Making social media work for your salon

Pinterest is all about visual stimulation, making it the ideal choice for a creative industry such as hairdressing. The site allows readers to share their favourite images - either by 'pinning' pictures that they've found online or uploaded, or by re-pinning other people's pictures that they find inspiring. Essentially a virtual moodboard, you can collate images on as many separate boards as you like. For example, a salon could have 'photo shoot ideas', 'our work', 'inspirational interiors', 'influential marketing'... the choice is endless. From business cards to bobs, Pinterest allows you to compile all of your inspirations in one place.

Not directly useful as a recruitment tool, but potential employees - not to mention clients - will be able to get a great idea of the kind of work your salon creates by scanning your boards, and you can check out their inspirations in the same way if they have an account. 

Few things look slicker during a consultation than a Pinterest moodboard on an iPad. Even if it doesn't feature your own work, clued-up clients will be impressed to see their favourite salon embracing the site. When it comes to promoting your own images, it's an ideal tool too. Even if you don't have hundreds of followers yourself yet, a great image with the right tags will quickly get re-pinned and could easily spread your name across the globe. Remember to include links back to your site and keep your profile page up to date, so people know where they can find you in the real world. 

With millions of users posting pictures daily, creative imagery is what Pinterest is all about. Simply type in a search term, then sit back and be inspired. The site is also a fantastic way to compile an accessible, collaborative moodboard prior to a project like a photo shoot. You, your make-up artist, photographer and stylist could all contribute and share ideas in an easily updated virtual board. 

Follow your favourite brands, celebrities, salons or clients to see what's inspiring them - hopefully they'll follow you back and share your pictures too. Pin regularly and tag files accordingly to increase the visibility of your images to searchers. A frequently updated account with lots of interesting content will soon attract followers, who could easily become future clients. Again, don't forget to link back to your salon's website and add contact details to your profile page. 

   

If you like this, why not try...

Post and share inspirational imagery with this virtual moodboard - similar to Pinterest, but without the separate boards. Also functions well as a simple alternative to a website. 

Add filters, effects and tags to your photos and share them with the world via this app on your iPhone or Android.

 An ideal way to share short, timely updates of what's going on in your life or business, Twitter also offers a brilliant, informal way of networking with industry peers, journalists, celebrities, clients and everyone in between. Encouraging your clients to follow you on the network will swell your following and people are usually happy to tweet about their experiences too - providing you with totally free, honest marketing. A great way of spreading stories fast - not to mention hearing breaking news first, Twitter is great for salons to share their achievements, offers and free appointments.

As the 21st century alternative to word-of-mouth marketing, Twitter can be a useful tool for salon owners looking to recruit. However, if you're short on followers, or don't want clients or existing staff to know that you're looking, a recruitment account such as @HJi_Jobs can do all the hard work for you.

Twitter was practically designed to let you shout about your achievements - if a celebrity visits, take a picture and tweet it. If a client has a dramatic makeover with amazing results, share it with your followers. Just make sure you keep it relevant and interspersed with other tweets - Twitter is supposed to be about a conversation, not just one voice. And tempting as it may be, retweeting compliments is considered something of a faux-pas. 

Look out for links of interest from people you follow that you know are going to be sharing inspiring content. Events such as Fashion Week are when this medium comes to life. Follow the right people and you will see catwalk looks the minute the front row does and go behind the scenes on shoots, sets and shows. 

Twitter provides unrivalled, informal access to your peers, industry icons and manufacturers, allowing you to connect with virtually anyone at the click of a button. The flipside to this open approach is that anyone can read what you write so remember to act professionally - no drunken tweeting, catty comments or anything you wouldn't want your boss to read. 

If you like this, why not try...

Create an in-house version of Twitter, allowing you to communicate with colleagues across your company - great for larger salon groups.

Encourage clients to 'check in' on this site - they can recommend you as a must-see in the area and let friends know where they are; you can offer them deals for visiting.

A frequently updated, interesting Facebook page with engaging content, inspiring images and plenty of business information can take the plac e of a website. Make sure you set up a business page rather than a personal one and keep it up to date for a free, accessible, hugely popular way to connect with your clients - 74% of internet users use Facebook daily.

 

Posting jobs on your Facebook page provides a free, informal way of advertising positions. Even if you don't have thousands of friends, shares and referrals and old-fashioned word of mouth can help your job be seen by a wider audience. Keep your page informative and up-to-date to ensure potential employees want to be a part of your company.

Facebook is an ideal way to share your latest offers and discounts with clients without the hard-sell - particularly with the new timeline function that allows you to highlight posts and keep them on view for as long as you like and with functions that allow clients to click and book instantly. It's also a great place to show off your latest creative work.

While Facebook hosts countless images - up to 100 million are uploaded each month - it's your job to track them down, unless they're uploaded by someone you're already friends with. There's no image search tool either, so although it's brilliant for showing off your creations, it's not so great for looking for inspiration from others. 

Although it doesn't have the same informal attitude as Twitter, you can still connect with fellow professionals through Facebook. Following your favourite brands and news sources such as HJ will also keep you up-to-date with the latest industry news.

If you like this, why not try...

Google's free review site allows you to create a profile page with images and text, where your clients can add their reviews and access offers. It's integrated with Google maps too, so if your salon scores well then users will be able to see it as they search. 

This image-based community for hairdressers connects stylists and salons across the globe, as well as sharing relevant news stories and inspirational links.