Instagram Tips To Get You Noticed

We cannot stress this enough: Instagram is crucial to building your business. BTC’s Founder and Creative Director Mary Rector-Gable puts it this way: If you aren’t active on Instagram, you may be out of business in a year. We talked to some of your favorite Instagram hairdresser accounts to give you the tips you need to fill your chair and grow your followers.


Besides getting new clients, Instagram helps you get inspired by the work of others—and push your own creative boundaries. Competitions like BTC’s own #ONESHOT Hair Awards and the Bio Ionic Style Awards are a great way to put yourself out there and get recognized for your talent! You can enter the Bio Ionic Style Awards NOW through March 3—just create a gorgeous style with Bio Ionic tools and post a photo with #bioionicstyleawards and a brief description of the tools you used. You could win a trip to Hollywood to compete live for Bio Ionic founder Fernando Romero and a panel of celebrity judges, including Mustafa Avici (@mustafaaavci), the “King of Waves” with almost 350k followers!

Need some Insta help? Check out our tips!

 

* Is styling your strength? 💪 Enter @bioionicla Style Awards now until March 3rd. Use #bioionicstyleawards tag @bioionicla and explain the tools you used. GOOD LUCK ✨#behindthechair #bioionic #bioionicstyleawards

A post shared by behindthechair.com (@behindthechair_com) on Feb 3, 2017 at 1:17pm PST

A Goal Without a Plan is Just a Dream
Planning ahead is KEY to mastering social media. Sam Daly, aka @bottleblonde76 (a BTC #ONESHOT finalist AND a Bio Ionic Style Awards finalist with 112k followers!) always asks her clients to come in for a consultation so not only will she be ready to create their perfect color, but she also knows how to prepare for photos. After, you can decide what your client should wear and if there is anything else you’ll need to prepare for. Sam’s secret to a successful shot? She keeps a bag full of accessories and asks herself, “What’s going to look best in this picture to make this look a little more stylized?” Planning ahead makes things move quickly and makes getting that perfect picture easier on you and your client.

Learn from the Best
Don’t be afraid to reach out for guidance. “I go and see what the most successful people are doing and then I make it my own,” shares Sam. I think sharing information is good because we all want each other to succeed at this.” From there, you can learn what hashtags work and don’t work for you.

Make the Time
Take into consideration how much time it will take to get your perfect shot. Book a little time at the end of each appointment for photos or ask your client to come back the next day for 30 minutes to shoot. “By that time, they’ve gotten a million compliments on their hair,” shares Sam. “They’re a little bit less like, ‘Oh my god. I’ve been here forever. My scalp is on fire.’” Tip: Have your client come with clean and dry hair so you can style it and take photos.

Stay Positive
Don’t let the haters get you down. Take criticism lightly. “I only take criticism from the people who are out there playing on the court with me,” shares Sam. “Not from the people who are yelling from the stands.” Watch yourself evolve and keep moving forward. Sam’s biggest piece of advice is to be yourself and make your mark.

The Power of Geotagging
If you’re trying to build a clientele and fill your seats, geotagging––using hashtags that include your city and surrounding cities––is a must! This will help you connect with local businesses and build your social community, so you can gain followers (and referrals!) and become a go-to hairstylist in your city.

Your Bio is Searchable!
Your bio can only be 150 characters and it is a way potential clients can find you, so choose your words carefully. Don Godfrey (@fiidnt)––creator of some of the most popular hair-related pages and expert of converting Instagram engagement to revenue in the salon—recommends using the Notes app in your iPhone to make a bulleted list of key words that you can copy and paste into Instagram. And use emojis to break up the text—the colors will draw people’s eyes to your info!

Ask for Help
Utilize your assistants! If you don’t have the time to take photos, find an assistant who is really good at taking pictures or teach them what you like. A lot of younger assistants are pros with Snapchat, so they know how to take great pictures and short videos. Save time by having your assistant take short in-process videos or invest in a tripod and set it up at your station. When your schedule gets crazy busy, save time by asking them to help you take your photos while you move onto the next client.

Have a Call to Action
If your goal is to increase your following, remember that Instagram uses an algorithm to determine what people see on their feeds—and the lower your engagement (likes and comments), the less likely you are to show up. So include a simple call to action in your posts, like posting a side-by-side photo of two looks and asking which your followers like better. Don said he sometimes simply asks followers to leave a comment with their city, and it’s amazing how many people will do it—which leads to better engagement and posts showing up more often.

Be Yourself
Alix Maya, @alix_maya and @theunicorntribe, another Bio Ionic Style Awards finalist—Post amazing work. Organically your audience and clientele will come to you based on the pictures you post. Don’t try to be anything you’re not. Being yourself always attracts the right type of people to your chair.