A Guide to Salon Text Message Marketing (With Examples)

According to a study done by the Pew Research Center, nearly 96% of adults in the United States own a cellphone capable of text messaging (SMS). Of those, nearly 66% check their phones over100 times a day. That’s a lot of opportunity to get your message directly into the hands of your clientele!

If we wanted to keep this short and sweet, we could sum up the appeal of an SMS campaign in three words: Easy, engaging, and inexpensive. But below, we’ll dive a bit deeper to show how SMS marketing can help your small business in just a couple of sentences and a few taps.

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The Benefits of Salon Text Message Marketing

‍Beauty salons have embraced SMS messages to cater to their industry's distinct demands. Not only do these texts serve as appointment reminders, reducing no-shows, but they also introduce new services and special promotions on beauty products. By integrating SMS marketing with social media, salons can ensure both their loyal clients and new customers are always updated and engaged.

Here are a few more benefits of SMS marketing for salons:

SMS Marketing Is Easy

Creating an SMS campaign is one of the simplest ways to activate a marketing strategy. You don’t need a graphic designer to craft a punchy ad with pithy copy, and you don’t need to spend hours designing a lengthy email that needs to be formatted for desktop and mobile. All you have to do is send a text – something most of us are doing all day, every day anyway.

SMS campaigns are a great way to quickly communicate with your clientele while showing off a bit of personality and easily creating engagement – throw in an emoji, add a call to action link, hit send, and you’re on your way to becoming a marketing maven.

Because many people spend so much time on their phones, an SMS strategy is ideal for direct client communication when you have timely info or special offers to share. Think open slots you need to fill ASAP because of last-minute cancellations, or swiftly spreading the word on a seasonal promotion.

SMS Marketing Is Engaging

SMS marketing excels with existing clientele and works well to build rapport within budding client relationships. This targeted demographic already knows you and your brand and likely looks forward to hearing about your current promos or brand updates. For that reason, SMS campaigns have some of the highest open rates (much higher than email), which in turn leads to higher conversion rates.

GlossGenius allows you to easily filter your recipients so you can make these messages more personal or tailor text campaigns to specific groups of people. This customization is perfect for quick engagement like birthday wishes (wish a Happy Birthday to all of your September baby clients at the top of the month) or use it to re-engage clients you haven’t seen in a while (send a friendly nudge to those who haven’t booked in six months). Plus, you can track the results of your campaigns, so you can see what works best for specific clientele.

SMS Marketing Is Inexpensive

When you’re running a small business, cost-efficiency is essential. Next to word of mouth, SMS marketing is as thrifty as it gets – no need to hire a pricey designer, run paid ads, or commit to costly print campaigns. SMS Marketing is relatively inexpensive across the board, but GlossGenius is the only all-in-one beauty booking platform that offers text message marketing, and to fuel your business we give you 100 free messages to start (you can purchase more messages for as little asunder three cents per message by hitting the "Get More Messages" button).

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Examples of Effective Salon Text Message Marketing Campaigns

Diving into the world of salon SMS marketing, there's much to gain from examining campaigns that have made their mark. These notable examples offer not just ideas but have also notably engaged audiences with impressive outcomes:

1. Appointment Reminders: "Hey [Client Name], just a quick reminder about your appointment with [Stylist Name] tomorrow at 3 PM. Can't wait to see you! 💇‍♀️"
2. Special Promotions: "Hello, Beautiful! As our valued client, enjoy 20% off on our new line of organic hair products this week. Visit us to avail! 🌿"
3. Introducing New Services: "Guess what? We've just launched our hydrating facial treatment perfect for this season! Book now and get a free skin analysis. 🧖‍♀️"
4. Reducing No-Shows: "Don't forget your appointment tomorrow at 2 PM. If you can't make it, please let us know 24 hours in advance to avoid a cancellation fee. Thank you! 📅"
5. Loyal Customer Rewards: "As a thank you for being our loyal client, we're offering you a complimentary deep conditioning treatment with your next haircut. Book today! ❤️"
6. Attracting New Customers: "New to our salon? Get a 10% discount on your first service! Just show this message during your visit. Welcome aboard! 💄"
7. Social Media Integration: "We're having a hair transformation contest on our Instagram! Share your before and after photos with #[SalonNameContest] and stand a chance to win a year of free hair treatments! 📸"

Using these templates, salons can craft tailored messages that resonate with their clientele, leading to enhanced engagement and retention.

How Does SMS Marketing Work?

SMS marketing is simple: it’s texting your clients, and it can be used for a variety of different campaigns. But no one likes a creeper – your clients need to opt-in for texts before you can send them deals, promotions, or reminders. You can get your clients to opt-in for texts when they book online, through in-store promotions, or through other digital marketing campaigns.

Why Should You Use SMS Marketing?

It’s safe to say that the vast majority of us are glued to our phones, especially now during the pandemic. Many businesses, salons included, are taking to texting to stay in touch with clients, in addition to social media, email, and other channels. SMS marketing can be incredibly effective at getting your clients’ attention, but only if you do it right. 

SMS marketing in general has higher read and click through rates than email. In fact, a recent study found that 82% of people open every text message they receive. Most people actually prefer to be texted by businesses they want to hear from than any other form of communication: a Salesforce report found that 77% of consumers opt-in to texts from businesses for coupons and deals.

Texting is undoubtedly the fastest way to contact your clients. According to are port by ZipWhip:

• 58% of consumers say texting is the fastest way to reach them
• 64% said appointment reminder texts were valuable
• 44% text businesses to schedule appointments

Texting is a quick and easy way to send appointment reminders, coupons, and flash deals, but not all texts are created equal. Let’s dive into some tips and best practices for SMS marketing.

Tips for Crafting a Successful Salon Text Message

Navigating the world of hair salon SMS marketing can feel like a maze. Yet, with a sprinkle of expert advice, you can craft messages that truly speak to your clients. These essential guidelines will make your beauty business's text messages shine and yield the results you desire:

1. Be Transparent and Respectful

Whether you’re sending a reminder, a follow up, or a deal, you need to be transparent about who you are, what you’re offering, and when you’re contacting a client. Since automated texts are often sent using shortcode (i.e. a 5-digit phone number), you should identify yourself or your business in your welcome message. Your messages should be short, sweet, and to the point, and should be sent at reasonable hours of the day. Remember: without multimedia messaging, you’re limited to 160 characters in a text. 

Take a look at an example below:

“Welcome to Revive Salon and Day Spa! This is a reminder of your appointment on 9/15 at 10:30am. Click this link to RSVP. See you soon!”

2. Spice Up Your Copy

When running a promotion or a campaign through text, spicing up your texts can help improve engagement rates. Add a little jazz to your texts: after all, an emoji never hurt anyone. Just don’t go overboard. Suppose you’re running a flash deal for 25% off brow appointments if they book in the next two hours.

A boring text might look like this:

Flash deal: book a brow appointment in the next two hours and save 25%. Click here to book.

But a text with some pizazz might look like this:

💥FLASH SALE💥 Get those brows on point. Book in the next two hours and save 25% ⏰

3. Set up Reminders and Auto Replies

Although some businesses have the time and resources to devote to two-way texting, whether through are presentative or an AI chatbot, an easier way to get started is to automate reminders and replies. You can incorporate texting into a workflow through your online booking app so that reminders automatically send prior to an appointment. The same logic can be applied to auto replies, in case a client replies to your number with a question. You can automate replies based on common keywords like “price” or “reschedule,” or create a reply to contact your business directly for additional questions. 

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4. Make Your Clients Feel Appreciated

If you’re using SMS marketing to run promotions or marketing campaigns, you can get creative with who you’re targeting and the deals you’ll offer. If possible, use personalization tokens to insert the first name of the client into your text to really make it feel personal.

Leo Carillo, CEO of Hair Craft Co., uses SMS marketing to make his clients feel special. “A prospective customer giving their number is a personal action, so make your SMS subscribers feel exclusive by offering them deals first and giving them access to products before your other marketing channels. Everyone likes to feel special.”

A great example is to use SMS marketing to send texts to clients who haven’t been to your salon in a while. You can set a reminder to send to clients who haven’t booked hair appointments in over three months, or start a campaign with a 15% off coupon for clients who haven’t engaged with your salon over a certain period of time. Not only will you show that you’re thinking of them, you can offer a timely deal to motivate them to re-engage when they might otherwise not have returned. 

Take a look at this example to see how this might work:

Sylvie, it’s been a while since you’ve come to see us. Use this 15% off coupon on your next appointment and we’ll have you looking fabulous!

For a reminder:

Michael, it’s almost time for your next keratin treatment! Book your appointment today and get 10% off.

You don’t have to offer a deal in every reminder, but showing that you care about your clients – even through an automated text – can go a long way in securing recurring clients.

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5. Promote Yourself

Just like you use Instagram to showcase your work, you can use texting to share some of your latest offerings, appointments, or even a new service. Use texting as an opportunity to build your brand, whether you’re including your motto, a hashtag, or even your social media handles.

Michelle Bareid, a beauty entrepreneur and enthusiast, uses SMS marketing to add value beyond deals. “Giving your clients a personal touch can lead to extended business. For example, sharing helpful beauty tips and tricks after their appointment can be warming and widely accepted by clientele.”

You can also consider sharing content from your blog or your Instagram through text, especially if it relates to a recent service a client received. Tips on hair care, preserving color, or related topics can go a long way in building brand loyalty, and positioning yourself as an expert. Using SMS marketing to share that content can make it feel even more personal.

With GlossGenius, quick and easy client communication is always at your fingertips. Sign up for a free 14-day trial to launch your first SMS marketing campaign and see the results for yourself.