hair extension marketing the ultimate guide

Hair Extension Marketing: The Ultimate Guide

Take Action and Sell More Hair Extensions

There is no question that the hair extensions business is a booming market! Hair Extensions are becoming more popular across all ethnic groups, which includes sew-ins, tape-ins, clip-ins, and wigs.

This growing demand indicates that there is even more of an opportunity for you to be in the hair extension business!

If you're currently in the hair business or thinking of getting started, then you have to ask yourself one important question that will help determine your success.

How do I sell more hair extensions?

Great question!

You can have the best hair bundles with the strongest wefts - full to the tips, but if your marketing is not getting them in front of the consumers, then it doesn't matter.

We have compiled a master list of hair extension marketing action items you can use to help sell more hair.

The Concept of Marketing

Before we get started with your hair extension marketing program, it's important to understand some of the basics of marketing.

The purpose of marketing is to capture the attention of your target market, facilitate your prospect's purchasing decision, and offer a specific product for them to buy.

Marketing by definition is:

"All the processes involved in getting a product or service from the manufacturer or seller to the ultimate customer."

You'll want to spend some time to craft a memorable marketing message that will grab the attention of your potential customers.

Remember that it's crucial that you have a great looking hair extension website to help facilitate a client's purchase. You can send traffic to your site all day, but if it's not functional to convert sales, then you're not going to be happy with your marketing efforts.

1: Hair Extension Website

You need a place to call your own!

You might see some success selling through Instagram's DM or Facebook Messanger, but it's a dangerous game to build off of someone else's platform.

Having a fast, well-designed website with a variety of in-demand hair extensions will be the key to your long-term success.

*Quick Tip - Get an email address with your domain name so that you will have a Name@YourWebsite.com email. There's nothing less professional than having something like myhair@gmail.com.

Keep your website design clean and straightforward. Stay away from flashing buttons and crazy colors. It will become more of a distraction, and your customers will not convert.

Modern platforms to build an E-Commerce hair extension website on:

  • WordPress
  • Shopify
  • Big Commerce
  • Volusion
  • Wix
  • Squarespace

We only recommend WordPress to our clients. There are various reasons we don't use the other platforms to sell hair extensions. For example, Shopify takes an additional 1% of all your transactions, because they don't process transactions for hair extensions. You have to use a 3rd party processor like PayPal or Authorize.net. WordPress doesn't charge an additional fee.

The goal is to drive traffic to your website, which is your very own marketing platform!

2: Facebook

There's no doubt Facebook is the #1 online platform that connects the world.

Facebook gives you an unlimited amount of opportunities - if you know how to use them. Let's quickly look at a few ways to promote your hair extensions on the widely used platform.

Your Personal Facebook - Pump the breaks! Use this method sparingly and with long promos. Your friends and family will get sick of your regular promotions. Business promos are not what a personal page is for, BUT you can squeeze in some promotions. Upload some "behind the scenes" photos or videos of your business.

Create a Business Page - Make sure to set up a Business Page for your brand! You can push out promos all day and even schedule your posts ahead of time if you get busy. A Facebook Business Page is a great place also to get more exposure for your blog posts, even, and anything else related to your brand.

Facebook Advertising - Getting more visitors to your Facebook Page or Website is easy with Facebook Advertising. This form of advertising can be a little intimidating at first because of all of the options. We recommend taking an online course on Facebook Advertising - it's worth it! You will also need a Facebook Business page to get started with this. Learn how to setup "retargeted" ads, and you will see great results!

Facebook Marketplace - It's free for you to list your products and easily communicate with prospective buyers in your area.

create-a-facebook-page

3: Twitter

Since 2006, Twitter and its short-form messages have grown to millions of users. You can now tweet out your photos and videos along with #HASHTAGS that can be found by prospective customers.

Learning how to utilize some of the Twitter Search features can introduce you to the world of clients looking for hair. A great tip for a hair brand owner is not to try and sell on Twitter, but to be an expert. Offer advice to those having issues with coloring, washing, and other hair related questions.

Twitter Marketing ideas:

  • Retweet client selfies are wearing your hair extensions.
  • Share links to hair related posts and education.
  • Form relationships with stylists that could become clients.
  • Ask your followers if they have hair related questions.
  • Tweet your blog posts and products.

If you're looking to be great at hair extension marketing, then you have to focus on more than your sales pitch!

People will get tired of the same old sales pitch. Try to be creative to get the most out of this platform!

4: Instagram

Instagram is one of the top favorite platforms for marketing hair extensions!

Hair is such a visual product. Hair extensions match perfectly with the most visual social network, Instagram.

Instagram is the place to show off product photos, promos, and client photos. Showcase your hair client, and show them some love by reposting their Instagram photo of them wearing the hair. These types of posts are an excellent way to give them some props for looking good and showing your potential customers your great hair extensions.

Like the other social media platforms, we suggest using a variety of posts. Uploading the same product photos all day is easy, but people will get bored and lose interest in your brand.

Depending on your budget, Instagram Advertising is another way to market your hair brand quickly. You can run sponsored ads and posts just like Facebook.

Instagram Stories have taken off since launching in late 2016. Consider snapping photos of your daily activities in the hair business. Your Instagram stories could include showing off a new install, packing orders, or stopping by the Private Label Extensions office (*wink).

private-label0extensions-instagram

5: Create Video Tutorials on YouTube

Did you know YouTube is the world's second-largest search engine?

There are so many opportunities to get more visitors to your website and exposure for your brand by creating videos on YouTube.

If you don't have a professional camera and microphone, then you can start by using your smartphone. Many can take great videos! It's worth it first to watch some videos on how to make great videos on your phone. A few simple techniques can improve the quality of your shots.

You can create videos of you at hair events, coloring hair extensions, tutorials, and more! Everyone is looking to learn how to do hair on YouTube. Yes, there are thousands of videos already on the platform, but don't let this stop you. It's important when people are searching for your brand.

Making videos should be a top priority for your hair extension marketing plan.

Let your customers connect with you through some awesome videos!

6: Pinterest

Pin for the win!

Do you know where a ton of women hangs out? Pinterest!

As a matter of fact, 92% of Pins on Pinterest are created by women. Sound like your target market?

Creating a Pinterest account is free and only takes a few minutes to set up. Just like any social media platform, it's important to completely fill out your profile with a great paragraph about your business and a great looking profile photo.

Start by sharing your great photos on the platform, and make sure to follow stylists and other influencers in the hair industry.

Pinterest is just like a search engine. Make it easier for visitors to find you with well-written photo descriptions including lengths of text being in the range of 150 - 300 words.

Schedule your pins if you plan on having a busy week. Consistently staying in front of your followers is a crucial part of any marketing plan.

Pinterest allows you to Promote your pins to get them in front of more viewers. Make sure you have a high pin before putting a budget behind it. The description, tags, and photo should be on point to maximize reach.

7: LinkedIn

The social network for professionals!

LinkedIn is another great place to share your informational content.; however, it's not a platform to continually post pictures of your product and ask people to buy.

You promote your hair brand with your personal profile, but also make sure to create a LinkedIn Company Page. Fill out the required information, header image, profile image, and link to your website.

Even if you're not a big fan of LinkedIn, it's still important to have a business profile on the site. Search engines like to see your brand established on all the big social platforms as it adds credibility to your business.

LinkedIn also has an advertising platform that can be very powerful if used correctly. Advertising to users based on their interests can prove to be profitable.

Remember to keep everything professional and informative on LinkedIn. Make sure to use it for posting your excellent blog posts, company highlights, and events.

8: Google+

It's probably not the most popular social network, but don't think it doesn't pull any weight with the search engine giant Google.

Google+ is yet another place to share some of your products and blog posts. Not as many people hang out here, but we've noticed Google favoring some of the posts in search. Posting here takes a few minutes, so it's probably a grand idea to have it part of your marketing plan.

The simplistic view of the platform makes it easy to use.

9: Create a Contest

We totally understand that giving away hair extensions can get expensive, but what if you could get some serious marketing power behind it?

Creating a contest is an excellent way to get your hair brand lots of exposure!

If you craft the perfect hair extension contest, then you could get significant returns on your campaign. Most of these contests involve sharing a post, tagging a friend, liking your page, and other ways for you to interact with your potential customer.

Let's look at a few ways to maximize your hair extension marketing efforts with a contest!

Instagram Contest

A favorite among hair companies is to post a photo on Instagram with contest rules. We have seen some of these contests get a lot of traction.

Most companies will ask you to repost the photo or tag a few friends that would look good wearing the particular hair that is part of the giveaway. You can quickly get in front of your target audience.

Once you get your contest up on Instagram, make sure to cross-promote on your other social media profiles, email newsletter, and blog post. If you're going to give something away, then it's important to get the most out of it. We also suggest focusing on running your contest on just one social media platform at a time.

Facebook Contest

Before running a contest on Facebook, you will want to check their Contest Terms & Conditions. The last thing you need is to get your page banned from Facebook.

You might want to consider using a reputable Facebook Contest Software to help promote your content correctly on Facebook. If your budget can handle a few bundles, then it might make a great giveaway. You should also consider a lower cost item like 3D Mink Lashes. A lower-cost giveaway might be a more cost-effective way to get started!

Blog Contest

We love blog contests & giveaways because it is an excellent way to capture email addresses for future promotions. Check out Gleam.io to launch a free contest. Their software will integrate with multiple platforms as well.

Getting people to visit your website through a contest is great because then you can retarget them with Facebook and Instagram marketing.

It's crucial to announce your winner publicly when you run a contest. It would also be beneficial for you to follow-up with the winner for a few photos or testimonial about your hair extensions, lashes, edge control, or any other product you have offered.

facebook-contests

10: Collaborate with Other Bloggers

Bloggers LOVE content! Why not help them out a little and get rewarded?

Writing a guest post for a blog can be beneficial for your business. You can create a business relationship with the blogger, get links to your website, and tap into the audience already set up by the blogger.

Don't plan on creating a promotional post about your hair business. A blogger will not be excited to post and promote that to their readers. You need to bring value to the blog.

Depending on the type of blog or type of reader of the blog, you will need to craft an educational piece that will keep them interested in learning more. Be an expert!

Guest blog post ideas:

  • Latest hair trends
  • Ten tips on taking care of your hair extensions
  • Pros and Cons of a Quick Weave

These are just a couple of ideas you can use. If you choose to write an educational blog post, then introduce yourself as an owner of your hair brand name closer to the end of your post. This blogging technique is a "soft sell" approach that will not seem spammy to the reader.

STOP HERE!

Did you know this Marketing Guide is over 10,000 words and 46 pages long when printed?

It is also totally FREE in an effort to help you with YOUR hair business.

Could you help us out?

Say thanks by giving us a SHARE below!

11: Email Marketing - Grow that list!

Building your email list should be on the top of your hair extension marketing checklist!

Even if you have not yet started your brand, you could still be building a list of emails to announce the upcoming launch.

Services like MailChimp make the email newsletter process very easy and free for the first 2,000 subscribers.

Many online businesses receive up to 30% of their sales just from their email newsletter. It is that powerful.

Email is a timeless way of communication. Social platforms like Facebook or Twitter might lose popularity in the future. If you only build up your following on social media, it could be a dangerous move. Just look at what happened to MySpace.

Newsletters should only be 20% - 30% sales and more focused on great information and tips around hair extensions.

You can also connect your website to your email service provider to create automated rules that will run based on web visitors actions. Mailchimp correctly integrated with your website becomes a powerful combination.

Email is not dead and should be a top priority in your hair extension marketing plan.

email-marketing

12: Contribute to Hair Forums

Helping people with their knowledge of hair is a great marketing tool for your hair brand.

Doing so in a public forum like a hair extension forum can be very rewarding. You can even search for bigger sites like Quora for questions that are waiting to be answered.

Hair extension forums you want to check out:

Remember, at no time should you try to sell in the forums. Keep in mind some members and contributors of the forum might have been posting here for years and are very careful when dealing with a forum "newbie" that is contributing.

Answer the questions or have conversations in the forums. Some might allow you to have a signature where you can put a link to your website. Initially, you might want to hold off until you build up your reputation in the new community.

Show others you are a hair expert and be rewarded over time!

13: Sponsor an Event

Events are everywhere! Why not be part of one?

You might not have the staff or resources to present at an event. The event might not allow vendors. This is OK! Just become a sponsor.

The key is to be part of an event that would have a targeted audience for hair extensions. Being part of the South Florida Senior Living Bake Sale is probably not going to drum up any sales or hype for your business.

You will often find events that don't offer sponsorship opportunities. It could be a new event, and the organizer might not have anticipated the demand for a sponsor. No sponsorship is a great opportunity for you to contact the event organizer and see how you can work together!

Agree to cross-promote the event with your local following, and there is a chance you might not have to pay much to become a sponsor.

We have seen some sponsorships that are just asking way too much for a small business. Don't waste your money! The key is to find an affordable deal with a highly targeted audience.

14: Send a Press Release

Press Releases are a professional way to help get your hair brand some extra exposure!

There are many services like PR WEB that can handle both the writing and distribution of a press release.

Reasons to send your press release:

  • Announce your business launch!
  • Speaking Engagement
  • New Hair Products
  • Will be presenting at an event
  • New celebrity client with a testimonial

Your press release should include more than just text! Make sure to have a few eye-catching photos and even a video. If possible, create a downloadable PDF with info for a reader to download.

A press release can be beneficial for your SEO. If a primary news source picks it up, then you could have hit the jackpot!

The key is to get the most out of each item on your hair extension marketing list.

press-release

15: Use an Online Signature

Everyone sends a hundred emails a day. Make those emails work a little extra hard for you!

Setting up an email signature only takes a few minutes depending on your email program. You can even use this Free Email Signature program to help you design the perfect email signature for your hair brand.

Adding your logo, phone number, website, and social media links will give the person you are emailing an additional opportunity to connect with you.

After you set up an email signature once it can work for you forever! Your hair extension marketing plan should have as many automated processes as possible. It is the only way to keep up with all the marketing opportunities.

16: Send Products to Influencers

Social Influencers are playing a larger part in marketing for the past few years.

What is a social influencer or hair ambassador?

It is someone that has established authority and a large social media following in the industry.

People love to buy what their favorite Instagram celebs are wearing. A lot of what you see is sponsored content, and people are OK with that.

Many times more of the influencers with a larger following will ask for both free products and money to promote it on their social channels. If you don't have the budget for a big-time influence start with someone that is a little smaller.

Working with an up and coming YouTube star can be very rewarding! As their subscriber base grows so will the power of their promotions. If you support them when they are smaller, they might just support you when they are bigger!

Having a well-crafted hair extension marketing program will include multiple aspects of social media promotions. Social Influencers could be perfect for your hair brand's sales!

17: Interview a Celebrity Stylist

Everyone loves the opportunity to be interviewed and featured. Celebrity stylists are no different!

Here is a little strategy behind interviewing a famous hairstylist with a huge following that might have no idea who you are.

Interviews are great for SEO! Posting the interview on your blog and then linking to all your social media channels can give search engines something more to look at on your hair website. As your site becomes more powerful, you could start getting traffic from people searching the name of the celebrity stylist.

If you craft a great interview, there is a good chance the hairstylist will share the interview with their following. This interview could be a quick way to get in front of thousands of potential customers for your business.

You don't have to interview the celebrity stylist about YOUR hair or send them products. Let them know that they are someone you have been following for a while and admire.

Questions you can ask a celebrity stylist during an interview:

  • How did you get started in the hair industry?
  • Who was your first celebrity client?
  • What was some of the best advice you have received from another stylist?
  • What are your favorite hair events

You don't have to do a formal phone interview. The interview could be something you could do via email. Let the stylist know that you will show them the post before publishing, and if there is anything they would like changed, then you would be willing to do that for them.

Another way to look at it is this. You have someone writing almost an entire article for you! How awesome is that?

Remember to be non-promotional when contacting the stylist. Do not ask them to promote your hair or products. Just say that you are a super fan and want to do an interview. If the celebrity stylist is interested in doing more than just an interview, they will probably tell you.

18: Create a Google Adwords Campaign

Google Adwords is the mecca of online advertising!

The number of daily searches for hair extensions and related terms is incredible. If your business is new, there will be no way you can compete with companies that have been around for years with hundreds of pages of content.

If you are looking to show up at the top of Google for most hair extension searches, then you are going to have to pay to play.

The CPC (cost per click) will vary depending on how much competition there is for a particular search term. Google Adwords does have a keyword research tool that will give you an idea of how many searches are being performed per month per phrase along with the average cost per bid to show up in the top ad spaces.

Here are a few hair extension search phrases along with the search volume and cost competition:

  • Hair Extensions: 100K - 1M ($1.08 CPC)
  • Brazilian Hair: 1M - 10M ($0.68 CPC)
  • Virgin Hair: 10K - 100K ($0.77 CPC)
  • Body Wave Hair: 1K - 10K ($0.42 CPC)

What is going to work best for your hair extension brand? You will not know until you start testing your results.

Before throwing a bunch of money at a bunch of keywords, we highly suggest doing a lot of research on how to be successful with Adwords campaigns. The little bit of time and money on an Adwords course could set your hair extension marketing plan to the bank!

google-adwords

19: Start a Hair Affiliate Marketing Program

Would you pay someone a percentage of a sale if they helped sell your product?

This type of transaction is what Affiliate marketing is!

Most E-commerce website platforms have software services that can help you with setting up and managing a network of hair sales affiliates.

Most affiliate plans include a compensation of 10% - 15% of the sale. Yes, this would cut into your profits, but it could substantially increase your sales and exposure with no cost to you other than setting up the software.

The right software will allow affiliates to join your program with an online form. After the affiliate is set up, they are sent an affiliate link or affiliate coupon to help market the hair extensions and track sales.

Having a few great affiliates could blow up your sales and be a huge part of your hair extension marketing program. Finding them is not always easy, but neither is the most significant accomplishment in business.

20: Create a Survey

Getting feedback from customers or potential customers is crucial and should be part of your hair extension marketing plan!

It can help guide your products, services, and pricing in the right direction. Creating a survey is a great way to gather data from your customers.

There are all types of surveys you can create. Completed surveys can also help you create content for your blog.

You can survey new visitors on what types of products or services they are looking are seeking to purchase. If you are not running the day-to-day activities of your hair business, you might consider doing a "customer experience" survey to see how your staff has interacted with your clients.

A basic list of questions for your hair business survey:

  • How would you describe our hair company to a friend?
  • What other hair companies do you usually buy from? What did you like/dislike about their products?
  • How did you find out about us?
  • What other hair extensions or related products should we offer?
  • People appreciate a company that is looking for feedback and ways to improve. You can be one of those companies.

We have used this service with large success in taking surveys online - Survey Monkey

21: Cross Promotions in Industry

Working with other non-related brands in your industry can be an excellent way to get more exposure.

If you are just starting out, it might be difficult to get a "Pantene" on board. Start with some smaller brands that have a similar follow count or hopefully a little higher if possible. You have to keep the relationship mutually beneficial to work for the long term.

Survey what type of products are consumed by a woman who wears hair extensions and wigs, but you do not offer. Is it a particular kind of shampoo & conditioner combo? Maybe styling products? Lipstick?

You can cross-promote your hair extensions with these products by doing social media posts, makeovers using all the different products offered by both parties, newsletter campaigns, or coupons for each other's stores.

Create your plan of action before contacting a brand you have not yet build a relationship. Come up with a few different options to try out.

Relationships will allow you to tap into their followers and they can do the same. As I mentioned before, creating value is only going to work if you create a mutually beneficial relationship.

An excellent hair extension marketing plan is sometimes going to be more than just about you!

22: Start a Hair Battle Competition!

If they start training with your hair, then they will stick with your hair!

Marketing to students that are in a hair school could be an excellent way to get lots of exposure.

Contact your local hair school and see if they work with hair extension companies. You might have to give them some free samples or a specific amount of bundles at cost, but it would be well worth it.

These students are often doing hair on the side while in school. Form a good relationship with them and become the supplier for their clients.

You might have ten hair schools in your metropolitan city but stay focused on one until you can figure out a cost-efficient system that will be beneficial for your hair brand.

23: Host a Pop-Up Shop

Getting a group of people to go to a "buying" event is always a winner!

Don't have a huge following yet and worried nobody would show up? No problem!

Your plan should be to get an additional 5 - 10 vendors that have a similar customer base as hair extension buyers. These vendors could be selling shoes, jewelry, makeup artist, nail tech, and so on.

When you do this the chances for a successful pop-up shop will be greater because you can feed off the marketing efforts of many more people. If you are not the organizer of the pop-up shop, you need to find ones you can be a participant.

Sites like Eventbrite allow you to post your events for free in your area. If you are organizing the "Ladies Beauty Pop" event (or come up with a fun name), then you will also need to find some space.

Marketing your hair extensions is all about connecting with customers. Make sure to take some pictures at the events because this is great social proof that you are a legitimate hair brand.

pop-up-shop

24: Create a Presentation for SlideShare

Share and Discover Knowledge.

Showcasing your knowledge is an important part of being a business owner. A perfect place to do it is on SlideShare.

I would not recommend doing a "Sales Presentation" for your hair extensions on SlideShare but something related to them.

Ideas include:

Well written articles can show up very high in search results. Allow people to connect with you and your brand. Hair extension marketing is much more than just "Sell, Sell, Sell" all day. Bring value to your prospective clients, and if it works out well, you should know that a percentage will buy from your store.

25: Focus on SEO

Search Engine Optimization is a craft that you can learn over time.

When you first launch your website, Google will index your pages but don't expect them to show up on the first page of a search for terms like "hair extensions" for a while. The web is a competitive place, and you have to be ready for battle.

Understanding some basic SEO principals can help push your search results up in the right direction.

SEO Tips!

Here are some SEO tips that will help rocket your website to the top of search results.

1 - Create Great Content

When writing blog posts, you have to make sure that your content is useful and original. Don't try to stuff posts with keywords that you want to rank for in the top of a search. Google is way smarter than that! Create content that you think others will share on their social media or help win over a potential customer. Make sure your blog posts are at least 300 words to keep the Google Spiders interested.

2 - Optimize Photos

There is nothing worse than a slow website! Lack of speed is a real search engine killer. Make sure that the picture you are uploading is the appropriate size. I often use the free online photo editor PicMonkey. We choose the lowest resolution setting to save the image. After we have saved the picture, we generally will run it through one more program called Compressor.io. Make sure you correctly name your photos to match what is actually in the picture. If you have a Brazilian Body Wave Bundle Deal named "12424.jpg", then you are not telling Google much. Make sure to also add information in the "ALT Attribute" with a description of your photo.

3 - Optimize Your Title Tags

It is one thing to show up in Google but another for someone to click your result. Having a catchy Title Tag and Meta Description will be visible to the potential customer searching for products. Take some time to write crafty descriptions for your pages. If you are using WordPress, we recommend using the Yoast SEO plugin to help with the process.

4 - Website Loading Time

Does your site load slowly? A slow-loading website can be very dangerous for your search ranking. Google will push you further back in search results. Make sure your hair extension website is on a blazing fast server. They are around $20 per month for one website, but it is worth the investment.

5 - Mobile Friendly

Did you know 80% of hair extension shoppers are doing so with their mobile phones? Having a mobile-friendly site will not only increase your hair sales but will help you show up in search engines when searched on a cell phone. Google will not index your pages for mobile search if your site is not mobile-friendly.

Learning the basics of SEO can be powerful. It can help you with your hair business or any other website you create in the future. It is worth the time to invest in your learning of some techniques.

Be patient as moving up in the search results will take time.

26: Host a Hair Care Webinar

Women love tips on how to properly care for both their natural hair and weave.

Hosting a live webinar to give out information about hair care could be a unique way to connect with potential customers.

Find out what questions your webinar registries have ahead of time to help build up more useful information for the webinar. Ask an industry expert or celebrity stylist to join you as a co-host on the webinar to help answer hair questions.

It is important to have a good email sequence setup once someone joins your scheduled webinar. Have a confirmation email that will create an event in their Google Calander. Make sure to have follow-up emails sent right before the event to remind people to set their schedules.

Create an "Event" on Facebook for the webinar as well and keep the group updated and ask questions.

Your hair care webinar should be well planned with great visuals.

There are plenty of educational webinar topics you could include in your hair extension marketing plan. Don't give up if your first webinar is not a home run. Like anything in business, it will take the time to perfect your skills.

27: Handout Postcards

Guerilla marketing at it's best!

Printing Postcards are inexpensive and easy to design. Keeping a stack in your car at all times could be a great non-digital addition to your hair extension marketing program.

Look for opportunities at local stores, events, or bulletin boards in grocery stores. You might consider putting a unique coupon code on the postcard that will allow you to track the sales generated from your guerilla marketing plan.

Have you walked by someone wearing a weave? Make sure to slide them a postcard. It might take a little getting out of your comfort zone to approach random people, but it is an excellent way to make an impression. Just let the person know you had an online or local hair business and excited to get the word out. Most people will appreciate the dedication to your hair brand.

28: Be a Guest Speak on a Podcast

Podcasts have been around for over a decade, but their popularity started booming in 2014. Today, some podcasts get millions of downloads and hook big sponsors.

There are not a lot of hair podcasts, but you should be able to get a few business-based podcasts to talk about your journey in the hair industry.

You might want to start by asking some friends if they know anyone with a podcast that you would be a good fit as a guest. Don't worry if the subscriber base of your first podcast is not huge. Just getting on a podcast will help you improve your interview skills and it will also give your brand more credibility.

Don't think anyone would want to interview you? Wrong!

Hosts of podcasts are always looking for someone to talk with on their show. Finding people is not always easy so you could be a big help for a guest. Getting a link to your website in the show notes will also give your website a little more web power.

Make sure to include your interview on your social media, blog, and email newsletter. It is your responsibility as a guest to help the podcast owner by giving your episode more exposure.

You should make a goal to get on your first podcast within a month of reading this. Add that to your marketing plan checklist now!

podcast

29: Create a Meme

Hair extension marketing doesn't always have to be so serious. Have some fun and create a popular meme!

Show the lighter side of your personality with a funny meme that you can post on your social media. Creating a meme is easy to do just by uploading a photo and adding some text.

You might want to consider making a meme about a bad hair day, good hair day, style, beauty, or inspiring quote. It will make more sense if your meme is hair/beauty-related.

Looking to create something that could go viral? A meme could be a winner!

30: Create a Brochure (Digital & Print)

A brochure is a great way to stay in front of a potential customer that might not have time to focus on what you are offering at that moment. Creating them is not too challenging and could be designed by someone on a site like Fiverr cheap!

Print Brochure

These are ideal for many different occasions like events, handouts for friends and family, leaving at coffee shops, and handing out to the person in the elevator next to you that might need a hair upgrade.

Digital Brochure

Looking to gather more email addresses? Create a lead generating form that allows your visitors to download your hair extension catalog.

If you are not great at designing brochures it might be worth the cost to hire a professional. Hair and beauty are so visual, so your brochure design plays a big part in capturing the attention of your customer.

Every hair extension marketing plan should have a brochure on their list!

31: Make Business Cards

Your little business brochure can boost your business drastically.

Business cards are handed out in person which is a fantastic way to give someone information about your business.

It is important to make your business cards stand out! The "free" versions sold on the popular website Vistaprint is not going to do it. If you hand someone your business card and they do not compliment you on it, then you might want to consider getting new ones.

Our team uses a "triple-thick" version. When you hand it to someone, they almost think there were multiple cards stuck together. It also makes them take a second look at the card. There are many other forms of eye-catching business cards including plastic cards, metal cards, silk cards, and foil embossed cards.

Similar to postcards, you should always have your business cards on you and ready to shoot one out to any woman wearing weave!

32: Get a Booth at a Hair Show

Ready for the big leagues? Get a booth at a hair show!

Preparation for the hair event is everything! Keep thinking about what is going to make you stand out from the crowd?

Hair events can be very rewarding but be prepared to put in a lot of work. You have to plan weeks in advance and have all your marketing materials ready. Set up your booth in your living room just as a test. The event area that is allotted at events is a 10' X 10' space.

You will want to have business cards, marketing flyers, hair samples and an eye-catching banner.

Favorite hair events in the United States:

- Bronner Brothers

- New Orleans Hair Expo

- Premier Orlando

- IBS New York

Starting out with a smaller, local show might be a good idea. Every aspect of your hair extension marketing strategies will be a learning process. Hair shows can be very costly when factoring in travel, meals, booth rental, and marketing materials.

Have a great show, and the rewards could easily outweigh the cost!

33: Advertise on the Radio

Radio is still a traditional form of advertising!

The key is to have a budget that allows you to be heard multiple times over a month or more. Remember your client might have just had their hair done and is not ready to make another purchase from a new hair company.

You will also want to make sure you are advertising on a radio station with the same demographic as your customer base.

Often you can get a radio host to help with the production of your ad and do a voiceover for you. We would suggest giving any woman hosts some free bundles of hair. Often you will hear woman hosts comment additionally about their hair extensions from the company that is paying for advertising.

Radio Advertising is another marketing medium that makes it difficult to track the effectiveness of sales. Consider having a coupon as part of your ad so you can see if the purchase is coming from the radio ad.

34: Get a Billboard

Think Big!

Billboards might be considered an old school way to advertise, but it still works. This technique might be best served if you have a physical location in the vicinity of the billboard to help promote local visitors.

The idea behind a billboard is that people passing by will continue to see the advertisement and it might eventually drive them to your location or website. As you know with marketing, it takes multiple touches for someone to start recognizing your brand.

If you don't want to go full scale with the huge highway style billboard, you ought to look into local transportation advertising. You can have your media wrapped on a city bus, at a bus stop, or sometimes in the busses themselves.

This method might be a little harder to track the effectiveness so make sure you are always asking your customers how they found you. Billboards should be part of every local businesses' marketing plan.

35: Create a Makeover Event

Makeover events can be a powerful marketing idea if you get the right people involved and exposure.

Team up with a local Makeup Artist, Hairstylist, and Clothing Stylist. Find someone that is in need of a makeover. This person could be in need or maybe an event like Prom.

Try and get people involved that have a decent following and team up together to promote the event on your social media and blog. Take as many photos and videos as possible!

Get some great before & after shots that include the same background and lighting.

Everyone loves a great makeover story. Create a well-written blog post and post it through your social media channels. Make sure to include links to the MUA and Clothing Stylist involved. There is a good chance they will not do a blog post recap and will share yours with their followers.

Can you say massive exposure!

Sometimes you have to capitalize by making it easy for others to share your content that has them mentioned. It is a great strategy for your hair extension marketing!

36: Ask for Referrals

Asking for business referrals is so simple yet so many people do not think of doing it.

In our busy lives, friends and family will often forget about telling their contacts about your hair business. Remind them!

People often make buying decisions based on their friend's recommendations.

A few referral tips:

  • Give your close friends a few of your business cards to give out to people in their network that are looking for great hair extensions.
  • Reach out to friends and ask them to share your website on their social media. A better way to do this would be to have them share an informative blog post on your site. Not a sales page!
  • Text friends to see if they could refer just one person that wears hair extensions to you.

Some of the most effective types of marketing for your hair brand will be free. Asking for referrals is one of them!

ask-for-referrals

37: Donate to a Fundraiser

Giving back is a rewarding way to get more exposure to your hair brand.

There are unlimited amounts of the woman suffering from alopecia and cancer that cause hair loss.

Find a local charity that works with groups of woman that need support and hair. You can team up with a stylist to create a wig while you provide the hair extensions.

Giving back to someone in need would not only be great content for a blog or YouTube video but a helping way to give back to others in your community.

38: Print Hats & T-Shirts

Become a walking billboard!

Printing your logo or custom messages on apparel has never been easier. Your hair extension marketing plan should include getting your brand in front of the eyes of your customers. Wearing branded apparel will get you more attention and hopefully customers!

There are tons of websites where you can upload your logo and have it printed on just about anything. You can wear these items yourself or give them away at events or website promos.

Also, consider printing a custom phrase on a shirt. There is a good chance someone will stop and ask you where you purchased it. Having people asking you about your shirt is a great segway point where you can say how you custom-designed it yourself because you are in the hair business. Not just in the business but have your brand!

Make sure always to have your business card ready. As a business owner, you might also want to have your secret coupon code to give out to people you meet in person. Coupons can help you measure your results.

39: Press!

Getting written up by the press is not as hard as you think.

I have personally been featured in tons of media including The Washington Post, AJC, FOX, ABC, CBS, CNBC, Entrepreneur Magazine, INC, and many more publications. Did I have a fantastic PR Agent? Nope! I did everything myself with almost zero cost.

What did it do for my businesses? It helped skyrocket sales due to the credibility it added to what I was doing.

If you are looking for a press about your products, you will want to start with smaller publications or blogs in your city. Another technique would be media focused on the hair industry like Hype Hair & Sophisticate's Black Hair Magazine.

The next step to do is to offer your business knowledge and expertise to writers looking for entrepreneurs to be part of their stories. Check out the Help a Reporter Out service that will send you three emails a day with writers dying for people to be part of their stories. You can land some massive publications from this.

Most stories will not be about hair extensions so you have to think about how you can get in an article. There are many opportunities to talk about your story or lessons learned. The stories will link to your website and give you a huge bump in SEO ranking. These links will also give you the credibility every business is trying to achieve!

40: Go Live!

It has never been easier to get directly in front of your followers with Periscope, Instagram Live, and Facebook Live. Take advantage of it!

Live is so popular because of its fresh content that is real. Platforms like Facebook are giving preferential treatment to LIVE creators because they want to make the concept work. Don't miss this fantastic opportunity to connect with your followers.

The opportunities are endless when it comes to going live. Remember to always focus on bringing value to your viewers.

Broadcasting live is another great opportunity to team up with another stylist and do LIVE hair tutorials. Go LIVE at a hair event you are presenting at or visiting. Interview other hairstylists that will share your video to their followers after it is complete.

The quality of live videos is a little lower than a standard video you upload so make sure your conditions are optimal if possible. Shooting great quality videos includes great lighting, not too much background noise, and a stable internet connection.

Going live is fun and easy! You have already had all the equipment you need to get started, your mobile phone. If your hair business is already up and running, then make a plan to shoot a live video this week!

facebook-live

41: Write an Ebook

Everyone loves information!

Writing an E-book is a great way to add credibility to your hair brand. Consider creating something that is very informative and helpful for someone who purchases hair extensions.

The key not to try and sell people on the hair. Great information will do that itself.

E-Book ideas for your hair business:

  • Maintainance for Natural Hair & Weaves
  • Creative Hair Color Ideas and Tips!
  • Celebrity Styling Ideas!

Depending on the length you might want to encompass multiple ideas into one long book. You should charge for this E-book, or we would suggest giving it away for free!

Create a form that allows your visitor to sign up for your newsletter and then download your E-book. This type of system is a great lead generation tool that will give much better results than just an ordinary message that says "Sign up for my Newsletter" which nobody does anymore.

If you put a lot of time and effort into the E-book, it may be something you should consider putting on Amazon Kindle. Make sure to have it properly edited and formatted before doing so as you don't want to get negative reviews.

E-books are becoming more popular and could be an excellent way to add credibility to your hair brand. If you like writing, then this could be a great addition to your hair marketing plan.

42: Networking at your local Chamber of Commerce

Get your business cards ready!

Networking at a local Chamber of Commerce event might seem kind of dull. Keep in mind that entrepreneurs and networkers that attend these events love to do business with the people they meet at the events.

Set a goal of getting a few new customers from each visit. Get a business card and follow up with your new contact.

Most women buy hair extensions every three months and will spend at least $250 per purchase. Think of each repeat customer is worth $1,000 in purchases a year. This type of customer is big!

If you go to monthly events and gain just ten new clients, you could be set to make an additional $10,000 in sales this year. How does that sound?

Chamber of Commerce events will also be a great place to meet other local business service providers that you might need for your firm in the future.

43: Word of Mouth

Maybe considered the oldest and most useful marketing strategy ever.

Word of Mouth is something that will only occur when you are on top of your game with your products, services, and marketing. By exceeding your customer's expectations, you will get referrals to your website and purchase your products without a second thought.

You can create superfans by offering the best quality hair extensions for reasonable prices. Remember, you never have to be too "cheap" but the days of getting $150 per bundle are over.

You need to think about what is going to make you stand out from the crowd. The hair extension industry is competitive, but there is plenty of room for those who take the business seriously.

Make sure you have great hair extension packaging to make a great first impression. Maybe have an awesome care card included in the shipment. A postcard with a discount for your customer to give to a friend is another excellent idea.

Be creative if you would like to be blessed with the word of mouth marketing!

word-of-mouth-marketing

44: Ask for Reviews

Customers LOVE reading reviews. The problem is they are not always easy to get unless you have an issue with a client. They are always quick to leave an unpleasant comment and might have been something out of your control.

Reach out to the customers you know initially and ask them to take just a minute to leave you an honest review. Most products on websites allow for customer reviews, and it will also help your search engine ranking.

Other places to have customers leave reviews are on your Facebook Page and Google Business page. These will often show at the top of search if someone is looking for your brand. It is an excellent idea to give them a great impression of your business!

45: Exceed Expectations

Exceeding expectations is not just a crucial part of your hair extension marketing plan but should be thought of daily in your hair extension business plan.

Exceed your customer's expectations in every way possible. Think of every way you interact with your clients and how to improve it.

Let me give you some examples of how we do this in our business here at Private Label Extensions. Our goal is to be the #1 Wholesale Hair Extension Supplier in the USA. What are we focusing on to get there?

Places we try and exceed expectations are:

Shipping - Our goal is to have all orders shipped the same day if placed before 3 pm. Over the past year, our order volume has increased so much; we had to set up a hair distribution warehouse to process the orders. This took most of the shipping out of our showroom. Often orders are shipped even when placed after 3 pm. The fast shipping pleased customers when they got that late tracking email when they didn't think it would ship until the next day!

Support Tickets - Our hours are Monday - Friday (9 am - 5 pm). Hopefully, in the future, we can expand them later to help support more customers on the west coast. Although often we still reply to support tickets after hours on the weekends. Most people don't expect a reply on the weekend, so it generally will exceed their expectations when receiving a response on the weekend.

VIP Customers - Well technically all our clients are VIP's right? Sure, but there are some that spend thousands a week with us to supply their salon or brand. When we get new products, we often like to send these customers free samples to let them know about our new products. Recently we sent one of our top spenders every style of our new 3D Mink Thinline lashes. She was not thinking of selling 3D Mink lashes but was super excited that we exceeded her expectations by sending them to her. Our client gave some to a few customers who "Loved Them" and now orders them regularly with her wholesale hair. It was a win/win!

It is important to break down every aspect of your hair extension business and see how you can improve it. Set your standards high and bring great value to every interaction you have with your customer.

46: Local SEO

This should be a top priority for anyone with a physical hair extension location.

Local SEO can make or break the amount of foot traffic that Google and other search engines will send you for free.

One service that can really boost your local store SEO is by Moz. Moz offers a Local SEO Service that will help you get in all the correct local directories.

A factor that is really important for local SEO marketing is that all your contact information is consistent across all websites. If search engines recognize inconsistencies in your information they will consider you a risk for higher rankings.

local-seo

47: Loyalty Program

I am a huge fan of Skymiles and being loyal to Delta Airlines for occasional free flights or upgrades.

Your hair business might not be big enough to offer Skymiles with purchases, but you can come up with your rewards system with the right software.

There are many online rewards systems that will help you track returning customers both online and in-store. Everyone loves an incentive to come back and shop somewhere.

Most systems will integrate directly with your website or apps for your local store. The key is to offer a cost-effective reward program that does not take too much of your profits but also gets your customer to come back.

If you are going to choose a rewards system as a way of hair extension marketing to make sure you use it for the long term. Nothing will get a customer madder than losing all their reward points they were saving up!

48: Feature Clients in Social Media

Who doesn't like a little love?

With your customer's permission, feature them in your social media! We suggest adding postcards that ask your clients to tag your brand in their photos so you can find them.

Reach out to the client and ask if it would be OK for you to post their photo on your social media. We have seen "YES" rates around 99%.

If you repost a client's photo on Instagram, then take a screenshot and also post it on your Facebook and Pinterest account. You might even want to consider creating a "Features" section on your blog that has your customer's photo along with a few sentences about why they love your hair.

This marketing strategy can go a long way when it comes to your hair brand's social proof!

49: Abandon Cart Emails

If you been selling online, you might have realized by now that visitors will often put items in a cart but then not finish the checkout process.

You are not alone. Abandon Carts happens to every website owner.

To be an excellent hair extension marketer you will need to utilize every tool possible to keep people checking out on your site.

Using an "Abandon Cart Email" software will help bring your customers back to checkout. Many different software programs can integrate with your hair extension website to help make this happen.

Did you know that a good software program can capture your email as you are typing it? This kind of email capture is a huge benefit for you as a store owner. To get real crafty, have a developer move your email field on the checkout page to the top. This way you can capture more email addresses and hopefully recover more sales.

Our favorite email program, MailChimp, recently added this to their premium services. You can find this feature in the "Automation" tab.

50: Desktop Push Notifications

Did you know you can send visitors to your desktop and mobile sites push notifications just as if you had a mobile app?

We love this and here's why.

The open rate for email promotions is not as it was ten years ago. Don't you get a hundred promo emails a day? It is hard to stand out.

Using push notifications could be the exact thing you are looking for to get in front of your customers quickly.

After installing the right push notification software (We use Aimtell) you can have tailored prompts to show up on your website like the one in the photo below:

push-notification

Most push notification software companies make it really easy to send out a notification. We generally like to "Push" educational information from our blog posts.

Here is an example of a push notification we sent out to get more visitors to our recent post about What is Remy Hair.

marketing-push-notification

The click-through rate is very high for these types of notifications because they are front and center on your visitor's mobile phone, desktop computer, or laptop.

I have not found a "free" push service so expect to pay a monthly subscription. You might consider it as a great investment for marketing your hair business!

Hair Extension Marketing Questions

We know that the above hair extension marketing tips can be a little overwhelming.

Will you be able to implement every single one? Probably not. But that's totally OK.

The key to a great hair extension marketing plan is to start with what you will be most excited about doing. That is easier than a marketing idea that you have no experience implementing.

Learning how to sell hair extensions is going to take some time.

Leave a comment below if you would like us to answer any questions you have related to marketing hair extensions or the hair business in general.

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3 comments

This information is the real deal .. am so equipped.. thank you so very much

Juliet

This was really info, i really appreciate this information and I will definitely be putting it to good use. Thank u so much.

Tassania Graham

We loved this and you have lots of good knowledge. Lots of useful information that will help us to progress our business further. We are only 6 months old and have a long way to go. We are just focusing on building up a reputation at the moment. Getting followers on Instagram and Facebook to engage is proving to be tough at the moment don’t seem to be connecting with the right people. Also struggling with our website as we had it built for us so we are not familiar on how to use it get and I think it is causing customers to turn away. Are you able to recommend a hosting provider at a reasonable price. Keep up the good work.

Hsoriginals

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