A picture’s worth a thousand words–and that’s why Pinterest your salon’s marketing gold mine!
Aside from rich desserts and workout inspiration pins, Pinterest is a go-to resource for many women (the majority of the site’s over 368 million users are female: source) to catalog and find resources to make their life better. And typically that means scouting out hair and beauty inspiration!
The virtual bulletin board-style social network allows for businesses to get in on the action. The good news is that it’s easy to do and can also be a lot of fun to manage! Here are some tips to get you started:
#1. Consider your followers
Like with all of your other social media channels, take some time to consider who is going to follow you and what people seek when it comes to information about hair and beauty. The most common things? Inspiration for their new haircut, styles to try at formal events, wedding style ideas, celebrity looks, easy hair tutorials, etc. Create boards that address these needs you’ve identified. Be sure to throw in a little fun, as well! Consider creative names for boards and throw in some that are just for fun. Some of Hairstyles Weekly’s board names include We Got the Goods for showcasing brushes and other styling tools, as well as Men We’re Mad For, where we collect images of–you guessed it–some Hollywood cuties we know our fan base have crushes on, as well.
#2. Create your own pins
Pinning other pinners’ pins is part of the process, but to take full advantage of the Pinterest marketing experience, it’s important to put your own content out there, as well. The content you create on your salon blog is ideal for posting on Pinterest and can help you generate traffic back to your site. Photos of your work and space are also great to post. Before and after photos always make a splash and are great testimonials to your skills.
But remember: Pinterest is all about the pretty! If you want to get in the game, a blurry photo taken with your phone is not the way to go. Take crisp, well-lit photos. If you have a Photoshop wizard on hand, consider making cool and interesting graphics to share.
In addition, make sure you’re providing links to your site or blog posts with pins you upload.
#3. Invite multiple pinners
Pinning can easily be shared about your staffers, helping to show different personalities. Consider giving each stylist their own board that helps them showcase their work, favorite products, and style inspirations. They can also be set up to pin for other boards, as well, spreading the task among the team.
Secret boards are a fun and easy way to share things behind the scenes, as well. Maybe you want to keep track of business ideas, tips and tricks for your stylists, or design inspiration for your space. Those can all be pinned for your eyes only so that your followers and clients don’t see them.
#4. Variety is the spice of life
A page of just photos is boring. Make sure you mix it up with different styles of pins on top of different categories of pins. Pin infographics, videos (super easy to do on YouTube) and how to images or those that link to how to blog posts and articles. While creating your own pins is important, it’s good to mix it up with those that aren’t yours to avoid being a little too sales-y of you and your services.
#5. Write snazzy copy
Each pin comes with it’s own description. When creating your own pins, take careful consideration of good key terms to use in the description that help pinners seeking a particular topic find it. Like with Twitter, hashtags can also be used on Pinterest, and you can also include links in the description. When pinning other’s pins, it’s important to pay attention to the existing captions. You can re-write them to be more appropriate to your target audience or goal.
#6. Have a contest
Pinterest contests are fun ways to engage with followers! Typically they involve asking pinners to pin a particular pin and/or develop a board revolving around a certain topic that is shared at a to be determined by you location. This is great for giving away products or services in the salon. In addition, you can create pins that provide promo codes or coupons for your salon.
#7. Make it easy
Pinning is easy with the right tools. Make sure you install the Pin It button to your browser toolbar so if inspiration strikes you easily can add something to your board. In addition, see if you can install a Pin It button to your website or blog, which invites readers and visitors to add your images and content to their own Pinterest boards.
#8. Play it safe
There’s been lots of flack about Pinterest over the past year and the ethics of the site. When pinning, make sure pins always link back to their source and provide recognition. Look to pin content from blogs and sites that feature Pin It buttons, a clear sign they welcome pinning. Don’t delete attributions contained in copy, and if writing the caption, provide attribution (“Best short hairstyles for women / Hairstyles Weekly “). In addition, see if pins link to their sources. This can be checked by clicking on the image, pulling up the pin and clicking on it to see if it goes somewhere. Avoid pinning pins that lead nowhere and provide no attribution.
#9. Get inspired
Getting started includes following a great group of people generating cool and relevant pins. Follow blogs and publications, websites, and organizations. Here are a few we think will inspire you and/or give you content to share with your followers:
Salon Simis
This salon in Fairfax, Virginia, has an amazing pin collection that reflects a very particular aesthetic, showcasing their personality and their clientele. They have several boards dedicated to types of hair (short, male, mature, medium) alongside ritzy boards like Castles and Teatime.
American Salon
This salon staple publication features plenty of hairstyle inspiration to pin, alongside a few fun boards like nail designs and fashion.
Not to toot our own horn, but we’re always sharing the love on Pinterest. Follow along for plenty of how-tos, beauty and style, and inspiration on boards to set up!
Want more inspiration? This search results page introduces you to plenty of salons pinning their favorite things. Peruse it for ideas and re-pins.
