A med spa should hire a marketing agency that specializes in medical aesthetics, reviews every claim before it goes live, ties its work to booked consultations, and refuses to promise outcomes it cannot control. Ask the six questions below before you sign anything. The answers will show you quickly whether an agency is ready to work in a regulated category or is only ready to sell you a package.
Why the choice matters more for med spas
Med spas sit between beauty and healthcare. The experience feels like a luxury brand, but the services are delivered by licensed professionals under rules that vary by state. Marketing that ignores either side creates problems.
Most agency pitches sound the same: more leads, more bookings, a fuller calendar. The useful part is how an agency plans to get there safely.
Question one: Do you specialize in medical aesthetics, or do you just have a med spa page?
Many generalist agencies add a med spa page to their site and call it a specialty. Ask which aesthetics, wellness, or healthcare brands the team works with today, which services each one uses, and who will actually run your account. Ask to see real work.
Question two: How do you handle compliance in ad copy and creative?
Advertising for healthcare and aesthetics practices is regulated. Truth-in-advertising standards require claims to be truthful and supported. State boards set their own advertising rules for licensed practitioners, and ad platforms such as Meta and Google have separate policies for health-related ads. This is general information, not legal advice, and your own counsel should weigh in on specifics.
A strong answer names who reviews claims before anything goes live, how the agency handles before-and-after imagery, how patient testimonials are approved, and how the team stays current when platform policies change. See how we approach it on our med spa marketing page.
Question three: What will you promise, and what will you refuse to promise?
Be cautious of any agency that guarantees a number of patients, a fixed return on ad spend, or a specific outcome from a service. Outcomes depend on your market, offer, providers, and front desk follow-up. Agencies worth hiring talk about process, testing, and accountability.
Question four: How do you connect marketing to booked appointments?
Followers and clicks are not revenue. Ask how the agency follows a lead from the first ad impression to a booked consultation, and whether it can support reminders, follow-up messages, and booking automation. If leads wait in an inbox for days, even a strong campaign underperforms.
Question five: How do you protect patient privacy?
Med spas collect sensitive information through forms, chat tools, and booking systems. Patient photos and stories generally require written consent, and depending on the practice, federal and state privacy rules may apply. Ask what consent process the agency uses before featuring any patient and how it handles tracking tools on pages that collect health information.
Question six: Can you build the brand, not just the ads?
Paid ads can fill a calendar for a month. Brand, reputation, and earned press keep it full. Ask whether the agency can support PR, social content, and positioning alongside performance marketing so the practice builds recognition while it builds bookings.
"A med spa is a brand and a clinical practice at the same time, and the marketing has to respect both. We put compliance in the brief, not in a last-minute review, and I stay involved in the work myself."
Lauren Barrett, Founder and CEO of AC Partners
How to use these questions
Send the six questions in writing to every agency on your shortlist and compare the answers side by side. Vague answers about compliance or measurement tell you what you need to know.
AC Partners is a Miami marketing and PR agency specializing in beauty, wellness, and medical aesthetics brands. We serve clients nationwide, with a focus on New York City and Chicago, and we are happy to answer all six questions directly. Our FAQs cover how we work.
FAQ
How many agencies should a med spa compare before choosing one?
Compare at least three if you can, using the same six written questions for each. Consistent questions make differences in compliance and measurement easy to see.
Should a med spa hire a generalist agency or a specialist?
A specialist is usually the safer choice, because aesthetics advertising involves platform health policies, state rules, and consent practices that generalists may not handle daily. Whichever you choose, ask for a clear description of the review process.
What is a red flag in a med spa marketing proposal?
Guaranteed outcomes are the biggest one, whether that means guaranteed patient counts, return on ad spend, or service results. Another is an agency that cannot explain who reviews claims before ads and posts go live.
Talk to AC Partners
If you are weighing agencies for your med spa, send us your questions or your shortlist. Email Lauren Barrett at laurenbarrett@ardormarketing.com or visit the contact page.
Questions? Send me a note.
Lauren Barrett is the founder of AC Partners, a Miami marketing and PR agency specializing in beauty, wellness, and medical aesthetics brands. She leads the agency's strategy and stays involved in client work.