Instagram is often referred to as "selfie central," but it’s really much more than that. In fact, more than any other social media platform that we’ve encountered, it has the power to attract a steady stream of targeted clients to your salon.
A great example of how you can use Instagram to attract likeminded clients is what creative color specialist Toni Rose Larson (@hairitagesaloncarlsbad) has done to reshape her clientele. For many years, Larson happily catered to a robust, relatively conservative color clientele in Carlsbad, California. But, when she developed a passion for high-fashion color, she turned to Instagram to share her colorful hair art and attract new clients who were over-themoon for pastel color melts, solid vivids and other special color effects.
To reshape her business, Larson first created highfashion color designs on house models and took great care with the before, during and after pictures for Instagram. Today, just months after she started her social media campaign, over 50% of her color work involves pastels and vivids. It also didn’t take long for her to discover that clients with a penchant for high-fashion color were willing to drive (and even fly) long distances to receive her special brand of color services.
Before highlighting your specialty skills on your Instagram account, do what Larson did by making sure that your work is amazing. Middle-of-the-road cuts, colors or hairstyles won’t have the same impact as awesome work that pops from the page.
In fact, they could have the opposite effect! Instead of having a mish-mash of personal and professional pictures, you also need to have a true business page. If there are baby pictures, Starbuck cups and drunken nights out with your friends mixed in with your hair pictures, for instance, your chances of making Instagram one of your best sources for client referrals are slim and none.
Selfies should also be kept to a minimum. Only post them if you are showing off a new color, haircut, or happen to look dropdead gorgeous that day. Never do a predictable car selfie, unless you want to put your followers to sleep. In short, keep it professional, highlight your pro-beauty specialty and only post your very best work!
Fake Followers Buying followers could hurt your Instagram account. While there are plenty of companies that are eager to sell you "real" followers and even likes on Instagram, don’t believe a word they tell you.
Why? More than 99.9% of all paid followers are actually fake accounts. These so-called "real" followers will not enrich the interaction on your page or enlarge the scope of your social media reach. In fact, because Instagram does sporadic sweeps to get rid of these sham accounts, you could be putting your page at risk.
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