THE DIGITAL RESET! By Hayley Mears, Director - Six Underground Media

So let me introduce myself. I’m Hayley, an ex-hairdresser who has spent the last 12 years guiding salons through the digital landscape across the rise and now the fall of social media.

Along the way I grew, I learned, and I have acquired an incredible team who are the core of our agency. Six Underground Media is not just a social media agency, we are more of a holistic branding agency that works to innovate and increase brand awareness in whatever form that presents itself. Innovation doesn’t always mean embracing something new. It can be letting something go. What traditional approaches have you always used that no longer serve you? Is it opening on a Saturday? Do you still offer the same refreshments and salon experience? Have you surveyed your clients and asked them what you could change to bring more value to their salon experience?

I can now say with the benefit of retrospect that the last two years have disrupted the industry more than it has ever been disrupted before. After trying to tweak, adapt and pivot into this new space I have finally come to terms with the fact, that to move forward, we all need to START AGAIN.

We need to go back to the beginning and reassess what our business needs are, what our client needs are and what our team needs are. Because… these are going to be dramatically different to what they were two years ago. So, if you’re using the same marketing, strategies, incentives, and recruitment approach you’re not going to yield the ROI you once did.

It’s time to do a complete business analysis and uniquely determine what your output should look like in this new and uncharted time.

So, let’s look at your social media for example. Here’s a list of things that are essential considerations in the post covid digital world.

- The hashtag strategies you used prior to COVID are no longer going to work. You need to test and try a host of combinations to find your new sweet spot. It all depends on what your audience wants to be responsive to.

- Your clients want appointment access 24/7. They don’t want the salon to be open 24/7, but you MUST offer a tool that allows them to make an appointment anywhere, anytime. Phone appointments alone just won’t cut it. Have you integrated your booking system into your social platforms?

- You need to take GREAT in-salon photos (and videos and REELS) and the lighting and visibility must be on point. The standard before and after pics are not engaging enough. You need to be handy on the camera to capture the movement and transitions of every transformation you create. This is a non-negotiable part of the new way to deliver content that brings in new business.

- REELS, REELS, and more REELS. You will only get new visibility of your content by using this feature on the platform. End of story.

- Your content MUST have a point of difference. Your audience should be able to see your style and your aesthetic before catching the account name.

- Forget about what your competitors are doing. Focus on your audience only. What other salons are trying to attract may not be the same as the ideal client your business is best suited to.

- If you want your audience to grow you MUST spend money and you MUST incentivise the ‘call to action’ to follow.

So, I want to make a forecast of what innovation looks like in 2022. We must do something brave and uncomfortable. Something that will allow us to break open new territory for business expansion. Forget everything you think you know about social media marketing. This space has changed so much that the rules we once followed are no longer industry best practice. Get creative, take a risk, and learn based on your intuition and intimate knowledge of your brand.

www.sixunderground.net.au