Unlike other industries I have written about in the past, the salon industry has in fact evolved significantly over the last few decades. Being one of the more efficient business models among all industries, most independent salons weigh the monetary value of their stylists by that person's ability to bring in new clientele, paying them a larger percentage of the income coming from their station in return for their talents and/or marketing ability.

This is part of what peaked my interest upon meeting a salon owner the other day. A friend of another client and thereby worthy of a favor, I walked into a salon to drop off something I had printed off Facebook's FAQ page, to help the owner edit the info tab on their profile. This place, beautifully designed, has an attractive staff, giving off a good vibe. Kind of like walking into your favorite fancy restaurant, on your best behavior, but relaxed at the same time. Leaving the salon, I walked out towards my car and noticed that the parking lot was maybe 15 percent full. Granted, it was a Thursday at 1pm, but the visual of the empty parking lot got the hamster wheel in my overly active brain turning. "This is a beautiful place with good branding and an awesome location. Why are there not more people here right now?"

Later that week, I started reading around the web on the topic of "beauty salons" and almost immediately it hit me square on the head. Salon owners at large are primarily dependent on their stylists to drive in business. You could have the best location, comfortable chairs and hand carved Moroccan marble floors, but if your stylists aren't marketing themselves, you are dead in the water.

Therein is the contradiction and, as is often the case, the opportunity. Owners and managers are focused on all of the tangibles. Like placing ads in the newspaper and keeping their shop beautiful. Making sure their front desk staff is friendly. These things are important, minus the newspaper thing. (Salons shouldn't advertise in the newspaper, unless it is very cheap. Instead, you should be working in your community, doing things like sponsoring children's dance teams and paying the paper to cover it in the form of a story.)

The point is that they are focused on the things they can control. The stylist, an independent actor, is not cultivated in the same way as the ambiance of the shop or which colors to use on the business cards. The psychology behind it makes sense in a warped kind of way. Why invest in someone who can leave any time they want, and take half my business with them?

I have love for salon owners. In all seriousness, I get it. It's a matter of priorities. It's not like you don't care about leveraging your stylists. After all, they are your extended family and you want them to be successful right along with you. Running a business involves a lot of errands. Spreading time thinner still, most owners and managers are stylist themselves. In many cases, they are the namesake of the brand and as a result are often booked solid for weeks in advance. Add paying the bills and putting out small fires, it is no wonder there is such a missed opportunity staring you all in the face.

The opportunity is in what is more and more referred to as Social Integration. Smart brands are making a move in this direction. MAC Cosmetics is fully invested in their people with MAC Artists, an aggregation of the make-up artists' twitter profiles from their various markets. It is integration instead of social media or marketing because each person on your team engages with the market directly, while you (the brand) act as the platform to connect the two groups, allowing your brand to be represented by the character and online authenticity of people you employ, autonomously disseminating their experiences in the course of their day.

Social Integration is what you want to strive for. Stylists will come and go as their personal lives change over time. If a stylist leaves your salon, they will take clients with them. Ok, but that will happen no matter what. By taking the route of cultivating the professional growth of your stylists by providing them a platform to do well, you will keep more stylists in the long term, as you are measurably contributing to their success and their income, and thereby your per seat revenue will be higher across the board. Not to mention all of the brand exposure you get in the process.

I can guess what you are thinking. "A platform" sounds like a lot of work and the idea that "all my employees can freely talk about my brand without me being directly involved" is scary.

The good news is the platform is not all that difficult to set up and even easier to manage. As for it being scary to think of your employees representing your brand, the bad news is they already are talking about your brand as they talk about their lives online. Right now in your organization, whether you realize it or not, there is you and there is them. Your business, your brand and your employees. Being socially integrated enables you to speak in one voice. It happens naturally as by promoting it, you are opening up an opportunity for them to participate in a dialog with you, albeit indirectly. Keep in mind, all of this content is freely available on the web. Your team knows you can see it if you choose to. In turn, by promoting them, you are asking them to adhere to a higher standard of personal character, as they are not only representing themselves but you as well. This is similar to the dynamic among sports teams. (Note: You must lead by example for this to be effective.)

Getting to full social integration is a process that starts with setting yourself up properly for Social Media. This is fundamental.

The key ingredients breakdown like this:

A website that is easy to navigate and void of unnecessary clutter and content that nobody will read. The site must have a clear call to action (click here and this is why) and a prominently placed live connection, giving the visitor the ability to ask a question right then and there should they choose.

The website should be integrated with relevant social networking sites allowing visitors to connect with you outside of your web address. We recommend starting with Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and Yelp.

When using these sites, don't talk about what you had for lunch. Nobody cares. People are interested in following you online because they see value in who they perceive you to be. They are attracted to an attribute you posses, be that your personality, your craft or the brand you represent.

Create a community based on authentic human connection, by being the curator of the best content around what your customers care about, and leverage it to drive revenue. As a stylist, your clients are interested in style as a whole, obviously to varying degrees. Social marketing is an interesting process that involves figuring out what your community cares about, and then gives them the ability to participate in different experiences where they provide the content, given the incentive and ability to share.

Let me give you a real world example of how you can leverage your collective social network to engage with prospects.

You can post a contest to Facebook where entrants can submit a profile about why they deserve a makeover, and then partner with local businesses, picking a winner monthly or quarterly. People entering creates a profile giving detailed contact info, becoming a fan on Facebook, as well as a follower on Twitter. Each winner is announced via social media, and the makeover day is captured in the form of video and images that, when broken up, serve as weeks worth of authentic social media content.

That is one idea. Another is to pool your stylists in a contest to create the best celebrity hair-style. Each stylist picks a picture of a celebrity out of a hat, and they have to find a person to give their hair style to. Via their social media profiles, they post that they are looking for this person and that there is a cash prize attached. People create short profiles on why they should be picked. The contest takes place, the winner is announced, and again images and video content are captured. The captured content is distributed via a dedicated link back online over several days.

The link leads the new people looking at the contest content to a dedicated landing page hosting the images and video. Meanwhile, all contest entrants and Facebook fans are sent a link as well. The landing page also allows visitors to schedule an appointment for the very relevant and timely "full service celebrity style package." With a limited number available (showing how many are left) and deep perceived discount, you will sell out within hours. The bigger your audience, the more opportunities to segment them into target groups and market to them concurrently. The reason we call it "Fun Stuff" is because it is very cheap to test and measure. The things that work can be scaled, while the less successful campaigns are left out.

For salon owners and managers, you have an advantage over other industries from the outset, as your stylists are among the more unique characters in our society and often have expansive social networks of their own. This is a powerful starting point.

There are all kinds of clever ways to market your shop(s), but first you must act on the fundamentals. Your website. It's likely nice looking as websites go. Maybe you have a profile page for your stylists and a price list.

There is nobody on the other end though. The visitor should be able to click a button and call/email/instant message, even video chat. (It's coming to customer service in a big way and will soon be the standard.) Regardless of the type of technologies used, your website must have a pulse. People are looking to participate in their experiences. They want to buy from people who add value to the products and services they offer by paying attention to the little things. Your website needs to show that you understand that.

For me, a salon website should be simple and elegant, with the home page comprised mostly of a video player that gives visitors a personal walk-through of the salon, with the bottom third of the page displaying your address, with driving directions integrated, as well as your working hours and icons for different ways to contact you instantly. Prominently displayed at the top of page, opposite your brand logo, a button with the title "Meet our Stylists" or "Artists" if you prefer. The page opens to a gallery style display with a head shot of each stylist along with their names and their most recent tweet or Facebook wall post. Visitors can schedule an appointment, ask a question, and connect with your stylists on social media where they post photos of their work and musings of their own. Each stylist's profile would have a unique URL (yourshopname.com/janesmith) and analytics to measure the visits to that page, and the actions that follow. Within weeks, you will see a direct correlation between social network activity and the visits to your stylists' profiles on your website, the visits to your website turning into new clients and repeat business. More importantly, the social networks of your stylists become collectively your brand's social network. By creating smart social marketing campaigns, you leverage this community and the individual networks to create segmented groups from which to target new prospects.

More to come as our exposure to this industry evolves. As always, feel free to ask us anything.