Salon, spa and clinic owners wear many hats – and marketing is one of them. With so many different channels to choose from, from social media to traditional advertising, it can be difficult to decide which ones to focus your efforts on, and what to put aside.
To get you started on the path to success, this guide covers the most effective types of marketing channels and activities for salons, spas and clinics, and our top tips for choosing the best marketing tactics for your business.
How to choose the best marketing channels
Choose less, do more
When planning your marketing for the year ahead, it’s important to choose a handful of marketing channels that you can commit to and execute extremely well, rather than try to do them all and risk not getting the results you’re looking for.
When choosing your marketing channels and activities, we recommend a mix of channels that cater to brand awareness, customer acquisition and customer retention.
Consider time and budget
To decide which channels should be on your marketing plan, think about what will fit within your marketing budget for the year, and also the time investment involved, as some marketing tactics will require more of your time than others.
It’s also important to note down any special dates, events and holidays that happen throughout the year so you can plan your marketing calendar and budget accordingly.
Choose the best marketing channels for your business
Now that you know your marketing budget, capacity, and important dates for the year, it’s time to weigh up your options.
To help you choose, we’ve put together a list of some of the best marketing channels and activities for salons, spas and clinics below.
Each type includes details on what the channel involves, ideas on how to use it, and the approximate time and monetary investment required.
Social media marketing
Organic (unpaid) social media is a way to connect with potential customers, build your reputation and be part of conversations around your industry and brand. Record videos or post insider tips and tricks, run competitions, share behind-the-scenes insights and examples of your work, ask and answer questions, and build relationships with your followers.
Social media platforms, like Facebook and Instagram, are excellent free tools, however they require consistent content creation, which means they are a big time investment.
- Best for: Brand awareness, customer retention and acquisition.
- Time investment: High.
- $$$ investment: Low.
Email and SMS Marketing
Email and SMS marketing and automation is great for customer retention. You can automate emails for when your clients make a booking or are due to re-book, send the latest news, new products, loyalty discounts, and so much more.
If you want to include email and SMS automation in your marketing plan, think about the different automations you could set up, like birthdays, holidays, and booking reminders, and choose a software provider that enables you to automate this process.
Find out more about email and SMS marketing: The top 10 client messages you could automate now
- Best for: Customer retention.
- Time investment: Low with the right software.
- $$$ investment: Low to medium.
Print and radio Advertising
Advertise your business in local newspapers and magazines, or get sponsored articles written about your business. You could record an ad for local radio stations to get your brand in the ears of people that live in your region.
Print and radio advertising is best for brand awareness, and also leads to acquiring new clients. These marketing channels won’t require much time to implement, but the associated marketing costs can be very high.
- Best for: Brand awareness and customer acquisition.
- Time investment: Low.
- $$$ investment: Medium to high.
Content Marketing and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Search engine optimisation (SEO) means optimising your website to be found in search engines, like Google and Bing.
Part of SEO includes creating great content for your website, like blog posts, that are relevant to your area of expertise and help your website show for relevant searches. The blog posts you create can also be used as content for your social media channels.
Video content is another great way of using content marketing to build relationships with your audience. YouTube is a search engine, and creating how-to videos and promotional videos for YouTube can help your business to get found online by more people and increase your exposure. While content marketing and SEO can be relatively low in cost if you do it yourself, it’s very time consuming to create content.
Find out more about SEO: Optimise your website with basic SEO
- Best for: Brand awareness and customer acquisition.
- Time investment: High.
- $$$ investment: Low to medium.
Digital Advertising
Paid digital advertising includes paying for ads in Google, Google My Business, Facebook, Instagram, and more. Google search ads will help you connect with users who are searching for services or products that you offer, such as ‘hair salon near me’, while Facebook and Instagram ads can be used to target people in your region for brand awareness and to acquire new clients with special offers.
Learning how to use digital paid advertising platforms can take time, and you’ll also need to optimise your campaigns to get the best return on investment. The cost involved will depend on your budget.
- Best for: Brand awareness and customer acquisition.
- Time investment: Medium.
- $$$ investment: Medium to high.
Word of Mouth Marketing
Word of mouth marketing includes encouraging referrals and reviews. This could include implementing a referral programme that offers an incentive for your clients to refer new customers to you.
You can also encourage clients to leave reviews on your local Google My Business listing, or recommend your business on Facebook and other channels, to improve your ‘digital’ word of mouth marketing.
Find out more: 8 ways to get more referrals for your business
- Best for: Brand awareness and customer acquisition.
- Time investment: Minimal.
- $$$ investment: Low.
Events, sponsorships and public relations
To increase the brand awareness of your business in your community and region, you could sponsor events, attend local events and expos, donate to raffles, enter competitions, or host your own charity or fundraising event for a local cause.
There are plenty of ways to raise awareness of your business by increasing your visibility at events and giving back to your community.
- Best for: Brand awareness and customer acquisition.
- Time investment: Minimal to medium depending on event.
- $$$ investment: Medium to high.
Create your marketing plan
Now that you know the main types of marketing channels to use, whether they’re best for awareness, acquisition or retention, and how much time and money is involved, it’s time to choose your favourites and create your marketing plan!
Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating one: How to create a strategic marketing plan.
Streamline your marketing efforts
Did you know that Kitomba Salon and Spa software has marketing integrations that enable you to take care of your digital marketing automation in one place?
You can set up automated emails and SMS messages, manage client details, create segmented email marketing lists, and so much more.
Kitomba is a complete salon and spa management system that has helped thousands of salons, spas and clinics grow successfully since 2002. It gives you all the tools you need to manage your business day-to-day, which gives you more time to dedicate to your clients and grow your business.
Want to learn more? Book your free personalised demo to see how Kitomba can help your business thrive.
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