Produce It Yourself:
Before You Begin

Small Business Marketing Video Production for:

What equipment and skills will I need?

What Should Your Hair Salon Video Include?

Before you begin writing a script or planning your shots to produce a primary video that introduces your service to clients, review the following marketing research findings. (Collected 2/8/18 to 4/26/18).

Maximum Video Length Average: 70 seconds

Video Element	Recommended?	Want	Indifferent	Do Not Want
Owner Narration	Yes	51%	28%	19%
Animated Logo Intro	No	14%	45%	41%
Background Music	No	21%	49%	30%
Featured Services	Yes	80%	9%	11%
A View of the Inside	Yes	70%	21%	9%
Before & After Hair Styles	Yes	63%	22%	15%
Building & Parking	Yes	56%	27%	17%
Hair Stylists	Yes	56%	27%	17%
A Funny Skit	No	6%	31%	63%
Pricing/Deals	Depends	83%	8%	9%

Industry Overview:

41% of consumers said they would not watch a hair salon video. This percentage is partly because 20% would not search the internet to find a hair salon. 10% of people do not use hair salons. For the 20% of consumers that would search the internet but not watch a video, they say videos fail to be short, concise and to the point as well as an honest, authentic, complete representation. 59% of consumers who say they would consider watching a video if unfamiliar and curious.

Things that Improve Customer Interest:

Smiling customers showing new hair style (before and after, testimonials) 22%
Good prices, deals 17%
Style/niche/demographic fits my needs 16%
Highly skilled, experienced stylists 15%
Clean, organized studio 13%
Appealing decor (layout, colors) 11%
Happy, friendly, welcoming staff 11%
Positive atmosphere or vibe 9%
Extra services (coloring, massage) 6%
Location (close, nice area) 5%
Great products and utensils 4%
Serves alcohol 4%
Quiet 1%
Simplicity 1%
Appealing shampoo and conditioner used 1%
Emphasis on detail 1%
Waiting area has entertainment 1%

Things that Scare Customers Away:

Style, niche, services do not fit their need 30%
Unclean or unorganized studio 22%
Overpriced 12%
Bad location 6%
Unprofessional staff (unqualified or unfriendly) 6%
Unappealing atmosphere (cold, unwelcoming, chaotic) 5%
Poor narrative from owner (pushy, offensive, rambling) 4%
Too busy (crowded, people waiting, long wait time) 4%
Lack of parking 4%
If video did not show enough of the business (lack of info) 3%
Loud or poor background music 3%
Too much talking in the video 2%
Popup ads in the video 2%
Low service quality 2%
Shabby or dilapidated building 2%
Dogs 1%
Salon is empty 1%
Non-eco chemicals used 1%
Unorganized video 1%
If the video shows actors instead of real people 1%

General Advice

32% of consumers said they would not watch a small business video online. The 4 most popular reasons they gave were that videos are…

Biased, exaggerated, overproduced, flashy, only showing the business in the best light, not a true representation
Cheesy, dated, gimmicky and annoying
Too long, too slow, failing to get to the point, not concise, clear, rambling
Fail to provide the needed information, waste of time, adds no value, only necessary for visual products/services

On the flip side, 68% of consumers surveyed say they would watch a video before choosing a small business. Some of the top things consumers are hoping to see in a video are…

Real footage, true representation, authentic, honest, not overproduced
Message is concise, clear, short and to the point
Full footage and information provided, nothing is left out
Message is calm and sincere, not pushy or aggressive
Does not try to entertain

Many consumers said they would rather watch a video review from an unbiased third party than to watch a video from the business itself. Small business owners tend to want to show only the best aspects of the business in the best light. It may feel counter-intuitive, but including the business's shortcomings demonstrates honesty and earns customers.

Review over 50 hair salon marketing video examples here: Hair Salon Marketing Video Examples.