Making Social Media Work for You

Is there a gap between where you are today and where you’d like to be in the future? Basically, there are 4 different approaches for you to consider when you are determining a plan to assist you in the Laws of Attraction – in your case attracting more massage clients.

Beliefs – By imagining and focusing on what you want, you can trick your mind into a different belief system and improve your results.

Decisions - By making a single decision – a decision to take action – you can change your life forever.

Results - By pretending like you’re already there – and living like it – you can get some traction and start a domino affect that improves the level of your performance.

Actions – We focus on the specific tactics that get results. If you’re getting results, the rest takes care of itself.

I didn’t come up with this formula, but I do believe in it. So many people are their own worst enemies when it comes to getting what they want out of life. They will come up with every excuse in the book as to why they can’t have something. I simply refuse to live by those restrictions and you should too. Regardless of which approach you decide on, you need to start a deliberate program to ensure you actually BELIEVE you are a successful massage therapist who deserves a thriving massage therapy practice. If you don’t, you’ll end up sabotaging your own efforts and make it harder to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself.

As always, if you need a pep talk, contact me!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Jayne

2012 is just around the corner. NOW is the time to start organizing your calendar of events. By keeping track of what you will be doing to promote your massage therapy business, you will save yourself much aggravation! Get yourself a basic wall calendar or one of those fancy organizers and go through it month by month and mark what promotions you will be offering. For example, February is a great month to offer gift certificates for Valentine’s Day. Mark it down! Now start working on your “medium”.

Regardless of medium used to promote or market your event (website, facebook, twitter, blog, newspaper ads, flyers, etc.) all publicity should include:
• Title & Brief Description
• Beginning and Ending promotion Dates/ Day and Date if offering class
• Time (if you are offering a class)
• Location
• Fee
• Refreshments (if offered)
• Sponsoring Organization(s)(if available)
• Contact Info (offices, URL’s, phone numbers)

There are basic principles for making your publicity more successful.
• Make it eye-catching so it takes no longer than 5 seconds to read.
• Take a look around your area to see what catches your eye. Incorporate those designs into your own.
• Avoid using more than 2-3 fonts.
• Avoid using script fonts & all-caps scripts.
• Incorporate a black text box with white font.
• Use photos or clip art to make your medium pop.

Getting organized is time consuming initially, but it becomes easier and easier as the months go by. Below is a basic time line to follow. You may need more or less time to make your promotions happen. You will get a better feel for your style as you add promotions to your event calendar.

Timeline for Promotions
Completion Date (fill in the blank)
12 weeks prior
•Develop budget and establish publicity costs.
9 weeks prior
•Determine all types of publicity for marketing your event.
•Establish marketing plan and designate responsibilities.
6 weeks prior
•Design marketing style like color scheme, logo, font.
4 weeks prior
•Proof marketing and send to a printer.
2 weeks prior
•Hang posters. Distribute flyers. Post to social media. Place Ads.
1 week prior
•Hang more posters. Remind people of event
1 week after
•Evaluate marketing plan and assess the successfulness of the plan. Don’t skip this step! Make revisions now for next year while it it still fresh!

I realize we are only a couple a weeks away from 2012, so January may not be your best effort. No worries. Get started NOW to make the rest of the year a snap.

Have a great day, everyone – and Happy New Year!

Jayne
Massage Promotions
www.massagepromos.com

Did you know that videos can help you connect with your clients in a way that no other media can?

Did you know that search engines find keywords faster if a video is connected to them?

Here are some ideas in which video will benefit your massage therapy practice:
• Tour of Your Massage Office: Show your prospective clients exactly how your office looks by giving them a video tour!

• “Idea” of the Week: Nothing gets people to return to your site or facebook page faster than useful consistent information. Offer a new stretch, stress reliever, etc. to keep your clients interested.

• Testimonials: Ask your most loyal clients to tell the camera why they love coming to you for their massage needs. People trust other people’s opinions so use this to your advantage. Social proof is tremendously effective.

• Education: Give your clients more than just massage therapy info by interviewing other area experts about wellness, nutrition, fitness and other health-related issues. Show your clients that your practice cares about their overall health and wellbeing.

Your cell phone may have a good enough video camera to make your videos, but if it doesn’t, grab a Flip Video Camera. Flips are much cheaper now because they have stopped production, but they are very user friendly and give a wonderful result.

YouTube is so easy to use!
1. Create a YouTube channel so you can upload your videos. All it takes to start an account is a user ID and a password.
2. Upload Your video to YouTube. Name your video so it is relevant to you and your massage therapy business and something prospective clients would be searching for. If you’re a massage therapist that specializes in Stone massage in Boston, MA, name your video, “Boston, MA – Stone massage therapy -stress reliever” or something similar. That way when someone searches for Swedish Massage in Boston, your video will rank higher.
4. Promote Your Video. Once your video has been uploaded to YouTube, you can do a number of things to promote it. You can e-mail the link to your members, you can embed the video (the code is provided for you on youtube for each video) on your blog and website, you can add it to a CD and give it away as a freebie and you can upload it to your Facebook fans. (How to upload Your video to facebook – Simply click the video icon found in the share line at the top of your wall page to add a video to your facebook page. Add a description to entice people to view it and suggest that they share it with friends.)
6. Repetition is key. Post at least one video per week. If you devote about an hour a week to this, you will find this process gets easier and easier.

If you need more ideas for videos, feel free to contact me anytime.

Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone.

Jayne
Massage Promotions
www.massagepromos.com

Are you currently using your personal profile Facebook page as your massage therapy business page? It probably isn’t to your advantage to do so. Here’s why:

1.Complicated! When you mix business with pleasure trouble seems to arise. Keep business separate from your personal information!
2.There are limitations (as of this posting) to Facebook personal profiles will not allow them to grow virally, however, Facebook business pages might.
3.Business pages have no limit to the number of fans you can have, but personal profile friends are limited to 5,000. It may seem as if 5000 is plenty, but if you are using Facebook to grow your email list, 5000 fans can happen faster than you may think.
4.Personal profiles are not indexed by search engines, but Facebook business-pages can be. Important if you would like your massage business to be found by searching.
5.If you have someone helping you with your Facebook account, business pages allow for multiple administrators and their identities are kept private from fans and visitors.
6.Facebook business pages support applications and tabs that allow for your business page to have a unique look, which is important in making your massage business stand out from the competition.
7.Facebook business page administrators can send updates to fans so you aren’t solely responsible for keeping the page updated and current.
8.Facebook business pages come equipped by Facebook with a set of analytic tools called Facebook Insights.
9.Most importantly, because Facebook says to keep them separate. According to their Terms of Service it’s a no-no to use personal profile pages for business accounts
•“Profiles represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook. *
•You may only create Facebook Pages to represent real organizations of which you are an authorized representative.”*
•“Pages are for organizations, businesses, celebrities, and bands to broadcast great information in an official, public manner to people who choose to connect with them. Similar to profiles, Pages can be enhanced with applications that help the entity communicate and engage with their audiences, and capture new audiences virally through friend recommendations, News Feed stories, Facebook events, and beyond.” *
*From Facebook FAQ’s

Admittedly, I have used my own personal page as my business page but have recently changed that. It is a challenge to get people to be part of both, so get your business page going and if you choose to have a personal page, too, use them for what they are designed for – One for your massage therapy business and one for pleasure.

Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone!
Jayne
Massage Promotions

Make a point to keep direct mailers that catch your eye immediately. After about a month or so, look through the ads and try to figure out the common themes. This tends to keep you aware of new design trends and lets you know what other businesses are doing in your area. It will also allow for you to send unique mailers to anyone else in your area. If you are using direct mailers to try to build your massage client numbers, be sure you are getting the most out of the money spent. Take the time to rework a couple of items on your direct mailers to see a higher response percentage. Below are 4 ideas that will give you a better return on investment.

Headline An attention getting headline is critical. It has to invoke an emotion in the reader. It must be about them and not about you. You only have a second to grab the reader’s attention, so don’t waste their time. Get to the point.

Call to Action Don’t be shy about telling your potential client what you expect them to do next. If you want them to call you, write down call me. Do you want them to come to your place of business? Write it down. Just adding your contact info isn’t good enough. Be specific in what you want the client to do!

Urgency Typically, people don’t react to things instantly on their own. A deadline needs to be set so that someone would feel as if they will miss out on a unique opportunity if they don’t act NOW! Place a date deadline or “limited to the next 10 people only” to create a reaction.

One Message at a Time With mailers, consistency throughout is key. If the headline is about pain relief, don’t promote your stone massage special for stress relief anywhere else on the card. Be consistent in your message throughout the front and back of the postcard. Don’t confuse the client with multiple offerings.

Remember though, nothing will replace a good, old-fashioned test. Before you spend a single dollar on mailers (Yes, they can be expensive!) take the time to put together 3 or 4 free websites or blogs with different headlines and see which one produces the highest amount of opt-ins for you. You could also send out emails to your different email groups and see which email elicits the highest reader response. If you aren’t getting the response you were hoping for, it is better to know you need to work on your marketing piece before you spend the money. Don’t get discouraged!. Keep tweaking your message until you get the desired result.

Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone!
Jayne

Try to stay on top of the latest trend lists that come across the news headlines. They can give you valuable information about how you may be able to keep your existing clients coming back and add to your client numbers.

For example, according to Ryan MacClanathan, business producer at msnbc.com, the following luxury items are now deemed “untouchable” by Americans:

•Internet service: 81 percent
•Basic cable TV: 61 percent
•Haircuts and coloring: 42 percent
•Charitable contributions: 38 percent
•Casual sit-down restaurants: 32 percent
•Upgraded mobile devices: 23 percent
•Organic food: 17 percent
•Daily cup of gourmet coffee: 17 percent
•Facials: 11 percent
•Maid service: 9 percent

Now, I won’t put my two cents in as far as which I think are untouchable or not, but some of these items can be implemented into your massage therapy practice, pretty easily. Let’s take a look.

Internet service – Are you offering your clients the ability to look at last minute email messages (less stress on the table if this isn’t on their minds) or the ability to aimlessly surf (just like looking at a magazine) in your waiting area?

Charitable contributions – How great would it be if you offered to give a portion of your gift certificate sales to one of your client’s favorite charity every month?

Daily cup of gourmet coffee/organic food – The waiting area could be a great place to offer a warm/cold high end beverage (doesn’t have to be coffee) or a piece of organic fruit to your clients.

Facials – Depending on the services you offer, maybe you would like to offer a specialized facial massage “add-on” to your list.

Hair care, maid service, restaurants – Although we may not be able to help directly with this, we can help indirectly by cross promoting with these types of businesses to get our client lists a discount or two to some of these vendors.

Keep looking for ways to give your clients the things that they want and become the massage therapist they can’t live without.

Have a great day, everyone!

Jayne Thomas

Are you a massage therapist who is currently looking for employment? Facebook may be able to help you. While many people use facebook only for keeping in touch with their friends and families, it is possible, when used correctly, to actually build your business networks and professional image. Tapping into an informal network of friends or friends of friends allows you to have access to many more individuals who may be looking for you. Remember, facebook is the easiest and fastest way to network with a large number of massage therapists, spa directors, or other individuals who want to hire you. Here’s what to do to get started:

Use a professional profile picture
More often than not, your profile picture will be the first thing an employer will see. It is imperative that you have a picture that represents you as a massage therapist, not you the party animal or your love of specific cartoon character. Additionally, while your profile should be kept private, include an e-mail address and job history in the visible information so that employers can contact you.

Post on your status
Let your friends know that you are searching. It is perfectly acceptable to ask friends to send you an email if they should know of a lead. Let them know exactly which type of business you are hoping to work for (spa based, chiropractic office, physical therapy, etc.) so it is easier for people to help you. Always keep your status posts optimistic and open so people feel comfortable commenting.

Take out a facebook ad
If you know the ins and outs of facebook advertising, consider taking one out to directly target the audience you hope to attract. If, for example, you want to work in chiropractic setting, take out an ad that uses the word chiropractic as part of the content. Your ad should show up on user pages who list chiropractic offices as their employer or better yet the owner of the business. Should someone click on your ad, refer them to a page that shows your resume.

“Like” all the places you would like to work
If you know there is a company that you would love to work for “like” their business page. It is a way to signal that you may be interested in working there. It will also give you a heads up on their latest company info, which may help you should you get an interview. If nothing else, many companies have started to list job openings on their facebook pages, so that would obviously be a huge advantage.

Be Yourself
You are allowed to show a more casual side on your facebook page, just make sure to post things that a potential employer would make you stand out in a positive way.

Currently, the job market may be a bit more challenging, but keep using creative ways to find that dream massage therapist job.

Have a great day, everyone!
Jayne

Did you know the best way to motivate your clients behavior is to give them a reward or incentive for that action? People can be motivated to take specific actions that accomplish their buying goals and more importantly accomplish your goals to get them to spend more, come see you more often or a combination of both.

How do you motivate behavior? Below are five ideas that should help clear thing up for you.

1.Offer soft benefits that provide value such as special privileges limited only to members. You may want to introduce a membership element to your practice. One option would be to set up membership packages of buying 5 massages for the price of 4. Another could be that “members” could buy gift certificates at a reduced price.
2.Offer relevant promotions through various lines of communication, for example: email, receipt messages, statement inserts, RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook, etc. Take advantage of ALL of your options. Remember clients need to see things on average of 7 times before they react to it.
3.Up-sell complimentary products or services that can be added to their initial purpose. Make it easy for your clients to buy that paraffin hand wrap. Have items you recommend they purchase at the drug store readily available for purchase at your office.
4.Offer sweepstakes, random rewards or special offers for a limited time only, keep your strategy fresh and exciting. Be sure to promote these types of things in different locations and track which ones get the most traffic.
5.Strategically placed messages (flyers, brochures, web banners, facebook ads, etc.) that will trigger your clients to take action.

With a little trial and error and with proper tracking of tactics tried, you will be motivating your massage therapy clients to action in no time.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Jayne

Motivation is the key to getting the massage therapy practice you desire. The only way to continually accomplish goal after goal is to believe in yourself and that you can make it happen. Here are 10 tips to keep you on track.
1. Get inspired every day. Read about people who made it. Sign up for a daily affirmation. Listen to inspirational speakers. Look around your world and be inspired by the people who are most important to you.
2. Find a “talk it out” buddy or professional. Working one on one with a trusted mentor can be a wonderful way to figure out methods that will help you gain the type of practice you desire. Should you hire someone, though, be sure you don’t hire them for anything long term, until you have a session or two to make sure your styles mesh.
3. Know why you are doing what you are doing. Clarifying your goals by writing them down is the best way to keep you on track. Know why you want to accomplish what it is you want to accomplish and what will happen when it becomes a reality.
4. Don’t listen to your own self-doubt. If you are aware that self-doubt is normal for most people at least some of the time, you may be able to recognize when this is happening and be able to have a system to stop it before it gets out of control.
5. Accept you aren’t perfect. Don’t get side tracked if you mess up. Just accept that this sometimes happens and get back on track immediately. Beating up your self accomplishes nothing.
6. Visualize your goals. Take a few minutes each day to close your eyes and see exactly what it is you want. The better you can see this future, the more likely it will become a reality.
7. Create a daily goal journal. Get into the habit of writing down your daily goals. Prioritize what you plan on accomplishing every day. Keep track of what you have accomplished and what came easily and what was more of a challenge.
8. Compete against the best. Decide who you think is the best of the best in your area and do everything in your power to do it better. Competition can be a wonderful motivator.
9. Tell the world about your goals. Tell everyone you know what you plan to accomplish and when you plan to get it done. Holding yourself accountable by announcing your intentions to the world can be a very powerful tool for self-motivation.
10. Remain positive. Stay positive even when things aren’t going the way you planned. Typically, things that may seem so devastating when they first happen, don’t actually hold all the power given to them. Try to remember that next time you are faced with crisis.

Have a great day, everyone.
Jayne

You should be using video in your massage therapy business because it can provide a way to connect with your potential/existing clients that can’t be achieved with text. Video allows a much more intimate means of communication because of the way you will be able to show how massage can help with their problem (stress, pain, etc.) and how their problem will be effectively solved by you. In addition, your videos can bring quite a bit of traffic to your website if they are posted on the various websites dedicated to videos.

Here are six steps which should help make your massage therapy video marketing efforts more effective.

1. Make people curious enough to keep watching
•Include music to make your video more exciting and memorable (Use your search engine to find royalty free music you can purchase.)
•Try to avoid shooting in front of a blank wall. Go outside or shoot in your treatment room.
•Keep things moving.

2. Cultivate Credibility
•Tell your personal massage therapy story (why you entered the field, how massage affected your life, etc.) to create a relationship.
•Explain how you have assisted people in the past with your services.

3. What’s in it for me?
•Put yourself in your potential clients’ shoes and ask what is in it for me and offer a solution to their problem.
•Create a teaser, explain what they will get if they keep watching (Example: Keep watching to learn how you can earn an added bonus when you book a massage session with your name or your business’ name)

4. Reveal and resolve the problem
•Appreciate how the problem burdens their lives.
•Talk about their problems in a laid-back, easy-going manner to put a potential client at ease.

5. Engage and educate your audience
•Explain the progress you will personally use to assist with their problem.

6. Gently press your potential client to take action
•Attach a deadline to your offer or only allow a certain amount of new clients to take advantage of the offer.

Don’t be afraid to test the waters and try making a video or two. It won’t be as hard as you think it is. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Jayne