A beginners' guide to social networking at business extra

If the whole concept of social media has left you out of your depth and feeling like you're living in the dark ages and you're waiting for the whole phase to pass then Eight & Four have some news for you.

"Social media is not going anywhere, it is just a new platform to talk to people and it is serving a human interest.

"But the good news is that it's not scary and everyone can get involved," they told the Business Extra audience at Salon International.  

The social media experts shared tips and practical advice for using the four platforms that they believe can be most influential for the hairdressing industry: Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and foursquare.

TWITTER

• Find someone in your team who has the time and inclination to Tweet every day.
• Have a clear objective of why you want to Tweet. This could be promoting events or targeting new clients in your area.
• Quality check your Tweets. Always ask 'would I want to read this?'
• Follow the right people: clients who are on Twitter, competitiors (to monitor their activity), industry thought leaders and hair and beauty journalists.

FACEBOOK

• Set up a Facebook page - not a profile because it could be deleted - and get a short url for it e.g. http://www.facebook.com/HairdressersJournal. You can use this url on your email signature and all your marketing materials.
• Brand up your page with tailor-made tabs for content. Photos, videos and reviews are good starting points.
• Don't try to sell. People are on Facebook to socialise so give them engaging content that will interest them. Polls and celebrity are good ways to do this.
• Make sure your updates are regular. There's nothing worse than a neglected profile.

YOUTUBE

• Use the word 'video' in the title and always categorise your videos as it will help the search engines. How to and styling videos are very popular.
• Seed your videos. You want to get as many eyes on them as possible so push them out on Facebook and Twitter too.
• If a client has a fantastic makeover, film a quick testimonial about how much they like it and put it up on YouTube.
• Video is the place for promotion. Don't be afraid to talk about what product you are using and why, but don't talk prices or give a hard sell.

FOURSQUARE

• Go to foursquare, find your business and 'claim it' as yours. Now people will be able to 'check-in'. This will appear in their social network feeds.
• Create offers, known as check-in specials. These can be frequency based, one-offs, or 'Mayor' specials for the person who 'checks-in' the most. 
• Monitor your foursquare reviews. If they are bad you need to look into why, but you can solve problems in real-time by locating the reviewer and speaking to them. 
• Share your offers on other social media platforms and display the badges and stickers you receive when you 'claim' your business. This will encourage people to check-in.  

You don't have to use all of the above to make social media work for you: successful networking can make use of one or multiple platforms.

The important thing to remember is to make sure that what every platform or platforms you use are updated frequently.

Social networking is a growing phenomenon and is changing all the time. No one has all the answers so don't be afraid to experiment.

Eight&Four's Top Tips for using social media effectively

1. Make it part of your routine - it's as quick to Tweet as it is to text
2. Make it mobile - download the mobile apps so that you can network on the go. 
3. Link your social media accounts and take advantage of time-saving apps, such as Tweetdeck that send your message out via different platforms.
4. Get someone in the salon to keep a weekly record to monitor your social media activity and track your successes.
5. When you know what has worked for you, don't be afraid to repeat it with a new spin.
6. Use a basic package like Google Analytics to track traffic back to your site and see how much interest each platform is generating.