37 Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion Tips

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion: Finding a product or service to sell is only half the story.

Now you have to get out there and tell people about it.

In the days before the advent of the internet and social media.

Promoting your business meant spending a fortune on advertising or PR.

A crippling cost for a small business trying to get off the ground.

Not anymore. Thanks to new technology.

See also: 11 Tips to Open Anatomical Model Shop 

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion
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Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

There are now lots of ways a small fledgeling business can tell prospective customers.

About their products or services – many of them free.

Here are some tips on how to promote your business online for virtually no money.

Most entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Who are more directly involved in marketing.

Their businesses should find this to be a useful source of information and ideas.

There is a variety of online and offline mechanisms to market your business.

Such as social networking, advertisements, word of mouth, commercial material etc.

Though some of these can be a bit expensive and/or overwhelming.

See also: 10 Tips to Use Smart Mobile Phone on Car Surveillance System 

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

1. Create a brand & logo

Don’t be fooled by how simplistic this first tip may see, widespread brand recognition is your ultimate goal.

And your business needs to inspire credibility and persuade others to spread the word about your work.

You need to create a brand you can build on from the start, hiring a designer may be costly.

But there are many free logo and image creator tools on the web that suit all tastes and needs.

You don’t need to have a perfect brand from the get go.

But you need do need something your can build your business’s reputation on.

Read on: 35 Top Online Men’s Accessories Business Promotion

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

2. Create a website

Setting up a website is relatively easy.

Making sure it’s attractive, functional, accessible and mobile-friendly can make your business look professional.

There are many affordable website services to get your business online fast and with little cost.

These services offer ready-made website templates with lead-generation features, free logos etc.

Additionally, before marketing your website through any online channels.

Make sure your metadata is accurate and follows Google Webmaster guidelines.

Also remember to put everything on your website.

If you take a stand at a trade fair, for example, get your team to wear t-shirts with your logo.

And phone and website details on the back.

You could even paint your car with your company logo.

And put your phone number and website on it.

See also: 34 Top CCTV Camera Accessories Online Business in Nigeria

3. Offer Deals on a Regular Basis

Most online marketplaces will give you the option to hold sales and/or use promo codes to help entice shoppers.

Be sure to do this on a regular basis. From taking advantage of holiday shopping (get 15% off for Father’s Day, 31% off for Halloween, 50% off of select items on Black Friday, etc.) to simply offering great deals for no reason at all, this will help ensure you have regular web traffic.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

4. Use Email Marketing to Remind Customers to Shop

When you first open your web store, you’ll want to send out an email announcing it to your database. Make sure it links directly from the email to your store.

Once you’ve done this, start sending out weekly (if possible) newsletters that highlight your products with great images and persuasive, yet succinct, content that links directly to each product for easy purchasing.

  • When you have sales, be sure to announce and promote them via email so customers can take advantage of your exclusive pricing right away. MailChimp is a free, easy-to-use option for small business owners.

Some online marketplaces promote their sellers’ products to their massive database of shoppers through email marketing as well.

And while the inclusion of your products isn’t guaranteed, you can up your chances by taking amazing photos of your products and writing descriptive, typo-free product descriptions.

See also: Top 35 Online Men’s Fashion Business Promotion Tips in Nigeria

5. Start a Blog

A blog is more than a great way to establish yourself as a leader in your industry, it’s also an indirect way to help promote your online shop.

  • Include one relevant link back to your store in each blog post (either link the home page of your store or link directly to a product) and make sure each blog is informative and helpful. (Don’t forget to link any images back to your web store or a specific product too!)

If the content isn’t strong, it’s not going to do you any good. Quality blog posts will help you grow your online business, however, so if you have the time, it’s a great project to invest in.

See also: 15 Tips to Start Secretarial Service Business in Nigeria

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

6. Contact Bloggers About Your Products

Conduct an online search for whatever industry your products are in. (For example, if you create candles, you might look for lifestyle bloggers and/or bloggers who write about homemade goods) and then reach out to the ones with the largest following.

  • Be sure to look for how many comments they receive and how large their following is on their social media accounts to gauge their popularity.

When you contact them, tell them why you love their blog (be specific), then briefly explain why you feel your product would be a good fit for a review on their blog.

Provide a sample of your product for free, and if you can afford it, offer to provide another sample for a giveaway. You’ll get a review, a reader will get a free product, and you’ll get priceless promotion direct to your target audience.

Read also: 37 Best Mandible Business Ideas in Nigeria

7. Start Guest Blogging

Guest blogging can be a great way to reach a larger audience you wouldn’t have access to otherwise. Research who the top bloggers are in your industry (see above), read through their posts to see what topics they normally write about, and then contact them about guest blogging opportunities.

Most bloggers will let you at least have a link to your store in your bio, but you possibly may also be able to get one in your content as well.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

8. Offer Video Tutorials/Behind-the-Scenes Shots

People love a good video — they’re easy to share and they can add depth and clarity to your products, as well as help them gain popularity amongst your target market.

  • For example, if you sell headbands for babies, show parents the different ways their babies can wear them. If there’s only one way, just show adorable babies wearing your headbands in videos.
  • If you sell dog treats, why not show a little behind-the-scenes action of you baking them?
  • If you make clothing, show model fittings, fashion shows, your sewing, etc.

When you’re done, share these videos on YouTube (create your own account for your business) and also share on all other social media sites you’re on.

Now that Facebook Live is popular, you might also consider live videoing product demos or showing off some fun behind-the-scenes stuff.

9. Branch Out With Social Media

Social media is essential if you want to promote your online shop effectively. But, as with anything, it takes effort and time to build followers.

Depending on what you have time for (or if you can delegate tasks to anyone else to help you), you will want to check out the following sites to help market your store: (And continually try new sites to figure out what bests works for your business.)

See also: 20 Tips to Open Used Shoe Consignment Business in Nigeria

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

10. Highlight Products on Social Media

For social media marketing to work, you need to post regularly. For most businesses, this will be at least once a day, if not 2-3 times, depending on how many followers you have.

Post enticing pictures of the products you offer, along with any deals you have going on. Always include a direct link to the specific product for fast purchasing at your online store.

Ask your followers to post pictures of themselves wearing your products or using them in their home, depending on what you sell, to encourage interaction and help further your online reach. Using a scheduling tool, like Hootsuite, can help make social media more manageable for you.

11. Hold Contests on Social Media

Contests are a great way to spread the word about what you have to offer, drive traffic to your store, and increase your social media followers.

Some sites have specific rules for holding contests, like Facebook, so be sure you know what they are before beginning your contest.

Offer one of your products as a prize (or put a few together for a prize pack) and then announce the contest on all of the social sites you use.

Post about the giveaway often to encourage signups (use the email addresses you get to build your email database) and then be sure to ask the winner to post a picture of themselves on your page with their prize once you’ve shipped it.

Say something like “More great products just like this can be found at (insert URL)” to encourage those who are viewing the post to check out what else you have to offer.

12. Try Paid Advertising on Social Media

Sites like Facebook and Twitter (and now Pinterest too!) offer the ability to use paid advertising to target the right consumers for you. If you try this on Facebook, we suggest selecting a metric such as ‘website clicks’ or ‘website conversions,’ because you want people to click through to your online store’s URL, not your fan page.

On Twitter, you could try using ‘Promoted Tweets’ to market your store. Be sure to include concise, yet enticing content along with the URL to help drive traffic.

For example, if you create clothing, your promoted tweet might look something like this, “What are the hottest #fashion trends for summer? Find out here: (insert shortened URL).”

13. Include Your Store’s URL in Your Email Signature

This is a fast and easy one. No matter what email provider you use, you should have a custom email signature that includes the URL to your store. WiseStamp makes this simple and is free to use at a basic level.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

14. Print Your Store’s URL on all Marketing Materials

From business cards to flyers and everything in between, your URL needs to be included wherever you’re marketing your business. Never leave home without something you can hand out to potential customers that has your URL on it.

15. Wrap Your Vehicle With Your Store’s URL

If you want your vehicle to be a non-stop promotion machine, get it wrapped with your store’s URL and some kind of image or slogan that entices passersby to pull out their phones and look up your store.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

16. Print Your URL on Shopping Bags

If you have a physical location, try having your store’s URL printed on your shopping bags. As customers carry the bags around, your store will be getting some good promotion.

Even better: If you have the budget for it, get some reusable shopping bags printed with your business’ name, logo, and store URL on them and hand them out to customers who spend ‘X’ amount of money. You can also do this with online orders by including them in packages.

17. Hand Out Magnets with Every Purchase

Include a free magnet (that includes your store’s URL, of course) with every purchase, whether in-person or online. This way, current customers won’t forget where they purchased from and can also refer you easily to their friends.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

18.Use Counter Cards at Checkout

Set counter cards right next to the cash register so customers can grab one as they’re leaving. Consider adding a coupon code or discount for online shoppers and direct them to your store’s URL.

19. Use Window Clings Everywhere You Can

Window clings are an easy way to promote your online shop. You can put one on the door of your physical location and in various other locations throughout your store and in your vehicle’s window.

You can even ask friends, family, and willing employees to do the same. As always, include your store’s URL.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

20. Partner With Other Local Business Owners

Who are the other local business owners in your area? If you don’t know them yet, make it a point to go introduce yourself. Talk to them and see if they’d be willing to put any flyers or counter cards out for your business in their stores and, in turn, do the same for them.

If you’re online only, see if any businesses that sell their products at local events, farmer’s markets, and festivals would let you have flyers on their table. Again, do the same for them wherever you sell.

21. Try Your Hand at Direct-Mail Marketing

Just because you want to promote your online business, not a physical location, doesn’t mean you can’t use direct-mail marketing to your advantage.

The key here would be to include a great discount, descriptive content, and your online store’s URL to get shoppers to visit your site. Research the local coupon mailers and newspapers in your area to find good spots for you to advertise in.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

22. Look Into Grocery-Cart Advertising

Depending on how savvy your target audience is, you could have a QR code-centric ad that takes grocery shoppers right to your store’s URL once scanned.

This would be a fast and easy way for them to shop your products online. You could also do a basic ad instead if this won’t work for your target market that includes your URL.

23. Place Coupons in Packages

Every time you complete an online order, make sure you toss a coupon in the package to encourage the consumer to shop again.

Have your URL printed on the coupon to make it easy for the customer. You should also always include one or two of your business cards in each order.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

24. Update Your On-Hold Message

Be sure to update your on-hold message so consumers know they can now shop for your products online. State the URL slowly and spell out any words that aren’t easily understandable to ensure phone callers will have time to not only write down your URL, but get it right the first time.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

25. Get Your Staff Involved

Have your staff wear buttons and/or printed T-shirts that say “Shop us online at (insert URL here)” during shifts at your brick-and-mortar location if you have one, and/or at any local events you have a presence at.

26. Optimize Your Product Names and Descriptions

Creativity has its place — but that place is not in your product names. You need to be straight-forward and specific with product names or customers will not be able to find your product when they’re searching for exactly what you sell.

For example, if you sell scarves, you would not name your product “black,” “neon,” “lace,” “princess,” or “lady bug,” right? Because if you do, you’ve left out the most important detail — scarf.

Your product name is the place to describe exactly what your product is so customers can find your items:

  • Black Scarf — Lightweight and Trendy
  • Dark Floral Scarf
  • Neon-Pink Lace Scarf With White Polka-Dots
  • Gingham Blanket Scarf
  • Red Neck Scarf
  • Black and White Infinity Scarf
  • Black Scarf With Lady-Bug Pattern

Use keywords in your product names and descriptions to help your store get found in search engines. To research the best keywords for each of your products, you can use the ‘keyword planner‘ available for free through Adwords.

Use these keywords in each of your product descriptions naturally, though, or it’ll turn off potential customers. Only use one keyword per description/product name.

P.S. The place to be a little more creative and descriptive is with your product descriptions.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

27. Optimize Your Photos

Give your photos good names so search engines can find you. (E.g., green-womens-shirt.jpg instead of 3929s.jpg) Doing this can help you reach more consumers who are searching for products like yours.

28. Add Your Products to Google Shopping

Google for Retail lets you add your product feed to their site, making it easy for shoppers to discover your store online.

You can contact your marketplace directly or review the list of sellers’ benefits listed on their website to find out if this service is included with your virtual store.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

29. Try Pay-Per-Click Ads

Paid search campaigns (e.g. pay-per-click ads) on search engines such as Google or Bing can be a great way to drive traffic and conversions for your store, but warning, they eat up your budget quite quickly.

30. Join Local Associations

Local associations have big followings, and aside from many other benefits, joining a few in your area will mean your business gets listed in their directories online. This can help increase traffic to your site.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

31. Sponsor Local Events

Sponsoring local events in your area means you get promotion for your business, normally by a link on the event page, and sometimes through social media posts and other marketing material. Be sure you ask for your URL to be included.

You may also want to ask if you can include one of your flyers (with your URL) in any goody bags or handouts.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

32. Get Customers to Review You

Word of mouth is a very powerful marketing tool. Review sites like Yelp, Google Local, and Yahoo Local are very popular with consumers, and you should aim for your business to have as many reviews on them as possible.

When a customer makes a purchase, send them a follow-up email asking them to review their experience with you on ‘x’ review site of your choosing.

Don’t bribe them with free things for a positive review; focus on outstanding customer service and fast shipping instead and let your business’ great reputation build organically.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

33. Start a Referral Program

What better way to boost your online traffic than by offering current customers a discount or free item for referring their friends?

Whether it’s a $15 credit when their friend makes their first purchase of $50 or more, or simply a free item under $10 when their friend makes a $25 purchase, a referral program can do wonders for getting new consumers to purchase from your site.

34. Update Your “Closed” Sign

If you have a physical location, be sure to update your “closed sign” to say something like, “We’re closed, but shop online now at (insert URL)” to encourage more sales at your website online.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

35. Comment in Forums/Groups

Do a search for forums related to what you sell to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Choose forums that allow you to either have a custom signature at the bottom with your URL and/or a linkable username. Be sure to choose a username that makes you stand out. For example, “ICreateBeautifulThings” or “SassyJewelryMaker” is better than “Shannon543267.”

Answer questions in the forum without blatantly promoting what you have to sell — people will naturally begin to click through to your site over time.

When you repeatedly add value to forums, you become part of the community there, which makes the other users trust and value what you have to say, and, most importantly, want to find out what you sell. You can also do this by finding applicable groups on LinkedIn and Google+.

Online Beauty/Personal Care Promotion

36. Subscribe to Blogs

For a steady stream of ideas on how to promote your online shop, subscribe to small business and marketing blogs that focus on e-commerce sellers.

When tips get delivered directly to your inbox every day, it makes it easy to learn fresh ways to help get your business more exposure and profit.

37. Set a Routine

There you have it! 37 ways to keep customers shopping at your online store all year long. Whether it’s in the morning while you have a cup of coffee or during the “slow period” at your brick-and-mortar location, getting into a routine will help make marketing your store more manageable and effective for you.

If you don’t do everything you can to promote your online shop, who will? You can’t complain about low sale volume if you’re not working your ass off to make your business successful.

If time is an issue for you, choose one or two of these ideas at a time and set aside anywhere from 10-30 minutes per day to work on them. Good luck!

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