Who is your target audience? This is the first important question you should ask when you are looking to improve your marketing efforts. Does it include the 18- to 34-year-old demographic? If so, you are going to have to attract them on a digital, social as well as on a psychological level in order to get their business.

The "Millennial" demographic is the the most coveted one, says marketing entrepreneur Robert Danard, CEO of Spriza, Inc.www.spriza.com, a global social network for group prizes from major brands. "They are the future of any product, and if you want to reach them, then you have to have a social media strategy,” says Danard, who started his career a decade ago by founding an early social media site.

Reaching the attention of this demographic is no easy task. In order to be successful, your first step should be utilizing multiple social media platforms.

"When Beyoncé released her self-titled album late last year, she didn’t go through any of the traditional promotional means, which she called boring. Instead, she simply posted a video featuring the new album cover and pictures of her with the caption 'Surprise!' on Instagram," says Danard. That was enough for Beyoncé, one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Within the two days of that post, more than 430,000 'Beyoncé' albums were sold on iTunes for $15.99 per download."

This story is yet another testament to the power of social media, says Danard. Here, he discusses social media marketing and the trends that are currently unfolding in the salon industry:

The “attention economy:” This refers to the demand for salons to focus on multiple social media sites, and the underlying human need to be validated through acknowledgment. How do young adults define their worth? Increasingly, it’s through the numbers of “likes,” “re-tweets” and “follows” they get on social media. Salons that acknowledge and engage with individual users in real time help validate their self worth and quickly turn them into brand fans.

Creating winning circles of friends: Salon brands increasingly are recognizing the power of social media recommendations from friends. This referral process can be harnessed by offering real value, and incentives, to those who make recommendations. Danard points to his own site, Spriza (as in “surprise”), which encourages sharing by offering a memorable experience to the winner and the friends with whom he or she shared. For instance, a grand prize currently up for grabs will award 10 winners $1,000 cash each. All entrants will also have a chance to participate in the contingent (game of chance) draw to win a condo valued at $150,000.

The future of customer service: Millennials trust the social media format, despite its potential for fraud and misrepresentation, more than government, businesses or religious institutions, according to a recent report by the global public relations firm Edelman. Many companies, including American Airlines, are focusing more of their customer service resources to answer complaints via social media. This can speed complaint resolution, and it makes businesses and their customer service departments more accountable because users can see when, if and how complaints are resolved.

Socially enriched sales: People like to be engaged online, and they like to buy things, but they don’t like to be sold products in the traditional way. Salons currently experiencing the most success online are not lazy about it; they don’t buy fake friends and followers. They engage, entertain, nurture relationships and build on shared values with their outreach.

Sizing Up Instagram

By Kelly Ehlers | 08/21/2014 | WWW.MODERNSALON.COM | BLOGS
Optimizing your photos to the correct size for each platform gives your brand a professional appearance and makes your images more visually appealing to the ‘double tappers’ of the world.
Read more

- See more at: http://www.salontoday.com/search/?keyword=social++media&page=5#sthash.ZLkt9dif.dpuf

Sizing Up Instagram

By Kelly Ehlers | 08/21/2014 | WWW.MODERNSALON.COM | BLOGS
Optimizing your photos to the correct size for each platform gives your brand a professional appearance and makes your images more visually appealing to the ‘double tappers’ of the world.
Read more

- See more at: http://www.salontoday.com/search/?keyword=social++media&page=5#sthash.ZLkt9dif.dpuf