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Bodywork Buddy Blog

Bodywork Buddy: business management software for the solo therapist that keeps you organized and makes tax time a breeze.

Showing posts with label internet marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet marketing. Show all posts

Thursday, August 10, 2017

The Truth in Your Marketing {Guest Post by Erin Howk}

We're all marketing ourselves every day, whether we think we are or not.




It seems there are some conflicting arguments out there over which is the correct, honest, or better way to use marketing terms to sell our services. No matter what setting you are in, you are selling your massage services to someone and need to have specific language to attract the kind of clients you want to sell to. The fallacy here, is that one way is more 'honest' than another way (assuming you are not lying about the services that you provide and committing fraud, but that's a different problem). Some feel using flowery, emotional words that do not describe accurately how massage techniques are performed are a disservice to the industry, instead a technical approach would be more desirable.  However, you are not being more honest by using technical terms, you are being specific to a different target market; those who value a clinical approach and gravitate toward that language.



The purpose of marketing is to find specific people who want what you sell
and convince them to
buy it from you.





The key here is the finding the people you want to sell to, and to do that you manipulate your words and descriptions of your product to appeal to that group.  One of the arguments in the massage community is over the term “Deep Tissue Massage” used as modality.  This term is a vague descriptor and not a specific protocol, and some feel that it should not be used to describe massage or that it “is just a marketing term”.  It's been suggested therapists should use the term Deep Pressure instead because it is a more honest description of what you're selling… but this is not true. Deep Pressure is also ‘just a marketing term’ and is no more honest or accurate description of massage.


It is equally misleading to describe something as Deep Pressure Massage to refer to pressing really hard to achieve therapeutic effect on tissues closer to the skeleton. In massage, deep refers to the location of tissue, and not the strength at which you are pressing. It isn't exactly accurate to describe a unit of force as ‘deep' either. It's much more accurate to describe this type massage as Deep Tissue Massage, because you are targeting the deep tissues of the body.  However, the public thinks you must use heavy or maximum pressure to reach the deep tissue, which is where this description becomes problematic. There are several protocols out there that achieve therapeutic effect on deep tissue without using maximum pressure. You can see that the description of Deep Tissue Massage has an inaccurate association with the amount of force, but that the public wants what you are trying to describe when you say it, so some find useful to use that term in marketing.




Photography's main
purpose in marketing
is to sell a feeling.










A “real picture” of a massage may not be what your clients want to see.


Some take issue with the photography used to market massage as being inaccurate and overly fake. Photography's main purpose in marketing is to sell a feeling. They are an impressionistic representation of your services, as opposed to a literal one. Their purpose is to tell your client "This could be you, you could feel as relaxed as this person, here in this picture". The photo does not have to look exactly what your massage space looks like, it does not have to depict what a massage session looks like in real life, and last of all it can look pretty. Pretty sells.



If you want to increase business,
the right words can make a difference.


Sounds like everything is just a big pack of lies, doesn't it? Until there is a universal definition of massage modalities that cannot be disputed, all types of massage are "just marketing". And really, marketing terms and photos can be pretty powerful. If you want to increase business, the right words can make a difference. Marketing is less about pristine truth, and more about a quick glimpse of what awaits them when they walk through the door. It's true, there is terrible photography out there. The lighting is terrible, the aperture is off, they didn't even consider the rule of thirds... There are people who use marketing to mislead, but you are not that person. There is something to be said for truth in advertising, but that doesn't preclude you from conveying a feeling.  If you have access to a good photographer and want pictures of your space, go for it… but don’t expect it to be free. As a photographer, their business is just as hard as ours to get people to pay for their hard work. However, if you need to use a free photograph, or inexpensive one and it has candles and flowers in it, that’s okay. If it gets your client in the door asking to feel like that picture made her imagine she would feel underneath your talented hands, and you can provide that, then you've reached your ideal client. She's not going to care if there aren't any flowers by her face.





There is something to be said for truth in advertising, but that doesn't preclude you from conveying a feeling.





Erin Howk BS, BCTMB
Thank you to my photography instructors for teaching me to edit in frame.


Tuesday, August 8, 2017

One Simple Trick to Get More Massage Clients Online




Testimonials and reviews help build trust with potential clients, resulting in them being more likely to schedule a massage appointment with you.

Research from Nielson reports that 88% of people will trust online reviews. In fact, many prospective clients will automatically search for reviews and testimonials about your services. Make it easy for them by displaying raving reviews right on your massage website and online scheduler!

Bodywork Buddy makes it painless to collect reviews. Once a session record is created (within 24 hours of the appointment time), our massage software automatically emails a request to the client to leave a testimonial. You can then choose to publish it to your online scheduling microsite.

Ready to give it a try? Signup for our free 15 day trial.









Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.






Sunday, August 6, 2017

Using Video Marketing to Boost Your Online Bookings {Guest Post by Sachiyo Langlois}



If you are an Ashiatsu Therapist, I am sure that you get a lot of - " So.... what do you? " or " A~shi what?" questions.

After losing a contract with a company which used to offer an alternative medicine program to their employee, I lost about 1/3 of clients. So I had all the time in the world to do something about it. 

I saw a silly family short movie that was made and posted by my friend on the Facebook. And literally I had the light bulb moment; I decided to make my own commercial video for my business.
   
First, I asked general questions to the Ashiatsu Therapists for tips and suggestions for creating a commercial video. I wanted the video to look professional (non-sexual), informative and somewhat entertaining.





I placed my dear friend (who also made the family movie) behind GoPro camera. I showed her a few examples of how other Ashi videos look and I directed how exactly I want her to capture the strokes. I brought 2 desk lamps to brighten up the room, chose a female model client who is fit and has nice skin tone without any tan marks, chose red wine colored sheets so that will pop out against powder blue walls, I wore black or green t-shirts with black capri pants so that I look professional rather than Asian prostitute look. I also included a foot washing scene, which I was so happy with avoiding dirty foot image, etc...etc...  

We spent about 1 hour for this video shooting and the toughest part was choosing only a very few good scenes so that the total length of my video would be around 1-minute. I added caption throughout the video to explain what it is, and contact information at the end. I spent a lot of time searching for how to, but I managed to create an pretty darn good video without spending any money.

3 months later, I have also decided to make a second video doing Ashi-Thai Bodywork outdoors. This one came out even better than the first and includes the water mark / my biz logo in it. If I ever get hurt and not being able to do Ashi, I may get into this.

I have released these videos on Facebook ads with a Holiday Sale and I got a great result. Also, even people from far away (like an hour away!)
came to receive a one hour massage. I think that now, most mysteries are solved... let's make an appointment. Kind of.

My Ashi video's are posted on my "Kooma Massage Therapy" Facebook page and YouTube. Youtube share can include related but inappropriate videos so I would suggest sharing them from my FB page. Please make your contact info visible in your post and don't forget to " Like" my page. :)



Ashiastu Barefoot Massage - Go Pro camera and its video editing software  
Music by Nathan Mark ( Lindsay camera girl, her husband )
Ashi-Thai Bodywork  -  GoPro camera and iMovie software. 
I used the music from the iMovie software.








Friday, August 4, 2017

Before You Email Clients, Do These 6 Things



A question came up in the Bodywork Buddies Facebook group the other day about promotional emails not making it to client's main inbox. (Never heard of our FB group? If you've had a trial account or been a BWB member, you can join and get in on some awesome convos yourself! Drama-free quality conversations about massage biz.)

If your clients are using gmail as their email provider, your emails may be ending up in their promotions tab... or worse yet, being recognized as spam and not making it to them at all.
What are some ways we can ensure our massage clients are getting our emails?

Permission

First off, make sure they actually want them. Did you ask their permission or have them opt-in for your email in some way? If you've personally emailed with them before and are just taking your contact list from your email account and creating a mass emailing, you're not technically following anti-spamming laws. If your contacts report your emails as spam, it can hurt your chances of getting to their inbox even more.

How to fix this:

  • Add an opt-in to your website and social media
  • Ask clients when they are in for their appointment 
  • Clients are agreeing to be on mailing list when they schedule online

Template Style

Another suggestion is to use the plain text option for your email template. While email campaigns offer lots of cool design templates and styles, the most proven is the plain text email. (Not only for making it into the main inbox, but for actually getting read.) Clients don't want a newsletter-style email, they actually want personal communications.

Spam filters are ore apt to catch HTML emails with a fancy design, so instead use the plain text option and make it more like you're writing a letter to a friend.

The plain text option is usually the boring one at the very bottom of the choices for cool templates. 






Links, Images, and Exclamation Points

Having lots of links and images in your email will make it look more spammy to the email gods.
Instead of loading up your email with lots of both, stick to only one link, and maybe one image.
Resist the urge to use lots of exclamation points in your title and text.


Personalize

Add merge tags to add client's name in subject line of your email.




Add merge tags to include the client's name in the body of your email.





Realistic Expectations

Keep in mind that even if your emails are getting to clients, they may not open/read them. Email campaign services like Mailchimp show the industry average so that you can get a good idea of how your emails are stacking up against others in the industry. According to this, email campaigns in the massage therapy field have about a 13% open rate. By that standard, my open rates of 30% and up are pretty great! 






Address Book

Before starting your email campaigns, send out a personal email to your clients asking them to make sure they have your address in their contacts so they are sure to get the latest news from you. Post a notice in your massage studio, mention it at their appointments when you ask for permission to email them, etc.


Quick Tip

If they have received your email in the promotions tab (or another tab), they can drag it over to their main inbox to ensure future emails are delivered there.


I've used examples from Mailchimp here, but these can be applied to all email campaign service companies. I like Mailchimp because you can have a free account with up to 2K contacts and it's easy to import your client list from Bodywork Buddy.

We're actually working to add email marketing into our online scheduling for massage therapists here at Bodywork Buddy. This is the next big feature we've been working on. It's taking some time, because if you know our system and how we operate - we're passionate about quality. With software, the end product that you see seems simple - but there's a lot of work that goes into getting it to that stage. So in the meantime, we recommend using Mailchimp. And we'll be sure to let you know when we have email marketing integrated into our system for some seamless marketing campaigns to your clients. 😀





Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.







Today's blog post was written to the beautiful sounds of 

Monday, July 24, 2017

The Biggest Facebook Setting Mistake You Don't Want to Make




This past week, I kept trying to tag a local business Facebook page in a post about how awesome they are. Facebook wasn't showing the tag once the status was posted. Then I realized there is a setting in the business page that will not allow others to tag your page.

Just wanted to pass this along in case you didn't know this was an option. You may want to make sure you have this setting set to allow people to tag your business, so when your clients brag about you on FB, they can easily send others to your business page!



Without this setting enabled, when someone tries to tag your business page on Facebook, it will only show the text and not be a clickable link to your business page. Which would be absolutely zero help to getting the word out about your business. You'll especially want this setting enabled if you offer online scheduling right from within your Facebook page. ( *Shameless Plug * Our online scheduling for massage therapists has the ability to embed the scheduler right into your FB biz page, so clients don't even have to leave FB to schedule a relaxing massage with you!)

Check out Hillary Arrieta's massage business, Gaia Bodywork, on Facebook and how her scheduler is embedded right into her business page:




Here's another helpful tip when using FB for your massage business:
When you post graphics or articles from your biz page, be sure to add a little comment in the main post encouraging clients to schedule and include the link to your scheduler. 
Keep in mind that when clients see your posts, it will most likely be from within their feed rather than directly from your page. Make it as easy as possible for them to schedule by including a link they can click to schedule. Otherwise, they would have to see your post, click onto your page, click onto schedule online, etc. Instead, just make it stupid easy with one click! :D

Amanda's business, Soothing Palms Massage, does a great job of this on FB. She shared an image from Massage Magazine, and added her own comment including her link to her online scheduler:



Speaking of Facebook, did you now we have an awesome active group for Bodywork Buddy members? If you're a massage therapist using our online scheduling, we would love to have you join us on FB!


Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist who has had a private practice since 1999 and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy massage software.
www.bodyworkbuddy.com

Iggy is the branch manager and helps keep Cindy on track with balancing out computer time with playing outdoors.









Today's post was created while listening to Amazon's Playlist '90s Hip-Hop BBQ. (We all need a break from massage music, right?!)
Happy Summer!


Sunday, May 21, 2017

Early Bird Pricing for New Massage Client Attraction Boot Camp with Gael Wood

June 1-30, 2017 New Massage Client Attraction Boot Camp

Hey there!

I wanted to let you know about a great deal for early birds registering for this massage marketing program. Today is the last day to get this deal, so if you're in need of some help with your massage business, check it out!

Last day of early bird pricing!

Sign up for Gael Wood's New Massage Client Attraction Boot Camp June 1-30, 2017 to develop your massage marketing foundation, put your business on the map, get new clients on your table, and BUILD YOUR MASSAGE BUSINESS! Tons of bonuses and live Facebook group support only available June 1-30.


SIGNUP NOW!



Tuesday, May 16, 2017

New Microsite Themes, An Editor, and Bears, Oh My!



We're excited to announce some new designs available for our online scheduling microsites as well as some other cool features and updates to the microsite area!

There are now 11 color/theme choices for your microsite. We've also added an editor to the main text area of the microsite - this means you can now add your own links, images, bold or italic text, etc in your main text.

This makes our online scheduling microsite more customizable than ever! Combined with the ability to choose a video, upload your own images or use images from our library, and add your own text, you can truly make your Bodywork Buddy online scheduler reflect your personality and your business.

Interested in creating your microsite to match the design of your website completely? We do offer individual designs as well. Contact us for pricing and details.

Not sure if Bodywork Buddy is right for you? We have a risk-free 15 day trial. I'm a licensed massage therapist myself (still in practice, btw). I get it. It's hard to switch over to a new system, or to take the plunge away from your paper book. That's why we offer the trial and will also import your client list for you. We also have amazing customer service, if I do say so myself! ;) I'll be here along side you every step of the way if you need me.

Try it free.

Oh, and I was just kidding about the bears. Don't worry, there are no bears.



Saturday, April 1, 2017

Inspiration to Blog for Your Massage Business



I admit, it took me a while to realize the benefits of blogging for business. I had always heard that we should be blogging, but I didn't really grasp the "why" until after I had started.

Have you been thinking about blogging, or maybe just wondering why it's a good idea?

Let's break it down.


Why Blog?


  • SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
    Blogging helps your site get found by Google and other search engines. Every time you write a blog post, it's another indexed page on your site. More indexed pages means more chances of showing up in search engines and driving traffic to your site. New content on your site signals to the search engines that your site is active and worth checking in frequently.

  • Educates
    Blogging is a great opportunity to educate clients (and potential clients) on the benefits of massage, any special services or offerings that you have, and overall wellness information.

  • Establishes Authority
    Your current clients probably already see you as an expert in the field, but that fact will really be driven home when you regularly blog about wellness and massage. New clients will be put more at ease seeing your expertise from your blog posts. It's easy to forget that some of the information we know after being a massage therapist for X amount of years isn't necessarily common knowledge to clients and potential clients.

  • Fosters Relationships
    Creates a two-way conversation with your clients, helping to build a relationship with them before they even step foot in your massage studio.



What To Blog?

  • Think over your past week in working with clients. What are some questions you were asked? This is a great source of blog topics and material.

  • Wellness tips and/or products.

  • Spotlight different services you offer and explain the benefits of each one. (1 service = 1 blog post.)

  • Youtube videos showing self-care tips - just add your own commentary and there's a great, informational post! Here's one that I used recently during cold & flu season, and several clients thanked me for it:



My Results From Blogging



  • After writing and publishing a post to my website, I create an email campaign to my client list and paste in the entire blog post. (My main goal is for clients to read it, but if my main goal was traffic to my site, I might only put the first paragraph of the post and then link back to my blog. Or, you could still drive traffic to your site by including the entire post and then asking them to comment on your blog.) I end the email with any openings in my schedule coming up soon, and a link to my online scheduler. These openings always get filled after my email goes out.

  • Many clients have mentioned that they love my emails about the benefits of massage and thank me often for them. Just this morning at yoga class, I saw a client and she thanked me (for about the 4th time) for sending these emails.

  • I've sold more product and have been able to educate my clients on how the products I carry can help them.



How To Get Started



  • You don't have to have some fancy blogging software to get started with reaping the benefits of blogging right away. Many website services include a blog option (Weebly, ABMP's free website, etc.) Or you can use a free service like Blogger.

  • If you have trouble thinking of topics, start with the first month's posts before you publish any of them so that you get the ball rolling.

  • Choose how often to post and stick with being consistent.

  • Email your clients / mailing list your blog post. Encourage them to comment on the post and link back to the blog.

  • If you have openings you need to fill, include those in the bottom of the emailed posts to clients.

  • Add an image! Canva is a great option to create an image for your blog posts. It's a free service and you can legally use those images on your site.

  • Have a friend proofread it if spelling and writing are not your strong suit.

Do you have a blog for your massage business? Share it in the comments, you may just inspire another massage therapist to start their own blog!





Cindy Iwlew is a licensed massage therapist and cofounder of Bodywork Buddy Massage Software.

Friday, September 23, 2016

2016 Massage Therapy Resource Bundle *ONLY 2 DAYS LEFT*




I'm excited to tell you about this great resource bundle that I've had the pleasure of being a part of! There's only two days left to get the 2016 Massage Resource Bundle.



It’s a small investment that will deliver tremendous value and new ideas to help you advance in your massage career. I don't want you to miss out.
Right now you can get over $800 worth of CEU classes, business classes, Ebooks and bonus offers for only $39.95. I think you’ll agree that is one amazing bundle!

I love that this kind of support is available now. When I started doing massage, there was little to no online support. New and seasoned therapists alike were left just floundering on our own.

Included in this bundle is my own ebook on growing your massage business with referrals, as well as a discount when joining Bodywork Buddy for your online scheduling and business management needs. (Plus LOTS of other great courses, ebooks, and bonuses from leaders in the massage profession!)


Check out just a few highlights included in the bundle:












Ok so... the countdown is on - jump on this now!


Wednesday, July 27, 2016

3 Ways to Share Client Testimonials on Social Media


Testimonials and reviews are a great marketing tool for your massage business. They are social proof of the work you do and build trust with prospective clients. As we MT's know, building that trust is especially important in a field like massage and bodywork.

85% of consumers said they read up to 10 reviews before feeling they can trust a business. (Search Engine Land)

While it's great to share glowing reviews on social media, plain text might get lost in the noise. Make it fun with images* and designs that get noticed.
*Make sure you're using images you have permission to use.



47% of Americans say Facebook is their #1 influencer of 
purchases. (Jeff Bullas




Here's a few tools to help you do that:

Canva

Canva.com is super easy and they have the dimensions for social media images all laid out for you. Simply click the first choice of "social media" to get started on your design. 




They have tons of images for you to choose from that are free and you're allowed to use. (Also an option to upgrade for more options, or choose from images with a price-per-image.) I searched "massage" and "spa" and got tons of images at $1/piece. But you could also just use one of their free graphic images.

Here's one that I created using one of their free designs:

Canva Testimonial
www.canva.com

You can download it to your computer after you've created it, and they even give you an option to post to social media right from there.






Screenshot

If a client posts a nice testimonial publicly on FB or Twitter, you could simply take a screenshot. Here's a handy site that guides you through how to do that from specific devices.

Below is a screenshot of some kind words about BWB from one of our members that was posted on our FB page. (Thanks, Mary!)

I just took a partial screenshot, highlighting only the comment that I wanted to take a pic of. (On my mac, it's command + shift + 4.) The image saves to your computer, which you can then upload to share to social media. Or if they've posted it right on your page, you can share right from within the comment itself, too.


Screenshot Testimonial





Bodywork Buddy

BWB has a new feature that allows you to easily share published testimonials from within your BWB account right to your FB page. (It also makes it super easy to collect testimonials by automatically emailing clients after their massage asking them for a review. You'll be amazed how the testimonials just roll right in!)

From within your account, from dashboard > account > client testimonials > click the "share" button next to the published testimonial you want to post > select which page you want to post it to > don't forget to add a personal note to encourage clients to schedule with you online and include your microsite link to make it as easy as possible for them!

Bodywork Buddy
Free trial www.bodyworkbuddy.com


It includes the image that you have on your microsite as your main image, and you have permission to use this image posted from BWB to your FB page. Clients can also click right into the image to be taken to your microsite to schedule or read all of your testimonials.




Cindy Iwlew is co-founder of Bodywork Buddy Massage Software, a complete online management solution for independent massage therapists that includes online scheduling

She continues to operate her own private massage practice since 1999.  www.BodyworkBuddy.com