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Improve your salon Facebook with a quick spring-clean

When was the last time you gave your Facebook Business Page a spring-clean?

Are you spending time on creating great posts but overlooking the marketing obvious? Is your Page letting your salon brand down?

With Facebook constantly changing its rules and algorithms it makes sense to refresh, declutter and update your Page regularly.

Call it a salon social audit if you prefer, but let’s get polishing:

  • Update your cover photo
  • Refresh your About page
  • Change your pinned post
  • Promote your services
  • Add a call to action
  • Assess your Facebook reviews
  • Polish your content
  • Upgrade your hashtags
  • Stand out with a cover video
  • What’s working?

 

#1. Change your Facebook cover photo

When was the last time you updated the cover photo on your Page?

Really?

We all know first impressions are crucial and this photo is what your potential new hair or beauty clients will see when visiting your Page.

What’s the right size for my cover photo?

  • Facebook recommends cover photos are 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall.
  • This works on both a desktop and a mobile device.
  • Don’t worry if your image is bigger, Facebook allows you to choose the crop position of the image.

If you have a drop-dead gorgeous salon then your cover photo is THE place to showcase it, as Richard Ward has done…

 

 #2. Spruce up your Facebook About Page

When was the last time you updated this?

Let’s have a quick check:

  • Is every relevant field completed?
  • Are there working links to your salon website and other social profiles?
  • Is your essential information correct and up to date?
    • Location(s)
    • Phone number
    • Opening hours

 

#3. Is your pinned post out of date?

Nothing looks more out of date than a pinned post promoting an event or competition that’s long since passed.

Pinned posts need regular changing otherwise they soon look stale. Make a calendar note when you pin a post to revisit it in a week.

 

#4. Promote your hair and beauty services

Did you know you can list services on your page to let visitors know what your salon or spa offers? Not many hair & beauty businesses seem to do this but I think it’s perfect to promote your services at a glance.

It’s dead easy to do – here’s how:

To add services to your Page, you must first add the Services tab. The Services tab appears in the left column of your Page.

To add the Services tab to your Page:

  1. Click Settings at the top of your Page
  2. Click Templates and Tabs in the left column
  3. Scroll to the bottom and click Add a Tab
  4. Next to Services, click Add Tab and then click Close

Now that you’ve added the tab to your Page, you can add services.

To add services:

  1. Go back to the front page of your Page and click Services in the left column
  2. Click Add a Service
  3. Enter info about your service, then click Save
  4. To list another service, click Add a Service

Job done.

 

#5. Add a marketing call to action

Facebook and salon social is no different to any other salon marketing channel; you need to lead clients towards your end goal (book an appointment, pick up the phone or visit your website for example) with a call to action (CTA). This CTA simply tells them what you’d like them to do next.

To add a call-to-action button to your salon Business Page:

  1. Click + Add a Button below your Page’s cover photo
  2. Select a button from the dropdown menu and fill out any required information
  3. Click Add Button

Once the button has been created I suggest you test it:

  1. Hover over your button
  2. Select Test Button

Easy and it’ll help you achieve your marketing goals.

 

#6. Assess your Facebook reviews (and get some more)

Social proof showcasing the quality of your salon or spa is key for converting casual browsers into new clients.

You can’t change or delete Facebook reviews (you’re stuck with them) so if your spring-clean shows a handful of out-of-date ‘so-so’ reviews you need to spring into marketing mode.

Here are 4 easy tips to encourage clients to leave a Facebook review:

  1. Remind clients while they are in your salon or spa. Pop strut cards asking for reviews on reception and in your washrooms. Short of space? Use mirror talkers. “Loved your salon visit? We’d love your Facebook review.”
  2. Ask for Facebook reviews in your e-newsletter. And don’t forget to include the link to your Facebook Page (obvious but easily overlooked).
  3. Always reply to every review quickly and thank them for taking the time and trouble (even if it’s not as glowing as you’d hoped). We all like to feel appreciated. If a review is negative then you’ll find practical tips on dealing with it in my blog here.
  4. Never (ever) offer incentives for Facebook reviews. It is unethical and against the Facebook Terms.

Get the most from Facebook reviews:

Make Facebook reviews work even harder for your business by creating testimonial graphics with them and post out on your timeline. If someone posted a glowing review on your Business Page a couple of months ago, there’s no marketing reason why you shouldn’t use it again but in a different format. And why not add it to your website too?

 

#7. Polish your content

Have you fallen into the trap of posting ‘just something’ because you felt under pressure to post?

Only post when you have something worthwhile to say that will engage, educate, entertain or showcase your expertise. I like this eye catching montage which promotes Valentines without being overly pushy.

Keep an eye on your brand image:

Perhaps you delegated Facebook posting to a member of your team a few weeks ago when you went on holiday and looking back the quality of these isn’t in line with your salon brand.

Just delete them.

I’m not sure why salon owners are reluctant to polish their Facebook page. If you notice a grammar or spelling mistake after you’ve posted, then it’s still worth popping in and correcting it. Sloppy posts suggest sloppy salon standards to potential new clients.

 

#8. Refresh your hashtags

Are you making the most from #hashtags? Perhaps you’re not sure when to use them? Are they looking a little stale? Or maybe you just find it hard to dream them up for your business?

The hashtag is the most popular means of categorising content on Facebook:

  • It makes it easy for people to discover your content.
  • Allows you to find relevant content from other people and businesses.
  • Let’s you connect with and engage other social media users based on a common theme or interest.

Spend a few minutes now creating some new hashtags to perk up your salon social.

 

#9. Stand out with a Cover video

Want to stand out from the local crowd? Have you thought about using a salon video as your Cover photo?

Here are Facebook’s guidelines for Cover videos:

  • Keep videos to 20-90 seconds.
  • Cover videos should be 820 x 312 pixels in size.
  • Cover videos autoplay on mute when users visit your page and they must click to enable sound. So make sure your video makes sense and is engaging without sound.
  • Recommended file format: MP4 or MOV. You’ll find a full list of file formats here.
  • After upload and prior to publishing, reposition the video, choose a thumbnail and select whether it automatically loops or not when it finishes.

This eye-catching cover video for our client, the award-winning GLOW salons group, demands attention and stands out from the crowd.

 

#10. What’s working on your salon social?

Look at your Facebook Insights and see which types of post are getting the most engagement in the form of comments, replies, reviews, shares and likes. If you haven’t to-date then resolve to always respond back to replies and comments even if it’s just to like I so you encourage engagement.

Check to see how much traffic is going back to your website (you can do this by looking at your Google Analytics).

If the time you’re investing in marketing on Facebook isn’t driving traffic to your website then it is time for a change. Once you’ve enticed new visitors onto your salon website you’ve a much better chance of converting them into new hair & beauty clients.

 

Salon Facebook spring-clean recap:

  • Update your cover photo
  • Refresh your About page
  • Change your pinned post
  • Promote your services
  • Add a call to action
  • Assess your Facebook reviews
  • Polish your content
  • Refresh your hashtags
  • Stand out with a Cover video
  • What’s working?

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