Bii Natural Salon in West Dundee, Illinois, ensures their business remains a top-ranked online search result by incorporating an SEO marketing plan into their content strategy. Bii’s beauty blog, updated bi-weekly at a minimum, uses Google Ad Words and Google analytics to review trends and determine what topics to cover, ensuring the salon is regularly the number one returned result when one completes a Google search for beauty services in the area.
“Content from the blog is then condensed, and incorporated into the salon newsletter, published bi-weekly as well,” Co-owner Adam Swanlund says. “Both the blog and newsletter cover content from new beauty trends, to salon promotions, stylist successes, and answers to frequently asked questions from guests. WE averages 350-400 ‘opens’ on a newsletter.”
The blog and newsletter work to engage both existing and potential clients, while contributing to the credibility and expertise of stylists within the salon, Swanlund believes. Both also work to inspire guests to think about services within the salon from a different perspective.
“A lot of times a guest may not think about a specific service because they have a perception of what they’re able to achieve. The content we provide gets them to think outside the box and has encouraged guests to try new services,” says Swanlund.
For a salon seeking something to help stay on track, Swanlund recommends referencing a salon and spa marketing calendar, such as the one published on wordpress.com by Elizabeth Kraus. “Her blog, 365 Days of Marketing, was the inspiration for ours. It speaks to the value of search engine optimization and a regular marketing campaign,” Swanlund shares.
To manage ongoing projects such as the blog and other social media efforts, Bii Salon implements an innovative application called Basecamp. This web-based tool allows real-time exchanges between all project participants and generates email reminders to keep all involved accountable in accordance with deadlines. “Basecamp is a centralized repository for files, idea gathering, communication tools, and things of that nature,” Swanlund says.
In addition to helping the salon stay on top of social media efforts, Basecamp is used by their guest services team to manage tasks like inventory and new guest callbacks, and by the entire team for larger projects like delegating responsibilities for a photo shoot.
One of Swanlund’s favorite features of Basecamp is the ability to be quickly brought up to speed when he is out of the salon, as the application sends a daily summary to users, providing a snapshot of any progress that has been made to projects. “This summary helps to create priorities and accountability for the team. It answers: ‘What did we do and where do we need to go today?’”
The salon makes a nominal investment of $50 per month to utilize Basecamp’s technology, allowing them to manage up to 40 projects at a time. Other plans are available depending on a business’s needs, according to Swanlund. For more information on Basecamp, visit basecamp.com.
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