Sample run

What to post next for a hair salon

A real run, made on 24 September 2026. It gathered 28 Instagram posts dated 24 Sep 2025 to 24 Sep 2026 and read 12 of them closely. Every post below comes from a public account and is credited to it.

The rest of the run: 3 briefs and the niche’s words

Make this first

One post, briefed from what this run found. Every source is named, and nothing in it is a number the posts did not carry.

Single image

Lifting one section for a foil balayage, shot tight with nothing designed on it.

Why this one first. It has the strongest topic match (the word “balayage”) for the least effort: one appointment, one tight frame, no design.

Cover
A close vertical shot of a gloved hand lifting one narrow section of hair, the pale streak against the darker base, with the cape filling the lower half. No words on the image.
Opening line
“Where the first foil goes, and why it goes there.”
Caption
Get stylists to comment whether they would foil or freehand this section, and say what they would change.
Why now
A post on instagram travelled above the median reach of this niche's posts, and its read says the raw craft moment, a gloved hand lifting one strand, was the whole hook. Balayage is in 10 of the 12 posts this run collected, by 9 accounts (the word “balayage”), and foils in 2 of them (the word “foils”). The frame comes free with any foil appointment.
It fails if
The shot is wide or dressed up, so the gloved hand and the lifted strand stop being the whole idea.

The post it rests on

  • a post on instagramit travelled: this run placed it above the median reach of the posts it collected in this niche

Also from this run

  • the word “balayage”“balayage” is used in 10 of the 12 hair salon posts in this run’s period, by 9 accounts
  • the word “foils”“foils” is used in 2 of the 12 hair salon posts in this run’s period, by 2 accounts

Also worth making

  1. Carousel, 5 slides

    Balayage placement on the sides, then the top, one zone per slide.

    Cover
    The client's hair pulled taut over clear film, a gloved hand holding the tint brush, the tray in view. Words: BALAYAGE PLACEMENT, ZONE BY ZONE in plain default caption type at the bottom.
    Slides
    1. Sides: one section laid over the film, the point where the brush starts marked.
    2. Sides: the same section finished, before the next one comes down.
    3. Top: where the brush starts and where it stops, shot from the same angle.
    4. Top: the finished section beside the sides, so both zones sit in one frame.
    Opening line
    “Where the brush starts on the sides, and where it starts on the top.”
    Caption
    Get stylists to save it and say which zone they place differently.
    Why now
    A post on instagram travelled above the niche's median reach as a placement walkthrough, and 'placement' appears in 3 of the 12 posts, by 2 accounts (the word “placement”), alongside balayage in 10 of 12 (the word “balayage”). Its frame is the work in progress, and the type only labelled the instalment (a post on instagram), so the process carries it.
    It fails if
    A slide swaps the hair-over-film, brush-in-hand frame for a finished-result photo, so it stops being a placement lesson.

    The post it rests on

    • a post on instagramit travelled: this run placed it above the median reach of the posts it collected in this niche

    Also from this run

    • the word “balayage”“balayage” is used in 10 of the 12 hair salon posts in this run’s period, by 9 accounts
    • the word “placement”“placement” is used in 3 of the 12 hair salon posts in this run’s period, by 2 accounts

  2. Single image

    One finished vivid colour, shot straight on, with nothing else in the frame.

    Cover
    A straight-on, waist-up portrait of one client with a finished vivid colour, centred against a plain wall or wood panel, in a dark, quiet top. No text, no overlay, no frame around it.
    Opening line
    “Finished colour, shot straight on in the room it was made in.”
    Caption
    Get viewers to comment the shade they want next, so you know who to book.
    Why now
    A post on instagram travelled and its cover sits in the top tenth of this niche's craft reads: one saturated colour against a neutral room did all the work. Vivid results are also what people are posting on Reddit in recent weeks, with pink in r/HairDye on 2026-09-10 and 2026-08-22.
    It fails if
    Something other than the colour is loud, whether a busy background, a bright top or added text, so the colour stops doing the work.

    The post it rests on

    • a post on instagramit travelled, and its cover sits in the top tenth of this niche’s craft reads: this run placed it above the niche’s median reach

    Also from this run

    • a thread on r/HairDyea thread on r/HairDye, posted 2026-09-10
    • a thread on r/HairDyea thread on r/HairDye, posted 2026-08-22
    • the word “balayage”“balayage” is used in 10 of the 12 hair salon posts in this run’s period, by 9 accounts

Words people use in your niche

Counted once per post, 2025-09-25 to 2026-09-24; only words two or more accounts used.

  • balayage10 of 12 posts · 9 accounts
  • hair4 of 12 posts · 4 accounts
  • hairpainting3 of 12 posts · 3 accounts
  • placement3 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • babylights2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • balayage hair2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
10 more words
  • beautifully2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • blondehair2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • color2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • foils2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • haircolor2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • haireducation2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • hairtransformation2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • lift2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • natural2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts
  • power2 of 12 posts · 2 accounts

What the run looked at: 28 posts collected, 12 sorted by cover type and caption, and 5 covers studied for how they were made.