. It can also help drive engagement, website traffic, and conversions.

As with all your PR activities, your influencer marketing strategy will need some careful planning. Here’s a list of things to consider.

• Define your objectives - what do you want to achieve
• Choose an initial list of up to 20 influencers in your area that could make a good fit.
• Search for accounts with a strong and genuine following that posts regular, high-quality content.
• Search by #location to source.
• Don’t get too caught up in follower numbers, it is all about their engagement (how many people interact with their posts) and influence.
• Establish a connection with them before approaching by following their social channels and engaging with some of their posts.
• Keep your initial proposal simple with an invitation to the salon – but this is not just another service review; you should explain your salon’s USP’s or brand story. If they buy in to this, it could be the first step in a mutually beneficial relationship.
• Consider how you can compensate them which may vary from cost per engagement, pay per post, or via free products and experiences.

And finally...

We did start by saying that much of this activity can be achieved for little cost, but we should also point out that PR is a professional service and can take some time to perfect so if you want to engage the services of a professional without the risk, why not get in touch with The Spa PR Company?

They’ve developed a Pay Per Clip service for small salon businesses where you only pay them for articles if they are published.

We’d love to hear any of your PR success stories so please do get in touch.

TEAM SALON LIFE

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