How to Get Your Salon Recommended by SiriAndrew Finkelstein, editor of The Beauty Resource, a bi-weekly email newsletter for the professional salon industry, shares this informative blog about how to get your salon recommended by Apple's new voice recogniiton software:

Whether you're an iPhone lover or not, you've got to be impressed with Apple's having sold more than 4 million 4s phones in the first weekend of its launch. But what does this new iPhone have to do with your salon/spa business?

A lot—condensed into one word—Siri.

Techinically speaking, Siri is Apple's voice recognition program. But it's more than that. Siri is for the millions iPhone 4s owners, an intelligent personal assistant who is efficient, knowledgeable, professional, compliant, uncomplaining, and witty with a slight attitude.

She's a 'do-engine,' who on command dials your office, schedules a meeting or reminds you of an appointment. She can manage travel plans and reservations, coordinate local services, find and plan entertainment, purchase e-commerce goods and serve as a gateway to 3,000 e-commerce service APIs on the web.

Beyond that, Siri can learn your preferences and transactional informaiton, so she can automate any of these transactions without user involvement.

So what impact could Siri (or Iris on the Android) have on your business?

Think of it like this. Instead of having to use your phone to access Google or Yahoo search engines when you want to find a place to get a manicure, massage, haircut, facial or more, millionsof people will simply ask their 'do-engine' Siri, "Where can I get a manicure?"

And Siri will respond, "I've found a number of salons near you," and she'sll give you a list of salons complete with star reviews, distance, and the ability to get map and directions.

Now, wouldn't you want your salon/spa to be at the tip of Siri's tongue? Of course you would!

How do you do that? Stephaine Hobbs has a great article on Search Enging Land called: 3 Simple Steps to Get Siri & Her Friend to Talk Up Your Business. In it, she recommends three steps to help you rank better with Siri recommendations:

  • Make sure your Google Places Page is accurate and complete.
  • Generate positive reviews and content, such as photos and videos.
  • Make sure your Yelp! profile is accurate and complete—Yelp! is one of the data sources Siri uses.

The bottom line for any salon/spa owner is to make sure you have a solid local presence, it'll help you with your mobile efforts, which by the way is growing leaps and bounds. As impressive as Siri is, it's only the beginning.

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