5 Excuses to Promote Your Booking Page
As an independent stylist, you are your own marketing team. You (and you alone) are responsible for getting clients through the door and turning them into loyal customers — that’s why online booking is a must. You save time by allowing clients to book their own appointments and you get a powerful and easy to use marketing tool built-in: your booking link.
Sharing your link in email campaigns and across social media should be a part of your marketing strategy year-round. If you’re worried about annoying clients, stop. The trick is to always provide helpful and valuable information and never spam without a reason.
Not sure how to casually drop your link? Here are the top five excuses to promote your booking page (without being annoying).
1. When You Add New Photos or Services
The number one reason clients decide to leave their professional? They don’t feel inspired. It’s good for businesses to regularly update your page. It shows clients you’re learning new skills, staying up with trends, and can offer them the latest techniques. You are the expert — clients are looking to you for new ideas and they will be happy to see any updates you’ve made to your service menu.
Post an update on social media with a description, photos of the new service, and your booking link. If clients are inspired to try something new, they can book an appointment on the spot. Even if they aren’t interested in the new service, it still helps you build your reputation as an expert and it serves as a reminder to book their next appointment.
2. When You Have Last Minute Openings
Everyone has clients who wait until the last minute to book. If you don’t have the right times available when they get around to it, it could be weeks before they decide to make an appointment. If you have a last-minute cancellation or decide to add some hours to your week, make an announcement! Share your link with your client list and let those procrastinators know the times they wanted are finally available.
It’s possible not all of your clients follow you on Instagram yet, so always make sure to send an email announcement as well. With StyleSeat’s email marketing tool, your link will automatically be included in each campaign and you can create a custom template to send to your entire list.
3. When It’s Busy Season
If it’s the holiday season or if you have a vacation coming up, let clients know you’ll have limited availability. Share your link and encourage them to book an appointment in advance so they aren’t stuck with split ends at their holiday parties. Don’t be afraid to have fun with your posts — if you don’t want to seem salesy, get creative, and make sure whatever you post blends in naturally with the content you normally share.
4. When You Run a Promotion
The purpose of running a promotion is to increase bookings, attract new clients, and give current clients the occasional perk to encourage loyalty. But promotions can only be effective if clients actually know about them, so get the word out.
When you post on social media, ask clients to share with any friends who are looking to try something new and would appreciate a discount on their first booking.
5. When Clients Don’t Book Online
Finally, the best excuse to post your link is to remind clients to book you online rather than call, email or DM you. Online booking is infinitely more convenient for them, they just don’t know it yet. Show them the value by posting something like: “When you book online, you get the time you want. No need to play phone tag during business hours, my calendar is open 24/7!”
In order to keep your self-promotion in check, just follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of your content should be interesting and engaging to your followers and 20% should promote your business. Basically, it’s been proven that if one out of every five posts you make includes a link to your booking page, clients won’t find it annoying. So, if you post every day (which you should) make it a goal to use one of these excuses to share your link once a week.
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