Someone taps your ad, fills in a lead form in a few seconds and goes back to scrolling. Whether they become a client depends on what happens in the next few minutes, and the next few weeks. This is the follow-up plan that works for most med spas.
1. Reply within minutes, not hours
A lead from an Instagram ad is at its warmest the moment the form is sent. Many people ask several clinics at once, and the first one to reply usually gets the conversation. A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that companies that contacted online leads within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to qualify them as companies that waited an hour or more (HBR, 2011).
Nobody at the front desk can watch Meta’s lead center all day, so connect your lead forms to your CRM and let the first text go out automatically. During opening hours, have someone call as well, ideally within five minutes.
Example first text: Hi Sarah, it’s Mia from Glow Med Spa. Thanks for asking about lip filler! Would you like a free consultation? I have Thursday at 4:30 or Saturday at 11:00. Reply STOP to opt out.
2. Get consent right before you text
In the US, marketing texts need the person’s consent first. The simplest place to collect it is the lead form itself. Meta’s instant forms let you add a custom disclaimer with a checkbox. Use it to name your business, say what kind of texts you’ll send, mention that message frequency varies and that message and data rates may apply, and explain that people can reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. Keep the checkbox optional and unticked.
Send texts at sensible times. The federal rules limit telemarketing to 8 am to 9 pm in the recipient’s time zone, and some states are stricter. Florida, for example, allows 8 am to 8 pm (Sheppard Mullin, 2021). Your CRM can hold texts that arrive late at night until the morning.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. If you’re unsure about your forms or messages, check with a lawyer who knows US texting rules.
3. Make the first message easy to answer
- Use their name and yours. A real name reads like a person, not a robot.
- Mention what they asked about. If the ad was for a lip filler offer, say so.
- Offer two times, or a booking link. “Thursday at 4:30 or Saturday at 11:00?” is easier to answer than “When suits you?”
- Keep it short. Two or three sentences. Prices, aftercare and FAQs can come later.
- Leave out health details. Don’t ask about medical history by text. Save that for the consultation and your intake forms.
4. Follow up on a schedule until they answer
Most leads don’t reply to the first message. That rarely means no. They were busy, or they saw it and forgot. A short, polite sequence brings many of them back. Here is a schedule that suits most med spas:
- Straight away: the first text, sent automatically.
- Within 5 minutes (opening hours): a call. If there’s no answer, no voicemail is needed, because the text is already there.
- Next day: a second text with a different time or the booking link.
- Day 3: an email with what to expect at a consultation, your prices or “from” prices, and a booking link.
- Day 7: a short text: “Still thinking about it? Happy to answer any questions.”
- Day 14: a last text: “Should I close your request for now? Just reply if you’d still like to come in.” This often gets the most replies.
- After that: if they agreed to marketing messages, they move to your regular newsletter or offers list.
The sequence must stop the moment someone replies, books or opts out. Nothing loses goodwill faster than an automated “just checking in” after someone has already booked.
5. Keep the form short and qualify in the conversation
Every extra question on a lead form lowers the number of people who finish it. Ask for name, phone and email, plus one question about the treatment they’re interested in. Meta also offers a “higher intent” form type that adds a review step before submitting. It brings fewer leads, but they tend to be more serious, so it’s worth testing if your team is spending too long on people who never answer.
6. Measure what happens after the lead
Cost per lead only tells you half the story. Track these for each campaign:
- Time to first reply. Aim for under five minutes.
- Reached: the share of leads who replied or picked up.
- Booked: the share who booked a consultation.
- Showed: the share who turned up. (Our guide on reducing no-shows covers this step.)
A campaign with cheap leads that never book costs more than one with pricier leads that do. If your CRM sends booked and showed appointments back to Meta, Meta can also learn to find more people like the ones who actually came in.
How CEAREM handles this for you
CEAREM connects your Facebook and Instagram lead forms so each lead gets a text within seconds, day or night. The follow-up schedule above runs automatically and stops when someone replies or books. The AI receptionist can answer questions and book consultations, and online booking can take a deposit. We set all of it up for you, including the consent wording. See how it fits a med spa.