23 Tips for Amazing Instagram Content for Spas

As a spa owner you know the importance of appearances, so marketing your business on Instagram, a visual platform, makes sense. The platform also allows you to connect with a vast potential audience. In fact, more than 200 million people visit Instagram business profiles a day and 81% of people use Instagram to help research products and services.

So the question isn’t, is Instagram good for small businesses, but, what should you post?

Instagram can be overwhelming, especially since you’re competing with other spas and franchises with larger marketing budgets. But budgets aren’t everything. As long as you post consistently, engage with your followers, and have a solid content strategy, your chances of reaching more potential customers increase.

To help you achieve this we’ve compiled 23 tips for amazing Instagram content that you can use to inspire your spa’s Instagram content strategy. Let’s check them out now!

1. Post High-quality Images

People visiting your spa want to leave looking and feeling their best. Your Instagram account should reflect this with high-quality images that showcase your spa in the best light possible.

If your budget allows, hiring a professional photographer to take photos of your spa for Instagram is the best way to ensure that you have images that make a great first impression.

If you’re on a tighter budget, investing in a decent camera, some lights and a tripod can go a long way to ensuring that the photos you take of your spa yourself look their best.

Don’t skimp on lighting as it makes all the difference. Even if you’re shooting on a cheaper camera or on a cellphone, if you have good lighting, your photos will come out looking much better and increase your engagement on Instagram.

To get an idea of what kind of pictures work on Instagram in the spa and wellness industry be sure to check out other businesses’ Instagram posts for inspiration.

In the example below, from the Vdara Hotel & Spa in Las Vegas, you can see that they take their photos very seriously. With great lighting and subtle editing, the resulting image is visually pleasing and conveys the relaxing feeling of being pampered at a spa.

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A post shared by Vdara Hotel & Spa (@vdaralasvegas)

2. Use Image Editing Software

Through editing, you can take a photo and turn it from good to great. Of course, Instagram includes its own editing tools, but they are limited.

There are a variety of apps that you can use to editing your photos both including desktop software such as Adobe Photoshop. But since these images are going to be consumed on mobile, it makes sense to edit them on the same device as you can directly see how your edits affect the look of your photos in mobile.

Some apps for editing worth checking out include:

Snapseed

Snapseed is a free, complete, and professional photo editor developed by Google. Its features include:

• 29 Tools and Filters, including Healing, Brush, Structure, HDR, Perspective

• Opens JPG and RAW files

• Save your personal looks and apply them to new photos later

• Selective filter brush

• All styles can be tweaked with fine, precise control

• Tutorial cards with tips and tricks about Snapseed and general photography

Photoshop Lightroom

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom is a free, powerful photo editor and camera app that empowers your photography, helping you capture and edit stunning images. It features easy image editing tools like sliders and filters for pictures which simplify photo editing.

VSCO

VSCO offers creative photo and video editing tools, including a free photo editor however for advanced editing tools you need to sign up for a VSCO Membership to access VSCO’s complete preset library with over 200+ presets.

3. Schedule Your Posts

It can’t be overstated how important it is to stay consistent on Instagram and to post regularly in order to ensure that you reach and engage with your followers. It’s generally recommended to post at least once a day.

Taking time to post on Instagram when you’re running a busy spa isn’t always possible, so to ensure that your Instagram feed doesn’t stagnate, you can use scheduling software to plan when your posts go live ahead of time.

There’s a huge variety of scheduling apps to choose from. These include:

Buffer

Buffer allows you to plan and publish your content for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, all from one simple dashboard.

For Instagram specifically, it offers direct scheduling, an option to add the first comment when you schedule Instagram posts, the ability to drive traffic and sales to your shop from your Instagram bio, and reminders to post natively.

Crowdfire

Crowdfire allows you to curate your content, schedule it, look into the analytics of your posts, and track your mentions.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite lets you easily manage your social media. It allows you to publish, engage with your audience, monitor trends and competitors, advertise, and analyze your social media.

Additionally, it allows you to auto-publish, this means you can set a time, and Hootsuite will publish directly to your Instagram account for you without having to go back in between apps.

4. Share Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels are only growing in popularity and are a great way for you to showcase your spa. The duration of up to 1 minute allows you to get into the details of what your spa offers and the engaging nature of Reels makes it easier for these types of posts to reach a wider audience.

To get an idea of what type of Reels content to create, check out what other spas are posting. For example, ME Spa in Los Angeles used an Instagram Reel created by a client who came for their birthday.

The great thing about using user-generated content for your Reel is that it celebrates your client while also showcasing your spa in a good light.

Follow our guide for the best time to post Reels on Instagram.

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A post shared by ME SPA | Luxury Day Spa (@me_spas)

5. Use Hashtags

Hashtags are the best way for you to be found by your target audience. Using spa-related hashtags ensures that your posts form a part of the wide spa and wellness Instagram community.

Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post, so use them strategically and ensure you include popular hashtags with a lot of posts.

A branded hashtag is a hashtag created specifically for your Instagram account. This way people looking for your content can easily find it.

In the example below, Nola Organic Spa uses a combination of popular hashtags and branded hashtags to ensure their post about manicures gets the widest reach possible.

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A post shared by Award Winning Organic Day Spa (@nolaorganicspa)

6. Post Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories allow you to share videos or images that disappear after 24 hours. This is a great way to share content that relates to your spa but wouldn’t make sense on your Instagram feed.

Since Stories are at the top of the Instagram app when you first open it, engagement is high. Take advantage of this fact by using stories to post content that you want to share with as wide an audience as possible.

You can use Instagram Stories to give your audience quick updates about your spa without clogging up their Instagram Feed. In the example below, The Langham in Chicago used their stories to announce the reopening of their Langham Club and to inform their followers about what to expect at the opening.

7. Highlight Your Stories

While it’s great that Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours, if you’ve posted information in them that you’d like your followers to find easily you should save your stories to your highlights.

Saving your stories to your highlights places them at the top of your Instagram feed. You can curate different highlights by giving them names and dividing your stories into them.

In the example from Koffee Day Spa in Dallas, you can see that they used the highlights feature to curate a selection of reviews, hiring opportunities, services, parties, events, massages, and facials, amongst other things. This allows anyone visiting their profile to quickly find out more about the spa and its offerings.

8. Promote Your Posts

To ensure that your posts reach as many people as possible, you can choose to promote them. A promoted post is an advertising option that allows you to turn your regular posts into ads and make sure they get seen in the News Feeds of more people.

To promote your post on Instagram you need to choose who you are targeting, set your budget, and how long you want to promote the post.

Be sure to review the engagement rates and reach of your posts compared to your marketing spending in order to ensure you’re doing so effectively.

9. Make Your Spa Findable

Your Instagram name is the name you use on Instagram to define your profile address. The best way to ensure people looking for your spa on Instagram is for your Instagram name to be as close to your spa’s name as possible.

If your spa is part of a franchise or has a name that is popular in the spa and wellness industry, consider adding your location to your Instagram name.

In the example below, milk and honey spa in Houston did just that with their Instagram name simply being @milkandhoneyhouston.

10. Showcase Your Products

If your spa has its own range of beauty and wellness products, showcasing them on Instagram is a great way to advertise them for free!

Be sure to use high-quality images of your products to ensure that they are shown in the best light possible and include product information to educate your audience about its uses and ingredients.

In the example below, Desuar Spa in Los Angeles does exactly this to highlight their newly launched Papaya Enzyme Cleanser, describing how it works and what it does.

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A post shared by Desuar Spa (@desuarspa)

11. Show Your Services In Action

Since Instagram is a visual platform, it’s perfect for showing potential customers what they can expect from your spa. This includes your treatments and other services.

Using images of your clients receiving massages, facials, or other rejuvenating treatments that show the relaxation they are experiencing is a great way to convenience potential customers to visit your spa for the same treatment.

In the post by New York’s Skin Spa below, they use an image of a client receiving a cooling facial to invite people to come by for the same after an intense heatwave.

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A post shared by Skin Spa New York (@skinspanewyork)

12. Run Instagram Contests

Everyone loves free things. That’s why social promotions are a fantastic way to build a following and boost your engagement.

Offering your spa’s services as a prize is a sure-fire way to create interest in not only the competition but also your spa in general.

There are a number of ways to run an Instagram contest that include sending users to enter on a landing page via a link in your bio or with an Instagram hashtag contest.

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A post shared by Stephanies Luxury Spas (@stephaniesluxuryspas)

13. Use Geotags

The best way to ensure that your spa can be found by people looking for spas in your area is to add your location to post via Geotags. Geotags are the specific location, including the latitude and longitude, of where you’ve posted your Instagram content.

Geotags allow people that search for content from specific locations on Instagram to also find your content. This is shown in the example from Delavie Day Spa which used the Geotag Chicago, Illinois to share which city it is located in.

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A post shared by De La Vie Day Spa (@delaviedayspa)

14. Create A Consistent Brand Identity

Your brand identity is how your spa presents itself to your customers. It includes visual elements such as color, design, and logo, as well as the tone of voice in which your business communicates.

As important as it is to post content consistently, ensuring that you share posts with a consistent style and tone that matches your spa’s brand is equally important.

The easiest way to do this is to match the colors of your spa’s design and translate that in your posts, while your captions should reflect your spa’s tone of voice, such as fun or professional.

In the example from SKIN Medical Spa below, you can see that they emphasize the blue of their own branding in their posts for a consistent and appealing Instagram feed.

15. Honor Your Staff

A business is only as good as the people that run it. The best way to let potential customers know that your spa has only the best people on staff is to showcase them and share your appreciation for them.

When highlighting a member of your spa’s staff, you can take the opportunity to not only shine a light on their personality and why they add value to your spa, but also spotlight the treatments they specialize in, allowing you to market your spa’s services without a hard sell.

In the example from Raw Aesthetics, the spa called out one of their estheticians and listed which treatments she excels at, and calming personality. The spa also took the opportunity to remind followers that they could book a spa appointment with the esthetician via the link in their bio.

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A post shared by Cleveland Skin + Cupping Spa (@rawesthetics)

16. Post “Before And After” Content

The proof is in the pudding as they say and this rings true for spas as well. Nothing convinces potential customers about the quality of your spa’s treatments more than before and after images. These types of posts work because they give viewers an idea of what they can expect if they were to undergo the same treatment.

Houston’s Pure Vichy Spa follows this strategy by posting before and after skin results of their facial services to highlight the instant glow this treatment provides.

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A post shared by Houston Spa | Pure Vichy (@purevichy)

17. Share Reviews Or Testimonials

Another way to share the quality of the work performed at your spa is by posting testimonials or reviews that satisfied customers have left.

In the example by Atlanta Spa and Leisure, they did just that and also used the post as an opportunity to tell followers that they value their feedback and want to know more about how they can improve their spa experience for customers.

This shows that they not only take pride in their work but also care about their customers.

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A post shared by Atlanta Spa & Leisure (@atlantaspaandleisure)

18. Share Sales Promotions

Sales promotions are marketing strategies designed to stimulate demand and increase sales of a product in the short-term using initiatives such as discounts, freebies, and other promotional tools.

Sharing information about the current promotions and sales your spa is running to your Instagram followers is an easy way to let a wider audience know about them.

This doesn’t need to be complicated, as can be seen in the example by SenSpa who used a text-based post embellished with simple designs to promote their Series Sale which offered savings of 15% on selected services and gift cards in January.

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A post shared by SenSpasf (@senspasf)

19. Share Informative Content

While using Instagram to promote your spa and its services is great, not all your content should be purely promotional. It’s a good idea to post some informative content that provides value to your audience and establishes you as an authority in your industry.

This can be as simple as posting wellness tips or information about treatments. In the example by Gaia’s Cavern in Jersey City, they share aftercare tips for chemical peels, a treatment they offer, which aside from providing value to anyone that’s had a chemical peel, also ensures their clients have the best possible experience.

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A post shared by Jersey City, NJ Day Spa & Shop (@gaiascavern)

20. Post Fun Stuff

Your spa isn’t run by robots and likely has a brand personality that’s in line with your own. Mix up your Instagram feed by posting fun content that showcases the human side of your spa. Your followers also enjoy laughing after all!

To share their love for Hyaluronic acid and its effects on their skin, Marimad Luxury Spa in Atlanta created a meme that captured this idea visually and with humour.

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A post shared by #1 Rated Spa in Atlanta (@marimadluxuryspa)

21. Post Timely Or Seasonal Content

Posting content in line with upcoming holidays and seasons is a great way for your posts to stay relevant. Running promotions around specific holidays is also an easy way to boost sales.

Spa La did just that by making it easy for people to buy a spa treatment for their mother ahead of Mother’s Day and promoting this on Instagram.

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A post shared by Spa LA (@spala_losangeles)

22. Share Your Customers’ Content

Sharing user-generated content, or content created by your followers or clients, is a great way to engage with your spa’s customers and show that you value their loyalty. Encouraging your customers to tag your spa in their Instagram posts or use your branded hashtags so that you can easily find new user-generated content to share on your social media.

Miami Skin Spa did just that, reposting a customers’ Instagram post and caption, and replying by thanking them for the visit and inviting them back.

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A post shared by Miami Skin Spa (@miaskinspa)

23. Follow These Accounts For Inspiration