The hair beauty community is big on Instagram, since creative visuals are such an extreme focus of the industry. If you feel your salon’s Instagram profile needs a boost, remember that there’s more to effective social media posts than what you’re taking photos of. You could be showing off the most innovative, trendy styles and still not get much visibility from the platform.
The solution? Think of the full package: it isn’t just about your beauty work, it’s also about how you present it. Here are some of the best apps out there to help highlight what you do and reach those Instagram goals, writes Denise Langenegger.
1. Instasize
One of the first photo editors catering to Instagram users, Instansize is a trusted name offering a full suite of photo editing features. Keep subject colours vibrant and true-to-life with its extensive set of filters and post-processing sliders. You can also share more information about products or promotions with text and border options. It’s available to download on both the IOS App Store and Google Play.
2. Made 
Tap into the Instagram Stories feature for better salon brand marketing – which sees an average of 500 million daily users as of January 2019 – with Made. Tell clear, compelling stories with templates tailor-fit to Stories’ unique dimensions. It offers multiple templates, custom background and border styles, and premium filters. Download it on the IOS App Store or on Google Play.
3. PicCollage
PicCollage is a popular app dedicated to transforming your photo sets into collages. Whether you choose a quirky, scrapbook-style layout or keep it minimalist, it has the assets to make that happen through grids, stickers, patterns, freeform cut-out options and more. Use it to showcase multiple styles you’ve created at once for a themed post, or promote the products your salon suggests to customers.
4. VSCO
Another popular editing app for social media power users, VSCO’s strength lies in its preset feature. Users can import RAW photos and adjust them however they like—and save these edits as their own presets for future re-use. If you like the way you edit photos, scroll through your own library of edits to maintain a consistent brand aesthetic.
5. A Color Story
Brand colours are a significant part of what draws customers into the beauty industry—whether they’re in regard to hair colours, makeup looks, salon ambience or product packaging. A Color Story is an app made for the colour-obsessed. They partner with influencers and photographers to release trendy colour-based filter and editing packs. Plus, they give users tools to preview and plan their overall Instagram grid aesthetic.
Try out any of these five (or mix and match them all) and you’ll have alluring photos to populate your Instagram feed and Stories in no time. Finding the right photo editing app to promote your salon’s brand sound daunting? View it as a process of testing your creativity and strategising new and exciting looks to shake up your salon’s online image. Good luck!
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