How one salon owner grew her business with MailOnline Ad Manager

For beauty salons and spas across the country, the impact of multiple lockdowns has been devastating, but new advertising platform MailOnline Ad Manager is helping to bring clients through the door.

Like most salon owners, Lauren Arthur was devastated when she had to close the door on Beautique by Lauren in Beckenham, Kent back in March 2020, due to the pandemic.

Having only launched the business in September 2018, Arthur was worried about the impact lockdown would have on her client base. Having spent years working as a beauty therapist, offering facials, manicures, waxing, tanning and massages, she had built up a loyal clientele before opening her own salon.

Then, when coronavirus first hit in March 2020, Arthur was left wondering whether her business would survive. “When the first lockdown hit, we were all very scared. So like thousands of others, I locked my doors probably before I needed to, because there were so many people at risk,” she says. 

“Thankfully I was able to open up again in the summer, and I’m so lucky everyone who felt comfortable enough did come back. Business was OK, but not great.” 

When she had to close her doors once more during what would have been the Christmas rush, Arthur’s business, like all salons, took a huge knock.  

“I didn’t reopen until April 12, and that lockdown was super tough,” she says. “After that, there was an initial rush of customers, but then it was quieter. People had been used to leaving things for longer, and weren’t going out as much.

“There’s no reason why it can’t get back to how it was, but it’s going to take time.”

With small companies like Beautique by Lauren in mind, MailOnline has launched a new advertising platform called Ad Manager, to help SMEs bounce back from the lockdowns. 

The innovative service puts the control firmly with the business owner, allowing them to advertise their brand to MailOnline’s huge audience of 25 million, all at an affordable cost.

As well as being able to target more people in your area than can be reached via local titles, you can also target customers by postcode, interests and life stage.

It’s easy to set up a campaign for your salon, and it can be live within just 24 hours.

Arthur was one of the first business owners to try the new Ad Manager platform, increasing brand awareness, as well as visits to her Beautique By Lauren Facebook page. 

The results

Cost: £2,999.95
Ad impressions (how many times the ads were viewed): 789,460 in less than a week
Clicks: 423
Huge brand awareness
“After such a rotten time, it’s given me a fresh start and something to get excited about,” says Arthur.

Arthur is thrilled with the results. “I would have never thought I could advertise on such a huge platform as MailOnline, and I don’t usually push myself out of my comfort zone,” she says. “But everything about Ad Manager – from the platform to the team I was working with – has been incredible. I’m not that techy, and when I needed help, it was there every step of the way. 

She adds, “For me, it was about brand awareness, to get more people to know about me. It’s been a very exciting thing for me to do for my business.

“I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone involved. Not only has the campaign helped my business, but it’s given me a confidence boost too. I was really nervous about it at the very start, but I needn’t have been, the team were so lovely.  

“It’s been a dream. It’s taken the stress out of marketing and it was very easy to do. After such a rotten time, it’s given me a fresh start and something to get excited about – I’ve now got a spring in my step!”

How MailOnline Ad Manager works 

MailOnline’s new Ad Manager advertising platform has been created to work hard for SMEs who want to reach a large, but targeted audience of thousands of potential customers.

Not only can you advertise to more people in your area than your local titles can reach, you can also target customers by postcode, interests and life stage, ensuring you reach as many of our 25 million consumers as you choose.

There are no hidden fees and you can control everything, from budget to target and audience to creative design.  

MailOnline Ad Manager Step by Step

Here’s how you can advertise your salon on MailOnline:

1. Choose your ad whether it be display or video
2. Set your budget with no minimum spends
3. Target your perfect customer from hundreds of postcodes
4. Build your own creative with an image and product information
5. Make payment with your credit card, securely and safely.

This is a sponsored feature in collaboration with MailOnline Ad Manager.