After hours of client service, updating paperwork and SOAP notes, and all of the administrative duties that come with managing a massage business, the last thing on your mind may be social media marketing. Social media platforms like Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter are here to stay and can be a great tool for generating new business and building your online exposure and credibility. The key to building your business with social media is content and consistency.

Questions to consider:

What makes compelling social content? Why does your client want to follow your social media account? What do you want a prospective client to see and learn about you when researching you on social media? How will your content be different than your competitors?

Topic ideas:

People respond best to social media content that is entertaining, inspiring and/or teaches them something. Share updates about your massage practice, but also incorporate tips and takeaways that your followers can use. Be a helpful resource by sharing content that your clients will find valuable. Pull articles and share messaging from credible sources, like abmp and mindbodygreen, but also write your own content. Here are some content ideas to consider:

1. Relaxation tips

2. The best ways to stretch

3. Tricks for preventing sports injuries

4. Advice about being more active

5. Health and wellness info

6. Motivational messaging

Incentivize your social community to convert

Offering your social media followers an exclusive deal a few times a year is a great way to generate social engagement, and convert your online community into measureable revenue. Massage practice management software MassageBook takes it one step further, offering a simple Facebook integration that allows visitors to your page to book massage therapy services right in Facebook.

Facebook Offers, is another conversion solution that allows you to promote your deal within the social platform as well as measure when people claim the offer. This way you can easily measure success.

Have personality

Social media users respond best and engage most frequently with brands that have personality. Share “behind the scenes” experiences, spotlight your team (when applicable), and post content that reflects your practice personality and attitude. Review your engagement metrics at least once a month to see if your content is resonating with your audience. Try out different times of day and optimize toward the best performing messages.

Free websites like Canva and Pixlr allow you to design and personalize social media-friendly images that will only make your content stronger and more shareable. People want to know that they are choosing a bodyworker with a heart and a pulse. Keep it professional, but honest and valuable.

Be consistent

Updating your Facebook page once a week and sending a tweet “when you remember” won’t create an engaged, conversational social brand. You have to make time to schedule posts, to update your clients and to respond quickly to inquiries.

Pre-schedule posts using a free dashboard like Hootsuite, especially for days when you know you’ll be too busy to login. By utilizing just an hour or two on Sunday evenings to schedule a few posts, you can begin to establish a good schedule for your page’s engagement.

By updating frequently, and with meaningful content, you will be able to get the most of out of your social presence.

Drive new business through social media

Use MassageBook’s Facebook integration tool to link your free business website listing to your brand page. In just 5 clicks you can display everything from your massage practice’s service menus, business information, reviews and even launch online booking directly into your business page.

Our software integrates seamlessly into the Facebook platform, allowing both individual massage practitioners and business owners to leverage social media as a referral engine.

We practice what we preach, visit MassageBook’s Facebook page for inspiration and ideas. Good luck and get writing!