This month we’ve talked a lot about gaining new clients. (Well, duh, it was our Education Series topic for April.) We provided a list of 25 promotions you can try, explained some valuable ideas for strategic partnerships in your community, and even spent the month texting encouragement to get you out of your comfort zone and be disruptive to attract new clients. The “how to gain new clients” strategy elephant in the room that we haven’t touched on yet is social media. 
How lucky we are to have this incredible tool that literally puts potential new clients at our fingertips! It is exactly that, though, guys: A tool that will only produce results when utilized properly. Social media is a whole education series topic in itself for another month (hint, hint, be on the lookout), but here are three tips for gaining new clients through social media that you need to know today.
1)
For goodness sake, please do NOT post all of your openings. It looks desperate and diminishes the idea that you’re a valuable commodity. It puts the idea in clients’ heads that they don’t need to prebook because you aren’t in demand and always have availability.
2)
Your persona, your lifestyle, and the filtered hair color pictures you fake on social media are darn near impossible to fake in real life when a new client comes into the salon. Just don’t. Be your authentic self and accurately promote your work online and in person.
3)
Likes and comments on your posts don’t mean appointments. They don’t pay the bills. When someone new likes or comments on your post, they’ve taken the first step to show interest and it’s now your responsibility to make the next move. Acknowledge the person back. Send a personal message with something to the effect of, “Thank you so much for appreciating my work! If you ever become dissatisfied with your current salon, I’d love to do your hair.”