Instagram lets a barbershop post carry five hashtags, so name the cut (#SkinFade, #TaperFade), add your town (#ChicagoBarber), and finish with the shop's name. Someone deciding where to get a fade this week looks for the cut and the city, not #haircut.
The hashtags worth using for a barbershop
What you cut and shave
Name the cut in the photo the way a client asks for it in the chair. A skin fade, a low taper and a hot towel shave are three different posts with three different sets.
Where you are
One tag with your city or neighbourhood and the word barber. For a walk-in shop this is the tag that reaches someone two streets away.
The pattern: #[Town]Barber or #[Town]Barbershop
- Chicago: #ChicagoBarber #ChicagoBarbershop
- Liverpool: #LiverpoolBarber #LiverpoolBarbers
- Dublin: #DublinBarber #DublinBarbershop
Your own tag
Every fresh cut that walks out of the shop is a photo someone might post. Put the tag on the mirror so they know what to add.
For example: #LedgerStreetBarbers
Five tags for one real post
The post: “Marcus starts in the third chair on Monday. Eight years cutting, tapers and beard work, and he's taking bookings now.”
What the post shows, where the business is, and its own name. Five tags, each one earning its place.
Tags to skip
- #haircut, #hairstyle, #style. These cover every kind of hair everywhere, so a fade posted there sits between bridal updos and celebrity bobs.
- #BarberLife on posts for customers. That's where barbers follow other barbers. Use it when you're hiring or showing technique to the trade, not on the post that should fill Saturday's chairs.
- A footballer's or celebrity's name. Clients do ask for a player's cut, but people browsing his name want him, not your shop. It also reads as using his name to sell your chair.
- A child's name on a kids' cut. Tags are public and searchable. Get the parent's OK for the photo and keep the child's name out of it.
Seasonal tags
- Prom season (spring in the US): #PromSeason #PromReady
- Father's Day (third Sunday of June in the US and UK): #FathersDay
- Wedding season: #Groomsmen #WeddingSeason
- Back to school (August in the US, early September in the UK): #BackToSchool #KidsHaircut
Only on posts that are about that season. A Christmas tag on a plain Tuesday loaf is noise.
More for your barbershop
- Post ideas for a barbershop, each with a finished example post.
- How posthell runs social media for a barbershop, from one note a week.
- Hashtag counter to check a caption before you post it.