35 Salon Marketing Tools Your Salon Shouldn't Be Without

Looking for the right salon marketing tools to give your hair salon marketing, promotions and social media a boost?

We have put together some of our favorite tools that should be in your salon marketing toolkit and many of our choices are free for you to use.

Don't have enough time?

We totally understand but we do recommend that you have just a couple of these in your salon and spa marketing toolkit.

It will help you create a more profitable salon business in the long term. Whether you are looking for salon marketing software of individual tools we have carried out the research to make your life easier.

Get to the type of salon marketing tool you are looking for quickly, click the link below:

Jump To The Section You Like

1. Client Acquisition Tools
2. Client Retention Tools
3. Social Media Tools
4. Creative Tools
5. Website Tools

 

Client Acquisition Tools

 

As with any good hair or beauty salon marketing plan, it is essential that you have a good client acquisition strategy,without this your business won't grow.

There are many easy to use salon marketing tools for you to acquire new clients and many of them are essential for your salon business.

Bing Places

Key Benefit: Ensure your on Bing Maps

There isn't just Google for Business you need to think about, there is also Bing to remember.

Make sure you have your business registered, together with photos, description and website url to make sure you don't miss out on this valuable salon marketing tool.

Website: https://www.bingplaces.com
Cost: App & profile free. Adverts costs dependent on keywords chosen and certain quality rules.

Google Adwords App

Key Benefit: Fully booked? Turn off ads via your smartphone

If you are not at the top of Google natural search results, they you should use Google Adwords to give your salon business a boost.

Google Adwords can be costly if you do not set up your account properly but if you do set it up properly, with the correct keywords for your salon it can be a highly effective salon marketing tool to acquire new clients.

Adwords allows you to target by phrase like 'hair salon manhattan' for instance or you can do it by geography for such search terms as 'hair salon near me' allowing you to target to potential clients who are close to your salon.

Website: https://adwords.google.com
Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.adwords&hl=en"
iOS app: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/google-ads/id1037457231
Cost: App FREE. Adverts costs dependent on keywords chosen and certain quality rules

Google My Business App

Key Benefit: Add promotions & respond to reviews from your smartphone

This is THE most essential of all salon marketing tools and should be in everyones salon and spa marketing toolkit!

Manage your Google Maps, respond to your reviews, add opening times, photos and now you can even add a 360 degree view of your hair or beauty salon to your Google My Business profile!

If you have not completed your Google My Business profile, then you can be missing out appearing on Google search results, like the example below, when potential clients looking for a hair salon.

Make sure you are also getting client reviews on Google, as this help you rise to the top of the results.

BUT....

Don't cheat your reviews, as companies like Google & Yelp can tell fake reviews and will cause you issues.

 

Website: https://www.google.com/business/
Android App: Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.vega&hl=us
iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-my-business/id853371601
Cost: FREE

Facebook Ads Manager App

Key Benefit: Manage your Facebook Ads on the go

 

It might not be the place to set up your Facebook ad campaigns but it is a great salon marketing tool to have you on your smartphone to keep track of your spend and of course the results!

Pause campaigns, increase spend, check conversions...it is all there in this app.

iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/facebook-ads-manager/id964397083
Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.adsmanager&hl=en
Cost: App FREE. Adverts costs dependent on volume and certain quality rules.

Facebook Audiences

Key Benefit: Target potential clients that match your existing client

This is one of the most cost effective ways to advertise on Facebook and most importantly.....

many salon and spa owners have little knowledge of this essential salon marketing tool!

So make sure it is part of your salon marketing plan.

Never heard of Facebook Audiences?

As mentioned before, this could be one of the most important salon marketing tools on this (apart from Google My Business) and can help you target your clients and potential clients more effectively.

Facebook have three 'audiences' which you should know about;

• Custom Audiences - Website visitors
• Custom Audiences - Current client
• Lookalike Audiences

Custom Audiences allows you to create a list of visitors to your websites or upload your client list (old and current) to the Facebook Advertising Manager.

Once you have uploaded these, you can then target adverts to that specific audience, which is great to promote new products, services or to win back old clients with a promotion for example.

These Audiences make it perfect for creating highly targeted marketing for salons.

Here is how Facebook Audiences Work (using people that visit your website)....

 

Lookalike audiences are great because, once you have uploaded your existing client database to Facebook, Facebook will then make your existing client with yes your guessed right, a look a like audience, so those Facebook users, who have the same interests etc as your existing clients.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/341425252616329
Cost: FREE to create audiences. Adverts costs dependent on volume and certain quality rules.

Expect Referrals

Key Benefit: Use existing clients to bring more clients

 

Do you have a loyal client base?

Looking to generate more clients from those existing loyal clients?

Well you need a client referral program, as it is an essential part of all marketing strategies for beauty salons and hair salons.

Expect Referrals allows you to create refer-a-friends campaigns for your hair salon or beauty salon, such as discount coupons, unique links for clients to share on their social media profiles which can allow them to get discounts the more new clients they refer to you and much more....

Basically everything you need to run a successful refer-a-friend program with ease.

Website: http://expectreferrals.com
Cost: From $25 per month.

CallPage

Key Benefit: Use together with Adwords to help get more new clients

Using Google Adwords as part of your salon marketing plan?

Want to drive more conversion from that marketing investment?

You could try CallPage, which is a call me back button and you can add this to your website by copy and pasting some code. and to ensure that not every customer is calling it, you can display the button (or pop up) to those clients coming from Google Adwords or any other advertising you may be doing.

How does it work? When a client puts their telephone number into CallPage, it tries to call your number and when you answer it, it connects the client and you together automatically.

If your salon is closed, don't worry; you are able to put three telephone numbers into the software and if it doesn't get an answer from the first number (ie your salon), it will try the next number you added.

CallPage has a range of other functions which allows you to target certain pages, so if you have expensive services such as Japanese hair straightening (which also needs to be booked via the receptionist) it can be excellent to improve customer experience.

Website https://callpage.io
Cost: From $41 per month for 50 calls a month

LiveChat

Key Benefit: Convert more website visitors into appointments

 

If you have a salon with a full time receptionist or front of house team, have you ever thought about how they can make you even more money?

Yes, we read lots and lots of blogs about how reception teams can increase retail sales but there is one way which they can increase revenue, which many many salons and spas do not even think about......

and the answer is to use live chat on your website!

Live chat isn't something that is confined to the use of big online stores or banks anymore, you can use it for your salon as well.

LiveChat is a simple software solution, which can be up and running on your salon website within minutes by just copy and pasting two pieces of code to your website.....

Simple!

If you are using hair or beauty salon software which allows online booking, the live chat could help you get even more clients booking through answering their questions relating to your services or products when they are looking to book for the first time and maybe, they might even spend more.

Improving booking conversion on your website also means that you are getting a better return on investment from your hair salon marketing budget.

Website https://livechatinc.com
Cost: From $16 per month.

Client Retention Tools

 

Once you have won new customers, the next thing is to keep them.

It will pay back in the long term if you have some of them as part of your marketing strategies for a beauty salon that you improve your retention through a better customer experience.

Zolmi Salon Software

Key Benefit: Keep track of your clients & reduce no-shows

Knowing more about your clients is one of the most important elements of an spa or salon marketing strategies. If you don't know how often your clients are visiting your salon or even if they are not visiting you anymore, how do you know how effective your salon and spa advertising is?

Zolmi Salon Software allows your to keep track of all of your clients, how much the spend and how frequently they come to your salon.

 

Website: https://zolmi.com
Cost: FREE. Premium plan available.

Stamp Wallet

Key Benefit: Improve client retention & increase retail sales

 

Research by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company, the guy who invented the Net Promotor Score (the score that ask you on a scale of 0 to 10 how much would you recommend a company to friend or colleague) has shown that improving customer retention by 5% can increase profits by 25% to 95%.

So with this in mind..

it would be a great idea to your salon that you have a client loyalty program in place.

Stamp Wallet allows you to run a loyalty program for your spa or salon. You are able to run a points based system, or a program where a client buys a certain number of services or product to get redeem for something.

Website: https://www.stampwallet.io
Cost: From $24.99 per month.

Get Response

Key Benefit: Keep clients up to date with promotions to improve profits

 

Communicating with your clients and keeping them up to date with promotions and other marketing campaigns in your salon is key to growing your business and keeping clients loyal.

To do this, you need a good email marketing tool and one such tool is Get Response.

Get Response has created an easy-to-use tool enabling you to design, send and measure how well your email campaigns are working. Other advantages for salon owners is that there are lots of templates you can choose from (including mobile-optimized layouts), simple upload of your email list and this makes it an ideal solution for every salon.

Website: https://getresponse.com
Cost: From $15 per month.

Flok

Key Benefit: Improve retention through offering loyalty rewards

 

We love customer loyalty, it is what make a profitable business!

Why not improve client retention through offering rewards to your existing clients to keep them coming back for more.

Flok is an easy to use.

Website: https://flok.com
Cost: From $16.58 per month for 250 'club' members.

Google Forms

Key Benefit: Use client insight to improve your products & services

When did you last carry out some client research?

Never?

Don't worry, probably most salons or spas have carried out client research!

There is so much you can't find out about your business, such as; client satisfaction, why do client no longer visit you, why they don't buy products from you to help you increase retail....

There are many many more

And Google Forms make it easy for you to launch your survey in a matter of minutes and for free.

Website: https://www.google.com/forms/about/
Cost: FREE

SMSAPI

Key Benefit: SMS is one of the most direct communication tools

 

Want to win back your old clients? Keep your clients updated on your hair salon promotions? Or send a survey to improve client retention?

Of course you do!

Well you could always try SMSAPI, a leading platform that send bulk SMS to clients wherever you are in the world and only takes 30 seconds to open an account.

With SMS being so direct, you can use it to send promotions, birthday messages, and satisfaction surveys to your clients.

Other benefits of SMSAPI include a URL shortening service (aka bit.ly), scheduling of messages and delivery reporting, ensuring you can track your campaigns.

Website: https://www.smsapi.com
Cost: Dependent on volume sent and country

Yelp Business App

Key Benefit: Manage your Yelp reviews on the go

Make managing your Yelp profile easier by using the Yelp Business app.

You are able to manage your business information, get statistics on how well your profile is performing, check and respond to client reviews.

Yelp is an important tool to drive more clients to your salon, so make sure your profile is up to date.

Website: https://biz.yelp.com/support/mobile
Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yelp.android.biz
iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/pl/app/yelp-for-business-owners/id936983378?l
Cost: FREE

Facebook Pages Manager App

Key Benefit: Respond to posts & reviews on the go

Looking to manage your Facebook Page on the go and keep up to date with what are people saying about your salon?

Facebook has an app that allows you to view and reply to review comments, post updates, and view your salon's Facebook page insights.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/managing-facebook-pages
Cost: FREE

Social Media Tools

 

Social media was invented for hair and beauty salon.

If you do not have social media as part of your salon marketing strategies then you are missing out on a huge opportunity.

Post Planner

Key Benefit: Informs you on trending social media ideas

 

Looking for inspiration for your social media marketing?

Post Planner is a nice salon marketing tool you won’t want to be without.

Put it in your search term and Post Planner will come back with trending images and posts which you can steal ...

(I mean borrow for your own marketing)

And watch your social media engagement grow.

This easy to use tool also allows you to schedule your posts for future dates and this make sure you are not having to remind yourself to keep going to Facebook or Twitter to keep posting your updates.

Website: https://postplanner.com
Cost: From $9 per month

If This Then That (IFTTT)

Key Benefit: Let IFTTT do all the copy & pasting for you

 

Looking to get some things that you do on a regular basis, relating to say; social media or emails?

IFTTT is a free service that allows users to create triggers, which are based on changes to other web services such as Facebook, Gmail, Instagram, and Pinterest.

For example you might want to automate the sending an e-mail message to you if someone tweets using a certain hashtag. Or, if the your salon is tagged by someone on Facebook, then that photo will be added to your Google Drive.

Website: https://ifttt.com
Cost: FREE

Trello

 

Key Benefit: Keep track of your salon marketing plan

 

Making sure you deliver you hair salon marketing plan effectively is the difference between winning and loosing.

How many times do you come up with a great idea and fail to deliver?

Trello allows you to create 'cards' for each item within your salon marketing plan and then you can move it through your internal process. You are also able to invite outside sources, such as designers or the person who looks after your website into your Trello account and this will make sure you have a higher chance of success.

Trello will remind via email when your deadlines are getting close to give you a gentle reminder to ensure delivery of your marketing plan

We use it and love it!

So why not give it a try.

Website: https://trello.com
Cost: FREE

InstaMessage

Key Benefit: Find people close to you on Instagram

 

Looking for for potential clients to follow on Instagram, which are close to your salon?

Well you will love this Instagram hack we created...

Salon marketing is all about hyper-local marketing and there is no other hyper-local marketing then finding people in your local to you.

What use is an Instagram follower in a location 3000 miles away from your salon?

With InstaMessage, you are able to Follow and Like people those who are close (really close) to your salon.

iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/instamessage-meet-chat-hangout/id555260595
Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.futurebits.instamessage.free
Cost: FREE

Hootsuite Mobile

Key Benefit: Manage all your social media profiles

Looking for a salon marketing tool to manage all your social media profiles, keep track of client comments and get some statistics?

Hootsuite is the worlds largest social media management tool (with several million users) and has a range of great functions which include: scheduling, content suggestions, as well as basic reporting.

Website: https://hootsuite.com/plans/free
Cost: FREE (3 profiles)

Healthinomics

Key Benefit: Ready to use social media posts

 

Don't have time to develop your own social media content?

Well there is an easy way..

Healthinomics is a great salon marketing tool which makes it easy to post pre-designed content specially designed for health and beauty.

So if your are looking specifically for inspirational quotes and health and beauty facts, this is ideal for you.

Website: https://www.healthinomics.com
Cost: $20 per month (for 1 pack of 20 bundles)

Pinterest

Key Benefit: Get inspired by other people pins

 

It may seem strange to have Pinterest in the list of salon marketing tools but it is a great place for you to find inspiration for you to improve your spa or salon marketing and promotions.

If you have never tried Pinterest, you will be able to find boards covering everything from salon marketing ideas to nail salon sign ideas which will make it easier for you to put together effective marketing campaigns for your salon.

Website: https://pinterest.com
Cost: FREE

Buffer

Key Benefit: Posting at the right time for your social media profiles

 

One of the biggest questions is when is the best time you should post on Facebook or Instagram for your salon?

The TRUE answer is there is NO answer

Knowing the best time to post, very much depends on your audience and there is a smart social media posting tool called Buffer that has taken out some of the guess work for you

Buffer tracks when you have the best engagement with your social media posts and times your future posts to go at the right moment.

You are able to post to all the major social networks, including: Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Website: https://buffer.com/awesome
Cost: From $10 per month

Creative Tools

 

You are in a creative business, so make sure your spa or salon marketing reflects this.

There are a number of salon marketing tools you can use to create some exciting graphic content for your social media posts, promotional material and website to help you grow your business.

Canva

Key Benefit: Easily make great looking social media posts

 

Canva has become the go to place for you to create great graphics and images for your salon marketing and social media campaigns. With Canva, there are hundreds of free templates for you to choose from, as well as low cost (i.e. $1) images and pre made stylish templates which will ensure your campaigns are looking perfect.

Don't know what the correct dimensions are for a Facebook or Instagram post? Don't worry Canva has all of these ready made, so you click on what post you want to design and it has the correct dimensions.

Coming from the salon and spa industry, you know that being visually good is everything and images have a xx% higher engagement rate then.

Website: https://canva.com
Cost: FREE (you can buy images and elements to create better images for $1 each)

Pexels

Key Benefit: Find great looking images to use for free

 

Looking for great pictures for your social media posts are website

Pexels is an easy to use website which allows to you to find nice looking images and they are all totaly free to use for any purpose....

which is unusual, as when you find free photo stock, that there it is free but as a hair salon or beauty salon and therefore a commercial business, then they are not free!

Website https://www.pexels.com/
Cost: FREE

WeVideo

Key Benefit: Easy to use video editor

 

Video is becoming one of the key elements of an salon marketing strategy. With more and more people watching YouTube & videos on Facebook then you need an easy tool to get your videos online easily.

WeVideo is a simple editing tool which you use on your desktop or smartphone to get nice looking videos for online

Website: https://www.wevideo.com
There are also Android and iOS app available
Cost: $4.99 a month

Picmonkey

Key Benefit: You don't have to be a pro to make great looking photos

 

Looking for photo collage software for your salon? You could use the many iOS or Android apps out there but most of them don't allow branding to be added and if that picture goes viral don't you want to make sure your salon and spa gets the marketing it deserves?

Picmonkey is an easy to use photo collage tool, which allows your to put together your choice of photos, add your logo etc and then it is ready to post on Instagram and Facebook or wherever you wish to post them.

Looking for an easy to use Photo editing tool to edit your shots before posting on social media?

Picmonkey allows you to add filters, touch up pictures to remove wrinkles, brighten eyes and more

Make sure your images sell your salon and this tool will ensure you give your photos a professional touch

There are also Android and iOS appa available

Website: http://picmonkey.com
Cost: FREE ($3.33 basic plan)

Grammarly

Key Benefit: Dno't mkae atonhre seplilng msitaek aigan

Looking for a good salon marketing tool to ensure you don't make those typos in your social media posts, graphic designs or client emails?

Grammarly is a cool tool that you add to your browser and it checks all of your spelling and grammar across of of the desktop tools on this list.

Like we said, it doesn't just check for spelling, it checks also for grammar errors as well.

Website: https://grammarly.com
Cost: FREE

Website Tools

 

Making sure your have a website, is THE most important marketing tool to include in any marketing plan for salons and spas.

Although you will get many new clients through existing clients, because you are delivering a great experience, but....

all roads lead to the Google (apart from China & Russia).

Every month in the USA alone, there are over 1 million searches for hair salons

So our suggestions, will make it easy for you to get online quickly for your salon business.

Google Mobile Test

Key Benefit: Ensure your website works on a smartphone

 

More and more people are finding salons and spas via their mobile devices...

in fact 60% of Americans use their smartphone to find a local business, so make sure you salon website works on a mobile device.

But there is an even bigger reason why your website should work on a mobile device.....

Late in 2016, Google released a change to how it searches websites and now it checks the mobile version first for what should appear in the search results and...

if it doesn't work on smartphone

Then you will not appear so high on Google search results

which is not good for your salon

Website: https://search.google.com/search-console/mobile-friendly
Cost: FREE

Unamo

Key Benefit: Track where your website is on Google

 

Making sure you salon is at the top of Google is vital for business success these days.

So making sure you are showing up on Google Maps and the normal search results, can make or break your business.

Did you know that 61% of clicks on the search results go to the top 3 results?

Unamo allows you to track where your salon appears on Google, including Google Maps, as well as the desktop and mobile versions of the Google search results. It takes just five minutes to add the right keywords for your salon and away you go... it's that simple.

You should read our blog post on which salon keywords to choose for your salon, it explains how to choose the right salon keywords to drive more new clients.

Website: https://unamo.com
Cost: $19 per month

Google Analytics App

Key Benefit: Check your website traffic on the go

If you have a website (which you should have) then you need to know how many people are visiting it and where they came from...

Google Analytics is a MUST for every spa or salon marketing toolkit....

if you have a website, which you should!

With this free analytics tool from Google, you can monitor traffic to your website, what pages they looked at and what pages they left on. Using this tool allows you understand what parts of your website are working well and what ones you ned to improve on.

Website: https://www.google.com/analytics/
Android App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.giant&hl=us
iOS App: https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/google-analytics/id881599038
Cost: FREE

Wix

Key Benefit: Easy to make a good looking website

 

Looking for an easy way to get online?

Wix has a range of templates to get your salon online in a matter of minutes

Choose from a range of templates and different widgets that can be easily added to your website with a few clicks.

There is also a marketplace, where you can find providers which integrate with Wix, including Zolmi Salon Software.

Website: https://wix.com
Cost: From $7 per month

Weebly

Key Benefit: Easily create a Google friendly website

 

Weebly host over 40 million websites, yes 40 million

If you are looking for a range of digital salon marketing tools, such as e-commerce, website and email marketing, then Weebly could be for you.

There are a range of themes and tools which you can buy to add on to your website to make it one of the best website creation platforms available

Website: https://weebly.com
Cost: $8 per month for website with domain name

Wordpress

Key Benefit: Use the world's biggest website platform

 

Did you know, according to W3Techs that 25% of the worlds websites are built on Wordpress?

Although it Wordpress isn't the perfect system it is a cost effective way to get online

You can either use Wordpress.com which manages the hosting for you or your can choose your own hosting and manage it all yourself.

Website: https://wordpress.org
Cost: Dependent on your choice of theme and hosting or use Wordpress.com from $2.99 per month

Let's remind ourselves of those gereat salon marketing tools for beauty salon and hair salon

1. Google Mobile Test
2. Unamo
3. Get Response
4. Post Planner
5. Canva
6. LiveChat
7. Pinterest
8. Buffer
9. Google Analytics
10. SMSAPI
11. Facebook Audiences
12. Zolmi Salon Software
13. Picmonkey
14. If This Then That
15. Instamessage
16. Hootsuite
17. Yelp Business App
18. Facebook Pages Manager App
19. Bing Places
20. Google Adwords
21. Wix
22. Weebly
23. Wordpress
24. Google Forms
25. Pexels
26. Healthinomics
27. Picmonkey
28. Expect Referrals
29. Stamp Wallet
30. Flok
31. Google My Business
32. Facebook Ads Manager App
33. Trello
34. CallPage
35. Grammarly

Are we missing something?

Tell us in the comments below your favorite salon marketing tools......

Citations

Internal marketing: Tools and concepts for customer-focused management
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=PXNJyOTUtFkC&oi

E-marketing
https://kurh.pw/part_263942.pdf

Successful customer relationship marketing: new thinking, new strategies, new tools for getting closer to your customers
https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=D4KIS8KL3ioC&oi