Table of contents
- Local SEO
- Optimise your 'Google My Business' Profile
- Use Reels & Short Videos to your Advantage
- Enhance the Client Booking Experience
- Focus on Micro-influencer Collabs
- Run a Loyalty Program
- Partner up with Complementary Businesses
- Host Events or Pop-ups
- Promote Gift Cards
- Paid Ads Make your Salon Easy to Locate
Let’s accept it, finding new salon marketing ideas is not easy. As a salon owner, you’re probably juggling so many roles that marketing often takes a backseat. However, growing is a part of your to-do list and for that you need to keep the wheels of your business running by spreading the word around. We may be in the last quarter of 2025 but nothing should prevent you from putting your best marketing foot forward.
If you’re looking for beauty salon promotion ideas to grow your business, you’ve come to the right place.
These salon marketing strategies are tried-and-triple-tested so that you can grow without any hiccups.
The salon promotion ideas we’ve listed in this blog are used by profitable beauty businesses. We’d suggest that you pick a few, work on them and then come back here for new strategies.
Salon Success: 10 Salon Marketing Strategies
1. Local SEO
Local SEO may be underestimated but works like magic for beauty businesses. When a potential client looks for your salon on search engines, they’re likely to type ‘salon near me’. A fool-proof way to drive potential clients to your website and your salon is through search. It helps your salon gain visibility. If your salon doesn’t show up, you simply don’t exist for potential clients. In order to sharpen your search engine optimisation (SEO) skills, it’s best to get an SEO expert on board. They will help you identify niche longtail keywords that are relevant to your industry. It’s important to use these keywords everywhere – on your website, marketing copy, social media, search engines, and more. Once you’ve done that, you can funnel the right crowd to the salon location you want.
2. Optimise your 'Google My Business' Profile
If you’re doing local SEO, GMB optimisation goes without saying. Once you’ve created an account, your business will appear on Google Maps just like any other business. Ensure your salon information is listed correctly. Whether it’s the address, business hours, photos, service categories or reviews, everything should be updated. An incorrect Google My Business profile can be a hindrance to your growth. In your description, you can even add localised keywords that will help you rank on your website and booking pages. For instance, the best global hair colour in Bangalore. As part of your marketing efforts, encourage clients to leave positive reviews about your business. You can even ask Google to verify your profile. When potential clients or existing clients visit your GMB profile, you don’t simply want them to come and look around. You want them to take some kind of action, right? For this, add a ‘book now’ button using an integrated salon booking software like Salon360App.
3. Use Reels & Short Videos to your Advantage
It’s 2025, and everything is still about reels. Short-form videos still dominate attention spans. Come up with some fun content ideas that will help you gain Instagram traction. Consider photos and videos of transformations. All your followers would definitely like watching before and after videos. However, before you record any videos, taking customer consent is a must. When a client sees such content on your profile, they may even bring it to their own appointment as a point of reference. Other content ideas include time-lapse of a full hair service, hair care and beauty tips, behind-the-scenes content, and more. Did you know? Your business is more than just a menu of your salon services. It’s about what happens behind-the-scenes. As much as you can, share glimpses of your daily salon operations. You can also engage in social media trends. This considerably helps build your brand’s presence. Trust is the essence of any beauty business. To make your business more relatable and trustworthy, make fun short videos. When you’re shooting these videos, ensure the lighting is good. Also, post consistently on Instagram Reels, TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
4. Enhance the Client Booking Experience
It’s 2025, and if you’re still using age-old booking methods, you’re probably hurting your business revenue. We’re occupants of an age wherein clients prefer convenience over everything. If groceries can come in 10 minutes, clients want to book their appointment in 2 minutes. Invest in a booking software for beauty salons. This will help clients schedule an appointment with your business with zero friction. Every client loves booking an appointment themselves. By adding an online booking widget to your website, social media page and Google My Business profile, your clients can book seamlessly. It may not seem like a marketing tactic but is the biggest marketing strategy used by salons in 2025. It helps clients schedule an appointment with ease. Use beauty parlour software that offers mobile-friendly booking, a clear dashboard and automated reminders.
5. Focus on Micro-influencer Collabs
In 2025, working with micro influencers is going to work better than working with macro influencers. Needless to say, influencer marketing is everywhere today, and if you’re not leveraging it, you are probably missing out. Collaborate with influencers that have under 10K followers. It’s best to collaborate with local and beauty influencers. In exchange for the mention or content, you can offer them a free service. How you handle the barter is up to you. As far as possible, focus on local influencers instead of those who have a large follower count.
6. Run a Loyalty Program
One of the most talked about salon marketing ideas is running a loyalty program. As a salon owner, you will really want to hold on to your existing clients as you’ve worked pretty hard to get them. Thus, implementing a loyalty program is something that goes without saying. You can offer incentives, discounts or freebies after a certain number of services have been availed. Your clients too will feel appreciative of your business when they get a discount each time they avail a service. Make your loyalty program interesting. You can even create physical loyalty cards with fun names.
7. Partner up with Complementary Businesses
Partnering up with local businesses can actually boost your salon revenue. As a business, you need to stop focussing on only promoting yourself. You’ve probably heard of the phrase ‘Self-praise is donkey praise’. Well, we don’t entirely mean that you can’t say nice things about your salon. Your potential clients are more likely to believe in your business when you’ve collaborated or tied up with another business that is complementary to what you offer. For instance, on Valentine’s Day, it may be a good idea to collaborate with a florist. Use this as an opportunity to promote each other’s services. Wellness-related businesses are also great partners for any hair or nail salon. When you partner with local businesses, you expand your reach.
8. Host Events or Pop-ups
Virtual events are done with. COVID is long gone, and everyone is on the move now. As a salon owner or marketer, your primary goal is to drive traffic to your website and walk-ins on your salon floor. Events and pop-ups present a community building opportunity. Thus, make it a point to host events in your salon every three months. This gives you a chance to showcase your expertise too. Collaborate with other businesses, decorate your salon and order some lip-smacking food. When clients and influencers go to an event, they end up making a purchase or avail a service. Besides events, you can even host workshops or classes in your salon.
9. Promote Gift Cards
Did you know? Gift card sales is one of the fastest-growing revenue channels. A common mistake salon owners make is that they promote gift cards only during the holidays and festivals. Well, you should be promoting them all year-round. That is because when someone doesn’t know what to give another person as a gift, they turn to gift cards or gift vouchers. While you can display physical gift cards at your front desk, you can even have them online since customers respond better to digital options. Data shows that 24% beauty salon and wellness gift cards are redeemed by first-time customers. Thus, if your goal is to attract new clients, gift cards are a win-win. They are generally considered a low-cost tool to acquire clients for a lifetime.
10. Paid Ads Make your Salon Easy to Locate
If you’re investing in hyper-local SEO optimisation, you should be running paid or geo-targeted ads as well. This makes it easy for people to find where your salon is located. Consider running paid ads on Google, Meta and Instagram. Also, make sure your ads have offers attached to them. This will help your ad reach the right people at the right time. A few ad content ideas are – Haircut with any stylist at Rs. 999 for first-time users only, promote seasonal/holiday offers, etc.
