20 free salon marketing hacks to grow your beauty business
Feeling a little stuck in your marketing efforts lately?
I’m about to take a huge weight off your shoulders with this list...because these salon marketing hacks are all super easy, free, and doable literally like, tomorrow. Or today even if you’re feeling extra jazzed. (I see you, go-getter.)
Sometimes it’s good to shake things up a bit when it comes to marketing, and sometimes it’s good to double down on what’s working for you.
So how do you know when it’s time to start a new approach?
Here are a few clues:
Feeling like you’re running out of steam on wanting to put yourself out there
Getting that ‘going in circles’ vibe, like you’re stuck in a loop and not seeing results
Not seeing many new faces pop up on your socials and in your salon
If you’re doing a great job at marketing, you’ll continue to see new faces, and feel energized and motivated to keep building on your momentum. Most of all, your books will be telling a sweet, sweet story.
(If this is you right now, keep killing it - and check out this list to add some extra bang to your marketing buck!)
So - think it might be time to try something new?
Amazing. Good for you. This list will put a pep in your step and might even get you kind of excited to get a move on (#6 is particularly fun to do!)
Whether you’re running a tanning salon, renting a hairdressing booth, creating beautiful nail art, or specializing in eyebrow lamination and eyelash extensions, all of the hacks here are perfect for you to take your beauty business to the next level.
Let’s go!
Marketing hack #1: Send a “We Miss You!” email to clients you haven’t seen recently
Simple and sweet: if you haven’t seen a client’s friendly face in 12 months or longer, take a few minutes to send them a super-quick howdy!
Write a few sentences about how the past year has been for your business, what’s new in your salon or booth, and offer them something fun to get them interested in coming back to you. A simple “10-15% off your next appointment!” or “Get a travel size skincare kit when you book this week!” can be the difference between never seeing a client again and seeing them this week.
Make your offer limited time so that they’re motivated to grab a spot. Try it - it works.
Marketing hack #2: Introduce yourself in free local Facebook groups
There are tons of local groups in your town or city where people hang out and talk about their lives and share their businesses. A quick search on Facebook of “[your city name] business network” or something similar will bring up various groups you can become a member of.
Join a group and introduce yourself!
Share a pic of your salon or home studio, say a bit about your business and yourself, and encourage group members to stop by for a visit.
Don’t worry about trying to be salesy or sound super professional, just be your friendly natural self. Get involved in conversations happening in the group, provide value and answers to member questions when possible, and have fun making some local connections!
Marketing hack #3: Create a video introducing yourself as a beauty business owner
I’ve done a ton of testing with my students over the years on what moves the needle when it comes to engagement and bookings, and friends, the results are clear: videos of yourself are the #1 way to attract new clients and fill your books.
Now, long videos? Not so much. But a 1-2 minute video smack full of your personality, information about your beauty business, and what you’ve got to offer is perfect. And people will watch.
Use your intro video everywhere! Make a reel, put it on YouTube, add it to a local Facebook group or post it on your own FB wall. You can also email it to your list with a curiosity-piquing title like, “Watch: 3 Random Things About Me”. Get filming!
Marketing hack #4: Write a blog article about beauty businesses near you (don’t forget to include your own!)
Ah-ah, before you object loudly: notice I said ‘write a blog article’ and not ‘write a blog’. I get that finding the time to maintain a blog is a big ask (like….I really get it 😅)
Write a single blog post about local beauty businesses with a theme like “Top 10 Green/Clean/Organic Salons in Denver” or, “The Best Spray Tanners in Vancouver”. Be sure to add your business at the top of the list (or, you know, maybe 3rd if you’re feeling humble.)
“But isn’t this highlighting the competition?” you might ask.
Yes, it is!
Every successful beauty business owner knows that collaboration is much more important than competition. Lifting up your fellow small business owners is a worthy way to support your community, and, don’t forget, you’re highlighting your salon, too!
Blog posts like this are amazing for Google rankings. Highlighting businesses near you helps teach Google what your business is about, and will show up in searches that locals make for beauty businesses near them. It’s a win, win, win.
Marketing hack #5: Create a referral rewards program to encourage clients to refer your business to others
You’re probably getting referrals often - why not reward your clients for giving them?
Hand out “referral cards” or coupons to your favorite clients, and when those referral cards come back to you in the hands of new visitors, reward your referee with gift cards, free haircuts or colors, a package of your top-selling retail products, or a facial on the house.
Reward generously. It’s always worth the investment.
Marketing hack #6: Run an Instagram contest with other local beauty businesses
This is one of my favorite hacks, as it’s fun, collaborative, and a super-effective way to build your professional network.
Contact local beauty businesses and ask them if they want to get involved in a ‘like and tag’ contest. See if they’re willing to donate a small prize that will become part of a large ‘gift set’ for the winner of the contest.
In running just one of these Instagram contests, you’ll be collaborating, cross-promoting, raising awareness for other local businesses, networking, rewarding followers, and gaining lots of new ones. There’s literally no reason not to do this, unless you don’t like fun or community.
Marketing hack #7: follow up with new clients and request a Google review
After their appointment, set a reminder for yourself to get in touch with new clients and ask them how it went. Send them a link to review you on Google. Tell them how much the review can do for your business, and that you really appreciate the time they take to do it.
Reviews are crucial for your business, but you will rarely get them unless you ask for them. So start asking!
Marketing hack #8: put new clients in your email database with their birthdays
As you’re gathering info on new clients (name, phone number, email address) be sure to also get their birthday...because you’re gonna send a birthday email to them every year and offer them something special for their birthday month, like a special discount, a gift box, or a free service like a facial or a nail treatment!
Collect this information in your CRM or email database and be sure to have a calendar reminder set for client birthdays. They will love the thoughtfulness of this gesture, and probably take you up on your gift - which gets them back in your salon and ready to spend some money.
Marketing hack #9: Always ask new clients how they found you
At some point during their appointment or when collecting their info at the end, be sure to ask all new clients where they heard about your salon.
Whether by word of mouth, social media, or on Google, something you’re doing is working - so you need to know what it is to double down on your marketing in that area!
Marketing hack #10: Put your SEO keywords on your website to get found on Google
I do this on my web pages and in my blogs. It’s how I get thousands of unique visitors to my site each month!
SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization, is a collection of keywords that people search that show them your beauty business when they use them.
Here’s how you find out what your keywords are: they’ll be a mix of your city or town name and what you do - i.e. “Toronto's best organic hair salon” or “Las Vegas hair extensions”.
Once you know what your keywords are, start adding them to the content on your website; your homepage, About page, and Services page are great places to add these words and phrases.
Don’t just keep adding them until your site content reads like a word salad, but use them organically so that they make sense and help you get ranked by Google. You’ll show up in more searches and get a ton more visitors each month!
Marketing hack #11: Create a free Facebook group with valuable content for your audience
Start a Facebook group for your clients, friends, family, and interested strangers to join and be a part of.
This isn’t meant to be a promotional group. This is a group where you talk about subjects and themes related to what your business is.
As an example, my friend Desarae, owner of Beautiful You Skincare Studio in San Pueblo, Colorado, started her Uncommon Beauty Facebook group for her audience. She shares motivation, uplifting messages, and mental wellness tips that provide value and education for her valued clients.
Starting a free Facebook group like this helps to create connections, which will turn into loyal clients and more sales.
Marketing hack #12: Run a VIP launch for your best clients
Whether you’re launching a new product, starting a monthly subscription box, or offering a new service - try this: throw a launch party for your VIP clients.
Email VIPs before you launch and ask them if they’d like to try out your new service/product/box. Once they’ve received your box/service/product, ask them for feedback.
Doing this will guide you on what to improve before your big launch, as well giving you five-star reviews and testimonials to share with the world! Now that’s a recipe for a successful launch.
Collecting a list of VIPs contact info is key for this reason.
Marketing hack #13: Include five-star reviews on your website for social proof
Reviews from clients that love what you do are as good as gold - so use them!
Collect the reviews you get on your Google My Business account, Yelp, and Facebook and put them on your website. You can either add these to your Home page or create a separate Reviews page for them.
Marketing hack #14: Build your email list with a promotional pop-up on your website
Building your email list is so important because it’s the best way to increase your clientele and build trust, loyalty, and brand awareness.
So throw a pop-up on your Homepage that says something like, “Wanna be a part of my beauty club?” or “Want to receive 10% off your next appointment?” which, when clicked and filled out, collects their email address to receive the offer or join the club.
Value, connection, and a chance to get the good word out about what’s new at your salon - what’s to lose?
Marketing hack #15: Send a survey to all your clients asking for their opinion and feedback
Using Survey Monkey or Google Forms, send out a quick survey to your most active clients. Ask them about current skin care/nail care/hair care issues they’ve been having, or a recent trip to your salon, or what they want to learn more about related to beauty and wellness.
To increase survey compliance, it’s good to offer an incentive, like a $50 gift card to a lucky survey respondee or something like that.
These survey responses will give you a crystal-clear idea of the type of content you should be sharing with your audience, or improvements to be made in your salon, etc.
Marketing hack #16: Create a gift box or bag for an upcoming holiday or season
People love buying kits and gift boxes for friends and family. There are tons of occasions to sell them: Mother’s Day, Valentine's Day, birthdays, and Christmas.
You can make these gifts look great on the cheap: hit the dollar store for big boxes, add some crinkly paper, some tinsel, and some glitter.
Use faire.com to find mini retail products to add, like jade rollers, hair scrunchies, or bath bombs.
Add everything together with one or two of your top-selling retail products like shampoos, conditioners, nail care products, or lotions, and bam! You’ve got a beautiful gift set ready for the holidays.
Marketing hack #17: Create an educational, shareable graphic on Canva or Instagram
Make a quick graphic that educates and inspires! Share it on your social media accounts. As it gets shared around, you’re building awareness of your beauty business.
Topics like, “The 4 best skincare ingredients for summer skin”, “The 6 things most people don’t know about blonde hair”, or “10 ways to take care of yourself that don't cost anything” are interesting and enlightening topics, and accessible to your audience. Give it a try!
Marketing hack #18: Update your Google My Business page with photos of you
Keep your GMB account up to date with current pics of you!
Check out my last blog post about getting personal branding photos done here. This is a crucial step for you as a professional beauty business owner. Once you’ve got those gorgeous photos ready for use, be sure to get them on all of your profiles.
Marketing hack #19: Do an Instagram Reel welcoming people into your salon
A quick, fun Reel can drum up attention, engagement, and new faces to your salon!
It doesn’t have to be long at all - just 5 to 8 seconds per section of your salon.
This will allow people to imagine themselves at an appointment, enjoying a warm and welcoming atmosphere and some well-deserved TLC.
Marketing hack #20: Do a photoshoot with some of your retail products
A very wise friend said to me once,
“In the beauty industry you can survive on services, but you’ll retire on retail products.”
Do a one to two-hour photoshoot highlighting some of your best-selling retail products.
These can be easy-peasy, flat-lay pictures taken from above.
Find some bristol board, a few props, good lighting, and add a few extra little touches to make it look fancy.
Add these photos to your website, socials, Pinterest, and Google accounts.
This is a great way to level up your branding and make people want to buy buy buy!
This list will serve you well. Save this link and check back any time you start to feel like you’re losing steam in your marketing efforts. Work your way through each of these 20 free marketing hacks and you will see the needle move in your beauty business, I promise!
Keep shining, beautiful friend!
Xo,
Stephanie
