Making ads
How to Get More Beauty Salon Clients: Ads, Budgets and Examples
How to get more beauty salon clients: ads that work, daily budgets, Meta's rules for beauty claims and free ways to fill your quiet days.
Written by Genly's AI team, reviewed by Marlon Bonink
· 5 min read
Fridays and Saturdays are fully booked, but Tuesdays and Wednesdays have gaps. New clients mostly come through word of mouth, and that is slow. Maybe you boosted an Instagram post once and the phone stayed silent. So how does a beauty salon attract more clients without a big marketing budget?
Short answer: Get the free basics right first: a complete Google Business Profile, plenty of recent reviews and a polished Instagram profile. Then run Facebook and Instagram ads within about 6 miles of your salon, with an intro offer on your quietest treatment, from $5 to $10 a day. Avoid before-and-after photos in ads, because Meta often rejects them.
Why salons get stuck
Most salons do not have a skills problem. They have three other problems:
- Word of mouth only. Nice, but you have no control over the pace.
- Empty weekday slots. Everyone wants Friday or Saturday, while you pay rent on Tuesday too.
- Few repeat bookings. A client who never comes back means paying to acquire someone new all over again.
Beauty salon marketing comes down to two things: bringing in new clients when you have room, and getting them to return.
Free first: get the basics right
Google Business Profile. When people search "beauty salon" or "lash extensions" plus their town, they see the map first. Keep your hours current, list your treatments and prices, and add real photos of your salon.
Reviews. Ask every happy client for a review right after the treatment, with a direct link by text. Salons with lots of recent reviews get chosen more often.
Instagram as your shop window. People who see your ad usually check your profile first. Show treatments, results and your space, and put your booking link in your bio.
Repeat clients by text. Four to six weeks after a visit, send a personal message: "Your brows are due for a touch-up, shall I book you in?" This is often the cheapest revenue you can get.
Three ads that work for salons
1. An intro offer per treatment. One treatment, one price, one reason to book now. For example: "Try our signature facial for $55 instead of $80, Tuesdays and Wednesdays only." That steers new clients straight into your quiet hours.
2. The treatment on screen. Show what happens: the calm room, hands at work, the final result. Show the result on its own, without a before-and-after comparison.
3. A video of you explaining something. A short clip of the owner explaining who a treatment is for often beats a polished design. People book with a person. No time to film? AI can create a video with your own face, see AI UGC.
Budget: what does salon advertising cost?
The figures below are ballpark numbers for a salon advertising within about 6 miles with a strong intro offer. Your results depend heavily on your offer, your ad and your area.
| Daily budget | Per week | Reach per week (typical) | Booking requests per week (typical) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | $35 | 3,000 to 6,000 impressions | 2 to 6 |
| $10 | $70 | 6,000 to 12,000 impressions | 4 to 12 |
| $20 | $140 | 12,000 to 24,000 impressions | 8 to 25 |
Check it against client value: if a client visits four times a year at $70, she is worth $280 in revenue. Paying $15 in ad spend per new client is then a good deal.
Watch out: Meta's rules for beauty ads
Ads about skin, body and appearance get extra scrutiny. Avoid rejections like this:
| Don't | Do |
|---|---|
| Before-and-after photos of skin or body | Show only the result, or the treatment itself |
| "Struggling with acne?" (calls out a personal trait) | "Calmer skin after a facial" |
| Promises like "10 years younger in one session" | Concrete and honest: what the treatment does and how long it lasts |
| Naming Botox in an ad | Promote a consultation; in the UK and EU, advertising prescription-only medicines like Botox to consumers is not allowed |
Rules differ by country, so check your local regulations as well.
Example: three ads for one salon
Say Studio Bloom wants to fill its Tuesdays. In Genly, the owner pastes her website and within minutes gets:
- A static ad in her own colors: "Tuesday is your day: signature facial for $55, this month only."
- A video with her own face explaining in 20 seconds who the treatment is for.
- A mood video of the treatment room and products as a backdrop to the offer.
All three run as a test side by side. After a week she knows which one brings the cheapest bookings. For hair salons we covered the same approach in hair salon advertising ideas.
Frequently asked questions
How much does advertising a beauty salon cost?
You can start with $5 to $10 a day. For a salon targeting a 6 mile radius, that is enough to see within a week which ad brings bookings. You also need the ads themselves: made yourself, by a designer or with a tool like Genly, see our plans.
Instagram or Facebook?
Both, in one campaign. In Ads Manager a single ad runs on both platforms and Meta shifts budget to wherever your audience responds. For most salons, most results come from Instagram.
How do I fill a quiet day?
Tie an offer to that day: a lower price or a small extra on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only. Put it in your ad and in a text message to existing clients.
Can I use before-and-after photos?
On your own website and Instagram profile, yes, with the client's permission. In ads, Meta often rejects before-and-after images of skin and body. Show only the result or the treatment in your ads.
Editor
Marlon Bonink
Co-founder of Genly
This article was written by Genly's AI team and reviewed by Marlon before it went live. How we work with AI: AI transparency.
