June can be a hit-or-miss month for salons with the summer holiday season in full swing.
But don’t worry, Father’s Day (Sunday 16th June 2024) is here to help your hair and beauty marketing.
Father’s Day salon promotions
As we move towards a more gender-neutral future men are becoming increasingly interested in personal care and their appearance. Recent research by eBay revealed that 1 in 6 of us will choose grooming presents for Father’s Day, with hair and grooming gift sets, razors, beard oil, aftershave and skincare products coming second only to alcohol.
While Father’s Day is not a match for Mother’s Day commercially, it’s still a handy hook to hang some profitable salon marketing on. UK consumers spent over £951 million in 2021 and the US a staggering $20 billion on the celebration.
In this blog I look at the Father’s Day promotional ideas and tips I use with our agency clients. Marketing food for thought I hope.
Salon Social Club members: Head to your Club Content Blueprint for Father’s Day done-for-you captions, ready-to-go graphics and Club Canva templates.
#1. Mum’s the word for Father’s Day
Let’s start with the salon marketing basics: Your target audience.
It’s Father’s Day so presumably it’s guys you need to target with your salon marketing.
Nope.
Women are the main buyers of Father’s Day gifts. They are your target promotional audience. You’ll get a far better take-up and higher revenue if you focus your salon marketing activities towards them and their needs.
Decide on the promotional messages and visuals that will appeal to this target female audience. Then carry this theme consistently across all your online and offline salon marketing channels.
Father’s Day for barbers and male-only grooming specialists
Targeting women can be tricky for barbers and male only grooming specialists. So use social media advertising to reach this audience by targeting your ads by gender, age and geographical area.
#2. Salon social media marketing ideas for Father’s Day
Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest are more popular with women than men, making them perfect for promoting your salon’s Father’s Day gifts and offers to a targeted local female audience.
Avoid constant ‘sell, sell, sell’ messages. Instead, give your social media ‘Dad-Appeal’ with engaging and light-hearted content in the weeks leading up to June 16th.
1. Be fun on social
Ask questions with retro or humorous imagery to keep your social content engaging. For instance, you could create a hashtag for classic movie and TV dads and encourage followers to share their favourites. Or share photos of guys’ retro hair and fashion imagery that you love and ask for comments.
You could ask followers to share their first memories of dad or why he inspires them. Men have an emotional and tender side that’s often overlooked in marketing, so play to it.
Why not host a social giveaway with a dad-friendly prize to increase engagement and get new local eyeballs on your business. You could get seen by a new local audience by buddying up with a local business – scroll 👇 to #4 for more partnership Father’s Day marketing ideas.
2. Build trust in your skills and services
Post before and after photos in the run-up to Father’s Day to showcase transformations. Remember to post testimonials/reviews from male clients to build trust with potential new clients.
There’s still time to get a local nano-influencer onboard who appeals to a male audience to increase your reach and credibility.
3. Content with ‘Dad-appeal’
To truly engage your audience, create content that appeals to dads directly. How about:
- Men’s grooming tips for the summer hols.
- ‘How to’ guides for guys.
- Take photos/videos to create your own step-by-step guides.
- Anti-ageing tips for dads.
- Dispel some male grooming myths.
- Tips on manscaping, facial scrubs or pedicures.
4. Father’s Day gift ideas
Create gift guides for Father’s Day for your retail products. Don’t forget to include some eco-friendly options to appeal to the environmentally conscious dad.
By combining these marketing strategies, you can create a comprehensive, engaging social media campaign for Father’s Day that appeals to both all your target audiences.
#3. Tips for advertising your salon on social for Father’s Day
If you’re running a salon social media competition with a local partner and offering some juicy prizes, then some advertising is worth investing in.
Before you do so, supply your local partner with posts/videos on hair and beauty tips and gifts to put out on their social. It’s likely that only a small percentage of followers overlap so you have a fresh local audience to market to. And organic posts are free.
If you decide to invest in Meta advertising then select your target audience:
- Include all your Likes (only 5-10% of your Likes will get the post organically in their feed).
- Then set a daily or campaign budget. You can always increase it later so be cautious to start with.
- Next choose your location and radius. If you’re in a small town then a wider radius is probably fine, but in a large city you need to be much tighter.
- Think about age and gender – remember your key audience is wives and partners for Father’s Day.
And finally measure the results carefully to see whether you’re getting the right results and a good Return On Investment (ROI).
#4. Partnership salon marketing for Father’s Day
Share the marketing work and boost brand awareness by partnering with a local business.
It doesn’t just have to be your hair or beauty biz giving the advice and tips. Let’s say you’ve partnered with a local personal trainer. This is a brilliant business opportunity for some cross-promotion:
1. Joint giveaway on social media
Each partner offers a prize. I like gift cards as the winner has to visit your salon to use it, which is an opportunity to convert them into a client.
2. Share tips
Exchange holiday fitness and grooming tips to post on each other’s social media. It’s an easy way to position your salon as a trusted expert to a brand new local audience.
3. Buddy up with offers
Don’t just stop at Father’s Day. Buddy up for some dad-friendly offers and campaigns and stand out from the local crowd.
Salon Marketing Tip:
To harness the full power of online marketing, post these Father’s Day ideas, tips and offers across all your online marketing channels: your salon website, salon social media and email marketing. Consistecy is key.
#5. Make it easy to buy Father’s Day gifts from your salon
Dads are notoriously tricky to buy presents for. Another pair of socks anyone?
While mums are notoriously time-pressed, convenience-focused shoppers. So make it easy for mums to buy from your salon or spa.
Here’s how:
1. Inspire them
Solve busy mums’ problems by clearly labelling products/services as great Father’s Day gifts. Use your imagination (so they don’t have to use theirs) to put gift combos together:
- Package retail products into a male grooming travel kit.
- A ‘get Dad beach-ready package’ with pedicure, waxing and manicure.
- A stress-busting massage teamed with a retail product.
2. Appeal to children
Offer pocket-money-sized retail gifts for dads on your salon reception desk.
3. Salon gift wrapping service
Offer complimentary gift wrapping to save on-the-go mums precious time and hassle. Keep Father’s Day gift tags in salon for ultimate ease and added customer service.
4. Add value
As I mentioned in my Mother’s Day marketing blog, gift cards and hair or beauty packages can seem a boring present for your special daddy if you’re only six years old. Make them more appealing to little ones by pairing them with a small tangible gift that can be wrapped and given with the gift card.
Target the high spenders
Google reports that shoppers aged 25-34 and 18-24 are the highest spenders for Father’s Day. Capture their attention with dad-themed pamper packages, spa days and gift cards.
#6. Add some salon marketing bounce to your Father’s Day promotions
If you’re a regular reader of my salon marketing blog you’ll know what I’m talking about. And I love these offers.
‘Bounce back’ marketing promotions encourage repeat business and loyalty by offering an incentive to encourage the client to return to your hair or beauty business.
After all, you don’t want to see dad just the once. Your marketing aim is to turn him into a loyal salon client.
Try my easy-to-use instant online salon calculator to work out how much your salon or spa is losing when first visit clients don’t return.
Include bounce-back offers in your Father’s Day packages, targeting quiet days or specific stylists so you don’t give your profit away.
Here are my favourite ‘bounce back’ marketing ideas for Father’s Day:
They all bolt-on to the original gift package or gift voucher:
- Discounts: x% off your next pedicure/manicure service in July.
- Extra free time: Book a 60 minute massage and get 30 minutes extra free. Restrict to July.
- Complimentary add ons: Hot towel shave when you book a haircut in July.
Wondering whether to offer salon discounts and deals for Father’s Day? Try this blog for some detailed practical ideas.
#7. In-salon hair and beauty marketing ideas for Father’s Day
1. Free salon advertising
Have eye-catching graphics in the windows and on the walls plus strut-cards around the salon. And don’t forget to pop promotional graphics in your washrooms.
2. Focus on hair & beauty retail
Create prominent Father’s Day retail displays – find useful salon retailing ideas here.
3. Educate your team
Educate your team about your offers and gifts to spark conversations with clients around Father’s Day.
4. Salon gift cards for Father’s Day
Promote your hair or beauty salon gift cards. Perfect for those who want to (discreetly) sharpen up Dad’s style.
Want to sell more salon gift cards? This blog is brimming with hands-on ideas you can use for Father’s Day.
Salon marketing to men
Survey after survey shows the male grooming market is expanding. There is a huge, and increasing, demand from men asking for hair and beauty treatments.
And once a client, men tend to be more loyal than women. Capitalise on this by ensuring your salon is giving the right marketing signals to men.
Particularly with beauty services, men are often shy to call and ask whether a salon offers male grooming services. Find more ideas and advice on taking your salon gender neutral here.