HOW DO I BUILD A CLIENT BASE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA?

If you build a following online how do you then bring them to your chair? An industry expert shares their advice

JOSHUA GRANGER, BARBER AT RAW IMAGE BARBERSHOP

“I started barbering when I was 16 just after I left school -Ididn’t know what my plans were so I made the impulsive decision to go for an apprenticeship interview at my current shop. Soon I started to love cutting hair, going to work, and seeing myself progress each week.

Being creative and practical in my career is something I really needed, so barbering was the perfect career for me. Now I am keen to learn how to build a client base through social media as I think this is one of the biggest ways to network and bring in new clients. It is also very competitive bearing in mind the amount of barbers that are online, so I think myself and other barbers and apprentices would benefit from Josh’s advice.”

JOSH O’MEARA-PATEL, OWNER & DIRECTOR AT BARBER.JOSH.O.P

“Social media is simply a reflection of business in real life. The most effective way to build and grow your business is through word of mouth, and social media is virtual word of mouth. To grow beyond your existing world, you need the people in it to share you with theirs. All it takes is for you to ensure that everything you do, you do with the aim of bringing as much value as you can to every single person. If you focus on the value you give, people in your network will feel this. They will value what you bring to them and in turn will open the doors to their world by sharing you, your work, and your business.

Social media is about posting with purpose. You need to assess your goals. What are you aiming to do with your social media? Who are you trying to attract? From there it is about creating content for that purpose. For example, if your aim is to gain more clients for the shop then posting just haircuts won’t be as effective as you think. Posting the experience, posting the energy of the shop, the services available and clients enjoying themselves will bring new clients to you.

The one thing that has always made me stand out is that I have always posted what I wanted because I liked it regardless of whether it would be deemed popular or not. If there’s one thing I’d tell my younger self it is to stick at it, because the only way to truly build a unique brand is to build it to truly represent you. Not to be a version of what you think the industry wants to see. You don’t want to stand out from the crowd. Stand away from the crowd and let them come to you.”