How to advertise a new salon suite business with Instagram Ads
Well, would you look at you - opening your very own beauty business for the first time! Way to go!!
You must be filled with so much emotion - anticipation, nervousness, apprehension, and hopefully a healthy dose of optimism for your future.
Whether you’re a first-time booth renter in a studio or you’ve finally acquired your very own studio space, the same thought goes through everyone’s mind:
Okay, I’m open. Now how do I build a clientele?
Hairstylists, nail artists, spray tanners and waxers, estheticians, listen up! Today’s blog is for you if you’re starting up a beauty business in a new location and you’re not sure how to get the attention of your new favorite clients.
I know you’re nervous. I know you worry that you’ll fail, somewhere deep in your heart…it’s normal! We all feel it sometimes!
But I also know that you got this far because you pushed past your fear and did scary stuff because you believed it would be worth it.
Today, I’m asking you to do that again. The best way to get new clients is to put yourself out there - which requires bravery, a few deep breaths, and something that comes natural to you: being your beautiful, shiny authentic self!
I want to share with you a quick story from one of my students, Kayla, who is a young ambitious esthetician:
Kayla hit the nail on the head when she said that my advertising program, The Ad Lab, “forced me to be in an uncomfortable position and pushed me out of my shell.”
Most of the beauty pros who attend my classes want to use ads for one reason: To promote their new business. But they’re not sure how to do it, and they feel nervous about putting themselves out there.
If that’s you right now, just know you’re definitely not alone. That’s just part of opening up a new business.
But here’s some great news for you:
You don’t need to be established, or have team members, or a big budget to start bringing in new clients!
Instead, put aside $100 a month or so and run Facebook and Instagram ads directly to your ideal clients!
Here’s why Facebook and Instagram ads are all you need to kick off a profitable new beauty business
There are so many good reasons to run Facebook and Instagram ads when you’re starting from scratch:
They help you reach new people when you don’t have much of a following
They help you get your name and face out there in your community
They help you build up your confidence in being the face of your business
They can build your appointment book when you’re starting fresh - in a huge way - with an immediate return on investment!
When you’re establishing a new business, you don’t have money to spend on things that don’t build your book quickly.
Here’s a story of another student in The Ad Lab, Rebecca:
When she opened her brand new facial studio in England, Rebecca started running simple Facebook ads based on the strategy I teach, and over the course of a few months, she had hundreds of clients booked in - to a studio she’d just opened!
If you’re ready to start using sponsored posts, ads, or promoted posts (whatever you want to call them, they’re all the same thing!) to grow your new business, here’s where you’ll need to start.
How to “spiffy up” your social media pages for maximum client attention
Before I get to how to do this, I need to clarify something:
The goal here isn’t to build your following or have a bunch of people visit your profile, but it’s going to happen organically once you start running Facebook and Instagram ads…so your pages better be up to snuff!
Tons of people will want to check you out on your profile once they see your ad, and they’ll want to check you out thoroughly before they book with you - so you need to make sure that what they really want to see is there for the seein’.
Even if you’re just new in business, there’s so much you can do to make a FULL profile. Here are some of the things you should include on your social media pages:
Include a photo of you in the profile picture
Update your bio to share what you do, what you specialize in, and who you are (you need to include your full name in your bio!)
Include all the links needed to book an appointment with you and get more information about the services you provide (so a link to your website if you have one.)
Be sure that online booking is enabled in your apps!
Make sure you include all of your contact info - phone numbers and address!
Have at least 9 posts on your Instagram feed to keep it looking active and fresh. Share photos of you and of your work. Even if you don’t have that much to show, you can do work on friends, on yourself, family, or give away a few free services to strangers for pic proof! P
You can be sure that people will be checking you out and taking a closer look at your business once you start running ads on Facebook and Instagram, so you want to give them a good feel for who you are and what you offer.
Get really clear on what you want to advertise, and to who
Okay, I know that you’re just starting out or kicking off a new business, you might not feel super confident in saying you’re an expert in something or you “specialize” in something. You also worry about turning away clients by being too specific. I get it.
Maybe you’re a hairstylist that recently graduated, worked in a salon for a couple of years, and now you have a salon suite. You’re at the point where you’re ready to jump in with both feet and learn everything, so you don’t want to call yourself a “balayage expert”, as an example.
That’s fine! There’s time to niche down.
But when you’re advertising yourself, you need to be specific. You won’t get bookings if people can’t be sure that what they’re looking for, you’ll provide (and do a good job at it.)
So instead of advertising haircuts, color, balayage, extensions, vivids, men’s cuts, barbering, and everything you do, your Facebook and Instagram ads will need to be about a specific service you’re offering.
Choose one service, like balayage, and create a package around that.
So then your next question will be: how do I choose?
Well, answer this first - what do you want to build your business around? What do you want to start to get known for?
You might not be known for anything specific yet, but when you run an ad that shows “This is exactly what I do”, then you’ll naturally begin to build a portfolio around that skill based on the bookings you get.
From there, you can build your experience + your word-of-mouth reputation.
So - what do you want to be known for locally? It’s time to start promoting that! (Even if you’re not feeling 100% confident about it yet!)
Add on some extras, bonuses, and add-ons, price it in an attractive way (without discounting your primary service), and give it a cute name. A popular idea for a package name is to tie it to the season you’re advertising in, like a “Summer Stunner Blonde Package”.
You can check out more details on how to create an irresistible offer (without discounting!) in the video here.
Next, you want to narrow in on who your ideal client for this package is. It’s not made for just anyone! You may have clients who are 19 and others who are 65, but I want you to think about who the package you’re advertising is specifically made for.
For example, if you’re promoting an anti-aging facial treatment, you’ll want to target your ads toward local women 40 - 65+. If you’re selling a Brazilian wax package, you could target a wider audience (everyone who will want to show off their silky-smooth skin this summer!)
To learn more about how to target the right people with your ads, check out this video and blog post!
Once you’ve decided who you’ll target your ad to, you’ll also need to come up with a captivating caption and something that will grab their eyes right away (video works great for this!)
Think about what your main selling features and benefits are in the package you’re offering, and write about it in the caption + talk about it in your video.
Get ready to promote yourself - and share your unique brand everywhere in your ad
The best way to connect with new clients when no one knows you is to simply introduce yourself, but here’s the Catch-22: when you’re just starting out, you’re often lacking the confidence to show your face, say hi, and get yourself out there.
But as long as you stay hidden, you’re slowing down your business growth like crazy.
That was me in the first year of business: I was so scared of promoting myself, but still wanted to promote my business. I hid in the shadows. I wrote “we” on everything, even though it was just me, and I never shared a photo of my face or any personal details about my life.
And as a result, it took me much longer to get steady business coming in than if I’d just started off by putting my identity out there!
If I’m describing your current situation, don’t fret - this is a normal part of the process, and everyone goes through it.
But you are hurting your chances of connecting with more of the right kind of clients if you just hide behind your business.
Running ads for your business is the perfect time to step out of the shadows and into the spotlight. Share more of YOU with your audience: your personality, your unique shiny self, your dry sense of humor or sweetness.
In your ad caption, you should include the following:
introduce yourself! Your name, your profession, your experience
Always talk in the first person
Inject lots of your personality into your caption! Your cheesy jokes, puns, or natural exuberance.
Here’s an example that a student in The Ad Lab wrote to promote her waxing business:
Rosa’s not afraid to be herself!
You can see how she’s infused her own unique personality into her caption. In doing so, she’s attracting her ideal clients - the kind who go wild for what she’s got goin’ on!
The final part of your irresistible ad will include a video, because video ads are consistently better at attracting eyeballs and booking clients.
Your video should show the treatment or service you’re advertising - ideally, a video of you performing the treatment or service on one of your clients.
It’s important that you make an appearance in your video, because it will present you as the expert. The reason you need to show the service or treatment being done is so that potential clients watching the ad can imagine themselves getting the treatment (which will increase their chances of booking with you.)
Your video ad should make people watching feel the following “3 C’s”:
Comfortable
Confident
Connection
In order to do that, they need to get to know YOU. Infuse lots of yourself into your ads - even if you’re not feeling confident! Put yourself out there and your confidence and clientele will grow. I teach this in The Ad Lab because it really does work - hundreds of past students have had amazing results by putting themselves out there!
Launch your ad the simple way
So now you’ve got a great offer, a personal caption that converts to bookings, a captivating video, and you know exactly who you want to target…what's the final step?
It's time to actually launch your ad!
This is the part that's the most tedious, but necessary.
You have to set up your targeting, ad spend (your budget for running your ads), and then confirm your settings to let them start bringing you new clients.
When they’re done right, ads can completely build your new business from scratch. I’ve worked with hundreds of beauty pros to do just that.
But if they’re not set up right, with all the important elements in place, you risk spending your money and your time on something that's not going to give you a significant return on investment. And when you're starting up a new beauty business, you just can't afford that!
I run a free class where I share my 5-step Booked Out Ads Formula, which teaches exactly what goes into creating ads that attract your ideal clients and get them to book with you, easily and quickly!
Grab your spot right here: https://www.salonadsmadeeasy.com/freeclass
See you there!
Stephanie
