Um...is it just me, or has this past year and a half just felt like a total blur?

Pandemic and business-altering realities aside, time just never seems to slow down - only move faster!

And the same goes for the best ways to market your beauty business.

Marketing any business is an ever-evolving beast, as technology and consumer behavior change constantly.

Getting the sense your beauty biz could use a marketing makeover?

Well...today you’re gonna find out. I’ve gathered together some of the smartest, most effective marketing trends for beauty businesses in the coming year.

While you’re reading, think carefully about how each of these could work for your salon or spa. Whether you’re running a rental booth as a hairstylist, just opened your own storefront nail studio, or you’re dreaming of moving your spray tanning business out of your basement, these marketing trends will help your beauty business scale up and gain buzzworthy attention (and lots of new clients!)

Ready to dive in? Take notes and get excited - let’s go!

Online marketing trend #1: Conversational marketing and chatbots

A recent study states that over 50% of customers expect a business to be available to answer their questions 24/7. Sounds impossible, right? Not anymore it ain’t!

The best way to be available to answer questions and assist visitors and potential clients (even while you’re sleeping) is to set up automation and chatbots to do the heavy lifting for you!

There are tons of great options for these types of bots, depending on what your clients will be doing most often on your site.

As an example, if you want to be able to answer questions about appointments before a client books online, Manychat offers a really intuitive, easy-to-use chatbot to take them through pre-booking and send them to the booking app when they’re ready.

You can also use the Facebook Messenger plugin on your website to answer questions visitors might have about events, sales, bookings, etc. As well, you can use FB Messenger to auto-reply to frequently asked questions, and Instagram has a similar service too! Check out my blog post here for more info.

Finally, Videoask is a very cool service that lets you record “intro videos” or other welcome vids and allows visitors to ask questions they might have about common skincare, hair, or nail issues, or general inquiries!

Online marketing trend #2: Short video marketing

If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve heard me say it a thousand times: video sells. 68% of consumers prefer watching videos to learn about new products or services, as compared to articles, infographics, ebooks, and presentations.

These days, there are tons of options for creating and sharing videos on social media. Instagram Reels and Stories, YouTube Reels, TikTok, and Facebook all have video-making apps that I’m sure you’ve played around with.

The key to making really effective marketing videos for your socials is to keep them light, funny, entertaining, and educational.

The video editing software built into these apps is so easy to use, and takes the pressure off you to perform a “script” in one go - you can shoot as many takes as you want and twitch them together easy-peasy.

As far as content, do what you know your audience loves: skincare or hair care tips, TikTok meme formats, cute videos about your salon experience or your personal experience as a beauty/fashion lover, or even videos of your dog!

If it’s cute, funny, entertaining, and shares the good word about your products and services (or brands you as an expert!) your audience will love it, and it will work well as a marketing tool for you. Check out my blog here for some viral-worthy Instagram Reel inspiration!

Online marketing trend #3: Micro-Influencer Marketing

It’s been called lots of things - ambassador marketing, micro-influencer marketing, social media partnerships, and collaborations - but they all mean essentially the same thing: using the influence and reach of someone else to capture a new audience and make more money!

Micro-influencers are a huge part of every successful online marketer’s toolkit, and you need to hop on this train.

Let’s say you own a hair salon. You know of a local “mini-celebrity” who has a big Instagram following, and you dream about how having a good review from this person could grow your clientele list. Well stop dreaming, sister! Reach out to that person and offer a deal - discounts on hair treatments, free products, or an agreed payment per referral - and watch how fast your salon gets bookings!

You can also get in touch with influencers to promote upcoming events or sales, or to collaborate on a contest! The options are endless - and the ROI is plenty!

A recent study stated that 94% of marketers believe influencer marketing to be a highly effective strategy for them...and the increasing budgets of these companies to do more of it shows they’re ready to put their money where their mouth is.

Check out my blog post here for a wildly inspirational success story from my friend Brittney Bennett who used influencer marketing to scale up her salon a crazy amount (she even has celebrity clients now!)

Online marketing trend #4: eCommerce

Having an online store in 2021 was big, big business...and it’s no surprise that this “trend” isn’t slowing down for 2022!

The pandemic had everyone at home shopping, and they honestly just haven’t stopped. The beauty industry has come out on top for e-commerce over the past two years - predicted to exceed $716B by 2025! And a huge part of that is due to online sales of beauty products.

If you have a website for your salon, spray tan studio or nail studio, it’s a really, really good idea to set up an online store to sell retail products. You’re missing out on a huge source of revenue until you do!

Check out my recent blog post here for more information on the hows, whys, and whats of setting up an online store.

Online marketing trend #5: Shoppable posts and social media shopping

Piggybacking off the last point here (which means you can skip this if you don’t have your eCommerce set up yet…), your social media accounts and your online shop should absolutely be connected - because more people are buying from social media than ever before!

A 2019 Facebook study showed that 54% of respondents bought items they saw featured on Instagram, either right away or shortly afterward.

That’s a lot of eyes looking to buy...and I bet you have a beautiful, ripe Instagram account dripping with sales potential for them to take advantage of!

So if you haven’t yet, this is your sign - get your online shop connected with your Instagram and Facebook accounts!

Put up enticing posts about your favorite retail products, show off all the fab beauty benefits, and offer a way for your audience to purchase right then and there. It’s simple to set up, and it’s veryyyyyy worth it.

Check out this guide on how to set up your social media “Shop” account today!

Online marketing trend #6: AR Augmented Reality Technologies for “try before you buy” magic!

“Try before you buy” has always been an effective way to get consumers hooked on your amazing products - but now they can do it without leaving the house!

Augmented reality technologies like the one by Perfect 365 Pro for makeup artists allow both you and your client to experiment with different looks before committing to anything. Whether it’s a new hairstyle, a new shade of foundation, or a thicker brow look, there’s an app for everything, as usual - and these ones are way cool and such a great idea to get your clients dreaming about their new faces and products.

There are new apps being created every day for this, so keep an eye out for the popular ones in your beauty niche, and find ways to incorporate them into your marketing!

Online marketing trend #7: UGC (user-generated content) on social media

Your clients provide the best marketing for you, simply by being obsessed with what you do!

So why not “hire” them to be your marketing team?

User-generated content is what it sounds like: stories, pictures, and other tagged content on social media made by your audience. UCG is wildy popular because it’s free and it’s super effective - simple as that.

If your beauty biz isn’t actively tagged and shared on socials, you can encourage it by running a “tag and share” contest for free services or discounts.

When your clients do tag you in posts, you should definitely share those posts.

My friend Jacquie K of Jacquie K Beauty says that almost all of her sales on Instagram come from her Instagram Stories of reshared/tagged content by clients. That’s some powerful stuff! So what are you waiting for? Start getting your clients to generate some sweet money-making content for you!

Online marketing trend #8: Automation for customer appointment booking/onboarding

Stats show that 49% of consumers prefer to contact a business through messaging rather than by phone.

But you don’t have time to answer all sorts of messages at all hours of the day and night, right?

Enter the bots, again!

Just like chatbot apps, there are a ton of great options for automating customer service when it comes to setting up appointments, adding new clients into your CRM, and answering common questions.

Automation saves you, the business owner, a ton of time, and sorts clients and their needs out without any hassle on your end.

Check out my recent blog post about hairstylist Hunter Donia and his super-impressive automated pre-appointment system for some automation inspiration!

Online marketing trend #9: Local search marketing

By now you know how important it is to have your Google My Business profile set up and searchable...right?

On the off chance you’ve been under a rock and haven’t got yours set up yet, here’s a stunning stat for you: research shows that 49% of local businesses in your area have over a thousand views a month on their Google My Business accounts each month. Local searches are growing every day as people look for local places more often.

When beauty buffs search for their favorite new local salon, are they finding yours? And do you have enough info there for them to find, visit, and book with you?

Check out my blog post here for more information on setting up a Google My Business account, making sure your presence on the web is strong, and capturing the eyes and hearts of a new collection of adoring clients!

Online marketing trend #10: Sustainability and green/clean beauty

The climate is on the hearts and minds of everyone these days, and for good reason. It feels like every day we’re hearing sobering new stats about how little time we have to make big changes to the way we live, consume, interact with and care for the earth around us.

When it comes to your responsibility as a beauty business owner, heavy is the crown: research shows that the beauty industry puts 877 pounds of waste into landfills around the world every minute (source: Green Circle Salons.)

Your clients care about what you’re doing to reduce your impact. Tell them how you’re taking responsibility. Make smart choices about the types of products you sell and use. Keep having uncomfortable, transparent conversations with your audience about the environmental impact in your industry. Your clients will honor you taking responsibility by spending money with you.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know marketing can feel overwhelming sometimes, especially when you’re just starting out.

In my own business, I found that keeping an open mind about marketing and being “curious” instead of intimidated helped me to have fun with the process.

Try out some of the marketing trends mentioned today (you’ll find they’re surprisingly easy to set up and super intuitive!), but if something doesn’t work quite the way you want it to, it’s guaranteed there’s another way to do it - so give something else a shot!

And don’t forget - I’ll be here every step of the way to help you on your journey!

Until next time, keep learning, trying, dreaming, and building!

Xo,

Stephanie

Join my free advertising class for solo beauty pros!