Why aren't my salon's boosted posts working?
Ever had this happen before?
You make a cute, snappy video showing off your salon space, or you post a photo of a gorgeous client result, and something just “clicks” with the algorithm?
Suddenly the Likes and comments start to pour in, and you’re kinda shocked, but also tickled pink…
…but you’re not sure what you did to make it happen?
Ahhh yes, that tricky, sneaky beast that we all dream of conquering (and sometimes have nightmares about failing at…)
…the almighty Social Media Algorithm.
When this sudden rush of engagement happened, you probably got a message that said something like, “This post is doing better than 85% of the posts on your page. Boost it now and get more visibility.”
So you think, why not, right? Spend a little bit of money to have your posts seen by thousands more people on social who haven’t heard about you yet. It doesn’t cost much.
What’s the worst that could happen?
You could waste your hard-earned money, that’s what.
We don’t want that for you.
I never spend money in my business unless I know exactly what’s happening on the other end.
As in, what specifically is my business going to get out of this? What tangible return on investment will I get if I spend this money?
Look, here’s the truth: just getting more eyeballs on your business isn’t worth paying for.
But what is worth paying for is exposure to the right people: the ones that will actually end up spending money with you.
The truth about boosted posts for your salon or spa’s social media accounts
Boosted posts, by design, deliver “vanity metrics” to your beauty business - meaning they’ll make you feel good about the fact that 3,000 people saw your post, 34 people interacted with it, and you got 11 new followers.
Vanity metrics don’t build your bottom line, though.
They don’t give you more appointments, more sales, clients, and revenue.
This is something I hear from my community members in the beauty industry all the time:
“I’ve paid for boosted posts and they don’t work!”
Today we’re gonna talk about the reasons this happens, and give you some solid next steps for how to advertise yourself on social media without wasting money (and instead, actually make money!)
Hairstylists, nail artists, waxers, estheticians, injection specialists…listen up! Today’s blog is for you if you’re still paying for boosted posts.
Know where your money’s going…and a better way to spend it!
Reason #1 your boosted posts aren’t working: You’re tracking the wrong things
It’s not your fault that you end up tracking the wrong metrics from your boosted posts - it’s the information that’s offered to you by Facebook and Instagram.
They tell you how many people saw your post and how much interaction the post got, but views, likes and comments mean very little.
It’s hard to convert these metrics into bookings without being spammy and annoying…and that’s not a good look for your beauty business.
(Whatever you do, please do not private message everyone who comments asking if they want to book…that’s just horrid behavior and you deserve better than that!)
So then, what are you supposed to track that tells you you’ve got a successful boosted post on your hands?
At this point, you know I’m gonna say it - if I were you, I wouldn’t boost posts at all.
What’s the best way to get attention which leads to actual bookings and new clients?
Run a few ads on Facebook and Instagram.
I recommend you use the Facebook Ads Manager to set up your ads. It’s free, easy to use, and it will show your ads to people on both FB and IG and other places.
The Facebook Ads Manager tracks practical metrics that will show you where your ad spend is going, how much it costs per lead, and how many people have seen, engaged with, and reached out to you because of your ad.
The most important metric you should be tracking in the Ad Manager to see if your ads are actually working for your business is the ‘Number of results’.
As I teach my students inside The Ad Lab, that metric is the number of messages received from leads who say they’re interested in booking.
Want to know more about how to turn Facebook ads into real bookings?
I show you how to get in touch with leads and seal the deal (AKA book more appointments!) in my free class here.
Reason #2: You took a random photo from your feed and turned it into an ad
Facebook and Instagram actively encourage you to turn your everyday posts into ads. They practically spam you telling you to boost any post that gets picked up by the algorithm and takes off.
But what they’ll never tell you is that posts that do well on your feed usually don’t do well as ads.
So what’s the big difference? What makes an ad do so much better to bring your salon or spa bookings?
An ad is a paid promoted post that will be shown to new people who aren’t familiar with your business yet, like a billboard in your neighborhood.
And just like billboards, ads only work if they’re designed in a specific way.
Your ad on Facebook and Instagram needs some very specific things in order to get attention, turn that attention into interest in your salon or spa, and then get people to take action to contact you for an appointment.
Here are some of the most important elements of a successful ad on Facebook and Instagram:
An intro to you and your business (and obviously, most of your regular posts on your feed don’t have this!)
An engaging video that speaks to the best parts of your business (hint: the best part of your business is YOU!)
A straightforward, easy way to book (with instructions)
An irresistible offer, worded in a specific way
If you don’t include the right elements in your social media ad, you’re wasting your money.
And if you don’t give people a reason to book, they’re just not gonna do it.
Which brings us to the next reason your boosted posts aren’t working…
Reason #3: You haven’t given people a reason to take action right now
The internet is a free-for-all carnival of chaos and noise.
Everyone is being constantly bombarded with thousands of posts a day from work, friends, family, businesses trying to sell us something…
So how do you get attention in the wasteland of distractions, and do it in a way that makes people want to click ‘Book Now’?
Well, first off, if you’re able to present something that makes people go, “Oh my gosh, I was just talking about this yesterday…I’ve been looking for someone to do my hair/nails/facial/brows,” that’s ideal.
But those type of people are what we call the low hanging fruit - the 1% of people who are an easy and enthusiastic ‘yes!’
Most other people aren’t necessarily looking to get their nails done this week or even this month. They haven’t had facials on their mind.
So how do you book these other 99% of people?
You create a Irresistible Offer that turns their dial from “mildly interested” up to “Okay, I NEED this!”
Here are the elements of an Irrresistible Offer:
Unique or exciting
Time-sensitive
Limiied availability
What an Irresistible Offer is not is a big discount.
It doesn’t dig into your profits.
It doesn’t attract deal-seeking clients.
You don’t want those kind of clients, anyways.
Your Irresistible Offer is a special way to reward clients for booking with you right now. It gives them an incentive to take action, without costing you much at all.
An Irresistible Offer makes it so much easier for potential clients to press the ‘Book Now’ button.
But first, you need to make sure the right people are seeing your ad.
Reason #4 your boosted posts aren’t working: You’re targeting the wrong people
Ever have someone comment on your boosted post or follow you after boosting a post, and you check out their profile and see they live on the other side of the country?
How the heck does that even happen, right?
I’ve heard this time and time again from my students before they join The Ad Lab.
But I’ve also been targeted on Instagram by beauty businesses hours away - sometimes even in a different province or country.
Why would Instagram show your boosted post to people who will probably never become clients since they’re so far away?!
Usually it’s because you’ve set up “automatic” audience for your ads. In this case, Instagram will show your ad to people who are similar to your followers, instead of geographically close by.
So you end up literally wasting money getting the attention of people who aren’t in your local area and aren’t right for your beauty business.
I recommend setting up your own specific targeting for your business instead, using the Facebook Ads Manager.
Reason #5: You’re not standing out from the crowd
If your boosted post is a picture of hair, brows, makeup, lashes, glowing skin etc, I hate to say it but: my friend, get in line.
There are an infinite amount of those kind of photos on Instagram - and none of those beauty businesses are making any real money off of posts like that.
That’s because in order to have an ad that attracts attention, you need to provide an photo or video that calls out to your ideal client immediately.
Videos are perfect for this! They stop the automatic, mindless scroll we all do while looking at our feeds.
Here are some ways to make your next social media ad a scroll-stopper:
Start your video with a brain-tickling visual transformation or treatment. Something that makes us go, “ooooh I wonder what this is gonna turn into!”
I’m not talking about a hair or skin Before/After.
Instead, try something like a close-up of you wiping brow tint from an eyebrow, or rinsing out purple toner to reveal the blonde hair underneath. A hydrafacial tip clearing out pores. We get captivated by these kinds of visuals, and tend to watch til the end!
OR
Start your video with some quick photos or 3 second video clips of client transformations with . We have short attention spans and love to see quick moving things - they make us want to watch more.
OR
If you’ve got a really pretty space, start your video with a 180 view of your space. Most of us love seeing beautifully organized spaces and decor.
How to start turning boosted posts into pure money machines (actually)
Hopefully I’ve given you enough reasons to never feel like you have to boost a post again.
BUT if you’ve recently boosted a post you put a lot of work into and you think you could turn it into a profitable Facebook or Instagram ad that will attract your ideal clients to your salon or spa, check this out:
I created a Booked Out Ads formula to make sure your ads are profitable and irresistible. There are 4 steps that you can repeat over and over again whenever you want to build your clientele and make new bookings. I show you how in my free class right here:
Start the workshop now: How To Build A Full Appointment Book
