According to David Thurston, founder of the award-winning Butterfly Loft Salon & Spa in Encino, CA, your Instagram page acts as the storefront for your business. “Clients window-shop at your storefront to see if you’re worth booking an appointment with,” he says. “And other stylists check out your storefront to see if you’re worth following.” Of course, like any small business owner worth his salt, you’ll want your storefront to look impeccable. Anything less, and people will not follow you on social media, book appointments with you, or, as David points out, even make the effort to scroll down to see your other photos. Creating a storefront that is appealing to others will do wonders for your business, both in the salon and on social media. Here are Thurston’s top five tips for using Instagram wisely:
1 The Name of Your Store (your user name) “The restaurant next door to our salon is a Japanese restaurant with a name that nobody seems to be able to pronounce. It’s not a shocker to me that it’s almost always empty. Pick a user name that is easy for anyone to read and pronounce, so window shoppers can easily identify your personal brand.”
2 Your Store’s Sign
(profile picture and description) “Clients want to see who they’ll be booking an appointment with, and stylists wants to see who they’ll be following. Have a clear profile picture showing your face. Your description should let us know the name of your salon, the city and state, and how to get in contact with you, because clients need to know if it’s even geographically feasible for you to do their hair, and they are more likely to book with you if it’s extremely easy for them to contact you via phone or email.”
3 Your Merchandise
4 How Busy Is Your Store? (your number of followers)
“The number of followers you have matters. It tells the window-shoppers if other people think your store is worth shopping in. Nobody likes to shop in an empty store and people generally don’t like to book appointments with people who have a low following.”
5 Join the Community “The best way to build a large following is to become part of the Instagram community. Visiting other storefronts will help you learn what others are doing right. Making thoughtful comments on other stylists’ photos that you genuinely admire will make others want to visit your Instagram storefront.”