Nowadays a beauty salon without an Instagram page can be compared to a ballet dancer without a tutu – looks fine, but something feels fundamentally wrong. If you want to make a name for your salon and attract new clients, you must use this platform. And we are here to educate you about how to set up and manage your Instagram account, as well as warn you about certain pitfalls you might encounter along the way.

Where to Start?

First of all, set up a corporate email and a business page on Facebook, proceed with Instagram only afterwards. If you already have the accounts set up, switch them to business mode. Why is that important?

For starters, it's because your page needs to be linked to an email and a Facebook account in addition to your phone number. This way you'll be able to assure security, restore access if needed and, most importantly, it will unlock the option to make a business profile. To do that, choose "Switch to Business Profile" in Options. You'll get access to your page statistics, will be able to launch promotions and boost posts both on Instagram and Facebook. There is also an added bonus of these platforms giving you advice on how to promote your account, although those tips aren't always accurate, so you should keep up with the current trends regardless.

Also, salon owners who use their work profiles as personal ones are making a huge mistake. Remember, your business profile equals yours and your beauty space's image, so it's not appropriate to chat up your friends in direct messages/comments there. It seems obvious, but still there are a lot of profiles out there that make those mistakes. They look ridiculous. Moreover, it's highly likely that you won't be the only one who has access to that profile, so why would you want other people to see details of your personal life?

We'd like to punctuate that we're talking about exhibiting your private life. That's not very interesting to your followers and isn't meant for public. This doesn't mean you can't make your page "lively", tell people about your employees and show off their works or talk about your clients and yourself. You can start different columns, meet & greet posts, connect to your clients in a more humane and intimate way. Talking to them in comments and hosting different polls or games in stories will greatly help with achieving that.

So, you've done three first important steps. Now you need to make your profile easily searchable. For that you need to set up a simple but self-explanatory name and a recognizable profile picture.

Naturally, your account handle needs to have your official brand name in it and, preferably, your city (if you're not a chain owner). If it's already taken for some reason, you can try separating it with an underscore, but you need to be very careful and moderate with it.

Important note: don't use numbers or rare symbols in your account handle (if they are not part of your brand name, of course). Also, anything that has more than two underscores in out of the question as well as terribly long names – it will make your account hard to find and tag. Dashes and hyphens are also a bad idea because they confuse clients. It's better to use an underscore: the most popular symbol that people start their search queries with.

It's rather hard to go wrong with your profile picture and it rarely happens, but here are a couple of tips anyway. First and foremost, it must let users know that they're on your salon's page, so it's better to use your logo as a profile picture. Secondly, it needs to be distinguishable, in high resolution and the right size to fit Instagram's circular format.

And last, but not least: your profile description. Here you need to list all the important information about your business while being as eloquent and brief as possible. First and foremost, repeat salon's name and city and specify what type of establishment it is: beauty salon, beauty space, etc. Make sure to list all of the core services your salon offers, if possible – your competitive edge as well, so you can catch your client's eye from the first glance.

You can mention address, work hours, contact information and preferred contact method in a dedicated section. If the subject in question is a small salon and not a massive chain it'll be enough.

Thankfully, modern social media platforms have so many nifty gizmos for business accounts that you can dedicate precious description space to the most crucial information while putting everything else in the dedicated sections. Adding links to your website or profiles on other social media platforms can be a nice addition.

The most important rule of setting up your header is that is should look pretty, uncluttered and provide valuable information. And don't forget about grammar!

What's Next?

When you create an account, the platform informs people about a new user (especially your Facebook friends), so you need to take care of filling your account with content beforehand.

Upload some pictures right away so first viewers don't get an impression of an empty page.

In case you've only recently opened your business, you can show your subscribers photos from the opening ceremony with your first customers or your salon's interior. You can also tell them about any special offers you might have.

Always take pictures of your employees' best works and post them for promotion, but only with clients' consent!

When talking to customers offer them to participate in your Instagram life, like posting something lashes related and tagging your account for a discount or a small gift. Also, search and tag people yourself, they usually enjoy it and start sharing your posts and write comments or reviews.

Always be active on social media. Word will get around and online viewers will surely want to visit your place in real life.

To boost your profile and gain subscribers, always watch your content. Your page must look attractive, so people subscribe themselves.

Small Details Make All the Difference

Instagram is like a bicycle – you have to keep spinning the pedals to get somewhere. You set up a page once but must manage in constantly. It's better to delegate it to a competent person. Making Instagram your managers' additional responsibility isn't the best idea. This line on work, just like any other responsibility in your salon, requires commitment and special skills.

It's better to entrust your Instagram to a good SMM manager. Those experts usually know all the hot trends in the industry and how to apply this knowledge depending on their employer's needs. They are also familiar with different extensions, apps and software made for picture editing, posting and holding contests. Ideally your manager should be experienced in the field, but you can start with a beginner as well. They will cost you less.

Always check your SMM manager's performance based on certain criteria.

1. They need to have a content plan. The person responsible for your Instagram has to plan posts for the future, monitor dynamics and calculate how many publications and on which topic they should make, as well as when to post them.
   
2. Always use hashtags but be smart about it. First, you need to come up with a unique hashtag for your salon to make is easily searchable. Second, use them for better page navigation. For example, #XXX_extensions or XXX_lamination. Thirdly, use several unique hashtags that reflect your salon's type and location to make it into the global search: #lashes_XX, extensions_XX, brows_XX, etc.
   Don't forget about a very important rule, though – no more than 5 hashtags! You'll get shadow banned otherwise, getting a complete opposite of what you were looking for.
3. Always communicate with your subscribers! Answer their comments and direct messages as fast as possible (preferably in a couple of minutes). If somebody asks you about your prices in the comment section, answer them there. A lot of people write "DMed you", but, as the practice shows, it's inconvenient and only gives you extra work. Why answer the same questions several times when you can do it publicly once?
4. Your page must look attractive and well-balanced. To achieve that, use themes. Take and edit your pictures using the same range of colors and one or two filters from time to time. Read more about that in our article: 12 Instagram Themes
5. Your content needs to be diverse. You won't attract anybody posting similar pictures over and over. Add videos, film stories, hold polls, create unique columns. Instagram offers a lot of instruments made specifically for brand-building. You or your SMM manager must use them

Final advice: don't use questionable services that offer to boost your subscriber count. It's always noticeable: having thousands of subscribers and only 3 likes under a three-day old post raises suspicion and is simply not realistic. Also, Instagram's most recent algorithms won't show your posts anyway since they're based on the like count, not subscribers.