This year’s SALON TODAY Annual Marketing Program (STAMP) honored 37 winners in 21 categories. Absorb and borrow these great ideas.
One of the fastest and easiest ways to reach clients and prospects with your message is with Digital Marketing. Digital Marketing, also called online marketing, is the promotion of brands to connect with potential customers using the internet and other forms of digital communication, including email, social media, web-based advertising and text message.
Recently, the 2022 STAMP (SALON TODAY Annual Marketing Program) recognized 37 honorees in 21 categories, including 11 honorees in Digital Marketing. Presented in a Show-and -Tell style, these proven marketing strategies are ripe for borrowing, adapting to your own business and using in your own market. The competition awarded marketing and promotional ideas in five overall categories: Traditional Marketing, Digital Marketing, Campaigns, Branded Salon Materials, and In-Salon Marketing. To break it up and make these online stories a little easier to digest, we are presenting each category as a separate story.
Here are the honorees in Digital Marketing:
WEBSITE
The website for Whole Salon Spa showcases its team members’ personalities with boomerang-style GIFs.
Whole Salon’s website serves many purposes—it’s an online booking portal, a new client driver, a recruitment tool, a purchase point for products and gift cards, a cost-effective way to boost SEO and a way the salon can establish credibility and trust with clients.
With the help of Imaginal Marketing Group, the salon was able to achieve those objectives with a functional website that also was mobile friendly. “Another priority for us was showcasing our team members which we did with boomerang-style GIFs that showed off their personality,” says Belcher. “The biggest win was when I heard one staff member tell another, ‘Have you seen our new website? It’s so cool.’”
Since the website launch, the salon also experienced a 15% increase in overall visits, and a 32% increase in the time users spend on various pages.
Urban Betty’s website features video testimonials from staff members and clients.
Chelle Neff believes the best features of the urbanbetty.com website are its abilities to showcase the salon’s team and its guests, provide another avenue to sell merchandise and product, offer customers the ability to book their appointments online and the ‘Meet Your Stylist’ tool that matches new clients with three potential stylists based on an online questionnaire.
This year, the site launched a new testimonial page where videos showcase guests talking about their experience at the salon and their favorite team members. The site also added videos of its team members talking about why they love working at Urban Betty.
“We receive an average of 10,500 website visitors each month, and 83% of them are new,” Neff says.
MOBILE MARKETING PROGRAM
Using Textel, Mango Salon designed thi text message to upsell guests who had an upcoming appointment.
In the Hand
Mango Salon
Richmond, Virginia
Owners: Pat and Bobbi Heaney
After years of running an automated email campaign called “We’ve Missed You,” that urged guests they were overdo for an appointment, Mango witnessed open rate declines as inboxes were overstuffed. “Our Textel texting system is becoming much more successful in reaching and getting responses from guests,” Pat says.
In house, the team created a text campaign to remind guests to book their next haircut and color appointments. “Guests only need to respond to the text to get the rebooking process started,” Pat says. “It is easy and fast for the guests, and it reduces phone calls for our reservation team.”
The campaign was created in house for no money, and the reservation center books three out of every 10 guests that receive a text message.
“As part of this mobile marketing campaign, we also crated an add-on treatment text,” Pat says. “Our reservation center team and salon managers only send this if there is room during the guest’s appointment. It has been a good way to fill 15-minute gaps in our appointment book.”
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Leveraging Instagram Reels and TikTok, Salon Rootz launched a series of tongue-in-cheek posts featuring “Dr. Nicky” who illustrates what the world would be like if stylists acted more like doctors.
Live with Dr. Nicky
Salon Rootz
Medina, Ohio
Owners: Sheila Barco and Jen Tryon
Salon Rootz started leveraging Instagram Reels and TikTok videos to produce content that is educational, inspirational and entertaining. This year, they launched a tongue-in-cheek series of videos with “Dr. Nicky,” to show how stylists would behave if they acted more like doctors.
In one reel, Dr. Nicky diagnoses a patient’s breakage as a result of using drugstore shampoo and in another she consults a patient whose husband used kitchen scissors to replicate a trending shag off TikTok.
“Our ‘Live with Dr. Nicky’ segments catapulted our views of Reels,” says Jen LeBlanc, manager of operations and director of marketing. “They went viral on both platforms and elevated our views for all future reels we post.”
The best-performing posts for Urban Betty are their “Betty of the Week” posts that introduce followers to staff members, other area salon owners and people who are making a difference in the world of beauty.
Betty of the Week
Urban Betty Salon
Austin, Texas
Owner: Chelle Neff
The best-performing posts on Urban Betty Salon’s social channel tends to be their “Betty of the Week” posts, which introduce followers to a staff member who went above and beyond the call of duty.
“This year, we incorporated celebrating other salon owners in these posts, supporting not only our staff, but others who are making a difference in the beauty industry,” Chelle Neff says.
Once a Betty is selected, Neff chooses a location to do a photo shoot, and the Betty is sent a series of questions to answer about their background, hobbies, and, most importantly, what Superhero they would be.
“We share these posts in our Instagram Stories and on our website’s blog,” Neff says. “It surprised us that these posts get the most engagement, but our audience doesn’t want to just see post after post of the back of someone’s head. They want to feel like they are part of the community and get to know us personally.”
On average, a Betty of the Week post reaches 800 accounts and has more than 1,000 impressions.
This paid social campaign helped Be Inspired Salon book more than $75,000 in bridal services last year.
Here Comes the Bridal Party
Be Inspired Salon
Madison, Wisconsin
Owner: Kati Whitledge
To drive traffic to the Bridal Page on their website, Be Inspired Salon runs a paid social campaign during and after the heaviest engagement season. “Once a bride submits for a consultation on the site, she receives an email about our video bridal consultation and package options,” says Whitledge. “We create urgency to encourage them to select their date by only allowing one bridal party per date.”
This funnel and strategy allowed Be Inspired to increase its bridal pricing, and as a result, they booked in they booked 36 bridal parties in 2021, as well as scheduled seven more for the following year.
“We earned $75,735 in 2021 from bridal services, which represents 7.5% of our overall sales,” Whitledge says. “We continue marketing all lead submission that come through this channel in hopes of gaining brides and their bridal party members as everyday guests.”
EMAIL NEWSLETTER
To encourage gift purchases in between holidays, Interlocks designed this clever Zodiac newsletter campaign which gift ideas for each Zodiac sign, and introduces readers to the staff members who share that sign.
Interlocks Marketing Team
Zodiac Gift Guides
Interlocks
Newburyport, Massachusetts
Owner: Ginny Eramo
To encourage gift card purchases between holiday spikes, Interlocks launched its monthly Zodiac gift guide email campaign. The monthly emails are designed by Marketing Manager Amy Pirro with an interchangeable template format to feature suggested gifts from the salon’s retail offerings and service menu, along with a clickable link to purchase gift cards online. Additionally, the emails recognize the team, by featuring those who share birthdays with the correlating Zodiac signs.
“Since the launch of this campaign, we’ve received many replies from our client database with praise for the fun and engaging communications,” says Eramo. “These emails have helped maintain steady gift card sales volume, while also boosting moral within our team.”
SALON BLOG
This blog for Harlow Beauty and Hair Salon answers clients’ questions about hair extensions before they book the service.
Harlow Beauty and Hair Salon.
What to Expect
Harlow Beauty and Hair Salon
Austin, Texas
Owner: Misty Krant
Misty Krant wanted to provide a safe space online where her clients and prospects could get honest, up-to-date information about hair, products, her salon and stylists. Working with New Clients Media helped her get creative with content and repurpose it on many different platforms.
“We select topics people want answers to, and the blog allows us to speak in our voice to ideal clients through storytelling,” Krant says. “This helps us gain trust and authority in our area, while boosting our SEO ranking by talking about what people are searching for.”
This April 2022 blog highlighting Nuovo’s story was it’s highest engaging, earning 599 clicks.
Lifestyle and Beauty
Nuovo Salons
Sarasota, Florida
Owners: Terry McKee and James Amato
Nuovo’s monthly lifestyle and beauty blogs are one of the top drivers of traffic to the salon’s website. Not only do they promote the salon’s award-winning services and expertise, but they serve as a recruitment push when the salon focuses on its overall culture and benefits.
Says McKee: “Top-performing blogs cover an array of topics, including ‘Our Salon Education Program’s Hidden Superpower,’ ‘Let’s Show Your Mother All the Love,” and “Four Reasons Why Cezanne Smoothing Treatments are a Summer Staple.’”
All blogs promote specific products, services, promotions or recruitment efforts, and include a call to action that directs visitors to the website. The salon’s April 2022 blog highlighting Nuovo’s story was its highest engaging, earning 599 clicks during the month of April.
SINGLE CREATIVE SOCIAL POST
For Valentine’s Day, PENZONE Salons + Spas designed four experiences that paired services together.
VDAY Giveaway
PENZONE Salons + Spas
Columbus, Ohio
Owners: Charles and Debra Penzone
For Valentine’s Day, Penzone Salons + Spas crafted four experiences that intentionally paired services together to encourage guests to treat themselves or gift a combination of skincare, nail and massage services to someone they loved. “The curation of this campaign was a nod to the ‘spa day’ concept that put our brand on the map in the 90s,” Debra says. “The post was a combination of cohesive graphics, a compelling giveaway and targeted messaging to our expansive audience.”
The promotion launched with a sweepstakes giveaway on Instagram. To be entered, readers had to like the post and then tag a friend. The post received nearly 7,000 impressions, 700 comments and 500 likes.
This Instagram Reel for DL Lowry Salon follows the service of an Indianapolis TV personality.
Through Ryan’s Eyes
DL Lowry Salon
Indianapolils, Indiana
Owner: David Lowry
DL Lowry recently created an Instagram reel which followed Indianapolis TV-personality and Social Influencer Ryan Ahlwardt’s journey through a haircut service. The reel showcases the signature DL Lowry experience as Stylist Stacey Merida freshens up Ryan’s look with a relaxing shampoo, cut and style.
“Ryan is the host of FOX59’s lifestyle show <I>Indy Now<I> that airs weekdays following the station’s #1 rated morning news block and attracts a larger audience of 25-54-year-old than every other morning newscast,” Lowry says.
In May, the reel helped the salon achieve 21,073 impressions and reached 5,376 people.
