Salon and Spa Marketing: Why Your Facebook Page Stinks

October 10, 2011 By

Facebook has over 800 million users…so naturally, you created a Facebook fan page for your salon or spa. But guess what?  It stinks.  But you already know that…or maybe you don’t?  Why does your Facebook fan page stink?  Well, there are a number of reasons why.  But first, let’s start with the basics.

Facebook is a communication tool.  A phone is a communication tool.  Would you call a client or potential client several times a day blurting in their ear a promotional or special offer available at your salon? Imagine this:

8:30am

Salon XYZ -> Customer: Hello customer? Hi we have the new Paul Mitchell shampoo that repairs split ends!! Bye!

10:30am

Salon XYZ -> Customer: Hello customer? Watch this YouTube video!!! Bye!

1:30pm

Salon XYZ -> Customer: Hello customer?  $25 hair cuts today and tomorrow! Bye!

You get my point right?

Why do people become fans of Facebook pages?

The Andre Chreky Facebook page is a model example of how to use Facebook for your business.

There are many reasons why someone might become a fan of your salon’s Facebook page.  They might want to connect with their hair stylist, they may want to know if you are offering any specials, they may want to learn more about how to style their own hair and what the latest trends are.

Most people are on Facebook because they want to have fun.  That fun can mean saving on their next hair cut, watching a cool video tutorial on how to blow-out their hair at home or even answering a funny riddle.

Your Facebook page stinks because for the most part, it doesn’t address the main reasons why people are on Facebook.  Many salons and spas are simply shoving promotional announcements in front of fans with no regard to conversation or engagement.

Facebook is about relationship building, not advertising. If you are on Facebook to ‘advertise’ your business, get off. Consumers see enough commercials on TV, read enough junk mail and delete tons of spam emails.  We don’t need any more advertisements thrown in our face.

Instead of advertising your salon, take the approach of building relationships with your fans. You don’t always have to talk about your salon or spa, the employee of the month or what new product/service you have.  Think of other ways to connect with fans. Make them laugh.  Talk about current events.  Become their friend.  Because in the end, who are you going to trust to do your hair?  Your friend or an advertisement?

Andre Cheky Facebook Page – He’s Doing it Right

I came across the Andre Chreky salon Facebook page and I really like it. It’s by Andrew Chreky, a salon in the DC area. He has a good mix of information about life in general, hair, the salon, etc. Notice that he uses his blog to post information about stuff people are interested in.  Check out his Facebook page for some good ideas about what to post on your own.

Our Facebook Marketing Package

If you need help with your Facebook page, we offer a simple Social Media Management package.  Use our contact page for more information.

Filed Under: Facebook, Salon Marketing, Salons, Social Networking Tagged With: , ,

Using Foursquare for Business

February 15, 2011 By

Do you want another venue besides Facebook to promote your business online?  Foursquare is easy, free and very visible!  The steps below will help you get your business on Foursquare and give you some tips on using Foursquare to promote your business online.

What is Foursquare?

In a nutshell, it’s a location-based social media platform that allows your friends to ‘check-in’ at various locations and tell you where they are.

Why Foursquare for Your Business?

foursquare marketing consultantVisibility.  Major visibility.  When someone ‘checks-in’ at your business online using the Foursquare app, all of their friends on various social networks are alerted to where they are.  Where they are is at YOUR place of business.  So what does that do? Puts your business name in front of hundreds of potential customers who perhaps never heard of your business.

The alert shows up on their Facebook wall or Twitter page as “Jane Doe just checked in at Eat and Greet Cafe in Green City”

You can promote specials on Foursquare and also reward repeat ‘check-ins’ at your place of business through Foursquare. In that sense, think of Foursquare as your virtual customer loyalty rewards program.

There is a lot more fun to Foursquare from a consumer standpoint, but for businesses, that’s the gist of it…in a nutshell.

Getting Started with Foursquare

Read these directions FIRST

1) If you want to add your business to Foursquare and start promoting yourself online for FREE, it’s best to be at your place of business when doing so…you’ll see why in a minute

2) Go to www.Foursquare.com

3) Click ‘Join Now’ on the right

4) Go through the application process–use your personal name, email address, etc (this is just a log-in for you so you can eventually access your account)

5) Once you have created your account and are logged in, do a search for your business name

6) When it comes up, click  where it says ‘do you manage this place, click here’  ***(If your business doesn’t show up in a search, scroll all the way to the bottom and click ‘add new venue to foursquare’ then proceed with directions)

7) this will allow you to become the ‘manager’ of this place. To verify that you actually are allowed to manage this page on Foursquare, the application will ask to call the place of business and an automated system will give you a code to type in (this is why its best to join while you are at the actual place of business)

8) Your business is on Foursquare now tell the world!  Share the news on Facebook and with your mailing list.  Hang a sign in your window that says ‘Check in on Foursquare here!’ (Fourquare will make these signs for you for free)

9) Create check-in rewards…for every 5 check-ins you get a free XXXX or a gift certificate for $xx.xx…encourage your customers to come back regularly

10) Create specials on Foursquare

HAVE FUN!

Filed Under: FourSquare, Social Networking Tagged With: , ,

Why Companies Lose Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers & Email Subscribers

February 10, 2011 By

(source: ExactTarget.com)

An astounding 95% of US consumers use email and 73% of consumers have set up a Facebook profile.  So it’s not surprising that one of the most popular methods or marketing to today’s consumer is online.  Many businesses are eager to join the Facebook revolution and create Facebook fan pages or gather up customer emails and press the ‘send’ button in a frenzy.  But untrained business owners  just shooting from the hip when it comes to updating their Facebook fan page or sending out E-blasts could actually be doing their business more harm than good.

An insightful study called ‘The Social Media Breakup’ released from ExactTarget (www.ExactTarget.com) gives more detail on how consumers are ‘breaking up’ with businesses through social media.

Here are some important figures from the study:

* 91% of consumers have unsubscribed from opt-in marketing e-mails.

* 77% of consumers report being more cautious about providing their e-mail address to companies versus last year.

* 81% of consumers have either “unliked” or removed a company’s posts from their Facebook News Feed.

* 71% of consumers report being more selective about “liking” a company on Facebook than they were last year.

* 51% of consumers expect that a “like” will result in marketing communications from brands, while 40% do not believe it should result in marketing communications.

* 41% of consumers have “unfollowed” a company on Twitter.

Email Marketing Breakups- You’re Coming on Too Strong

With 91% of consumers saying that they have unsubscribed at some point from email marketing that they had previously opted-in to, it’s important for businesses to understand why.  An opt-in email list does not give us carte-blanche to blast daily messages to a list.  When asked why, consumers said the #1 reason they opted out of receiving emails from a company they once were interested in was because the company sent too many emails.

Overuse of the email channel is the biggest reason SUBSCRIBERS pull away. 54% of consumers say they unsubscribe when emails come too frequently from a particular brand.

email marketing nj

Photo courtesy of ExactTarget.com

Facebook Friends….Or Not?

How effective is your Facebook marketing? You’ll be surprised to know that most consumers (51%) say that after ‘liking’ a business fan page, they never visit that page to check for updates, sales, etc.  According to the ExactTarget study, “More than half of consumers (55%) have “liked” a brand, only to decide later that they no longer want to see posts from that brand. Of that group, only 57% bother to formally “unlike” the company. The rest either ignore unwanted posts or delete the posts from their newsfeed. So more than half the time, the company receives no direct feedback about the consumer’s desire to stop seeing their posts.”

So, makes you wonder….who is hearing your message…if anyone?

Can we be friends on Facebook?

facebook marketing nj

Photo courtesy of ExactTarget.com

Social Media Marketing–Show You Care

In conclusion, the most important aspect for businesses to remember about marketing to consumers, whether through Email, Facebook, Twitter or anything else, is to care about their customers.  Businesses must show that they actually care about their consumers and not just market mass messages to them. Here are a few tips to making the most of your marketing campaigns:

  • Follow Through: Don’t create a Facebook page if you don’t have time to respond to people who leave questions or comments.  Show you care by responding to inquiries from your fans promptly.
  • Engage: You don’t just have to talk about the new $100 jeans that just arrived at your boutique or the latest scarves on your shelves. Your ‘fans’ have other related interests like ‘fashion’ in general.  Give tips and ideas for great fashion looks instead of just trying to sell your products. Engage your fans to learn more by coming to your page.
  • Don’t be too self promotional: This relates to engaging your fans.  Fans expect some level of self promotion, but they don’t want it forced in front of their faces 24/7.  Talk about more than just yourself and your business.
  • Show restraint: Especially with email marketing.  Don’t send more than 2 emails per month and make them relevant and different.  With respects to your Facebook fan page, I usually recommend 1-2 updates per week and NO MORE.

For help with your social media marketing, give us a call at 732-757-7944 or refer to our contact page to get more information.

Filed Under: Email Marketing, Facebook, Social Networking Tagged With: , , ,

Using Facebook to Market to Baby Boomers

January 27, 2011 By

Baby Boomers are flocking to Facebook and loving it!  According to Deloitte data, 2009 was the year that social media bloomed for Baby Boomers, with nearly 47% of them actively maintaining a profile on the social web, which is up 15% from 2008.   The numbers continue to rise in 2010 and will do the same for 2011.  Not only are Boomers on Facebook but they are interacting and taking advantage of all that Facebook has to offer.

If your business markets to Boomers, you need a Facebook presence.  Your Facebook business fan page should engage your audience with interesting facts, quotes, information and even specials and discounts on your product and service.  The page is a way for you to capture the attention of your desired audience without the presence of competing businesses.  Once you gain a fan base you have a captive audience.  Don’t abuse this audience though.  Post too often and you could turn away fans.  Keep your Facebook fan page informative but unobtrusive.  Posting updates about once a week is acceptable.  In the event of a big announcement, it’s fine to add additional posts.

Help With Facebook Marketing

The good thing to know is that TCR Marketing can help you create your fan page and keep it up to date with weekly posts. If you would like us to help you with your Facebook marketing, please send us an email.

Learn more about Facebook marketing.

Filed Under: Facebook, Social Networking Tagged With: ,

Facebook for Your Business

December 8, 2010 By

facebook fan pageFacebook is not becoming, but already is one of the hottest marketing tools for businesses.  Whether you are local or national, your business can benefit from a Facebook fan page.

Businesses have fan pages, people have profile pages. There are differences between the two. Creating a Facebook fan page for your business is similar to creating a mini resume for your business online, only the resume is much more interactive and exciting.  Imagine being able to get important messages about products, sales or services to hundreds of people who have specifically shown an interest in your business.  You might be thinking that you can just send an Eblast, and you can.  Email marketing is still popular and effective, but you are up against spam filters and those who don’t check their emails for days on end.  Most people who connect with you on Facebook check their Facebook account daily, sometimes several times a day.  So you truly have a captive, live audience at your fingertips.

Facebook For Businesses

Do it right the first time.  Let TCR Marketing create a Facebook fan page for your business and help you acquire fans and make your page engaging and memorable.  We can also update your Facebook page you as often as you like with posts, photos and videos.

Here are examples of Facebook pages we have created and/or maintain for our clients.

McCann Systems

Isabelle Grace Jewelry

Ultimate Fitness Training Center

Ferraro Spine and Rehabilitation

Citroen Import Services

Monmouth County Restaurant Specials

Filed Under: Social Networking Tagged With: , ,

Lancashire Web Design Studio To Sport Themed Social Networking Site

September 23, 2009 By

KP Studios, an award winning web and graphic design studio in Lancashire, will create a new Social Networking website that will bring sports enthusiasts together in an exciting and competitive environment. 

Sport You Out allows sporting teams across the world to organize and compete in their special field via the Internet.  Members can meet, compete and share bragging rights over recent victories on the new website, while connecting with like-minded friends who share a common interest.

 KP Studios will design an interface that allows teams to register and challenge other teams to competitive matches.  Athletes and teams around the world can update their stats and game reviews via the website’s global league tables.

About KP Studios

KP Studios is an award winning Web and Graphic design studio based in Lower Darwen, Lancashire.  The company is under the directorship of a leading industry expert in the field of creative and branding development.  Darren Wilson is the former Art Director from Motionlab and the former Creative Director from Freshfield Public Relations.  He is now the leader of one of Lancashire’s most sought out design and marketing studios. 

In addition to website design, KP Studios also specialize in brand development/brand architecture, graphic design, photography, 3D and web design/development.

To learn more about KP Studios, visit http://budurl.com/KPSportYouOut

Filed Under: Social Networking, Web Design Tagged With: ,

Social Networking Site Is World’s First to Connect Going Green Networkers

August 31, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Going green social networking has just launched online.  Congratulation Shawna Schenk, creator and founder of www.UniversityoftheGreen.org , the world’s first environmentally friendly website that provides a social networking platform dedicated to environmental protection. 

UniversityoftheGreen.org is 100% non-profit and is the only social networking site dedicated to promoting awareness, education, and action on global environmental issues both on and off-line. 

The objective of the site is to incorporate a social networking platform which provides education and awareness about global environmental issues and brings people together who are passionate about promoting a green lifestyle.  Similar to popular social networking sites, members have the ability to communicate back and forth to each other.  By sharing photos, comments and postings, members can discuss current environmental issues, going green initiatives, and tips for living an eco-friendly lifestyle.   Members can also recruit ‘roommates’, similar to Facebook’s popular ‘group’ application. 

UniversityoftheGreen.org has distinct ‘academic inspired’ features and a creative design.  For instance, instead of creating profiles, users create and personalize their own ‘dorm rooms’ to identify themselves.  Consumers can visit the ‘classroom’ for a lesson in global warming and climate change. 

Founder and creator Shawna Schenk started exploring global warming many years ago and began encouraging her students to follow more eco-friendly lifestyles.  According to Shawna, “University of the Green is the University of the World.  It’s not just for college students; it’s for anyone who wants to be a student of the earth.  We need to understand what our world is going through, only then can we make it better.”

UniversityoftheGreen.org will be promoting eco-friendly actions online and on ground through events and fundraisers which will bring environmental awareness to communities.   Shawna adds, “Simple lifestyle changes like purchasing energy efficient light bulbs can help make a difference.  I want to show people how one small change can be significant if you multiply that change by the amount of people in the world.”

To learn more about going green, visit http://www.universityofthegreen.org

Filed Under: Social Networking Tagged With: , , ,