Everything you need to know about booking salon clients with Facebook Ads
In every successful business owner’s life, there comes a time when they suddenly get a crystal-clear vision of how to reach the next step toward their dream of a sustainable, fulfilling business.
The funny thing is that usually it’s something that’s always been there, you just weren’t leaning into it the way you needed to.
It’s the cornerstone of your business, your “bread and butter”, the one thing that keeps working for you again and again.
For me, that moment came when I saw how many new clients I was attracting by running Facebook and Instagram ads in a specific way.
I knew that I needed to teach others how to replicate my success, because it was easy, affordable, and ACTUALLY WORKED consistently.
So I built a course around what I discovered (The Ad Lab), and it’s been a huge hit:
Facebook and Instagram ads are the best way to drum up new business and attract your ideal client to your salon or home-owned beauty business.
Today I wanted to share the questions I get asked all the time in the course about Facebook and Instagram advertising.
Whether you’ve never run a FB ad before or you tried it and it didn’t work for you, I guarantee you’ve asked yourself these questions - and I’ve got the answers you need!
Hairstylists, nail artists, waxers, spray tanners, estheticians - no matter your role in the beauty industry, Facebook and Instagram ads will work wonders for you once you start doing them right. So take a browse over the questions below and start running ads that will bring you your ideal clients easily!
Q: What’s the right amount of money to spend on advertising to get results?
I spend $200+ a day on ads, but in the beginning, I was spending $20/day. It took tons of testing to figure out the sweet spot for my ad spend.
The right amount for your business will depend on your budget, revenue goals, and what you’re advertising - but a good rule of thumb for beginners is spending $5-10 a day.
However, here are some good reasons to increase your ad spend beyond $5-10/a day:
You want to book a lot of clients fast
You’re advertising a high ticket service ($300+) because it’s much easier to book clients for a $100 than a $300 service
You’re testing out lots of different ads
In general, though, it’s best to start small, test, get results, then slowly increase your ad spend as needed.
Q: I have a course I’d like to advertise, what’s the best strategy?
I’ve experimented with sales ads to advertise my course directly, but they don’t usually work so great.
For online courses (especially higher ticket courses like mine - $500+) - I recommend a funnel: the process of letting people get to know you over time by offering different ways to see your expertise and what you can offer them.
Start by creating a free class about a topic you know and love, like nail health, hair health, the latest research on acne, or whatever you’re an expert in. The best free classes are based on questions you hear from clients all the time - that way you can be sure you’ll grab their attention. At the end of the free class, talk a bit about your course and how it can benefit your viewers.
Then, run Facebook and Instagram ads for your free class, instead of your course.
In the ad, send them to a registry page that will collect their email address. You can use this email list to advertise your course in a natural way that’s free and consistent.
This is how I’ve built up my email list and taught hundreds of students in The Ad Lab. Check out Amy Porterfield’s classes if this is something you want to try out.
Q: My ads keep getting rejected, what do I do?
Ugh, so frustrating!
It could be that you’re in what I call a “rejection loop”: the algorithm has flagged your account for one rejected ad, so it stops accepting your ads altogether.
Here’s what you can try if this is happening to you:
Run a simple ad: Just a photo of yourself with a short caption introducing yourself and your business to your neighborhood. That's it - no buttons or links, just a short blurb. This safe and easy ad might be just what the algorithm needs to pick you up again.
In the Facebook Ad Manager, you have the option to appeal the decision by making any changes they request.
Be sure that you’re following the rules of ad acceptance. No mention of personal characteristics (fat/skinny, ugly, etc), focus on positive instead of negative, and no mention of gender. Try to avoid Before and After pictures or claims. You can review Facebook Ad rules in full here.
Q: Should I hire an ads manager?
In a past life, I actually was an Ads Manager!
A lot of people just think to themselves, “I give up, I don't have time for this" or "I need someone to do it for me!”
But I promise you it’s a much better return on investment to learn how to do your ads yourself.
When you manage to do it once and it works, you can feel confident in saving a ton of your hard-earned money by replicating your success again and again yourself.
Ads Managers typically charge anywhere from $300 - $1000+ a month to manage your ads for you. Running ads on Facebook and Instagram costs a fraction of that, and can bring in a lot more profit.
Bottom line? FB and Insta ads are easy to do once you know what works. In my course The Ad Lab you get all the templates and proven ad ideas… plus you get a team of people (a pro copywriter, sales coach, salon expert, and me!) who will help you make your ads a success.
Q: What is changing about ads? What works right now?
Reels: Reels style ads are selling well lately. These "ads'' don't actually look like ads, so people watch and interact with them more often. Reel ads are well edited 1-minute videos that can show your salon or other beauty space, a treatment snapshot, or a video of you using one of your best-selling products.
So get cozy with the Reels feature - do some fun transitions, put some text on your Reel, download it, and use it as an ad!
Auto targeting: The algorithms on social networks have advanced a lot, so they’ve got a pretty good idea of who is most likely to engage with your ads.
Because of this, you can let the algorithm target people for you by setting your targeting standards to a broader audience. You’ll learn as you go and can always tinker with settings as results come in.
Quality is key: Everyone is advertising their business on socials, so you’ve got to level up to compete and capture new clients. This means higher quality videos and more creative and funny captions. Keep it short and sweet, though - attention spans are getting smaller!
Q: How do I target the right people with my ads?
I hear all the time that people think their ads don’t work because they’re not targeting the right people.
Usually, that’s not actually the case.
Targeting is pretty simple - you choose your demographic (age range, gender), your geographic area, and a couple of basic details and you’re done.
You don’t need to add all sorts of detailed targeting (interests, etc) to get your ad shown to the right people. Facebook’s algorithm is very advanced and knows who to target.
Q: What are the most important numbers I need to look at to tell how my ad is doing?
Keeping a close eye on the metrics for your ad is important. This is how we know if our ads are “working” and if they’re actually making us money.
Reach and Impressions tell you how many people are actually seeing your ad. If these metrics are too low, you need to fix your ad or target a bigger group of people.
But the most important metric to pay attention to are these ones:
Results (how many leads you’ve captured)
Cost Per Result (how much you’re spending per lead)
How many leads have converted to appointments
What those appointments are worth
With these metrics, you calculate the revenue total from the ad to your total amount spent. If you’re not making significantly more in ad revenue than you’re spending, you need to tinker with your ad.
Q: Can I advertise multiple things at once?
I get this question from new students in my course The Ad Lab all the time.
They get excited about promoting all the things in their business, but then nervous when I tell them they should be promoting only *one* service or package in their ad.
Their response is usually, “So then I should run multiple ads, right?”
Unfortunately, no. Patience is key here.
While I love and encourage testing out multiple videos, captions, and headlines to promote *one* product or service (your Irresistible Offer), it’s not a good idea to try to create different ads promoting different offers and services and run them at the same time.
First, your ads will compete against each other and then you’re just gambling with your ad money.
Second, you need to test out multiple things like headlines, captions, photos, and videos before you land on a combo that converts really well. If you’re trying to make multiple campaigns/offers work at the same time, you’ll burn yourself out.
One at a time, and be patient!
Q: Is there a difference between boosting a post and running an ad in the Ads Manager?
Yes.
I set up all my ads in the Meta Ads Manager, and they work really well.
Here are a few reasons the Ads Manager works so much better than boosting posts:
You can test out multiple audiences, and split-test your ads by testing out multiple videos, headlines, captions, and more (*this is the #1 hack to get better results!*)
You can look deeper into your analytics and get a better understanding of how your ads are actually performing
You can set up more sophisticated automated messaging features to communicate with leads and book them in.
Basically, don’t bother boosting posts. Run ads. Trust me on this.
Q: How do I know what to advertise?
A common mistake new beauty pros make is not having anything specific to advertise.
Essentially their message is, “I’m a hairdresser. I can do your hair!”
Having a specific, irresistible offer that creates urgency and scarcity is crucial to a well-performing ad.
The question is, then: how do you choose what to advertise?
Choose something hot this season that sells well or lines up with an upcoming holiday or event.
Here’s something beauty pros often neglect to try: when in doubt, just ask!
Your community and clients would love to give you feedback on what they want.
Post an Instagram Story Poll with 3 options.
Ask clients who come into your salon.
Send out an email - this will also pump up interest!
Q: How important is the creative (visual) to the success of your ad?
The visual is the video or photo that you’re using in your ad. This is what captures the attention of your audience.
So obviously it’s super important because it’s what will make people stop scrolling and look at your ad.
The question is, after they stop scrolling and look at your ad, will it convert to a booking?
That’s where the caption and the offer come in - if they’re not amazing, your video won’t matter one bit.
So yes, the visuals matter a lot. You want to make sure that your ad doesn’t actually look like an ad.
It’s better to make it look like a fun Instagram Reel or Story - a post with substance that connects with your audience.
Q: What’s the difference between a great Facebook ad and a bad one? Why do some work while others don’t?
There are general guidelines your ad should follow in order to convert:
Irresistible offer
Captivating caption
Instant Attractor video
Easy Yes to book an appointment
But even when your ad has all those things, sometimes it doesn’t convert.
That’s why I always test many different ads - usually at least 5 per campaign. I try out different videos, captions, headlines, etc.
Usually at least one will do really well.
It’s really hard to pinpoint exactly what works and what doesn’t for a given audience - that’s why we test!
So the answer to this is test, test, test!
Q: What call to action should I do to get my ad to convert? What is the “next step” we should tell people to take after seeing the ad?
The call to action is very important. It’s literally how people know to book with you.
But what should you tell people to do? There are so many actions they can take (click to send message, follow link to booking app, call the salon…) what’s the best way to get them to convert?
Basically, you choose…and then tell them clearly at the end of your ad exactly what you want them to do.
I like sending people to Messenger right now - it’s a great way for them to send you photos of what they want or what they’re struggling with, for you to ask questions, get curious, clarify, and recommend the exact right treatment or service for them.
Ready to jump into it?
Check out my FREE CLASS on creating Irresistible Offers and ads that will pack your books full of clients who love what you do.