Features Management Marketing
Digital marketing tips for your massage therapy practice

Below are five ways you can concentrate your digital marketing efforts in order to produce better results.

1. Look for content opportunities on your site
If
you feel you’re lacking content that drives eyes, the first place to
search for inspiration is your own website. What questions do you get
asked in your practice, but don’t already have a page for? Chances are,
there are some gaps between the information on your website and the
inquiries you get directly on a daily basis. Are clients asking about
new and different massage therapy techniques? Those questions are
opportunities for new content by way of answers.

Additionally,
you likely have web pages devoted to the important keywords you are
targeting, but there is an opportunity for you to also target some of
the less competitive keywords that people search.

You can
identify these content opportunities in two ways. The first is to create
a (free) Google Adwords account and use the Keyword Tool within. This
will let you search for particular terms, find related searches being
conducted, and determine the competitiveness of the terms and their
search volume. The second option is to seek the expertise of a digital
marketing agency that can conduct much more in depth research and find
new opportunities to pursue.

2. Blog for impact
Blogging
establishes you as an authority and credible thought leader in your
industry, as well as an engaging and multi-dimensional personality that
can help underscore the ways in which you differ from your competition.
The presence of a blog also improves your search engine rankings.

If
you’re already blogging regularly, you can focus your efforts on making
your blog content more informative, thought provoking and engaging. You
can write about developing trends in the industry, you can write about
your personal journey and why you became a RMT, and your massage
experiences you’ve encountered through your travels. Rather than
thinking of a blog as a platform for promotion, look at it as a vital
way of providing added value for your readers (potential or current
clients). A great way to do this is by creating resource posts that
provide essential information. For example, you can create a list of
your favourite ways to relax and musicians who calm you instantly, or
even how to alleviate any potential anxiety for those who have never
received a massage before. In addition to being useful to readers, they
also have a much longer shelf life than other types of posts.

3. Define ROI and measurement
While
digital marketing is relatively new, there’s already traditional
thinking about measurement that is outdated. Having your website achieve
top ranking was once a priority. But that doesn’t necessarily result in
business. Having many followers or likes on your social media channels
might look great, but those optics also don’t necessarily translate into
clients. Ultimately, you want business – not optics. You want leads and
engagement. By focusing on the right metrics you will help inform your
strategy and ultimately have your efforts translate into your business
results.

4. Bolster your brand
You’re not just a
professional or a business. You are a brand. Building that brand means
increasing awareness, lead generation and, ultimately, the bottom line.
In the digital marketing space, branding is critical. Ultimately, you
want people to search for you and your practice by name because the more
that people search for you by name, the more importance and authority
search engines like Google attribute to your website. The result? Better
performance in search engine rankings and higher brand visibility.
Ways
to help your efforts include remarketing ads, banner and button buys,
and boosting your social media presence by leveraging the channels
available to you (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram) in creative
and impactful ways.

5. Reviews
Online review sites such as Yelp
are increasingly the go-to resources before making the decision to
select a service provider. The amalgamation of ratings, stories and past
experiences that people have had is becoming a highly trusted gauge for
potential clients looking to determine the value they will get for
their spend. In fact, 90% of consumers claim online reviews influence
their buying decisions, and 85% read online reviews for local
businesses. Knowing reviews impact the decision making process and help
get the word out about your practice. Encourage customers to leave
reviews and be sure to extend thanks when they do.

——
Jeff Quipp is
an expert on digital marketing. He is the founder and CEO of Search
Engine People Inc. (SEP), Canada’s largest digital marketing firm. SEP
has been on the PROFIT 100 ranking of Canada’s Fastest Growing
Companies for the past five consecutive years and named one of PROFIT
Magazine’s 50 Fastest Growing Companies in the Greater Toronto Area.
Follow Jeff on Twitter at @jquipp or connect with him on Google+.