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Business owners from all industries can agree on how important it is to establish expertise in the market. As a salon owner, it is specifically important to show your clients what sets you apart from other businesses in the beauty industry. People want to know the "why's" and "how's" of what they're paying for. An effective way to accomplish this is through educational marketing. This form of marketing can set you apart from your competition and also help increase service and retail sales!

How do I do this? 

First things first, know your audience. Who are you trying to reach? Think of your industry, research the current industry trends, and go from there. This will be a continuous process, as industry trends are constantly changing. This just means your business has ample opportunities to turn them into educational marketing content!

Educational marketing is a way that we can build a trusting relationship with our clients. Simply put, this method of content creation is one that both entertains and educates through a combination of ways such as blogs, video marketing (as we've previously touched on), email newsletters, etc. Some additional creative examples are online quizzes and social media polls.  

Here is a good use of Instagram Stories to drive interest about Hair Extensions:

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These forms of educational marketing are prime examples of how you can both provide a service to your clients and also provide them with free informative content. Not only will they come to you for your salon services, but they will come to you for industry knowledge, increasing your overall engagement.  

Why is this important? 

Increasing the overall engagement is ultimately the goal. If the content you are creating provides free resources, you are more likely to convert someone that is not already a client of yours into a lead. It will also increase the chances of them returning to your site for information in the future. They'll consider you a resource!

Using educational marketing as a way to create content is a great way to leave the salon floor open to questions. Be sure that your viewers know that you are available to assist them. Because you are already providing them with free information, they'll feel more comfortable coming to you for more, strengthening your overall client relationship!

Educational marketing does not need to stop when the guests are booked as new clients.  Educational marketing is a free flowing tool to use throughout the entire process of the client life cycle.  You can use education as a tool to capture the client, upsell during the appointment (RETAIL and add-on services), increase pre-book percentages and post-appointment to capture previous guests on new services or products!

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 Key Takeaways for Your Salon: 

  1. Customers want to know what they're paying for. If they understand the process, your relationship grows stronger!
  2. There are many ways that salon marketing can be educational--videos, newsletters, blogs, etc.
  3. If you offer educational salon content, customers will come to you for not only services, but information. This boosts your overall engagement.
  4. Continue Educational Marketing throughout the entire client life cycle!

About the Author: Lucas Renfroe is a founding partner of Salon.Marketing, a digital marketing agency specializing in the salon and spa industry.  Lucas also owns Roots Southern Salon, with his wife Susan, in Savannah, GA.  He works with other salon owners on a daily basis to overcome the challenges of leveraging Search Engines to generate more new clients.  You can reach him at lucas@firstpagelife.com.

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