Forget the boring corporate branding stuff – this article will teach you how to showcase your salon’s one-of-a-kind vibe through salon branding.
As a salon owner, you know your brand’s unique DNA is about so much more than just a logo. It encapsulates the heart and soul of your hair or beauty business and lets your personality shine. Killer salon branding makes clients feel good, builds brand trust, and creates a memorable experience.
Think of those big brand names that come to mind when you want a great hair day or a pampering spa experience. Your salon branding can build that same reputation and recognition on a local level! This guide will walk you through the basics of creating branding that reflects what sets your fabulous salon apart. Read on to learn how to develop branding that spotlights your salon’s unique style and avoid any major salon branding mistakes.
What is Salon Branding?
Salon branding is the process of giving your salon business a unique and memorable identity. It’s about creating a distinct visual and emotional identity that makes your hair salon or beauty salon stand out from your competitors and appeals to your target market.
A salon brand includes these elements:
- Brand name
- Logo
- Color scheme
- Salon Interior design
- Marketing materials
- Tone of voice and messaging style
Killer salon branding makes clients feel good and creates an experience they’ll remember.
Why is Salon Branding so Important?
Branding is a cornerstone of a strong marketing strategy. An appealing brand can support your salon business in many short- and long-term ways, serving functions like these:
Providing Differentiation
Your salon’s brand promise – communicated through the words and visuals across all of your marketing efforts – sets it apart from its competitors. It helps create a unique identity in potential and existing customers’ minds. It helps build trust and recognition, making it easier for clients to remember and choose your salon over others.
Encouraging Customer Loyalty
A strong brand identity can play a huge role in cultivating customer loyalty and confidence. Clients who perceive a salon as reflecting their style and choices tend to become repeat customers – with or without loyalty programs!
Communicating Your Salon’s Unique Value
Your salon branding also communicates your company’s values, personality, and the kind of experience you offer. It helps your audience understand at a glance what your aesthetic is like and, by extension, whether your salon services and styles are the right fit.
Creating a First Impression
Your social media platforms and booking website are among the first glimpses potential customers get of your salon. A well-branded site and social feed are critical for making a great first impression. At Glammatic, we have perfected our design of the perfect salon website that matches your brand.
Attracting Skilled Salon Professionals
A strong brand identity can position your salon as an industry leader, drawing in skilled stylists and other experts who aspire to be associated with a distinguished and easily recognizable brand.
Auditing Your Salon Brand
If you’re unsure of how strong and effective your salon branding is – or you’re having a hard time settling on a consistent brand image and voice – consider the following questions:
- How do you engage in communication with your clients? Is your customer service casual, fun, informative, or professional?
- Do your salon name and logo design effectively communicate the essence of your business?
- What will someone think of when they hear, read, or see your brand?
- Do the images on your website and social accounts accurately depict your salon’s aesthetic and the range of products and services you offer?
- How do your selected colors and fonts add to setting you apart within the industry? Did you go for bold and vibrant colors, or are you more calming with neutral tones?
- How well does your existing visual brand lend itself to the marketing campaigns you run throughout the year? Is it versatile or difficult to work with?
Key Components of Salon Branding
Your brand identity is like your salon’s fingerprint. It includes everything that shows your salon’s vibe, values, and personality to your ideal clients.
We highly recommend using a professional service to get the best branding for your salon. Glammatic offers salon-specific branding at an affordable price.
In the meantime, here are some essential elements of brand identity that you should be aware of:
Salon Name and Tagline
Your salon’s name should reflect its personality, services, and uniqueness. It should be easy to spell and pronounce. A catchy tagline can show what your salon is all about in just a few words.
Here are some characteristics to keep in mind when choosing a name for your salon business:
Brand Ethos
Your brand ethos consists of your mission, vision, and values. Articulate what you want to accomplish with your salon business. Where is it headed, and how are you making an impact?
Also identify the core values that your salon stands for. These could include professionalism, creativity, a customer-centric approach, sustainability, or community involvement. These brand characteristics will guide your salon staff’s actions and interactions.
Value Proposition
Be sure to identify your business’s unique selling point for potential clients. You can develop your brand’s unique value proposition (UVP) by responding to these questions:
- What drives your salon?
- What sets your salon apart from others?
- How do you help your customers?
- Who do you serve with your salon offerings?
- How does your salon stand apart from the thousands of other salons?
Tone of Voice
Determine the tone of voice you’ll use in your salon communications, whether formal, friendly, playful, or informative. Brand consistency across all messaging – from your website to your social media accounts – builds familiarity and helps forge a strong connection with your audience.
Consider the following tips when establishing the tone for your salon business:
- Tailor your voice to resonate with your ideal clients, whether they’re seeking relaxation, trendiness, or luxury.
- Maintain a consistent voice across all touchpoints, from social media to website content and in-person interactions.
- Match your voice to the personality traits that best represent your salon. Is it sophisticated, friendly, playful, or professional?
Visual Identity
Giving your salon a unique look is an essential part of creating your brand. The visual brand elements like colors, fonts, and logos all come together to make your style recognizable. That’s how you create a cool aesthetic that sets your salon apart.
4 Elements of Your Salon’s Visual Brand
Once you have your business name, brand ethos, value proposition, tone of voice, and other intangible qualities defined, you can start to play around with the visual pieces that illustrate your brand promise.
1. Your Salon Logo
Your logo is like a visual shorthand for your salon’s brand identity. Keep it simple and recognizable with images related to your services.
You’ll use that logo everywhere – from website and signs to t-shirts. So make sure you follow these tips to avoid your logo looking distorted:
- Ensure your logo is designed as a vector image.
- Get different variations that work in different applications (horizontal, vertical, and square).
- Make a few different color versions (black and white, full color).
- Save small and large versions for everything from thumbnails up to signage.
- Use a PNG file of your logo online to keep it looking crisp – and keep the file under 100KB.
2. Your Salon Color Palette
Pick some colors that match the mood you want for your salon. Do you want to go for chill blues? Earthy green tones? Vibrant pinks? Think about the feelings you want to evoke.
Some advice for choosing your color palette:
- Make sure to keep high contrast between colors so the text is readable and your graphics stand out.
- Look into color psychology to see how colors may impact your audience.
- Choose hues that align with how you want people to feel in your salon.
- Start with 3-5 colors maximum, including 1-2 main colors and a few secondary or accent colors. Too many colors can look messy and chaotic.
Think about the mood you want to create with your salon coloring.
3. Your Typography and Fonts
Pick some fonts that match the vibe you want for your branding. Fonts have personalities – some are fancy and elegant, others are playful and funky. Find combinations of fonts that help reinforce your tone and brand ethos.
Keep these tips in mind when choosing fonts:
- Pick one font for headers and one for body copy. Don’t choose more than 3 fonts.
- Consider pairing serif and sans-serif fonts for a polished, professional look.
- Make sure your fonts are easy to read! Don’t let pretty fonts make your logo, pricing menu, or marketing copy hard to see.
- Use fonts to create a clear hierarchy so that headings grab attention before body text.
4. Your Salon Imagery
The photos and images you pick for your branding should show off your salon’s aesthetic and services. Use high-quality pictures that look sharp and professional. Since your photo gallery is essentially your salon’s portfolio of work, remember that great images make a great impression. If your budget allows, get some professional shots of your salon space, makeovers, and top products and services as well as your stylists and staff.
Here are some helpful ideas when choosing your salon’s branding images:
- Tell the story of your salon through pictures. Show your people, illustrate your values, and hint at how you started.
- Showcase all your awesome services, whether they include hair, makeup, or nails. Flaunt what you got!
- Get shots of happy clients loving their experience. These candid snaps will show off your salon’s positive energy.
- Choose images that are suitable for your social media, website, or printing needs. Size and shape matter.
- Make sure your pictures match your overall salon branding look and feel to maintain brand consistency.
Experienced Salons Deserve Beautiful Brand
The big takeaway for nailing your branding? Consistency. Make sure all the pieces of your branding fit together seamlessly. Your colors, fonts, imagery, voice, and brand personality should align across your shop, website, social accounts, and ads. Keeping things consistent makes your branding look highly professional and memorable.
Consistent branding also helps cement your salon’s presence in peoples’ minds. They’ll come to recognize and trust your brand when they see your consistent look and feel wherever you are.
Is it time to give your salon the brand makeover it deserves? Connect with us at Glammatic for salon branding support.
Leave a Reply