Across all industries, marketing is a mix of creativity and strategy. Although coming up with your marketing plan can be intimidating — and sometimes exhausting — the key to success is to keep trying. 

As you fine-tune your nail salon marketing strategies, remember that it’s okay to think outside of the box. Be bold with your style and your creativity and you’ll find that the world of marketing is filled with opportunities. 

If you’re looking for successful ways to market your business or are looking for ideas on how to improve your nail salon business, we’re here to help. We’ve put together a handful of nail salon marketing ideas to advertise your nail salon, grow your business, and get you more clients.

From social media management to referral promotions, here are six nail technician and salon marketing strategies that are proven to work. 

1. Social Media Management

If you’re researching how to advertise nail salon services, you most likely already know the importance of social media as a marketing idea. Building and improving your presence on social media will not only keep your current clients intrigued, but will help to attract new salon clients, too. Before building up your social media platforms, it is necessary to create a unique branding position for your business. Are you specializing in discount prices, creative designs, or customer service? Knowing which aspect of your nail salon you want to highlight will be important to enhance your social media.

Whether you’re a hairstylist or a nail tech, creating — and fine-tuning — your social plan is key. We know it can be overwhelming at first, so it’s good to remember, a little bit is better than nothing. Life is busy, especially when you’re working in the nail salon business. 

Instead of starting with a goal to post every day on your social media page or account, try starting a little bit smaller and work your way. Even one post per week or every couple of weeks can work wonders when people are peeking around to see your work. 

Here are some nail salon marketing ideas to keep in mind as you work toward crafting your salon social media presence.

Use Hashtags

Hashtags are a great tool to incorporate into your marketing plan. When it comes to your hashtags, keep them specific and relevant. For example, if you’ve just finished up a set of beautiful nails with gel, throw a #gelnails hashtag onto your photo to get your shot more exposure. This is a salon marketing strategy that will help get your posts more exposure and may help turn one of your followers into a potential client or new customer. 

With hashtags, it is also interesting to incorporate catchy nail salon names. Having a unique or funny nail salon name will be easier for customers to remember. Potential clients can also look up the hashtag and find images of your salon’s beautiful mani’s or pedi’s, which may even inspire them to get a specific nail color or nail design. Ultimately, coming up with a unique nail salon name will depend on your salon’s specialty and how you want to present your business.

Run Ads

Social media ads can take you from zero clients to 10 clients fast. When you put money into them, digital marketing ads help to promote you across social outlets and get you discovered. This is a no brainer if you’re wondering how to make more money as a nail technician. A little investment can bring a great return and expose you to clients that you might have never come across. 

You can also focus on geo-targeted advertising, which uses location data to reach certain customers who may be interested in your services. Not into the idea of running ads and spending so much time on social media? Don’t sweat it. If you join StyleSeat’s marketing program, we’ll run your ads for you to promote your profile and get you business.

Have Clients Tag You

Plenty of clients who are active on social media will be eagerly waiting to snap and upload a photo of their new manicure. Make sure your business card has your social accounts on it, then share it with your clients and encourage them to tag you in any photos or videos they might share. You should also have the same nail salon name for your accounts to increase brand awareness and uniformity. 

If they do tag you, you can even offer a certain percentage off their next service. Getting comfortable with asking for promotion from your current clients is one of the best nail salon marketing strategies out there. After all, they’re visiting you for a reason. More often than not, they’ll be happy to help spread the word.

Think About Design

Even if it’s just a little corner where your clients can snap a gram-worthy shot, the design is an important component of how to advertise nail salon services. The good news is, good salon design doesn’t have to be a budget-breaker. With a can of colorful paint and some wall decals, you can instantly transform your little photo nook into something that’s very social media worthy. If you have room in your budget, hiring an interior designer for your salon could be helpful. They can help turn your dream vision into real life with their expertise! 

The decor and the overall nail salon design will set the vibe for your business. Consider if you want the energy to be vibrant, classy, comfortable, or minimalistic. There are so many design options to choose from, and you can utilize the space according to your preference.

2. Referral Promotions

While you work on your list of salon promotion ideas, don’t forget to add a referral program into the mix. Referral promotions are a fantastic way to attract new clients. 

Your first step is to figure out how you’ll reward your current clients. Will it be a percentage off their next nail service? Free nail polish? An on-the-house pedicure? Or will you use a different type of loyalty program? The key is to entice and excite your clients so that they help to spread the word. 

Once you have your reward plan in place, you can promote it in person, across social media, and via email.

3. Loyalty Cards

Loyalty cards are another one of the top nail salon marketing strategies. Loyalty cards for nail salons work in the same way that they do at your favorite coffee shop (buy nine coffees, get one for free). In this case, you give your customer a punch card that rewards them for each time they visit you for a nail service.

After a certain amount of appointments, they get a free nail service or a percentage off. This is a small gesture that will encourage repeat customers and also entice your loyal clients to keep coming back for their next mani or pedi.

4. Create a StyleSeat Profile

StyleSeat offers a free place to showcase your nail art. It’s one of the easiest nail tech marketing ideas for those nail artists looking for a solid platform to show off their skills. This is a good place for your manicurist to highlight their favorite nail art designs and showcase their client’s perfectly polished nails in order to attract even more customers to your nail business.

Based on their location, potential clients can browse through local listings until they find a nail tech whose work they connect with. In Portland, for example, you can find Teecee’s butterfly nails, and in Los Angeles, Meka creates a glittering display of gold and silver nail polish and plenty of rhinestones.

Your StyleSeat profile has a place for your “about” section and a place where customers can leave their reviews. It also makes it easy for potential clients to browse through your services and see what you offer. From there, clients can look through your calendar and secure their spot. 

5. Monthly Newsletters

Monthly newsletters are a simple and effective way to promote your beauty business and encourage repeat customers. You can send out extra nail care information or any related articles that may be valuable to your customers. They’re also a good way to drive traffic to your salon website and StyleSeat profile. If you’re new to utilizing newsletters as part of your nail salon marketing strategies, here are some tips.

• Use Images: Images will draw your reader in and keep them engaged. Show off your own work by incorporating clear, creative images of past clients’ nails.
• Brand Your Emails: If you have a color scheme you’re sticking to, a logo you’re working with, or a brand voice you like to use (warm and authentic or chic and cool) emails are a good place to showcase your unique branding. 
• Write a Good Subject: Your subject will pique the interest of your reader and hopefully, pull them into the email. Keep your subject short, sweet, and enticing. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself: would I open this email if it came to my own inbox? If the answer is no, time to tweak your words and try again.

With StyleSeat, you can leverage our free marketing tool to send emails to your existing or past clients and stay top of mind.

6. Local Influencers

Enlisting the help of local influencers is a great way to show off your nail art and get the attention of potential customers. 

With a little bit of research on social media platforms like Instagram, you can tap into the local lifestyle scene and reach out to content creators and influencers about doing some trade or paid work. You offer the manicure, they share a video/photo with their followers, and you’re able to spread the word about your services. 

Because potential new clients sometimes go by word-of-mouth, connecting with influencers in your local community is one of the most effective nail tech marketing ideas. Here are some things to consider before you agree to a trade or paid gig with an ambassador.

Outline the Terms

It’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to branded partnerships. If you’re a salon owner interested in ambassador work, draft up a quick contract outlining the terms and deliverables (i.e. you provide the gel manicure and the spa pedicure, and the ambassador posts one video to Instagram stories and a photo to their Instagram feed). 

Define Your Style

Before you set out on finding your perfect partner, it’s helpful to define your style. Some people prefer subdued nails, while others might be more willing to try a nail design rainbow ombre nails with glitter. The key is to know what you want to show off and find a good partner who is equally as excited about your vision. 

Simplified Marketing With StyleSeat

Figuring out how to advertise nail salon services can be tough work—but it can also be gratifying and rewarding. Once you figure out which nail salon ideas work best for your advertising, you can implement them into your daily routine and hit the ground running. Which nail salon ideas will you utilize for your business? 

If you want to grow your client list in a way that’s easy and free, make sure to check out StyleSeat’s marketing program. We’ll help you add the right clients to your list, increase revenue, and build your beauty business.