Industries

Marketing for hair and beauty salons

Meta Ads and websites for independent hair salons, barbers and beauty studios. Built for two things: new clients booking online, and more of them coming back.

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The situation

How the work is won.

Clients pick a salon on the look of the work, the feel of the place and how easy it is to book the right person at a time that suits. Most of that happens on a phone, and plenty of it in the evening, through booking software or Instagram. In most salons the pressure is uneven. Full columns for the busiest stylists sit next to gaps for newer ones, weekdays need filling, and no-shows cost money every week.

What sends them looking

You've taken on a new stylist, therapist or barber, and their column's mostly empty.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays lag behind the rest of the week.
No-shows and late cancellations are showing up in the takings.
You've added extensions, lashes or a colour speciality, and it needs clients.
You've moved or expanded, and the locals don't know you yet.

The problem

Why it's harder than it looks.

Where the work slips away

Your portfolio lives on Instagram, where it's hard to browse by service or stylist.
A vague or missing price list puts off new clients who want to know the cost before they book.
The booking journey has to handle patch tests, consultations and deposits without confusing anyone new.
Clients rebook with a person, so marketing individual stylists matters.
New-client offers can pull in one-off bargain hunters who don't come back.

What makes customers hesitate

Worry that the stylist won't understand what they want, especially for colour or textured hair.
Not knowing the final price, particularly for colour or longer hair.
Reluctance to hand over a deposit to a salon they've never tried.
A sense that the salon's Instagram already does the job.

The approach

Where Arête would start with salons.

Every service works on its own. Which one comes first depends on how your customers search and decide.

Proof and measurement

What customers check, and what counts.

What customers look for before they call

Photos of the salon's own work, grouped by service and stylist, with no heavy filters.
A price list with starting prices and what pushes the final cost up or down.
Stylist and therapist profiles covering specialisms, experience and availability.
Recent reviews that name stylists and services.
Patch tests, deposits and cancellation terms, explained in plain English.

What counts as an enquiry

A first appointment booked online with a named stylist.
A consultation or patch test booked ahead of a colour or lash service.
A new-client offer redeemed, then a second appointment booked.

What gets tracked

New-client bookings by source and by stylist.
How many new clients rebook within a typical service interval.
No-shows and late cancellations before and after you introduce deposits or reminders.
What each new-client booking from ads costs, set against the value of the visits that follow.

Worth knowing

The rules and the practicalities.

Constraints for salons

Most hair colour manufacturers instruct a skin allergy test at least 48 hours before a colour service, so your booking journey has to allow for it.
Deposit and cancellation terms should be fair and set out before payment, because consumer law does not allow unfair terms.
Results photos in ads shouldn't be filtered or edited in a way that exaggerates the effect. The ASA has ruled against it.
Botulinum toxin is a prescription-only medicine that cannot be advertised to the public, and ads for cosmetic interventions such as fillers must not be aimed at under-18s.

Questions

Marketing for salons: your questions answered

Is Instagram enough for a salon?

Instagram is where many people first see your work. After that, it struggles. It's a poor place to compare prices, browse by stylist or check terms. A website gives those details a permanent home and links straight to booking, while ads reach local people who don't follow you yet.

Do deposits put new clients off?

They can. The trouble starts when they appear at the last step, unexplained. Explain them early, with a set cancellation window, and deposits read as normal practice. Some salons only ask new clients, or only for longer services, which keeps things easy for regulars.

Can new-client offers avoid attracting one-off bargain hunters?

Mostly, by shaping the offer around a return visit or tying it to a stylist with availability. Track who rebooks. That shows whether the offer is working. Deep one-time discounts are the offers most likely to bring in people you never see again.