“Doing” social media—or more importantly, doing it correctly—has resulted in more career- and life-changing stories than we can keep track of, including my own. While this may not come as a surprise, what may be surprising is that the opportunity to proactively change your professional trajectory has never been more possible—regardless of your age or level of experience.

More to the point: whereas Vidal Sassoon was the biggest game-changer in hair, social and digital media are today’s equivalent—at least on the business side of things. The great leveler between large and small businesses, technology allows anyone the opportunity to reach hundreds, if not thousands of people with a single post—and you can make the most of it by accessing sophisticated yet easy-to-understand platforms and tools, so long as you take the time to get educated, find mentors and practice. (Sound familiar?)

This issue of American Salon includes our third annual best practices supplement:

The American Salon Digital + Social Media Guide. Featuring information and insights into the tools, techniques and professionals who are leading the way, this wealth of inspiration is brought to you in partnership with Redken, Pureology, Matrix, L’Oréal Professional, Baxter of California and Salon Centric.

In addition to the great content in this supplement, we have planned a series of related content on our social and web platforms. Look this month for Facebook Live-streams, Instagram Stories and Live programs, as well as all new American Salon Stories podcast episodes. Of special note is our upcoming series of Facebook live-streams direct from Premiere Orlando on June 4th (sponsored by Salon Centric) and IBS Las Vegas on June 25. With more than 120 Facebook Live programs to our credit, we’re excited to take this medium to the next level of “doing it well.”

Many thanks to our sponsors Redken, Pureology, Matrix, L’Oreal Professionnel, Baxter of California, Level Loyalty and Salon Centric for making this digital supplement possible.

Click here to view our digital edition.