Here are 21 ways to market your massage therapy business for those that practice bodywork professionally. The massage therapy industry has grown excessively in the past decade and continues to be among the best in the wellness niche and human health matters. As such, there are many providers for this high demand service ranging from freelancers to large companies. As a result, the competition is always high as providers use the various tools at their disposal to get clients.
Advertising is the most powerful tool any business in any industry can use to get and stay ahead. If you are an existing company, advertising helps you grow by getting new clients and also helps you keep the ones you already have. Advertising is even more important for new companies looking to spread the word about their services to increase their revenue.
Below are the best 21 ways Massage therapy marketing can be done effectively:
- Create a blog
Create a great blog website to share information related to massage therapy. Keeping all search engines in mind, you should focus and market on getting your site to rank high on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Most people when searching for a professional service, start with the internet.
Whether it is on their phone or desktop, people are always browsing through blogs, social media, and news, among others, to help them decide on a service or product to purchase. Having a responsive, lead capturing massage therapy website for your business will help you tap into the hundreds of local searches monthly for your massage practice and create a great way to market your massage therapy business.
- Use Google AdWords and Bing Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
A great way to market your massage therapy business is using pay per click. In today’s local advertising sector, it has been proven that online PPC advertising is the quickest way to produce targeted leads for practically any type of local service or business. This type of advertising can be administered on a pay as you go to produce leads.
Also, Google owns YouTube which is becoming a great way to advertise your business via video. Both AdWords and YouTube adverts can be targeted to reach only the people and audience you want. For instance, if you only offer your massage therapy services in one city, you can target your ad campaign such that it is only displayed to people in that location. These adverts are usually affordable compared to traditional 21 ways to market your massage therapy business.
- Network with therapists and other health professionals
Do not be afraid to talk to other experts in massage therapy and health professionals to market your therapy business. By networking with other medical professionals, you get to learn from their successes and failures while also getting your name out there. If you make friends with enough people, it gets easier to get ahead.
Plus, they might recommend you to clients when they are too busy or out of town and may you as a freelance massage therapist which can help you stay busy and bring money into your business.
- Use Social Media to promote your business.
Ask anybody what they do mostly on their phone and the answer is most likely social media. Leading platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram can be used put your name out and stay in contact with your audience through Social Media Marketing.
These social media sites offer advertising services similar to AdWords where they display your advert to the people who visit such sites. Like AdWords, you can also target your adverts to people based on their location, age, hobbies, as well as, other areas of interest. Regular informative posts made consistently on social media sites is one of the more important ways to market your massage therapy business.
- Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is mostly for the small companies and massage therapists who are starting off and are on a small marketing budget. In this method, you tell your friends, family, neighbors, strangers, and everyone else you meet about your services. Have a well-designed professional business card to give to potential clients.
- Contribute to massage therapy forums
There are plenty of forums on the internet that discuss various matters related to massage therapy. Such forums are usually followed by people who are genuinely interested in therapy, in addition to people educating themselves for the service. Most of them are people who get a massage on a regular basis or people interested in starting on a massage program.
Sharing your insights on such sites and adding a link from that forum to your website and Facebook page will build your reputation as a qualified massage therapist and expert in the field and possibly gain you a new client.
- Referral Program
This is one of the best business tips for the massage therapists to try. In this method, you use your existing clients to spread the word about your massage therapy business by offering them an incentive to do so. For instance, you can offer a discount or even a free session for every new client a client brings. In addition to helping you grow fast, this method also helps you build a great relationship with your existing clients.
- Youtube Channel
This is one of the newer marketing strategies that is proven to be effective. You can upload videos on YouTube for free talking about your massage therapy business, what makes you special, and even have videos showing how you work on clients.
YouTube helps you build credibility with clients as they are able to see what they are getting before hiring you which is a powerful decision making tool if they had a few options to choose from. It is free to start a channel and is a great way to explain your business through video.
- Search Engine Optimization
This is one of the powerful tools that came with internet marketing. It is one of the most cost efficient ways to drive traffic to your massage therapy business. SEO, as it is commonly known, helps you appear in the top results when a client searches for a keyword or words that relate to the topic or business they are looking to find.
By providing good content on your website and social sites, you can rank higher organically on the search engines for free, or if desired, you can hire a SEO company to help you achieve rankings quicker.
- Flyers, brochures, and business cards
This is one of the oldest tricks in the book. It is impossible for anyone to ignore a flyer under their windshield wiper. A lot of people will tear it up on sight, but many more will keep it and maybe give you a call for their next massage therapy session.
Also, a professional brochure promoting your business is a given for the licensed therapist. And remember one of the most important 21 ways to market your massage business is to always have a business card on hand to give to someone that ask you what you do for a living.
- Seminars/Webinars
Seminars help you reach various audiences and offer your knowledge about massage therapy. You can hold seminars in schools, offices, parks, churches, among other places where people are gathered. Webinars are like seminars, but held online. Seminars and webinars help you show potential clients you know your craft which might persuade them to hire you.
- Email Marketing
One of the best ways to market your massage business and keep in touch with prospects and customers is through email marketing. Building an email list and sending out on a regular basis is a great way to market your massage business. There are many autoresponder companies that can be used to design, mail, and respond to those people you market on a regular basis.
- Offer a free first or discounted session for new clients
Even though you have to give up some potential income, this one method of marketing for massage therapist is one of the best ways to convince new clients since they have nothing to lose. The key to this 21 method of marketing for massage therapists is that you can perhaps sign up a weekly, biweekly, or monthly client. Think of it as free samples but for massage therapy. If you are good, most of the clients will keep coming back and using your service for years to come.
- Use Your Car
Did you know that you can use your car not only for movement but also as a moving billboard? Well, you can. Wrap your car in advertising material for your massage therapy business or add a magnetic sign describing your services and a contact number. This helps you spread the word about your business everywhere you go without even opening your mouth.
- Google Plus, Google My Business
Setting up and posting regularly to a Google + page is free and one of the best ways to rank your business possibly on the first page of Google or in the Google 3 pack. Getting a place on the first page of Google is the best exposure for marketing your massage business to your local community. Go here to learn how to set up your Google + profile.
- Local massage marketing sites, franchises, and jobs
There are many online local marketing sites that are free and paid and show up first page in the search engines for freelance and company massage businesses.
Some good online sites for professionally presenting yourself or company is Thumbtack, Massage Envy, Sooth.com, and Massagebook. You can market yourself part-time or as a full-time licensed massage therapist to stay employed either as a freelancer or an employee.
- Register and market your massage business through review sites
Many of these sites are popular online review sites and are available worldwide and similar to the links here pertaining to Seattle, Washington like Yelp, Thumbtack, Expertise, Indeed, Simply Hired, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, Groupon, and Monster.com.
- Subscribe and join organizations and online directories for massage therapists
MassageTherapy.com, American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA), Healthgrades, Zeel, Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals (abmp), Massage Finder, NCBTMB, and Massagetique are one of the few directories that can be used to build local citations for your business and excel your marketing.
- Massage Schools Job Boards
And do not forget to look at massage school websites for full-time and part-time job opportunities. Almost every massage school reaches out to their students and graduates and have job boards that offer a place to post resumes, as well as, have plenty of job postings that are available to anyone looking to find more marketing potential for their massage therapy business.
- Press Releases
Another great way to market yourself is through the writing and distribution of a press release on something interesting about your business. You can write about a new location, a special rate you are offering for first time customers, offering a new massage specialty, etc.
There are many services and outsourcers that offer press release marketing. Your press release will be distributed to news organizations and publications which will in turn provide more exposure for your services and one of the 21 ways to market your massage therapy business.
- Outsource your marketing
One of the best ways to get marketing done for less and by someone who does small business marketing for flyers, websites, content, and more, is to go to freelancer sites Fiverr and Upwork.com. Outsourcing will allow you to operate and market as a large company and let you do what you do best; massage therapy.
In conclusion, these are just some of the 21 ways to market your massage therapy business. With the right mindset and ingenuity you can always be inspired and motivated to keep competitively marketing your business.