Tanning salon marketing has one job: keep your beds booked with paying clients, week after week. This guide shows UK tanning salon owners how to do it, getting found on Google, getting seen on Instagram, running tanning salon advertising that pays for itself, and turning first visits into memberships. It also covers the part every other guide skips: what UK law and the ASA actually let you say in your ads. Read it once, then work the 30-day plan at the end.
TL;DR, the whole system on one screen
- The rules first: UK law bans under-18s from sunbeds; the ASA bans "safe", "healthy" and vitamin D claims. In January 2026 it banned ads from five tanning companies. Market the experience, never the health.
- Get found: a complete Google Business Profile with prices, photos and reviews beats any ad.
- Get seen: Instagram Reels and before-and-afters (with permission) that state the price and how to book.
- Get booked: Meta and Google ads aimed at adults 18+, with one clear offer and a booking button.
- Get rebooked: minute courses, monthly memberships and win-back texts turn one visit into twelve.
- Get trusted: reviews, honest pricing and ASA-safe claims, trust is your moat.
Not sure which of these fits your salon first? Book a free 30-minute strategy call, we will look at your Google profile and Instagram and tell you the three moves that matter most.
The rules first: what UK law and the ASA say about tanning ads
Marketing a tanning salon is not like marketing a hair salon. Two sets of rules sit over everything you publish, and getting them wrong can mean banned ads and, in the worst case, a criminal offence. Here is the honest version.
1. The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010. It is a criminal offence for a sunbed business to allow anyone under 18 to use, or be offered the use of, a sunbed on its premises, or even to access the room the sunbed is in. The explanatory notes to the Act spell this out plainly. Spray tans are not covered (they do not use UV), but every sunbed session is.
2. The ASA and CAP Code. The Advertising Standards Authority’s sunbed advertising guidance is blunt: ads must not claim or imply that sunbed use is safe, harmless or without risk, and must avoid health or medical claims, explicit or implied. In January 2026 the ASA banned ads from five tanning-related companies for exactly this, claims that sunbeds were "safe" or "healthy", could boost vitamin D (JD Tanning UK Ltd), or could help with seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and psoriasis (reported here). The ASA found the ads with its AI monitoring system, so assume your ads are being watched.
3. Age targeting. Beyond the Act, the ASA has upheld complaints about sunbed ads targeted in ways that reach under-18s, including TikTok posts. Set every ad audience to 18+ and keep your creative adult-facing.
None of this kills your marketing. It just means you sell the experience, the convenience and the service, never the health. That is a positioning strength, not a weakness: honest salons stand out in an industry the ASA is actively policing.
This section is general information about UK advertising rules, not legal advice. If you are unsure about a specific claim, check the ASA’s guidance or speak to a solicitor before you publish.
What you can and can’t say: the compliance checklist
Pin this next to whoever writes your posts and ads.
| ✅ DO | ❌ DON’T |
|---|---|
| Market the experience and service: "golden glow for your holiday", "10-minute sessions, book online" | Claim sunbeds are "safe", "healthy", "harmless" or "risk-free" |
| Say who it is for: "adults 18+", age-gate every ad audience | Make health claims: vitamin D, mood, energy, "boosts immunity" |
| Keep every price claim provable: real was/now prices with dates | Imply sunbeds treat conditions: SAD, psoriasis, eczema, depression |
| Show real results with the client’s written permission | Target or appeal to under-18s (no prom-season sunbed pushes) |
| State your opening hours, prices and booking link clearly | Use "before and after" photos that suggest a medical transformation |
The test before you post: read your caption or ad and ask, "Am I promising an outcome about the body, or describing a service?" If it is the first, rewrite it.
Get found: local search and your Google Business Profile
When someone searches "tanning salon near me" or "sunbeds in [your town]", your Google Business Profile is your shopfront. Most tanning salons have a half-finished one. Fixing yours is the highest-return hour in tanning salon marketing.
Do this (about an hour):
- Claim and verify your profile, and set the primary category to "Tanning salon", not "Beauty salon".
- List services with prices. "Sunbed session from £6", "50-minute course £24", "Spray tan £25". Prices in the profile stop the "how much is it?" messages that never convert.
- Add 10+ real photos: reception, rooms, staff, your retail shelf. Real beats stock every time.
- Reply to every review within 48 hours, good or bad. A thoughtful reply to a bad review wins more bookings than ten five-star ratings nobody answered.
- Post weekly using Google’s Posts feature: this week’s offer, new opening hours, a seasonal course.
Then build the basics of local SEO for tanning salons: one page per location on your website targeting "[town] tanning salon", your opening hours and prices on the site, and your business listed consistently on the directories Google trusts. Our guide to local SEO for salons walks through the full setup.
Get seen: social media that sells tans
Tanning is visual, which makes Instagram and TikTok your natural home. But most tanning salon accounts post vibes, sunsets, quotes, "DM to book", and wonder why the diary is quiet. Post like a shopkeeper, not an influencer.
The content mix that works:
- Before-and-afters (with written permission). The single best-performing format. Always get the client’s written consent, never photograph under-18s, and caption with the facts: how many sessions, what it cost, how to book.
- The tour. A 20-second walkthrough of your rooms. Clients choose salons on cleanliness and vibe before price.
- Answer questions in Reels. "How long should my first sunbed session be?" "What do I wear for a spray tan?" "Do I need an appointment?" One question, 30 seconds, filmed on your phone.
- Offers with deadlines. "March holiday-prep courses: 50 minutes for £24 until Sunday." A deadline beats a permanent discount.
Weak caption: "Golden goddess vibes ✨ DM to book 💕"
Better caption: "Three sunbed sessions, one week apart, ready for her holiday. Our 50-minute course is £24 (works out at 48p a minute). Tap the link in bio to book, adults 18+. Two evening slots left this week."
The better version works because it answers the three questions every viewer has: what does it look like, what does it cost, how do I book. It states the price, the audience and the next step, and it makes no claim the ASA could touch.
If creating this content weekly feels like a second job on top of running the salon, that is exactly what done-for-you social media exists to take off your plate, but only once the foundations above are in place.
Tanning salon advertising ideas that pay for themselves
Paid tanning salon advertising works when it is narrow, honest and tracked. Here are the ideas worth your money, in order.
1. Meta ads (Instagram/Facebook) for first-visit offers. Target adults 18+ within 5 to 8 miles, people interested in beauty, holidays and weddings. One offer, one image, one button: "First tan course 20% off, book online in 60 seconds." Set the audience minimum age to 18 in Ads Manager and keep a screenshot of the setting.
2. Google ads for high-intent searches. Bid on "tanning salon [your town]", "sunbeds near me", "spray tan [your town]". These people want to book today. Send them to a page with prices, opening hours and a booking button, not your homepage.
3. Retargeting. A small-budget ad shown to people who visited your booking page but did not book: "Still thinking about it? Your first course is 20% off this week." This is usually the cheapest booking you will buy.
What should it cost? (Illustrative example, not a promise.) Say you spend £10 a day on a Meta ad for 14 days, £140 total. If it produces 20 first-visit bookings, each booking cost £7. If your average new client spends £60 over their first three months (illustrative), the maths works. Run your own numbers after two weeks: if you cannot say what one booking cost, pause the ad and fix the tracking before spending more.
Mistake to avoid: boosting posts with no booking link and no end date. A boosted sunset photo with "DM to book" is a donation to Meta, not advertising.
For salons that want ads run properly, audiences, creative and tracking handled, our social media ads service is built for exactly this. And if your website leaks the traffic your ads buy, see what a website that turns searches into bookings looks like.
📞 Get your marketing checked before you spend
Running ads to a half-finished Google profile or a vague Instagram is how tanning salons waste money. Book a free 30-minute strategy call and we will audit your profile, your content and your offers, then tell you exactly what to fix first.
Free, 30 minutes, no obligation. We reply within one working day.
Turn first visits into memberships and repeat bookings
A tanning salon lives or dies on repeat visits. A client who comes once for a holiday tan is worth one session; a member is worth twelve months. Build the ladder:
- Pay as you go, the entry point. Price per minute or per session, clearly displayed.
- Minute courses, "Buy 50 minutes, save 20%." Courses commit the client to coming back and give you cash upfront.
- Monthly unlimited, best for regulars. Price it so it pays for itself at around 6 to 8 visits, and put fair-use terms in writing.
Example (illustrative, not a client result): suppose a single session costs £6 and your average casual client buys 8 sessions a year, £48 a year. A monthly unlimited membership at £29 a month is £348 a year. Even if a member visits twice as often, you have turned £48 of uncertain revenue into £348 of predictable revenue, and members buy lotions and spray tans on top. The risk to watch: price unlimited so it needs roughly 6 visits a month to "win", or heavy users will cost you bed time. Run your own numbers before you launch.
Win back the drifters. Clients who have not booked in 60+ days already trust you, they just forgot. Text them (only with proper consent, and always with an opt-out, see the PECR note below):
Hi [name], it’s [your name] from [salon]. We haven’t seen you in a while, here’s £10 off your next tan course if you book before [date]: [booking link]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Legal note: under PECR, the UK’s electronic marketing rules, you need consent (or the soft opt-in for existing customers) before sending marketing texts, and every message must offer an opt-out. This is general information, not legal advice.
Partnerships, seasons and reviews
Partnerships. Your ideal client already visits other local businesses. Offer the gym next door a "train and tan" bundle, the bridal boutique a spray-tan package for wedding parties, the hotel down the road a guest discount card. One partnership that sends you five clients a month beats any ad.
Seasons. Tanning demand follows the UK calendar. Plan one campaign per season, not twelve random discounts:
- Spring: holiday-prep courses (book the tan before the tan)
- Summer: wedding glow, spray-tan parties and bridal packages
- Autumn: Christmas party season booking opens (yes, in October)
- Winter: gift vouchers and January "new year glow" courses
One warning: prom season tempts tanning salons every year. Prom clients are overwhelmingly under 18, marketing sunbeds to them breaches the Act and ASA targeting rules alike. Sell spray tans to the prom market only with extreme care around age targeting, or skip it.
Reviews. Reviews are the trust layer under all of this. Send this text within 24 hours of a great session:
Hi [name], thanks for coming in today! If you loved your tan, would you leave us a quick Google review? It takes 30 seconds and it really helps our salon: [your review link]
Aim for 2 to 3 new reviews a week, steady and believable beats a sudden flood. Reply to all of them. If reviews feel like a chore you never get to, reputation management is the service that systematises it for you.
Your first 30 days: the kickoff plan
Do not try everything at once. Work this in order, each week builds on the last.
- Week 1, Get found: claim and complete your Google Business Profile (prices, 10+ photos, categories). Add prices and a booking button to your website.
- Week 2, Get trusted: text your 10 happiest recent clients the review request. Reply to every existing review.
- Week 3, Get seen: post one Reel and one offer post. Film the salon tour and three question-answers on your phone.
- Week 4, Get booked: launch one Meta ad (£10/day, 18+, 5-mile radius) to your first-visit offer. Track cost per booking.
What will it cost? An honest breakdown:
| Activity | Cost | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile setup | Free | ~1 hour once |
| Review texts | A few pence per text | 10 min/week |
| Instagram content (DIY) | Free | 2 to 3 hrs/week |
| Meta ads (example budget) | £10/day while running | 1 hr/week to monitor |
| Minute courses / memberships setup | Free (booking software may charge) | ~2 hrs once |
| Win-back texts | A few pence per text | 30 min/month |
| Partnership outreach | Free | 2 hrs once |
Where should YOU start? If your Google profile is half-empty, start at week 1, ads can wait. If your profile is solid but Instagram is silent, start at week 3. If both are working and you want more volume, start at week 4. Never run ads to fill a bucket with holes in it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I advertise my tanning salon?
Start with a complete Google Business Profile with prices and reviews, then add Instagram content that shows real results with booking instructions. Paid Meta and Google ads work once those foundations exist, target adults 18+ locally, use one clear offer, and always link to a booking page. (47 words)
Is it legal to advertise sunbeds in the UK?
Yes, but with strict limits. The Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010 makes under-18 use a criminal offence, and the ASA bans any claim that sunbeds are safe, healthy or have health benefits like vitamin D. In January 2026 the ASA banned five tanning companies’ ads. Market the service and experience, never the health effects. (53 words)
What should a tanning salon post on Instagram?
Before-and-afters with written client permission, 20-second salon tours, 30-second Reels answering client questions, and offers with real deadlines. Every post should state the price and how to book. Never photograph under-18s and never imply health benefits in captions. (38 words)
How much does tanning salon advertising cost?
Most of effective tanning salon marketing is free: your Google profile, reviews and organic social cost nothing but time. For paid ads, an illustrative starting budget is £10 a day on Meta for two weeks (£140) to test one offer, then scale only what you can measure. Never spend what you cannot afford to lose while learning. (57 words)
Can I offer discounts on tanning courses?
Yes, genuine, time-limited offers are fine and minute courses are the industry standard. Keep every price claim provable with real dates ("50 minutes for £24 until 31 March"), avoid permanent "was/now" discounts you cannot substantiate, and remember the ASA requires evidence for price claims. (44 words)
The bottom line
Tanning salon marketing comes down to this: be the easiest salon to find on Google, the most convincing on Instagram, the most honest in your ads, and the simplest to come back to. Follow the ASA’s red lines and they become an advantage, while competitors get their ads banned, yours keep running.
If you want help doing it properly, Google presence, content and ads handled for you, book a free 30-minute strategy call.
Free, 30 minutes, no obligation. We reply within one working day.
Last updated: October 2026
