Many massage businesses have jumped into social media by creating a presence on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter with the goal of promoting their services and attracting customers. Yet, just having a presence on Facebook or Twitter isn’t enough to reach your goals.
Businesses need to maintain closer relationships with customers and understand what they’re looking for and what they can offer to fulfill customers’ needs.
Each social network has its own type of audience and culture, and businesses will find the most success if they tailor their strategies to the individual social network.
One of our customers, Kristen Haines, owner of Euphoria Spa NYC in New York City, had some initial success building followers on Twitter by using the SocialCompass app to monitor for people tweeting, “I need a massage,” and offering them a coupon to try the spa.
One happy client helped promote Euphoria Spa to her followers by retweeting a spa photo, the business’ deals and liking their tweets.
Tailoring your message to each unique network
It’s important to have a clear social media marketing plan in place and understand how it integrates with other marketing initiatives so you maximize the time, energy and money you’re investing. To be more successful with your social media endeavors, be sure to avoid these rookie mistakes:
A lot of companies simply create a business page, but that isn’t enough. Small businesses’ biggest mistake with Facebook is not being consistent with posts and not using the social network to engage with customers. Ignoring posts or being inconsistent shows a lack of communication with customers on a site tailored to creating better customer-to-business relationships. This can be especially detrimental if a negative comment about your business isn’t addressed.
You can quickly make your business’ Twitter page ineffective by just posting and not engaging with customers. Massage businesses need to join in on online conversations relating to their business and connect with consumers in a personal and direct way through @Replies and the use of popular hashtags.
A big blunder businesses make on Instagram is to post a picture of text. Instagram is all about the visual. Save the text for Twitter and Facebook. Instead of uploading a picture of a copy-heavy coupon, spas can take advantage of Instagram to highlight a specific spa product or service and then write about a special discount or promotion in the caption. In the dead of winter, for example, a picture of a hot stone massage looks pretty inviting!
Consumers want to be entertained, which makes Pinterest a great channel for accessing customers. Using a business’ Pinterest board only to share marketing materials, discounts, coupons or giveaways will drive customers away. Customers don’t want to constantly feel like they are being sold something. By creating boards and sharing pins on things the target audience is interested in, like relaxation techniques, healthy recipes and skincare products, customers will want to follow you.
Google+
The biggest mistake a business can make when it comes to Google+ is to ignore it. Google+ didn’t take off in the beginning the way Google expected, but it is quickly gaining momentum. Google+ is more visual than Facebook, allowing for a different type of marketing approach. Also, the requirement to have a Google+ account to be a part of YouTube is creating new users. Google+ currently has 300 million active users. Not making it a part of a massage business social media strategy could be a costly oversight.
With so many social media possibilities, it’s easy to take a wrong turn from effective to erroneous. Massage businesses can quickly join the ranks of social media veterans by staying on top of trends in their industry, promoting content such as tips and advice that people are seeking, and communicating good service. These are just some of the ways to stay engaged and connected with your customers on social media.
Lindsey Madison is co-founder and chief products officer for Hiplogiq. HipLogiq’s Social Compass and SocialCentiv apps help businesses find new customers on Twitter. Contact Lindsey at lindsey@hiplogiq.com or @lindseyamadison.