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Social Media Foe or Saviour?

by Arun Shirishkar

From understanding the role of social media in the salon space to its correct usage, Salon Management Congress 2020 brought an interesting session to the limelight. Purnima Vasaikar guides you through the key takeaway of this informative session.

While we are practising social distancing, being socially disconnected isn’t the best choice. To help salon professionals resolve their social media concerns, Salon Management Congress bought a set of panelists to the screens on 13th October 2020. The topic of discussion for this session was Social Media: Foe or Saviour? Moderated by Vikas VJ, Managing Director at Professional Beauty India, the panelists on board included, Sachin Kamat, Director at Enrich Salons; Vaishakhi Haria, Creative Head & Director of Splash Salon; Deepak Praveen, COO of GreenTrends Salon; Benita Bhatia Dua, CEO of Vanilla Skills.

Role of Social Media 

  • Right now, with the advent in technology, power is in the client’s hand. So, there’s no need to ‘sell’ your products or services. Showcase your work and it will speak for itself.
  • Being a two-way platform, social media provides instant response thereby helps you to measure and track your efforts.
  • On the contrary, social media can also be a double-edged sword. Many businesses go in the wrong direction and opt for aggressive marketing. 

The lockdown effect 

  • During this lockdown period, there has been an enormous hike in its usage. It’s seen that time spent per session on social media has gone up to 40 per cent. This has given every business owner the perfect time to interact and engage their customers, virtually!
  • Salon owners can use social media to leverage your client’s trust vy showcasing your salon safety measures.
  • Lead generation is another benefit. These leads have converted into walk-ins, benefiting the overall footfalls.

How salon professionals should optimally make use of social media?

  • Firstly, understand ‘why’ are you on social media? Second, define ‘who’ is your target audience. Third, narrow down ‘where’ your brand will be present. 
  • Put your marketing budget on digital marketing and social media. Keep it as interactive and personalized as possible. Remember your response rate needs to be quick!
  • Use free apps like Canva, to design your posts. Use proper hashtags and encourage your salon employees to try their hands on social media.
  • Upload your client’s endorsements (with their consent) which at the moment is very crucial.
  • Transparency is the key. Be authentic with your clients. Do not add filters or photoshop your work. 

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