Social Media Marketing and Websites for spas, salons and massage therapists
The new year is almost here and we’re going to start celebrating a little early!
Our hours of customer support on New Year’s Eve, December 31st will be 7am – 2pm Mountain. We will be closed New Year’s Day, January 1st, 2014. Normal Support hours will resume on January 2nd, 2014.
Wishing everyone a safe & prosperous New Year!
Team SpaBoom
Mahatma Ghandi put it all on our shoulders, where it really should be, right? Where else can incremental change occur but with us as we make our way through this life?
In this season of giving and love and chaos and joy, it seems to me that a moment spent looking inward might be appropriate. Not because you’re all not already self aware. I’ve never met a more introspective bunch, honestly. Those of you that choose to make people feel amazing and look fabulous are gifted and make much good happen in the world, simply by performing in your chosen roles.
Perhaps a better title for this article would be, ‘Your smallest actions create great change’, or something along those lines. Because that’s what I’m really saying.
As business owners you influence many during any given week. Via your staff, of course. And then there’s your clientele. You directly, or indirectly by carrying forward a business philosophy, affect every single recipient of the services your spa, salon or massage therapy practice provides. You have shaped the look, feel and tenor of the experience they receive. The colors you’ve chosen within your business, the ambiance created in which your clients will spend the duration of their service, the rapport you’ve engendered within your staff that flavors the enthusiasm with which they perform their given skin, body or hair treatments – all of these play a role in the quality of experience your clients enjoy.
That’s a lot of responsibility, right? Sure, but it’s also a great opportunity to imbue your business with your vision, with your passion for the services you offer, and to ensure your staff feels supported and cherished and integral in your business performance. How you engage your professionals can be as complex as you want to make it, or as simple as asking yourself, ‘How would I wish to be treated/valued/compensated/engaged?’ The answers to those queries will vary, of course, but keeping a consistent set of expectations and rewards in place across the board will go a long way.
On a personal level, small gestures of compassion, kindness and selflessness are their own rewards. Taking a moment for a chat with a retired neighbor or someone you know who may not have a strong personal support system can make someone’s day, and make them feel connected – an essential component to happiness and general well being. Or take a few hours to start a new tradition of volunteering at a local homeless shelter. Providing help for those less fortunate can provide us valuable insight into the struggles that others face; our daily trials and tribulations are seldom significant in comparison. The fabulous flip side of that is that when we act compassionately, we too benefit. Our stress levels drop and we feel good about ourselves. What a win win, right?
As the maelstrom of holiday activities continues, please take a moment to express gratitude to your friends and loved ones, and remember that every action we take has the potential to bring positive change and happiness into a moment in someone’s life. There is no way to truly measure the impact of what we do, but seeing smiles bloom on faces and life’s burdens lessen slightly with random acts of kindess is heady, wonderful feedback, don’t you think?
As we wrap up 2013 and look ahead to the new year, now is a good time to start thinking about your social media marketing strategy for 2014. One of the biggest trends we expect to see is a continued shift towards shorter, more frequent communications, with a focus on visual, rather than text-based, content. Here are a few highlights of other trends to watch as we approach the new year.
The Continued Rise of Visual
Consumers are becoming more and more visual, and studies show they gravitate to marketing which is image driven. With the continued popularity of sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Snapchat, it is going to become increasingly important to come up with ways to visually promote your business and your brand. Whether it is utilizing more photos in email communications or interacting with your clients on photo sharing sites like Instagram, bringing more images to your interactions with clients means you can more effectively meet their marketing wants by communicating with them where and how they want you to.
The Importance of Micro-Video
Micro-video is a new trend that emerged in 2013 and revolutionized the video sharing business, with sites like Vine leading the way. Vine allows users to upload 6 second videos and share them with friends, filling the consumer desire for short bursts of visual communication. Industry giant Instagram soon jumped on board, allowing its users to share 3-15 second videos with their followers.
In this time where people want short visual bits of information shared more regularly and rapidly, micro-video is a new and powerful tool for marketing. A series of micro-videos could be used to tell the story of your brand, promote new offerings, or set you up as an expert in your field.
Social Media is Still King
Facebook and Twitter will continue to dominate in the social media market, with the highest number of regular users. But they are showing a shift towards more visual communications as well. Picture-dominated posts consistently get the most interactions on both platforms and both sites have made improvements to enable quicker and easier sharing of photos and videos. Both are poised to continue strongly in 2014.
Google+ will be the social media site to watch in 2014, as it continues to grow and link its social media site to all the other Google brands. It automatically opts in all users of any of its brands to Google+, which made it the fastest growing social media site in 2013. Recently, it linked YouTube comments to Google+ accounts as well, helping to drive consumers to its platform. With long term experience in visual communications, it will only continue to grow in importance throughout 2014.
2014 will be an exciting year for social media marketing. As the visual side of things continues to grow and consumers continue to demand rapid, to the point, image-based communications, it is more important than ever to adjust your marketing strategies to embrace the visual. In an industry where visual images have always been important, this is an easy and effective marketing change which can produce huge results.
SpaBoom will provide customer support on Tuesday, December 24th, from 8am – 4pm Mountain. We will be closed on Christmas Day, Wednesday December 25th.
We will also provide customer support on New Year’s Eve, from 8am – 4pm Mountain, and will be closed New Year’s Day, January 1st.
Wishing you and yours a joyous and safe holiday season filled with warmth!
Team SpaBoom
Did you know that Facebook’s users in the 55-64 year old range have grown 46% in the last year? And that the 45-54 age bracket is the fastest growing group on both Facebook and Google+? That means you’re not just writing to the under 40 group anymore. From a marketing standpoint, you’ll want to vary your message (and images) to resonate with that demographic. It may require a little more thought to tailor your social media to this group, but this section of the economy packs a whallop in terms of discretionary income, so your time will be worth it.
The good news is you can write blog articles to everyone you serve, and create social media posts from all of your articles so that you’re reaching a variety of demographics, easily and as a natural byproduct of your blog work.
Did you also know that of Facebook’s users, 189 million of them are only accessing via mobile devices? That means you need to ensure your mobile presence is fluid and working well with handhelds and mobile phones at all times. Now is definitely the time to optimize your website to render well on mobile devices.
Social media allows businesses to connect with followers in exponential ways. Capitalizing on the beauty of difference in your audience will demonstrate your desire to speak their language while meeting them in what has become a way of life, not just a passing fad.
This could also be called Creating a Company Where You’d Like to Work.
It turns out the key to a great company is happy employees, and creating happy employees isn’t as hard as you might think.
What matters to employees? Time. Freedom of expression. Feeling connected to a process. Family. Respect. Fair compensation.
These aren’t terribly complex or convoluted concepts, they’re basic stuff, and if you can create an environment where people are fairly compensated, feel valued, and where their time with family and relaxation time are considered paramount, you’ll net big returns in productivity and loyalty. And you’ll have a happy work environment where creativity and energy flow, and your business thrives as a result.
Some of the bigger companies out there know this, and are cultivating employee satisfaction in a variety of ways. Google has a full time ‘culture czar’, whose sole focus is to ensure happiness among the company’s employees. Some companies offer dog sitting, or on site fitness facilities, some which include acupuncture and chiropractic services, or PTO for community-based projects, or on site barber, dry cleaning, and concierge services to ensure their employees’ chores get done. Other companies offer generous 401K contributions, health benefits, and other perks that translate to a financial boost and added security for their employees. The offers vary, but the theme is all about making employees’ lives a little better in the end.
Little companies can do any number of things to foster happiness; a little creativity and dedication to the effort is all it takes. Birthday celebrations, company picnics and activities away from work, team bonding events and even simple theme weeks and potluck gatherings help coalesce and form a sense of belonging and contribution.
One of my favorite recent retailer moments occurred when Costco announced they’d be closed on Thanksgiving so their employees could enjoy the holiday with family and friends. Go Costco! Needless to say, Walmart’s decision to not only be open on Thanksgiving, but to open two hours earlier? Not an ideal scenario for those poor employees who will now have to enjoy the entire holiday at double-speed so they can report for retail madness while their turkey digests.
Deciding what kind of a company you want to be, and making that happen within the framework of your size, scope and maturity will go a long way to creating happy employees who will go the distance as you grow your business.
SpaBoom will be closed on Thanksgiving. We will provide customer support on Black Friday, November 29th from 8am – 3pm MST and Saturday, November 30th from 8am – 12pm MST.
Wishing Everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!
Team SpaBoom
White page syndrome can strike even the most seasoned wordsmiths, and when it does, it paralyzes. Suddenly creative minds draw blanks, the cursor flashes incessantly at the top of what should be an easy-peasy piece of content and ideas simply refuse to materialize.
It’s no fun when this happens, we know this. And if you’re a person who would rather have small shards of glass removed from the bottom of their feet than actually write a blog post, this happens a lot. In fact, most people just don’t enjoy writing at all, they only do it if they’re forced to.
But you can do this, and all you need to do is break it all down to smaller parts and to remember that you are the expert on your subject. You may not consider the fact that nobody knows as much about skin care, or taming tresses, or the wonders of massage and its therapeutic benefits as you do, but you do.
You are trained to know your stuff. Your salon or spa or massage practice is what you do, which gives you limitless insight and a deep well of material from which to pull article ideas.
Think ‘small pieces’, and then let your brain go to town. Blog posts are a way to share snippets of information with your audience in digestible (read ‘NOT huge’) chunks. Think ‘Preventing Flyaway Winter Hair’ vs ‘The History of Hairstyles in the 20th Century’ when it comes to topics. Think ‘Three Tips for Cool Weather Skin Care’ vs ‘The Importance of Balanced Nutrition In the Ongoing Pursuit of Gorgeous Skin’. Think ‘The Power of the Breath’ vs ‘A Treatise on Massage Modalities, 1717-2013’.
You get my point.
A targeted, concise (which I could use practice with, right?) paragraph or two will go a long way. You’ll have crafted a helpful article that your blog readers will want to read. The good news is once you’ve established your groove, you’ll enjoy visitors who come back again and again to see what you have to say.
Another bonus of writing blog articles? They help your ranking when it comes to being found on the web. Search engines love regular, fresh content, so you’ll be rewarded over time with ranking as well.
So, have fun with this, and know if you ever get stuck for ideas or just a little nudge in the right direction, we’re right here to help!
Your clientele comes to you for different reasons. Part of nurturing the relationships that you build with the individuals who seek your services means tailoring your communication to them.
Honoring and focusing upon the various types of clients you have will strengthen the bond that you share, which bodes well for a long and happy relationship.
A few examples of marketing niches within your clientele:
Each of these subsets of your client base will enjoy periodic emails and special opportunities recognizing where they fit within your business scope. Why not send gift buyers a BOGO or limited time percentage discount to thank them for making the right choice for gifting? Your regulars deserve the love because they’re there year round, and deserve to feel like they belong in your special inner circle, which they do. They’ve earned it. Appreciating your clients doesn’t always need to mean discounting, as you well know. Maybe adding 15 minutes to an hour massage or offering a takeaway of a small bottle of their favorite massage oil will do nicely, too.
When you write a blog article, think about how that might resonate with your various subgroups of clients, and then just write an email with a catchy subject line, simple, tailored opening paragraph, then include your blog article in the body of the email. Bada Bing!, you’ve got a focused piece that took you minimal time to prepare because you’ve used another piece of content that you’ve already generated as the body.
Consistent, well focused emails will help you recognize those who have supported your business and make them feel just a little bit special – something we all appreciate and generally reward by supporting those who let us know they care. It’s a beautiful cycle, and one that takes minimal time or effort to begin.
Loyal clients are the most important part of your business. On average, repeat clientele spend 33% more per visit than a new client and are also easier (and cheaper) to market to, allowing you to grow your business faster and with less marketing dollars. But how do you cultivate that loyalty and build a relationship with your clients that will keep them coming back time and time again? Let’s talk about some of the more important ways to build a positive relationship with your client.
Deliver Great Customer Service Experiences
Every bit of contact you have with a client is an opportunity to create good experiences and build a positive relationship. From the moment they visit your website, pick up the phone, or walk through the door of your spa or salon, you have the opportunity to provide the best possible experience for them. Making sure things are easy to find on your website and that all contact is friendly, helpful and professional can go a long way. A client who always leaves any interaction with your spa or salon happy and satisfied is one who will not only return, but who will tell friends about your business as well.
Communicate Regularly
Communication is always key when building a relationship. Find out where and how often your clients want to hear from you. And then communicate with them regularly in the form that works best for them. Email marketing or posting to social media is a powerful way to keep your business in the front of your client’s mind and a good way to build rapport. Making sure that not all of your communications are sales based is a good way to demonstrate that the relationship you have with your clients (& not just their money) is important to you. Sharing valuable information on a blog or in an email newsletter can help establish you as an expert in your field and turn your business into a trusted resource for your clients. Regular communication can mean the difference between your client thinking about your business the next time they need a service – or going someplace else. Good communication not only helps build a great relationship, but also a healthy business as well.
Listen to Your Clients
If you have satisfied a client once, you can more than likely do so again. But you need to know what they liked and what you could do better. So ask your clients for feedback and then act on it. Really listening to what they have to say and then involving them in improving your processes can not only help you improve your business, but also help it grow over time. So ask them, in both informal and formal ways, and then show an interest in meeting their needs.
Treat Your Loyal Clients Like You Would a Best Friend
Treating your most loyal return clients like best friends can help create an even stronger relationship and really cultivate the loyalty you are hoping for. So do the same things for them that you would do for your best friend. Keep them in the loop on what is going on with your business, either through email, social media posts, or your blog. Share insider information with them through special preview deals and announcements. Involve them in sneak peeks for new products or services before they are available to your entire client base. Ask for their feedback on how you are doing and what they think you could be doing better. Show them that you truly care about them and not only will they keep coming back, they’ll refer their friends and family to you as well.
Cultivating a positive relationship with your clients, both new and existing, is the most powerful way to build a successful business. Every interaction a client has with your business is an opportunity to create an authentic relationship with them which will keep them returning over and over.