Making Social Media Work for You

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

We discussed autoresponders in the last blog posting. The are many ways to follow up on potential clients – Studies have shown it can take up to 7 times of reaching out to a client before he or she will schedule a massage session with you. By sending out scheduled articles, messages or offers to your email lists with your autoresponder, you are able to accomplish this without investing tons of time. Here are some other uses for your autoresponder to help grow your client lists.

• Your Newsletter – Start a special opt in specifically for your newsletter. Show an example of your current newsletter on your opt in page and allow existing clients to automatically receive your newsletter. If you offer a quarterly newsletter, take the time to set it up for the entire year and you won’t have to think about it again! This is a great way to keep in touch with your existing client base without being overpowering or overly aggressive.
• Articles – You can distribute valuable content at your web site by automatically offering articles. If you feel that you don’t have time to write articles consistently, search “private label articles” in your search engine of choice. You will find hundreds of articles that you can purchase usually very inexpensively. Another option is to find a client who is excellent at writing articles for you.
• Use in your email signature file. Your potential clients will instantly receive your information without you having to lift a finger.
• Place on massage therapy related bulletin boards and discussion lists to again reach out to potential clients looking for more information about massage therapy.
• Offer coupons, discounts or special offerings (weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc.) with an autoresponder to existing clients.
• Marketing Materials – Place your autoresponder address in printed or online ads.
• Instead of answering every client question that’s e-mailed to you, publish “Frequently Ask Questions” in autoresponder format.
• Create a quiz about massage therapy in which clients will have to sign up to your autoresponder to get the answers and be eligible for a prize. You can set up your autoresponder to give them the answers and a confirmation of their entry.
• Some autoresponders have the capability to send out a greeting to your clients on their birthdays. If your autoresponder does, take advantage of this option.

There are more ways to use your autoresponders then listed here. Feel free to post other ideas if you have found other ways that work for you and your massage therapy business.

Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone!

Jayne

Reaching out to clients consistently is an excellent way to build relationships and trust, but trying to do this with everyone on your email list, in an organized fashion, can get down right overwhelming. (As a massage therapist, you already have so many other things to do!) One thing that can help tremendously is the use of autoresponders.

An autoresponder delivers email instantly. It works 24 hours per day delivering your information without you being at your computer. You just place the information on your autoresponder and when your client or potential client requests to get that information (by signing up or opting in), it will be handled automatically for you.

You have the option of using free autoresponders. Most of the time the free ones will have ads attached to them and won’t offer all the features you would probably want once you get more comfortable with this and your email lists get larger. Typically, full service autoresponders will charge you a monthly fee and the price will vary depending on the features you would specifically need or want. My recommendation is to play before you pay for one. It isn’t hard to change or upgrade later.

In our last blog (Email 101 – Part 2), I asked you to start writing 6 sequential emails and this is the reason why. Using an autoresponder, you can send your follow up messages automatically at predetermined time frames. For example, you could choose a different article every 5 days for up to 30 days. If you have 6 articles that work well together (Examples: how massage positively affects each system of the body, aromatherapy of the week, etc.) or weekly specials your business offers, you set the autoresponder up one time and the clients who request this information will get the 6 different messages without you doing any other work.

It really is that easy. Start playing with autoresponders. Next time we will discuss other ways to use autoresponders and features you may want.

Have a great day, everyone!

Jayne

In the last posting email etiquette was reviewed.  Let’s continue the discussion now with steps to take to reach out to your email lists effectively.

First and foremost you must decide exactly what it is you want to accomplish with you’re email campaign(s) (the emails you send out to your email lists).As a massage therapist, you have a few options that can be considered.

Educate your lists. For example:
1. Benefits of massage, how it positively affects every system of the body
2. Massage modalities available and how they differ
3. Essential oil of the week or month – benefits, how to use, when to use
4. Self care tips – self massage, relaxation technique, etc.

Build a relationship with your lists. This option relies on the concept that if your clients feel they have a relationship or an “in’ with you, they will likely stay a lifelong client. Ideas are:
1. Offer incentive rewards, such as, massage discounts for 3 referrals
2. Hold contests for massage or massage related products

Strictly sales contact with your lists.
1. Massage therapy specials being offering
2. Gift certificate promotions
3. Info about other items you sell, such as specialty oils or supplements

Once you have decided which way best fits you and your practice, start writing articles or formatting schedules that will allow you to always have at least 6 sequential emails to send to your lists. (In the next posting, “autoresponder emails” will be discussed. You will understand why multiple sequential articles are important.) What this means is if you decide to educate your clients about the benefits of massage, choose 6 body systems, do the research and write a short, simple, teaser that is then linked back to the place (web site, facebook page, blog, etc.) of your choosing.  It is imperative that you include a link back so that the recipient is on the page that will entice them to do whatever it is you want them to do next, such as book a massage, buy a gift certificate or other product.

If you feel like you want to tackle all three of the above options, go for it.  Just don’t get overwhelmed.  Until next time, get busy writing.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Jayne

You set up your contact info capture forms. You have been collecting emails for weeks, months or even years.  Do you know what to do with them? Launching an email campaign can be a very effective way to get your message across to your massage clients list.  Before we even begin to discuss an email campaign launch, let’s start with the basics – namely email etiquette.

Tips:

• All caps in an email convey that you are shouting! Avoid them.
• “lol” (laugh out loud) or other acronyms (or emoticons) are never appropriate in an email.
• No one likes chain letters, spam, etc. Don’t forward them. Junk mail is useless.
• Remember that emails are read without the recipient seeing your facial expressions or hearing the tone of your voice.  Because of this, humor and irony can be misunderstood.
• Your subject line should read like a headline. Be specific.  Remember, people get many, many email messages. Don’t let the one you send get overlooked.
• Large attachments to your email may keep it from reaching a recipient. Learn how to compress your files.
• Use spell and grammar check just like you would with any document.
• Short paragraphs and blank lines between each paragraph make it easier for your email to be read. Use numbers or bullets to mark each point as separate.
• Always check and recheck that your email is being sent to the appropriate person.
• Create an e-mail signature for all your outgoing mail. Think of it as your personal business card.

And, of course,

• Never, ever reply to SPAM! It will only lead to more SPAM, or worse a virus. Delete the message and be done with it.

Next time – How to Launch Your Email Campaign

Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone!

Jayne

The key to using social networking properly for your business is to develop a strategy that will allow you to get your message out and interact with your connections effectively.  One thing that is an absolute necessity is time management.  Sometimes while engaging in social media, time can pass very quickly.  Don’t spend countless hours wasting time.  This is not how you will build your client list!

Be honest with yourself.  Exactly how much time per day do you have to spend on networking?  Once that has been determined, plan a time schedule that will allow you to stay on track. An example could be:

• Monday – Friday: Single facebook/Twitter post at 9 am, Noon and 4 pm (allow 5 minutes)
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: Respond directly to messages and comments at 8 am and 2 pm (allow 15 minutes)
• Mondays and Wednesdays: Follow up with “retweets/reposts” and thank people who “retweeted/reposted” for you (allow 15 minutes)
• Fridays: Post video and article links about massage therapy for your followers (allow 15 minutes)

Again, this is just an example. Trial and error will be necessary at the beginning to see if you, in fact, can accomplish all you need to in the allotted time frame. There are time saving applications/tools/programs that allow you to link some of your social media needs.  Utilize your search engine using the keywords “time saving social media tools” to get some ideas.

Remember that making relationships takes time. It isn’t necessarily important to have high follower numbers. It is more important to have a network that is full of people that engage with you, your information about massage therapy, and your business.

By developing a time management strategy, you not only become more effective at using social networking venues, you’ll also get the added benefit of alerting your followers to look specifically for your post.

Enjoy the rest of your day, everyone!

Jayne