Learn how to use social media marketing to get more clients, grow your following, and skyrocket your barbershop’s growth!
Technology is taking over many jobs these days—cashiers, receptionists, bank tellers, assembly line and factory workers, even journalists and reporters.
Good news for barbers, hairdressers, and stylists—technology can’t cut hair! In many ways, the rise of new technology and social media marketing has created an awesome way to advertise your professional barber services.
Sure, traditional ads like pamphlets and leaflets are great for targeting the older generation, but new generations are glued to their phones, usually playing games or on social media accounts like their Facebook page or Instagram. So, that’s where YOU want to be.
Thanks to social media marketing, there’s never been an easier way for customers to discover your business and the services you offer since it gives your business an omnichannel presence in the crowded digital world. If you want your barbershop in front of millions of viewers, keep reading to learn why social media marketing is a must-have for barbers.
Why EVERY Barber Needs to Invest in Social Media Marketing
As a small business owner, you have one primary goal: to increase your bottom line. As a barbershop owner, you have several smaller goals that align with your primary goal: customer satisfaction, retained customers, and to increase your clientele.
Let’s talk specifically about that last one. And I’m going to say this bluntly—if you’re not promoting your barbershop online, you’re losing out on a TON of business. And that business is likely going to other barber shops. You know, the ones all over social media!
When people are looking for a product or service, they jump on their phones and open online resources like Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. So when they’re searching for the nearest barbershop, you need to be in those search results.
How to Use Social Media to Grow Your Barbershop Clientele
Did you know there are over 4.5 billion social media users today? And each of those 4.5 billion users spend about 2.5 hours browsing through social media posts daily.
People make decisions based on everything they see online. Implementing strategic digital marketing ideas into your business plan will get your barbershop in front of a wider audience. Social media channels incorporated with your own website and landing page are the perfect place for you to stand out from your competitors:
- Create brand awareness
- Promote your strengths
- Brag about your talents
- Build customer relationships
- Show your commitment to your clients
So how do you target and attract new clients to your local barbershop using social media? We’ll walk you through it.
1. Create a Barber Shop Marketing Strategy and Define Your Target Audience
Create your marketing plan with your target customer in mind. It should be all about them and how you can meet and exceed their needs using the 3 P’s:
- Pricing
- Promotions
- Products & services
With this in mind, you’ll need to define your target market (the people who want or need your services). You can determine your target market by knowing your customers and understanding their needs and what makes them buy.
2. Choose the Right Social Platforms
Once you determine your target market, you’ll need to do some investigating. Where are those potential customers of yours hanging out? Check out each platform’s insight tools to see who’s using what. Here’s a tip for online success: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are the most popular social media platforms for business advertising.
82% of Facebook users prefer watching video over reading social posts. Creating video content is a great way to showcase exciting events, new products, and all the latest styles. You can incorporate video content through scheduled posts or Instagram Stories.
People in the health and beauty industry love Instagram. For all those before and after photos you’ve captured, this is the place to be. Because Insta is highly visual and it doesn’t take much time or planning to post a few pictures, 36% of businesses use Instagram Stories to show off their quality work. Don’t forget to get permission from your clients before you plaster their face all over social media!
3. Complete and Optimize Your Social Profiles
Once you’ve decided on your social platforms, you’ll need to set up a profile for each of them. Include as much information about you, your barbering business, and your team as you can.
Completing your profile isn’t enough—you also need to optimize it. Optimize?! What the heck does that mean?
An optimized profile tells your audience who you are, what you do, and what you’re specialized in. Put a face to the name and include a pic of yourself, your logo, or your team. Here are 5 ways to optimize your social media profile:
- Keep your brand name consistent across all your profiles
- Use a profile picture that represents your brand
- Sprinkle keywords throughout your bio
- Everyone loves searching for hashtags—use ‘em
- Include a link to your website
4. Create Awesome Content
There are so many ways to showcase your talent through social media. Connect with new customers and potential clients by creating galleries that show off your work.
People don’t want to hear how good you are just from you, they want to hear what others are saying. When your clients love their new look, ask them to share a selfie and tag your barbershop. And when they do, make sure you ALWAYS comment on it. It can be a simple “It was great to see you again, Ken” or comment something nice about their cut, style, or color. Compliments go a long way.
Not sure how awesome your content is? We can help you share your story. Social Wonder uses innovative ideas and successful marketing strategies to create content that gets you to the top and keeps you there.
5. Post Regularly
Posting regularly on social media helps put your barbershop business in front of more potential clients. The more they see of you, the harder you’ll be to forget! There are 5 advantages to posting regularly:
- More people will hear about your shop and services (brand awareness)
- Higher ranking in search results
- Increased conversion rates
- Loyalty to your brand—when people love what you post, why would they go anywhere else?
- Learn more about your customers. Determine what type of posts your clients are most interested in, so you know what they like and what they don’t. Did you gain more followers because of a limited-time offer? Well, keep posting those offers!
- Makes you readily available for your clients. People are always looking to complain, compliment, or comment on social media. Regular posting shows your clients that you’re ready for whatever comes your way. Be sure to respond to every message.
Soooo, what’s considered “regular posting”?
Different social media platforms have different recommendations. Social Wonder specializes in Facebook and Instagram marketing so let’s talk about those.
- Facebook: Aim for once per day, or a minimum of 3x per week. As for timing of your posts, well that all depends on when your target customers are most active.
- Instagram: Aim for at least 5x pieces of content per week if you want to maintain an online presence. For growth, we recommend posting a standard post or Story at least once per day, (but twice a day is even better!). You should also interact with other accounts for about 15 minutes per day as this can boost engagement and brand awareness.
6. Engage With Your Clients and Followers
When customers take time out of their day to acknowledge you, return the favor. Show appreciation for a positive review and suggest solutions for negative reviews (people love to vent on social media when something even slightly doesn’t go their way—the occasional negative comment is expected)
Engaging with your followers can have a huge impact on your bottom line: higher sales, increased customer retention, and amazing reviews. If someone tags some friends on one of your posts, send them a “thumbs up” to show you appreciate the acknowledgement!
Use games, contests, and giveaways to increase engagement and talk about trending topics. And don’t forget to include a CTA (call to action) on all your social media posts. “Like” “Comment” and “Share” are the most popular. Include an option where customers can book appointments online.
Encourage existing clients and potential customers to talk about what new trends they’d like to see in hairdressing, men’s grooming, or barber services. And remind them that they can conveniently book appointments online.
PRO Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Barbershop’s Social Media Marketing
The idea behind digital marketing is to grow your barbershop brand. With that comes an increased social media following, more leads, and increased sales.
There are 6 things you should aim for when posting on social media:
1. Present a Consistent Brand Image
This is how you want people to see your company’s image. Keep your message consistent across all your platforms to make it easier to remember and to avoid sending mixed messages. You want your brand awareness to establish trust and loyalty.
2. Create a Content Calendar
Like a traditional calendar, a content calendar is used to keep track of all your online activities. It’s like a schedule for your posts. Scheduling can be done through spreadsheets, Google calendar, or interactive platforms like Trello.
Be sure to include:
- Dates and times for posts
- Which social network you’re posting on
- Text, photos, and videos
- Links and tags
3. Get Help From the Pros
It’s not easy to master social media marketing. It takes time and a good understanding of social media metrics. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, that’s what we’re here for. Social Wonder is an end-to-end social media management service who can create, post (and everything in between) all your social media content for as little as $99 USD per month. And best of all, we know hair! We specialize in barbershops and hair salons so we get you. And your clients.
4. Use Giveaways, Contests, and Offer Discounts
Everyone likes free stuff. Be the barber who gives it. Organize a draw to win a free shave, cut, style,or color. Or maybe you have a product you want to promote? Post an image of the product and let your followers know that for every like, comment, and share, they’ll be entered to get it for FREE.
5. Share User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC is any post created by people, not brands. If a client posts a photo about how cool you styled their hair, and they tagged you in it, share it! Instagram is the best platform for sharing text, images, videos, or reviews.
You offer great service and you want new customers to know it. User-generated content shows the world you’re real. It promotes trust and authenticity in your brand and can easily drive most purchasing decisions.
6. Introduce Your Barbershop Team
This is a biggie. People are curious by nature. They want to know who they’ll be dealing with if they decide to use your barber services. So show them! Put faces to the names and include photos, a short bio, and brag about what they’re good at.
Meet the team posts are evergreen—you can use them anytime throughout the year to fill your social media advertising calendar.
Ready To Skyrocket Your Barbershop Growth With Social Media?
Anyone looking to increase their clientele should be investing some time into social media marketing, like yesterday.
If you need help navigating the platforms, setting up your accounts, or are just dumbfounded on what the heck to write, Social Wonder can help!
We’ll do the work, you reap the benefits:
- Create awesome content that will help grow your barbershop clientele
- Maintain, schedule, and post regularly (on your behalf, of course)
- Promote engagement with contests, giveaways, and discounts
Ready to put your barbershop in front of millions of viewers? Schedule a meeting.