Advice From Industry Experts
November 11, 2024
The best people to ask for massage marketing advice are successful massage therapists. Even in the worst of times, there are ways to grow. If you’re struggling, we have some new ideas for you. We reached out to the massage community to find out how they were marketing their businesses during the pandemic. Their ideas are even more useful now that those days are behind us. Use these massage marketing ideas to take your practice to the next level.
The most innovative ideas are often the result of major challenges or setbacks. The shutdown in 2020 resulted in massage therapists around the world abruptly closing their businesses temporarily. With no plan for how to pay the bills, therapists had to think on their feet.
We asked massage therapists what they were doing to keep their practices alive, when they were forced to close. Their unique marketing strategies worked. In fact, many massage practices came back stronger as a result of it.
Those massage marketing ideas are still useful tools for growing your practice today. In fact, now therapists are in a better position to fully utilize the force of these novel ideas.
Hands-on work isn’t the only thing massage therapists have to offer. During the pandemic, massage therapists were forced to be innovative. They had to devise new ways of serving clients they couldn’t see in person. They found new ways to connect and serve their communities.
These ideas are still applicable today. In fact, you can use them even more effectively now. Their massage marketing ideas can get you more clients, enhance the benefits of massage, and add additional streams of revenue.
In this article we’ll break down each section to help you succeed!
Massage therapists can offer virtual wellness seminars. Companies are always looking for ways to improve the happiness, productivity, and well-being of their employees. They often bring in educators for their employees to listen to as training, moral boosting, or simply a benefit.
Wellness seminars can be a live virtual training or a video presentation. In-person training is an option too, if you want to go that route.
Massage therapists are excellent resources for self-care exercises for employees. You can create a presentation to help employees prevent repetitive strain injuries or reduce physical tension in a stressful work environment. Corporate chair massage clients are good businesses to market wellness seminars to.
You can also create virtual classes for individuals, and turn your massage website into a membership website. Get creative. Think of things you can teach a group of people like stretching, movement education, or meditation.
Want to add value to massage services or justify a significant price increase? Add client education to your sessions. Tack on an extra 10 minutes to walk someone through self-care suggestions, or send them videos of exercises for their specific problems after their massage.
Clients want your insight, not just your special touch. It’s this sort of thing that will get you more referrals. During the pandemic, Stephanie looked through recent client SOAP Notes. Then, she sent YouTube videos that might help clients when they weren’t able to get a massage. That meant so much to the people who needed her.
Cindy, from British Columbia, created weekly challenges for her clients. She shared self-care tips, meditation app recommendations, and YouTube videos for physical activity. Clients appreciated her research and the value she offered.
Here’s a sample email you can use to send self-care recommendations. Customize it, so it reflects your own practice and what’s going on in the world today.
A great way to get involved in your community is by sponsoring local sports teams. Don’t think of the minor or major league ball teams; think more along the lines of “beer league.” Donate to the team in exchange for them marketing your business.
If you have the massage marketing budget to sponsor a team, it’s an opportunity to expose your brand to many active, local people. Plus, there’s no doubt a few players will get injured during the season. You could be the one that gets them back out on the field.
Here are two different ways sponsorships can work:
Have your name printed on the team’s jersey in exchange for offering the team a discount on treatments.
Give the team cash upfront (usually around $200) that can put towards purchasing equipment and uniforms. In exchange for your sponsorship, ask the team to hand out promotional material for your services to every team they play. Make sure it’s clear that you can treat sports injuries on that marketing material.
People are more likely to do business with companies who support good causes. When customers know a business cares about more than just making money, they spend more. Bombas, an apparel company, donates an item to someone in need for every purchase made. As a result, people are happy to pay for those expensive socks!
Madison, from New York, started a pay it forward campaign during the 2020 shutdown. Everytime someone purchased a massage gift certificate from her, she bought a gift certificate from a local restaurant that was also closed. Her mission was to support the local economy during a very difficult time.
You can use this idea in your own practice by donating a portion of your sales to a local charity. Pick an organization who does work that’s important to you. Share your intentions with your clients via email marketing campaigns and social media. You might be surprised how many people want to help you raise money for your cause.
Hannah, from Ridgeway, Ontario grew her online presence by giving people a reason to engage with her on social media.
"I've decided to do a giveaway for a treatment. I emailed all of my existing clients letting them know how to enter, as well as posted across all of my social media platforms. They have to follow my page, like the giveaway post, and tag 3 friends.”
Hannah also asked people to share how massage has changed their lives. This massage advertising idea did more than grow her social media following. She collected tons of reviews and testimonials from her clients. Every person her clients tagged on her post was essentially a referral.
What we learned from all the massage therapists we talked to was that creativity will take you far. Crafting new promotional ideas and services should be an on-going part of your massage practice. Not every idea will render good results, but you’ll be 1000x more successful if you at least try.
Once you find something that works, work to make it better. When you’ve maxed out what you can do with your current massage marketing strategies, it’s time to add new ones!
If you are ready to level up your business, you need a massage therapy software solution that can support your business needs. Cli
ClinicSense is a comprehensive practice management software designed specifically for massage therapists. Apart from managing client data, appointments, and billing, the platform also offers several features that can help with massage therapy marketing. For example, ClinicSense's automated email and text message reminders can help to reduce no-shows and encourage clients to book follow-up appointments. The software also includes a customizable online booking system that allows clients to book appointments directly through the therapist's website, making it easy to attract new clients and increase bookings. Additionally, ClinicSense provides tools for creating and sending targeted email campaigns, enabling therapists to stay in touch with clients and promote special offers or events. Overall, ClinicSense is an excellent tool for massage therapists looking to streamline their practice management and boost their marketing efforts.
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