I’m not the greatest fan of advertising in newspapers and magazines for salons. It is usually expensive and can be difficult to measure. But there are times when it makes sense to use this effective marketing tool.

When you do, here’s some ideas to make it more impactful and more profitable for your salon.

1. Drive a hard bargain - A single advert is probably wasted. Book a series to reinforce your message and negotiate a better rate. If you can get some editorial included as part of the package, even better.
2. Avoid the left-hand page - When booking your salon advertising always ask to have your adverts placed on the right hand page. When you read a publication, your eyes are drawn to the right hand page as you flick through. Try it, now. So more people will see your salon advert if it’s on the right hand page. It may be more expensive but it is worth it.
3. Keep it simple - Keep your advert layout simple with plenty of white space. It’s tempting to over-clutter just because it’s costing you a lot. The headline is the most important part of your advertisement. Make it big and bold. Use at least a quarter of the advert for the headline.
4. Build Your Salon Brand - Use your salon branding every time to reinforce and increase recognition. Consistency is everything when it comes to building a brand. This is no time to introduce a new colour or fiddle with your logo. Don’t ignore the other salon marketing tools available to you. Post the advert offer on your website, your Facebook business page, have a poster in salon and include it in your email marketing. All of these should feature the same message, image and branding as the advertisement to strengthen your brand and increase the take-up of your salon offer.
5. Content is King - Remember clients are most interested in ‘What’s in it for me’. Use the words ’You’ and ‘Your’ often.I always try to include a salon offer. Be concise and clear with this. ‘50% off your first cut and finish at Luxe’. Give it urgency by adding an expiry date.If there isn’t room to include Terms and Conditions try adding *Terms and conditions apply. See www.yourwebsite.co.uk. And make sure they are on your website before the advert is published.
6. Call to Action - Have a call to action.‘Call xxxxx now to receive your complimentary treatment’ . Add a response code so you can monitor the take up or have a tear-off voucher. And don’t forget your salon phone number, email, web address and social media. Easily done!
7. Measure, measure and measure again - The golden rule of salon marketing: tracking your advertising so you know what was a success and what didn’t work for you.