Salon Swagger

Brie Holt (00:01.431)
Hey everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Salon Swagger, the podcast that gives commission salon and spa owners the tools, tips, and insights to grow their business and create success stories. I'm Brie and I'm so excited because today we have a talented, talented guest joining us. If you guys have been wondering how to get your salon social media game on point, then this is the episode for you. I'm so excited to introduce Tiffany Welty. She is a freelance social media manager based in Phoenix, Arizona.

with years of experience helping businesses elevate their online presence through strategic content creation, campaign development, and expert copywriting, I believe. So if you're struggling to make social media work for your business, Tiffany's got the knowledge you need to kind of turn things around. With that being said, Tiffany, welcome.

Tiffany Welty (00:40.588)
Mm-hmm.

Tiffany Welty (00:49.847)
Well, thank you so much for having me. I'm excited.

Brie Holt (00:52.843)
Absolutely. I'm super excited. I think this is going to be extremely beneficial to a lot of people because I've learned over the last five years working with a ton of salon and spa owners that social media is sometimes something that they get kind of stuck on and they end up spending so much time on it that is invaluable because they don't really take any action because they get frustrated. So I think this will be really good.

All right, girl. Well, let's just take it from the beginning. Social media can feel like a never ending to-do list for so many salon and spa owners out there, but it's clear that you're kind of all about it and it's really your passion. So how did you first get into social media management and what was the moment when you just kind of knew social media was your thing?

Tiffany Welty (01:21.74)
course.

Tiffany Welty (01:40.127)
Yeah, so I kind of just stumbled upon into it, but the social media aspect, but I actually had a background in marketing PR, which definitely obviously correlates to social media marketing in a way, but I was working for a couple PR firms as well as I went to school specifically for advertising. So I learned a lot about campaign management and about branding, which I think is really important when it comes to social media. So when I was at a couple of different PR firms, they actually had me doing

running a couple different social media accounts. So that's where I got to like kind of dip my toes in. And then also I've just, you know, I grew up, I was born in the nineties. So everything with the internet and social media, I feel like that was always a part of just my personal life. So I took it upon myself to just try out a social media manager role. And that's kind of how I stumbled into it.

Brie Holt (02:31.385)
That's awesome. That's awesome. Now, as a freelance social media manager, you've probably worked with all kinds of businesses, I would think. I'm sure that you've seen a lot of social media strategies, both good and bad probably, but for our listeners out there, especially those that are running salons and spas, what are some of the biggest mistakes that you see businesses making when it comes to their social media strategy and what kind of impact do those mistakes typically have on their growth?

Tiffany Welty (03:00.935)
Yeah, I think the thing with like nowadays with businesses is that they're finally realizing that they know that they need a social media account because that's how, you know, a lot of this younger demographic, that's how they're discovering businesses. That's how they're like getting the first glance into what you're going to offer them. So it is really important, but I think it can be a really tough, you know, realm to navigate, especially when you're not familiar with it.

So I think some of the biggest mistakes I've seen just from even businesses who try to open up a social media is that they don't really have a strategy going in. They're just posting content to post content and they don't know, you know, the quality or the consistency. And then they get frustrated because they're not really seeing those results. And I get it. mean, you know, it's always changing too. So you're always learning something new. So it takes a lot of time and energy. So I feel like not like lack of consistency, not having a strategy.

And then it's like, then you're wasting your time because you're putting all this time and effort into trying to build a social media, but you're getting frustrated as an owner because you have a million other duties and things to attend to too. So I think that's why like, it's really important to have someone who's dedicated, whether it be just for social media or for your marketing in general. I think that really helps to have, you know, consistency and actually see those real results. So yeah.

Impact wise, it's just kind of wasted time sometimes if you don't know what you're doing. It's good to have a presence, but it can get really frustrating and starting out.

Brie Holt (04:31.129)
100 % been there, done that, gotten very, very frustrated with it and kind of just threw in the towel for a little while. So I get that. You just made a really good statement. Many of our listeners are juggling multiple responsibilities. They are managing their staff, handling clients, and of course, trying to fit in marketing, including social media. It can be a lot to handle. It can get extremely overwhelming. What would be your top tips for simplifying their social media management process?

Tiffany Welty (04:32.476)
Yeah.

Brie Holt (05:00.973)
while keeping it high quality and engaging.

Tiffany Welty (05:05.348)
Yeah, I definitely think that it comes down to focusing on not the amount of content you're putting out there, but the quality of content. So really getting, you know, deep on, okay, what types of posts, you know, cause you want to have a variety are going to be valuable to your audience. So I think people have this misconception thinking that they have to post all the time every day. And while that does help, if you have a strategy with that, it

it doesn't make everything. doesn't make your business. I think getting like, could be posting a couple of times a week. think having that consistency aspect is really important and you know, being really, and then having the quality content that you're putting out there. So for salon owners, like I know, like I think having ways to personalize your stylist, having like maybe some fun videos that adds personality to your salon, but then also showcasing like this is

like Instagram, for instance, is the first glance. It's almost like a portfolio, I say, where people are seeing, especially in a salon, what work do you do? You know, I want to see what I'm going to get done at the salon. I want to make sure, you know, my stylists are experts in that. So you need to really showcase those services and add value and just kind of do a mix because people don't want all business and seriousness, but they don't want all fun and games either. They kind of, need to do a good balance. And then I would just say, especially because

you know, salon owners have so many other duties, I think just dedicating like a certain time to your social media. So maybe you block out a couple hours a week that you focus on it, whether that's just if you have to do it, helping like having your stylist get involved, have them record videos. So it's not always on you to do that. And then they can also, you know, use it for their personal content and for the salon, which I think is great. And then I would just say that, you know, if you're really struggling with time,

then definitely look into hiring someone, whether that be, you know, a freelance, freelancer or someone in house. And yeah, those things can be a little bit of expensive, but there are definitely people who are just looking to gain more experience. And I feel like something too, that maybe business owners don't realize is like, they're like, we don't have the budget to hire someone, we don't have the budget to hire someone. But, you know, lots of times there are people who are maybe coming out of college or who like,

Tiffany Welty (07:28.575)
my generation grew up in the social media. They're a lot more talented than you think of it. Even if they haven't worked with all these businesses, they have the skill sets to do that. Or maybe they would take not like extremely high pay, but they just want to build their brand and experience. And I feel like that way when you have someone dedicated personally to specifically like social media, it really does help, you know, and they then they can collaborate with this salon owner as well. So

Brie Holt (07:55.353)
No, I think that's great. And I think you brought up a couple of really good points. First and foremost, we see all over all the time, different strategies, right? Like you've got to post on TikTok 30 times a day, and then you've got to do Instagram maybe five times a day. And I think it gets so confusing and so overwhelming, nobody really knows what to do. So I think having you say that consistency is key is very, very important.

Tiffany Welty (08:12.833)
Mm-hmm.

Brie Holt (08:20.415)
Also, I think people can utilize their in-house team and sometimes we don't realize that. I love hiring freelancers. It's one of my favorite things to do in business. But for some of us, we don't have the budget to be able to do that and in-house is a really good way to do. I know for me, I was able to take one of my associates who was very, very good when it came to social media, very young, very hip, very, you know, fun. And she was able to really, really help us get our social media off the ground. And I was already paying her to

Tiffany Welty (08:43.819)
Mm-hmm.

Brie Holt (08:50.135)
be there. So it was just kind of one of those things. So I think you dropped some amazing strategies that will help people maybe simplify their social media just a little bit. I know you mentioned this just a little, but I'd like to go into it a little bit further if we can. Owners get stuck on what to post. Finding the right content, it can really be a challenge. For a salon or spa, what kind of content themes or types of post do you recommend?

Tiffany Welty (09:04.255)
Yeah.

Brie Holt (09:18.071)
are going to be maybe most effective for engaging their audience. In other words, what works in the freaking beauty industry? That's the easiest way to put it.

Tiffany Welty (09:25.152)
Mm hmm. Yeah. So like I kind of reiterate before was like a good mix of content is crucial. So like some of the things I think is really great for like a salon is, you know, incorporating Yes, there's those trending TikToks, those are going to help you get engagement, but not necessarily get customers, but it helps bring this brand awareness to you, which really does help your brand and how people see who are maybe locally discovering your page.

that wow, you have a lot of engagement, you people like your content. They're funny. There's personality to the stylist. That's what that type of content does. And usually they're pretty easy to film, you know, and it's fun. And then we go into more of that portfolio mode. So it's like the hair photos, am I seeing before and afters? Do we have a variety of different like if you're

like as a personal stylist, if you're a blonde specialist, then definitely post, you know, obviously a lot of blondes and different things. But I think having a variety, showcasing your services because people want to see, you know, like I was saying before, what they're going to get done and they want to make sure that it's quality work. So having those before and afters, I think is really great. showcasing how you do different services. And then I think to another fun, and unique

type of content that adds a lot of value, you want to build this type of community. So I see a lot more brands building a community and not just about like aesthetics always. So you have to have a good mix and balance with that. And that goes with maybe doing some sort of educational content. So maybe it's like you're, you know, maybe there's a lot of myths or like things you hear about in the hair world or beauty world in general. So people want to be educated on these things. So you there's ways to make it fun.

But I think offering valuable advice that people like your trusted experts as hairstylists. So offer those tidbits and advice because people want to go to someone that they can trust that feels like they're knowledgeable and they're an expert. So I think really balancing those different types of things. And then also, you know, posting promotional content is great too, but people don't want to necessarily feel like they're being sold something. So I think there's a way to go about that and make it fun.

Tiffany Welty (11:43.067)
be creative. yeah, people just don't want to feel like they're constantly being pushed off because they will see through that and they don't want to go somewhere like that where it feels like someone's just trying to get money out of me. So yeah, I think overall just building a community and having a mix of the type of content is really important too.

Brie Holt (12:02.893)
Yeah, I love that. One of the things that we started doing, I don't want to say how long ago because it was a long time ago, but we started doing a lot with getting our team and our clients involved. So interviewing, right? Our stylist, not only on hair stuff, right? But what's their favorite candy bar? Like what's their favorite holiday? What do they like to do? Because it really gets that personal connection going. And you can do the same thing with your clients too, which is really, really cool because people are seeing all different sides of your business. So

Tiffany Welty (12:20.25)
Mm-hmm.

Brie Holt (12:31.917)
I think that's amazing. I know, yeah.

Tiffany Welty (12:33.5)
Yeah, something. sorry, I was just gonna say something I've seen a lot. I know it takes kind of a lot of time and effort on the stylist to do this. But something that I think does really well on like, TikTok and social media is when they like sit down with their client and their clients there. She's like, what do you want to get done today? What are we going to do? And they go through that whole like consultation process. And then you see the after or sometimes they showcase the after like right before so you see what you're getting into.

People, that's like me, I get this like digital glance into like what I'm going to experience when I go into the salon. And then also you get to see people's personalities, which really helped too.

Brie Holt (13:13.165)
Yeah, I love that. love that. I always call when we do stuff like that, I call it our digital diaries. That's kind of what I called it. And it really is. We try to follow people right from their beginning stages all the way through and then use different pieces of that. So I think that's super cool. Now life changes fast. Social media changes even faster. And once a salon kind of has a good foundation on their social media, it can be really tempting just to kind of keep doing the same thing over and over and over again, because, you know, it's working, I guess.

But we know that businesses need to evolve. They have to evolve. And social media is no exception. For those who feel like they've kind of got the basics down and they want to take things maybe to the next level, what's one advanced social media strategy that you would recommend them try? Maybe something that can give them an edge over their competitors.

Tiffany Welty (14:03.8)
I would say I don't have like something like super specific, but I would say like if you have kind of, you know, nailed down a lot of the basics and you have this good strategy going, that's kind of your time and sign to start to be able to build this original content. So being me, you come up with really creative ideas on interviews with your, your stylist or your clients, like making funny videos like that. think also deep diving into like more advanced, like either editing styles or

filming styles can really help like heighten that quality of content that you're pushing out to. But it can be really overwhelming if you're like for starting out. So that's why you want to get down those basics first. But that can just like take it up your business up to like the next level a little bit. Which I think is, you know, fun to be able to learn some of those techniques too. And then just like, always be aware of like, what's trending and what's new.

So you don't need to be on there for hours, but looking like what's really popular on your for you page, what's something new that people are doing? I like to look at other salons that really pique my interest, that are getting great engagement. And I like to see what they're doing and how we could incorporate it into our salon, but in our own way. So I think that's really helpful.

Brie Holt (15:21.817)
Love that. That's great. Okay. So let's switch gears just a little bit and talk about something closely tied to social media brand strategy. A lot of business owners think that their brand is literally just their logo and their colors, but it's so much more than that. It's way more than that. How would you define brand strategy and why is it so important for salon and spa owners to get that right?

Tiffany Welty (15:45.983)
Yeah. so to me, brand strategy, you know, the strategy aspect of that is that is your plan of action that you're going to put into place. You know, it's like the template, the blueprint, the guidelines that you're going to put into place. And then when it comes to your brand, your brand is like, who is your business, but that has to do not with, you know, just your logo, your aesthetic. It has to do with your personality. What types of people are coming into your salon? I think a big part of your brand.

is knowing your audience and your target market. Because if you just think that everyone coming into your salon is just like you, just like you and there's no one else different, they meant like something totally different. So and yeah, you have a variety of people, but you really do need to tailor your brand strategy to that, you know, and I think just having overall like consistency because like something I've realized with like,

incorporating social media and then your marketing strategy just in general, like whatever your website or everything like that. You have consistency throughout all those things, but they're all being tailored to specific demographics. So there are tweaks you have to make based on that. So I just feel like knowing your audience is really crucial and that's just something that people don't think about. You got to think about your industry, your niche and how you want to be perceived to the world.

Brie Holt (17:10.777)
That is very, very profound. It even made me think a little bit, to be honest with you. What are some mistakes that you see small businesses making when it comes to building their brand, especially in the beauty industry?

Tiffany Welty (17:13.237)
you

Tiffany Welty (17:24.199)
Yeah, I think people maybe jump in a little bit and they don't think about, I mean, sometimes it's, you got to start somewhere. So starting somewhere is great, but like maybe people don't look at how they want to be, how they can evolve. And I think that comes down to their brand strategy. And it's kind of on those things I was talking about. like, what is your personally your brand personality? You know, are you guys someone who's super serious and high end?

or you someone who's more chill and relaxed, like you gotta think of your brand as almost like a person, you know, that you wanna perceive to the world. You gotta think about who you're targeting. Like we talked about that market, you know, what industry are you in? What are other people doing? What type of angle do you wanna be perceived? And that goes into your niche. Like what are you really good at? And then also, know, aesthetics do play a part in that. People wanna...

you know, aesthetics is everything nowadays. And it's not, it doesn't, it's not everything when it comes to your business, but people like pretty things. They like things that look neat and put together and flow well. So I think just being aware of all those things and like, how do you in a perfect world, how can you put those together to like build this type of perception in a way? So I think just, yeah, making a plan.

Brie Holt (18:46.841)
Awesome.

Definitely, definitely making a plan. Okay, so another powerful tool that I think a lot of salon and spa owners either overlook or they really just don't use it to its full potential is email marketing. Why do you think email marketing is so powerful and how can salon and spa owners leverage it to keep clients engaged and coming back for services? So many people just push this off or they don't wanna do it because they don't wanna bombard their clients or bother their guests or things of that nature.

Tiffany Welty (18:51.858)
you

Brie Holt (19:18.817)
As Chandra and I are coaching these different salon and spa owners, we're noticing that quite frequently. You know, you've got to find that sweet spot, but I think it's important for them to understand how important it is and how they can leverage it.

Tiffany Welty (19:23.996)
Mm-hmm.

Tiffany Welty (19:32.067)
Yeah, I mean, the thing about bombarding, yeah, people don't want to get bombarded. I want to send out an email newsletter every day, probably if unless you have quality content that you could, you know, provide for them. But at the end of the day, you know, we all get so many emails a day, you're just another email in there. And so I think it's really great email marketing is great for continued brand awareness. So reminding them

Hey, we're here, you know, we have this great promotion going on or hey, did you know about this? Or we have this amazing, you know, contest we're running right now or something specifically for you guys, make them feel special. But it's just, it's a way to keep yourself on someone's radar. I remember when I was in advertising school, they told me that you have to see an advertisement seven times to like really make an impact.

And obviously that's not always true. But for the most part, it's like, you need to keep reminding these people and you may feel annoying, but that's also part of advertising and you're going to see results there. So I think just finding good balance, you know, so some salons like to do a weekly one. Some people do once a month, I think just find what works for you. And if people don't want their email newsletter, they'll unsubscribe, you know, so it's just part of it. They subscribe to your email newsletter for a reason anyways.

So give them content that makes them feel special, like it's exclusive to them. And I think email marketing is very similar to text marketing. So SMS, which can also be very valuable and they're very similar. Obviously there's different differences in terms of like the copy you put out or how you like are reaching out, but it's mainly because you're kind of reaching two different audiences. So people who are more

I don't want to say always, but like that, like a younger demographic will probably get more. You'll see more results with like text marketing than like email marketing. So it's just knowing who, who's really paying attention to what, and tailoring that towards them. But yeah, I think it's, it's great. And people just sometimes forget about it because they don't see results. So.

Brie Holt (21:47.929)
I agree with that. would agree with that. Something that came up in one of our one-on-one calls the other day was they were having issues getting their clients to actually sign up for the newsletters or for the updates. So clients weren't wanting to give their email addresses. Do you have any creative ways that salon owners or spa owners could possibly do that?

Tiffany Welty (22:09.706)
Yeah, we definitely have some creative ways I would say first off, obviously having it in different locations is really crucial. You're always going to want to have it, you know, in the basic places that everyone knows. But it gets hard because you're like, people aren't signing up, what can we do? I think ways to get creative would be like running a giveaway where you incorporate people signing up for their email, maybe that's just one step into them getting into a drawing or a raffle. I think that's a fun way to do it. Also, I thought about

a of businesses will like host these fun events or they'll collaborate with other businesses. Maybe they'll do like a yoga thing for like a beauty salon or whatever and they come together and you know, they'll have a table promoting yourself. That's what it's all about. It's almost like this like brand activation and so you can promote your email list there or have a giveaway that you're promoting that incorporates that. So I think you can really get creative and then just really highlighting that like this is an

exclusive thing, you'll get exclusive promotions, like make them feel like they're going to get something else out of it that they wouldn't get if they weren't signed up on the email list. Like if you're not a part of this, maybe you won't get a specific like promotion or gift or prize or something. You know, people want to know what they're getting out of something. So I think just really being able to articulate that is important.

Brie Holt (23:32.61)
Do you have any best practices for kind of segmenting those email lists to make sure that salon owners are sending the right message to the right people?

Tiffany Welty (23:42.708)
Yeah, I think it definitely depends. But I think for salons, the biggest thing is depending on what types of messages you're doing, I think having an all active customer segment. people, everyone in your base, because sometimes like, for instance, if you have an update on a policy about a salon or something going out that you need people to know, you want to be able to send it to everyone who's coming in actively. On top of that, something I know we've done is

having like customers who haven't been in an X amount of months being like, Hey, we miss you. you know, we haven't seen you in a while. Just wanted to let you know, like, you know, we're here and we're going to offer you this specific promotion or special just for you to come back in. So sometimes it's just reminding people, people get busy. We're constantly bombarded with brands and just all this content every day that people forget. Or maybe it's, you know, that person just couldn't get their hair done for a little bit, you know, and

they forgot about it. And so now they are looking for a salon and they kind of forgot about you. And so now they're going to come back because you're on their mind. And then just having that all email subscriber list. So I think it doesn't have to be too complicated when it comes to segments. But I mean, you could, you could make like a VIP list or something like that too, for all of your like different customers too. So there's ways to segment, but I think having those basic ones are really important.

Brie Holt (25:07.673)
I like that. think that's great. Well, I feel like you gave us a ton of golden nuggets today and I am so happy that you came. You really covered everything from simplifying social media to building a strong brand and harnessing the power of email and you even threw in SMS marketing. So I really appreciate it. For those listeners out there, is there any last words of wisdom or advice that you would like to give to salon and spa owners who have either stayed away from social media?

Tiffany Welty (25:12.491)
you

Brie Holt (25:36.095)
or just gotten so frustrated that they just kind of pushed it to the back burner for now.

Tiffany Welty (25:41.349)
I feel like maybe just, yeah, if they push you to the back burner, would definitely say reevaluate maybe why you pushed it back and take some of the notes that we talked about and think about, okay, how can I incorporate this without overwhelming myself? Because I think people just, yeah, have a big misconception that's like, like you were talking about before, you have to post five times on Instagram or this or that.

Well, there are people who don't do those things and they still go viral or get content. There's different strategies for different people in different businesses. So I think just looking at, how can I be consistent? How can I put quality content out there? I think that's the most important thing. It's not about how much you put out there. So.

Brie Holt (26:22.702)
No, I think that is great, great advice. And just in case our listeners want to maybe ask you some questions or get in contact with you or follow you on social media, how can they do that?

Tiffany Welty (26:34.748)
Yeah, I have a Instagram account that has kind of showcased some of my portfolio. It's called Tiff Ann Social Co. So T-I-F-F-A-N-N Social Co. So yeah, you can follow me there and they'll have my portfolio and some different content stuff as well. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.

Brie Holt (26:52.097)
Awesome. Well...

Absolutely, I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed it and I wish you so much success in the future.

Tiffany Welty (27:01.074)
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Brie Holt (27:03.499)
Absolutely. All right, guys, that's a wrap. Make sure that you follow us on all social media platforms at The Beauty Biz Agency and visit our website at www.thebeautybizagency.com. We have some amazing free resources that you can use to implement immediately and it will level up your studio. Now go out there, get your social media game on point and make some boss moves. Until next time, keep slaying those business goals with a whole lot of swagger.