It’s amazing how much of an impact technology has on the business industry. Ten years ago, no one would have imagined finding a person, place or thing with the help of a hashtag, but today, most businesses cannot imagine functioning without them - especially those in the hair & beauty industry. Every day, you are tempted to take pictures of your work and share it on a number of your fan pages, but what’s the point of doing so? You may have a number of reasons - to make a name for yourself, flaunt your expertise, or attract more customers to your business. There is just one catch - are you using the right hashtags?
Yes, there is a chance that your hashtags are not doing their jobs. Just because one has been used for millions of posts, does not mean that it is effective for your business. The truth is, you need to find a sweet spot when choosing the right hashtags for your hair or beauty salon. If you run a beauty salon, your social media posts should be complemented by beauty hashtags - the same for hair, nail and permanent makeup businesses.
When we think of hashtags, right away, Instagram comes to mind. After all, it is difficult to manoeuvre around the app without them. Before posting a shot from one of your latest treatments, you sprinkle on a number of hashtags such as “#balayage #hairstylist #hairsalon” and you hit the publish button. Hours pass and you have gained a meager 6 likes. What happened? Those popular hashtags you just love to add to your pictures, that’s what happened! When you include the most popular hashtags, your post is more than likely going to be flooded by millions of other ones from salons all over the world! Look at your hashtags again - who are they aimed at? Ones such as #hairstylist, #beautysalon, #haidresser don’t say much about your business. Firstly, make sure the hashtags you use are aimed at your customers, and not other salons, and second, how do you plan to reach a local audience if your only hashtag is #hairsalon?
Is your hair or beauty salon located in London by any chance? Then add #ukhairsalon or #hairsalonlondon, which has a few thousand posts, making it an ideal choice for you! When considering reaching out to your local target market, make sure to add hashtags with your location. Additionally, you may want to complement those with hashtags like #haircolourspecialist, #bblogger or #bestofbalayage, to help your post truly stand out. It is important that you use a combination of both more and less popular hashtags, in order to increase your chances of being heard. Using too many popular hashtags might make your post disappear among the rest, but making use of unpopular ones may make your post almost entirely invisible. It is important to find a middle ground, which does not mean excluding all super popular hashtags, but use them sparingly. Now, how do you know which beauty salon hashtags really do the trick? Simple - just ask new customers how they found your business! Chances are they will say, “I saw your Instagram post with that awesome rose-pink balayage - I just had to come in”! After you have added the client to your Booksy customer database, tag them #RosePinkBalayagePost. After a month, check your Booksy client groups to see which source (hashtag) brought you the most customers.
Whether you are looking for hashtags for barbers, nail salon hashtags or any other business, the same concept applies. Instagram shows you the number of times a specific hashtag has been used, and you decide if it will work for you or not. In some instances, beauty, nails and hair salon hashtags can be synonymous, for example: #beautybusiness #salonowner or #salonlife are very broad, so make sure to be more specific! You don’t want potential clients to think that your nail salon specialises in permanent makeup if it does not! Here’s another idea - use hashtags your clients use! It will not hurt to have a look at a customer’s social media page. Check out the hashtags they use for their pictures to give you an idea of what they use and apply them to your posts. Using overly complex ones such as #TCApeel #ThalgoMarineSiliciumTreatment or #ActivPureVitCTreatment will reach other beauty specialists, but not your potential customers.
Always bear in mind that a handful of well-picked hashtags will better reach your potential customers than a vast number of poor quality ones. Although you have a limit of thirty for Instagram, you should avoid spamming your post with them, as it makes it look bloated and in desperate need of likes! Along with your selected hashtags, add a well-developed description as well. Make sure to include information about the picture - is it a post of a flyer for your salon event? A picture of one of your treatments or the salon floor? If used correctly, hair and beauty salon hashtags are a beneficial tool your social media posts should not be caught without! Use them sparingly and make sure they are related to your post and business, as they can harm it if not done correctly! To top it all off, track which posts and hashtags are truly reaching your desired audience with Booksy hair & beauty salon software! Start managing clients with ease - sign up for your free account today!
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