When posting salon news, special offers and latest promotions on social media, one way to ensure that you reach a lively, chatty audience is to use hashtags. In fact, we have quite a few salon or spa hashtag ideas right here. But hashtags can be a touchy subject: there are a few etiquette rules that you should remember, because even the most innocent post can turn into an embarrassment!
Listen to the audio version of this blog, and subscribe to the Phorest Blog Podcast here:
Salon & Spa Hashtag Etiquette
Creating Your Own Branded Salon Or Spa Hashtag
A branded hashtag could refer to your business or a special event you’re putting together. It could be as simple as your company’s name or tagline. This kind of hashtag is designed to promote themes and campaigns to your followers.
Capitalise Each Of Its Words
Not that you absolutely have to, but it makes it easier for people to read and understand the meaning of your hashtag.
Take for example the moment when singer Susan Boyle’s PR team wanted to promote her upcoming album party! It all seemed harmless enough until they decided to go with: #susanalbumparty instead of #SusanAlbumParty.
Many people took this in a completely different way. And not too many followers actually tweeted back in celebration of Mrs. Boyle’s latest album. In the end, the PR move turned out to be a complete disaster. So when it comes to salon & spa hashtag etiquette, cover your bases and capitalise each word!
Check What Else Might Be Discussed
Make sure your branded hashtag isn’t going to populate search results for something entirely unrelated to you. A conversation could have previously started around that same phrase or word.
Take for instance this tragic moment when the Celeb Boutique thought that their hashtag #Aurora started trending because people enjoyed their Kim Kardashian-inspired Aurora dress.
In reality, a violent incident occurred in the city of Aurora, and that was the reason for the hashtag to be trending. Needless to say, this left the Celeb Boutique not looking in the best of light. Now this one is very unlikely. But it’s just good etiquette.
Trending Hashtags: A Quick Reminder
One of the main benefits of hashtags is that you can see what’s popular and join the conversation.
In fact, many brands and businesses use trending topics as a way to introduce themselves to a wider audience. While it’s quite a successful tactic, be warned not to start spamming. It’s more appropriate to stay focused on taking part in the conversation than to shoehorn an advertisement into it.
Especially like when Gap decided that Hurricane Sandy would be a great moment to tell people about their convenient online shopping site.
Or when Kenneth Cole decided to make a light joke at Egypt’s uprising crisis:
Be smart. People are curious, they’ll come around to looking you up anyways. All in all, hashtags can be a fun way to chat with new people and get a little attention back onto your business at the same time. But if you don’t have proper etiquette, then it could backfire pretty quickly. Having the wrong approach can be hazardous – your salon or spa hashtag might end up trending, but for the wrong reasons!
Got feedback? Let us know either in the comments below or tweet us @ThePhorestWord! (Pssst! We’re on Instagram too!)
Thanks for reading! #LetsGrow
This article was originally published on March 9th, 2016 and has since been updated to reflect current social media etiquette.
