Now you know how business works, you have access to hair suppliers so time to start to connect to your customers. The best way to start to build up this relation is by start using social media.

Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram are the most popular social media your clients are using not only to check for hair and hair styles, but also to get informed about the latest of their favorite TV series, Celebs, fashion news or career possibilities. And some are even interested in cats and dogs. So this is the place to be. Open your social media platform and read how to get followers but also see how you can ‘keep the conversation going’. Be actually interested in the needs and social media life of your followers and turn them into your first customers. Do not worry, you do not have to be online 24 hours a day, there is enough help available to give your own hair business a voice, even if you are sleeping!

Social Media is for free, but even more important it really helps you to actually connect to people.

Why social media matters

Facebook has over 1 billion active users every month and people spend more and more time on social media, again mostly on Facebook. So if you want to get noticed this is the place to be.

Not only to get noticed, social media is perfect to spread the word because it’s all about sharing, liking and to comment on. If you use all this in your advantage, people will not only talk about and with you, they will also buy from you.

Content is king

Or should I say, Queen because over 80 percent of the target audience for a hair selling business are women. There is no point shouting, no matter how loudly you do it, unless you have something valuable to shout about. You will notice if you just published a new post there will be an initial spike in comments. Likes and shares, and over time this activity will slowly fade out. Exception, when your post is going viral, if you made content the whole world seems to love. Too bad it’s impossible to predict what will go viral, but if you have one it can easily boost your brand high up in the ranks.

You need time

Even in the age of speed dating, to build up a relation takes time, so the same goes for social media. You will only get a loyal and active group of followers if you have been together in good and bad times. If you manage to interact with your social media followers, it will be like a snowball. Your followers will share your Facebook or Pinterest page with their friends and your community of followers will grow by it self

My first warning, do not buy followers, because these followers are in most cases rather static and will never interact with you, nor will they bring their friends, unless you put your wallet on the table again. Next to this, if a high percentage of your followers is fake, new followers, but now real people, will prefer to stay at a distance.

What to tell

It’s not difficult on Instagram or Twitter to see who is selling hair extensions, simply count the number of pictures of hair, and the number of hashtags #Peruvian #Brazilian #Hairextensionssale etc. Looks great, but will not distinguish you from the rest. And that’s exactly what you want, right?

But if you can’t post only pictures, then what to share? What about your story, what is happening to you, why are you selling hair, only to make money or do you have another mission? You visit a hair or beauty show, share it. You went to church on Sunday, tell about it. You fell in love with those beautiful shoes, shout about it. Build up a relation with your followers. Make it inspirational.

Measure and improve

Facebook, Twitter and all the other social media platforms allow you to measure what works and what doesn’t. If you spent time, and you will, to share your story and to tell the world about the hair you are selling, you want to know if your followers really like it, or not.  Make sure you check the statistics, the numbers of likes or views, the type of post, a link, only text or a video. Or the content, did you got many responses on those awesome shoes, buy them and share this moment of happiness with your followers, if you put enough emotion or humour in it, perhaps it goes viral and it will generate enough sales to pay back the shoes.

What about bad response

Okay it’s great if people respond on your postings, and it’s not nice if people do not respond at all, but what to do with negative response. If somebody feels bad about your hair, or just had a bad idea. Do not wait and watch to see what happens, but respond and take your responsibility. Act in a polite manner and if you made a mistake be honest about it.

What next?

If you tell your story and the number of followers grows and so does the numbers of likes or views, now what? It’s great to meet and interact with people on internet, but you are here to stay, so what to do with all this attention. You have to turn, or convert, all these followers into customers of course. Make sure they can contact you, even if you do not have a website already, share your WhatsApp, your website URL or the location where your store or salon is located. Be sure to check your inbox on a regular basis, very painful to find an order in your Facebook message box dated two weeks ago.

I can’t sleep anymore?

Do not worry, to keep the conversation going it is not needed to stay awake all night long, or to skip all your other activities. You have to stay social in real life too. To keep an overview on what’s happening on your social networks, to schedule posts in advance and to stay in control I use Hootsuite. A free tool that makes this it possible to start building your own network of followers and perhaps already clients.