Seeking trade pr for you or your salon

Alison Jameson from Alison Jameson Consultants in Edinburgh specialises in trade hairdressing PR. She has a long list of award-winning clients and is widely respected for her industry expertise. We asked Alison why trade PR is important and how to build a profile in the industry.

Why is it important to build a profile in the industry?There are several reasons – to gain recognition among your peers for the quality of work you produce, or as a successful salon. A strong profile within the industry will also help when looking for new team members – it is more likely good hairdressers will want to work with a recognised name. Seeing their salon or images in print can be a tremendous motivator for the team and having a strong profile within the trade can reap many benefits. At what point should a salon decide to focus on PR?If you hit a plateau and are getting good local coverage from word of mouth, have done some shows and seminars, or have dipped into photographic work, then you may be ready to take your PR to the next level. You could have someone in the salon to deal with local enquiries, send out photographs and get quotes for journalists, but this can be really time-consuming and often this is when you need outside help. Does it result in more takings and why is it worth the money? PR is a really hard task to quantify. It can bring in new clients that result in increased turnover, help build a profile and attract new staff. PR works well when the PR company really gets to know the salon and finds out all its goals and aims and puts together a plan to help them achieve this. How can a salon do their own PR if they don’t have a budget? I would assign a member of the team to take responsibility for PR. They would need time away from the salon floor to respond to calls and send out information, so choosing the right person is paramount. They need to work to deadlines and multi task, and be able to communicate with people on all levels. The downside with this is that journalists often work to really tight deadlines and they may miss out on opportunities that need to be dealt with immediately. What are the key actions you should take to raise your profile in the industry? Network! Hairdressing is a really friendly industry so get to know the key journalists, manufacturers, leading hairdressers and associations such as the Fellowship. Make lots of contacts and attend all the key events such as the Benevolent Ball, President’s Night for the Fellowship, the British Hairdressing Business Awards, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards.