How Much Should a Med Spa Spend on Social Media Ads?
By Justin Chambers ·
There is no single right number for a med spa's ad budget. The right amount depends on how far your clients travel, how many consultations you can take each week, and how long you can let ads run before you judge them. What you can decide is how to set the budget so it isn't a guess. Here is a simple way to do it.
1. Know the two costs
Social media advertising has two separate costs, and it helps to keep them apart.
- Ad budget. The money you pay the platform, such as Facebook or Instagram, to show your ads. You set it, and you can raise or lower it.
- The work. Making the ads, building the page people land on, checking the ads follow the rules, and adjusting them as results come in. You either do this yourself or pay someone to.
When someone quotes "ad spend", ask which of the two they mean.
2. Start from what you can handle
Work backwards from your calendar, not from a number you saw online.
- How many new consultations can you take each week? There is no point paying for more inquiries than your team can answer.
- How far will clients travel? A small, local area needs less budget than a whole city.
- How long can you commit? Ads usually need a few months to settle. A budget you can keep up for three months is better than a bigger one you stop after three weeks.
3. Spend on a few good ads, not many weak ones
A modest budget spread across a dozen ads gives each one too little to learn from. A few clear ads, each about one treatment, usually tell you more.
- One treatment per ad. A skin-treatment ad and a laser ad are talking to different people.
- Show your real space and team. It builds trust before anyone books.
- Keep it respectful. Lines like "Tired of your wrinkles?" point at the viewer's appearance, and ad platforms reject them.
- Set the age to 18 and over. Meta requires this for cosmetic procedure ads.
- Check before you name a product or show before-and-after photos. Many treatments use prescription drugs, and the rules on naming them are strict. In Canada, prescription drug ads to the public are limited to name, price and quantity. Confirm with your own regulator before an ad goes out.
4. Send the budget to a page that books
Ad money is wasted if people land on a page that makes booking hard. A page built for the ad works better:
- One headline that matches the ad.
- Your location, hours and who performs the treatment.
- One clear way to book a consultation.
- A short form: name, phone or email, and a good time to reach them. Keep health details for the consultation itself.
5. Reply quickly and discreetly
People asking about cosmetic treatment often contact more than one clinic, and some would rather not get a phone call at work. Reply the same day if you can, and ask how they'd prefer to be contacted.
6. Judge the budget by consultations booked
Clicks and views are cheap signals. Consultations booked, and kept, are the measure that matters. Give a budget a few months, then change one thing at a time.
What Horizon charges, for comparison
If you want the work done for you, these are our packages. All prices are in US dollars, with a 3-month minimum commitment. Your ad budget is separate and paid by you straight to the ad platform.
| Package | Horizon fee | Your ad budget, paid to the platform |
|---|---|---|
| Select | $2,000 a month | At least $1,500 a month |
| Core | $2,750 a month | At least $2,250 a month |
| Complete | $3,500 a month | At least $3,500 a month |
See everything each package includes on our pricing page.
Want help putting this together?
Horizon builds social media ads, landing pages and online booking for cosmetic and aesthetics practices. Every ad is checked against the advertising rules for your area and approved by you before it runs. See how it works on our Cosmetic & Aesthetics page, or book a free 30-minute call to talk it through.