Whether they are launching collaborations with some of the biggest beauty brands on the planet or launching companies of their own, we can’t deny the power Influencers have when it comes to bringing in major business. These self-made social media stars have cultivated relationships with their audiences by showing their authentic style, makeup skills, or everyday life. These relationships have led to multi-million-dollar releases and entire product lines selling out in minutes across the globe. So how can your salon or spa capitalize on working with Influencers to bring in more business? Check out our tips below!
The Type of Influencer Matters
If you want to partner with an Influencer on a campaign to increase brand awareness, where do you start? The first step is deciding who you want to partner with. If you don’t have a large budget to work with Influencers, start with local Micro-Influencers in your area. These people usually have between 10,000 and 500,000 followers across all their social platforms and engagement rates, likes and comments in their posts, over 30-50%. You can draft up an agreement to trade free or discounted services in exchange for posts and tags on their social media.
You always want to make sure that the audience of the Influencer matches with the kind of customer you would like to see in your business. For example, Alpa Rama is a Micro-Influencer from Orlando, Florida. Her Instagram account showcases a casual Florida style dressed up with luxurious handbags, blazers and edgy flats, an homage to her Parisian roots. Her followers expect luxury from her at this point so a partnership with a high-end salon would fit in with her brand and possibly translate into more long-term business for the salon as well.
When gearing up to work with Influencers, don’t shoot for the stars unless your Marketing budget allows for it. Major Beauty Influencers like Desi Perkins, with 3.7 million Instagram followers, charge thousands for features on their socials and often work with managers and PR teams, which can make the start-up process lengthy and costly. Don’t work with a male Lifestyle Influencer whose core audience is more interested in the latest skateboard tricks, rather than what barbershop he got his haircut from. Before committing to anything, it’s completely okay to ask these influencers for their Media Kit that lists their followers, their demographics, and all the information you need to decide if the partnership will benefit both parties.
Influencers And Envision
If you would like to set up an incentive program where the Influencer is rewarded for each client that they refer within Envision, you can automate loyalty points to be applied to the Influencer’s client profile. Simply create a loyalty point program for your influencers and Envision will do the work for you each time someone is referred by them! Points can then be redeemed for discounts on products and services.
A great way to track sales from social media influencers in Envision would be by selecting that a client was referred by a specific influencer in the client details section. Under “Referred by”, in the Demographics section of a client profile, select the influencer. This way all business generated by this partnership is easily tracked in Envision whenever you need it.
Another way to track referrals through a new partnership with an influencer is available in our Cloud Preferred and above plans. The “Client Referral Tree Report” can be generated under “Client Reports” in Envision Cloud giving you an easily digestible view of all customers brought in by this new partnership. This is one of our favorite reports in the software that you can bring into a follow-up meeting with the Influencer you have chosen to partner with to show how their influence has benefitted the business. We also highly recommend follow-up meetings after social media mentions have been posted so you can track the exact return on investment and see if it’s worth it to partner again or try something else.
Influencer Marketing And You
Whether you’re completely on board with the way social media is turning everyday people into huge internet stars, or you prefer the old-fashioned form of celebrity, we have a feeling Influencers aren’t going anywhere. If you’re looking for something new to invest some marketing dollars into, look no further! Tap into the Influencers in your area and tell us how you have leveraged these partnerships by connecting with us across our socials. We’d love to hear from you!
