Sure, it started as a way to connect with friends, but now it’s one of the most powerful and easily accessible marketing tools out there. This year Cutler Salon has put most of its marketing energy into popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to reach current and prospective clients…and we have been seeing the return on our investment grow exponentially! Not only have these new media avenues enabled us to express and share our brand to our growing fan base, but we are also able to visually share our successes in real-time, as they happen! How? We feature our recent editorial credits, highlight our session stylist work, and post images of the hair from the shows at Fashion Week we work on as it’s happening. This caters to today’s immediate information-hungry consumers. With all these tools, you can also get immediate feedback from your followers, creating interaction with your brand that other marketing efforts like print advertising and direct mail can’t offer.
Cutler has also begun to use Twitter to drive attention to our Facebook page, which expands our fan base. We also tweet about cool news coming from the salon and the fashion industry that we know our followers care about, like editorial shoots, stylist credits, salon and celebrity news, while also engaging followers with industry info such as tips, tricks, questions and trends. Additionally, we regularly contribute to other sites like RachaelRay.com where the team and I comment on trends and give tips and tricks to readers. This keeps us at the forefront when it comes to leadership and expertise in the industry and also expands our exposure and opens the possibility of even more clientele.
And, social networking doesn’t just have to be at the salon level: I have always said to my staff that it is their responsibility to develop their own career path under our umbrella. Are you a stylist? Start your own blog, Facebook page or Twitter account for free. A salon owner? Encourage your staff to embrace these outlets to grow their client base. With these new marketing techniques, stylists are now able and accountable to brand themselves with the freedom and luxury to develop a personalized marketing strategy to reach their own audiences, which helps them in their career growth, as well as the salon. It’s a win-win for all involved!
Rodney Cutler has become a go-to name in the beauty and fashion industry. Beauty writers of top publications like Allure and WWD, and producers of TV shows including Make Me A Supermodel, The Today Show and Rachael Ray all turn to Cutler for his expertise, hair tips and skilled team of hairstylists. He has opened three successful salons—two in New York City and one in Miami and is featured in Redken’s How-To Videos: The Hair Files.