Digital advertising is an essential part of modern marketing, it offers businesses a powerful way to connect with their audience, promote sales, and boost revenue. Although radio, TV, and other advertising avenues remain effective, digital advertising stands out due to its ability to target specific audiences with precision, track results in real-time, and adapt campaigns for optimal performance. When done correctly, a strong digital advertising campaign can help you reach new customers, build brand awareness, and generate leads. Trends show that consumers spend significant time online, making platforms like Meta and Google the perfect venues for capturing their attention during key sales events. (Hubspot, 2024)  

While it’s tempting to just dive into digital ads, it’s critical to have a solid plan and a good understanding of the platforms and strategies that work best, especially when in a market as unique as the spa industry. To set yourself up for success, we recommend hiring an experienced marketing agency. Professionals in digital marketing understand the nuances of ad platforms and can help you avoid costly mistakes that often come with a trial-and-error approach. Algorithms, ad formats, and user behaviors shift frequently, making it challenging for those without marketing expertise to stay ahead.  

If you do decide to take on digital marketing yourself, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the basics, from creating compelling ad copy to understanding audience targeting and ad analytics. Moreover, if you choose to hire a marketing agency, you’ll want to communicate specific strategies unique to the hot tub industry, such as emphasizing relaxation, health benefits, and seasonal sales promotions. Whether you choose to partner with an agency or handle your campaigns in-house, a well-executed digital strategy can significantly enhance your ability to engage with customers and grow your business. This article delves into tips and strategies for achieving success in digital advertising, featuring insights from an expert who shares her observations on what works and what doesn’t in the spa industry’s digital marketing landscape. 

What are digital ads? 

Digital advertisements are online marketing efforts designed to reach your target audience through platforms like search engines, social media, websites, and more. These ads play a crucial role in boosting sales by increasing brand visibility, driving traffic to your website or physical store, and targeting potential customers with precision. With tools like audience segmentation and performance analytics, digital ads allow businesses to focus their efforts on the right people, ensuring their marketing budget is spent effectively. Whether you’re promoting a sale, a new product, or brand awareness, digital ads help build awareness and generate leads, ultimately driving revenue growth. Here are a few examples of commonly used digital ads:  

  • Search Ads: Paid ads that appear at the top of search engine results (e.g., Google Ads). 
  • Social Media Ads: Sponsored posts or stories on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 
  • Display Ads: Banner ads that appear on websites, apps, or YouTube videos. 
  • Video Ads: Short video advertisements on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram Reels. 
  • Retargeting Ads: Ads aimed at users who have already visited your website or engaged with your content. 
  • Shopping Ads: Product-specific ads displayed in search results with images, pricing, and links. 
  • Affiliate Ads: Ads placed through partner websites in exchange for a commission on sales. 

These examples offer flexibility to target diverse audiences, whether through engaging visuals, direct messaging, or interactive formats. 

Tips for Google and Meta Ads 

While there are numerous platforms and strategies for digital advertising, two of the most effective and widely used within the spa industry are Meta and Google. These platforms offer robust targeting tools and massive audiences, making them ideal for reaching potential customers during a sale. To help you maximize your efforts, we spoke with our in-house expert, Senior Marketing Specialist, Ally Barry, who shared her top tips and tricks for running a successful digital campaign. With a bachelor’s degree in communication and a diverse background as a Social Media Manager, Digital Marketer, and Digital Media Buyer, Ally brings invaluable insights into the advertising landscape. From crafting compelling visuals and headlines to targeting the right audience, her insights are designed to help you create ads that drive engagement and sales. Here are some of her top tips and strategies when it comes to utilizing Google and Meta Ads:  

Campaign Type: Ally has observed that video and animated ads typically outperform static images in today’s advertising landscape, provided they are executed well. She emphasizes the importance of formatting ads vertically, as most consumers will view them on their phones through social media feeds or reels. If the ad is not properly formatted, it risks losing impressions and views, ultimately undermining its effectiveness.  

When it comes to advertising for specific promotions, Ally has found that traffic campaigns are often the most effective approach for driving sales. These campaigns are designed to increase the number of visitors to a specific webpage, usually a landing page tailored for the sale. She recommends directing potential customers to a landing page that highlights the sale offer and includes a section for submitting their contact information. Simply directing users to your homepage will not provide them with clear guidance on their next steps, which can lead to missed opportunities. Alternatively, linking to a product catalog can help inform potential buyers about available models and offers, enhancing the chances of conversion.  

Budget: Ally emphasized that you don’t need to allocate large budgets for social media ads to see positive results. Instead, she encourages dealers to invest what they can afford while closely monitoring the analytics of each campaign to ensure they achieve their desired outcomes. Starting with a smaller budget allows you to test different strategies and understand what resonates with your audience before committing more resources. “For example, if you’re just boosting a post about the sale, your budget can be as little as $50 a day. Then add more and analyze how far that monetary amount is getting you in terms of impressions, clicks, etc.,” said Ally. This approach is equally applicable to Google Ads, where initial spending can be adjusted based on the effectiveness of the ads over time.  

Ally pointed out that platforms like Meta and Google often offer recommendations to enhance ad effectiveness, such as adjusting budget allocations, refining headlines, or targeting specific demographics. By leveraging these analytics and insights, you can optimize your advertising efforts, ensuring that each dollar spent contributes to your overall goals. This data-driven approach not only maximizes the impact of advertising efforts but also empowers dealers to make informed decisions moving forward.   

Audience: When it comes to audience details in digital ad campaigns—which include location, interest targeting, and other demographic filters—it’s important to understand that the more specific your target filters, the smaller your audience will be. Narrowing your audience down to a small location radius or adding on large amounts of interests will reduce the overall reach, potentially limiting page views or other key metrics you’re aiming to achieve. According to Ally, “The more targeting you layer on, the smaller the reach since it becomes more of a niche audience, all of the targeting you add acts as an “and” statement to the other things. The less things you add to target or the larger the location targeting, the more people you will reach, influencing more landing page views or whatever metric your campaign is set up to try and achieve.”  

Expanding your audience by using broader targeting parameters or larger geographic areas can increase exposure and impressions. It may take time and experimentation, but Ally advises finding a balance in this process; while it’s crucial to be intentional about who you’re targeting to ensure relevance, you don’t want to overly restrict your audience and miss out on opportunities to attract a broader pool of potential customers.   

The Influence of AI: Ally recommends using caution when relying on AI for digital ad campaigns, particularly on platforms like Meta. While she’s more trusting of Google’s AI, she suggests turning off AI assistance for Meta ads. These platforms AI tool have been known to pull irrelevant information, adding it to your campaign. They also now feature the ability to enhance images—whether adjusting the background or the entire image—but the results can frequently appear unnatural or out of place, detracting from the overall quality and professionalism of the content, find an example below. This can confuse users and detract from the clarity of your sale or campaign message. In contrast, Ally has found Google’s AI to be more reliable, with its algorithm doing a better job at identifying recommended relevant keywords and providing actionable recommendations to improve your ad performance and ranking.  

Resources:  

Even with Ally’s expert advice, digital advertising may seem overwhelming, especially if you’re new to platforms like Google and Meta, but we at Bullfrog Spas offer a variety of resources and support to make it easy for our dealers to create effective campaigns that drive results. From pre-designed digital assets for every sale to expert marketing guidance, our tools are designed to help you maximize your advertising efforts and successfully promote your sales. Here are just a few examples of the resources our dealers can use to help with their advertising: 

  • Dealer Media Library: Access animated and digital assets ready for posting, including reels, images, and more that you can customize. 
  • Power Per Square Foot Guide: This guide offers a collection of marketing tips and advertising strategies to help you optimize your campaigns and drive more sales. 
  • Co-Op Program: An advertising reimbursement program that helps our dealers extend their ad budgets, making it easier to promote sales effectively through various channels.

Ultimately, digital advertising is no longer just an option—it’s a necessity for businesses in the hot tub industry looking to stay competitive and reach their customers effectively. By leveraging the power of platforms like Google and Meta, you can connect with a broader audience, showcase your products, and create a sense of urgency around sales and promotions. While navigating the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing can seem challenging, taking the time to learn, experiment, and use available resources will pay off in the form of increased sales and visibility.