August 15, 2016 | By Kelly Ehlers

Now that you are up-to-date on the ins and outs of Twitter it is time for the next installment in our Twitter series. I’ll take you through the next steps to using Twitter - and building an online following with the goal of those followers becoming clients – and sharing your content in a viral way. But, as you know - first things first! In order to use any social media platform to grow and promotes you salon business you need to build a following.

Here are a few ‘quick tips’ to begin with Twitter:

- Building your Twitter following is similar to building “likes” on your Facebook page. Your audiences should be individuals and organizationsthat influence your salon. Start with the obvious: products you sell and companies you partner with. This will help you build content, as you can “retweet” their tweets as you get started.

-  Proper Twitter etiquette suggests that when you follow their account they will follow you back, creating that automatic connection and giving you credibility with clients who may stumble upon your account.

- Who are the influencers you ask? Well that depends on where your salon is, what services you offer, and who you know. My generic suggestion is to follow anyone who has a stake in your salon, or might be interested in what your salon is doing.

For example:

- Products you use and sell in the salon

- Your alma mater

- Publications you read (like Modern Salon!)

- Favorite bloggers or other online sources you read

- Industry organizations and associations like the Professional Beauty Association

- Top Artists, or up and coming artists who are changing the salon industry

- Your local community. For example you should follow your local news stations, businesses that you are located near or you have partnered with, local charities that have good standing in the community

- Friends of your salon – and colleagues

Now you need to connect with your clients, and the best way to do this is to integrate your online presence into your salon experience.  I suggest you look your Twitter following as a tree that you need to grow one client at a time.

Start small and plant a seed: begin on the individual level with your stylists. As you stylists already have a relationship with the clients a “stylist first” approach is intimate and gives the client a feeling of exclusivity. This can easily be seamlessly merged into the existing salon experience. Train your stylists to ask their clients if they have “liked” your salon on Facebook and encourage them to continue that bond on Twitter as well.

Give your seed plenty of light and water: When someone changes up their look, chances are that they will take a “selfie” (a self photo) to share with their friends on Facebook or Twitter.  To encourage your clients to take a personal stake in YOUR social media, have your stylists offer to take the photograph, and ask if they can tweet it! This will drive your client to your account in order to see their photo which they will inevitably “retweet” to all of their followers. Now we have made the social media experience exclusive with a request from your stylist, and personal by involving your clients in the content.

The final steps are reminders. When your client checks out have the receptionist or stylists remind them to follow your salon on Twitter, and hand them a card that with your web-information.

As you build your client followers it is important to remain engaged with them—Retweet their tweets, respond to questions or photos, and keep the conversation going.

After you have built a dedicated following you can use it to further your sales by offering exclusive content and discounts. 

Happy Tweeting, but stay tuned, next week I will give a case study of one salon owner who is knocking social media out of the park, and give exclusive tips to follow in her footsteps!

 To follow Evoke Brands go to: www.twitter.com/KellyEhlers.

As always, feel free to contact me at: kehlers@evokebrands.com with any questions and, be sure to “like” our Facebook page.