Social Media

If you've heard of our amazing Facebook Sweepstakes capabilities but have been hesitant to try it out, we've made it even easier.

First, we have a one-page guide to success for your first (or fortieth!) Sweepstakes using our experience with small businesses all over the country:

Facebook Success Guide

Included on that guide there is a perfectly summarized video you can watch in under 3 minutes that shows you the simple process of setting up a Sweepstakes.

Now, get going and grow your Likes!

Posted in Creating Customers, Social Media, Spa Marketing • 2 Comments »

We have all recently realized just how close we are to Kevin Bacon, but did you know that now, thanks to Facebook, you might be able to reach him in just over 4 Facebook friends? Whew, good to know and just in time for the remake of Footloose!

Marking the distance between ourselves and others is a very human characteristic. One of the best ways for spas and salons to connect the distance between the business and consumers is by utilizing social media as a networking advantage.

With the holidays upon us one of the quickest and fastest tools to build buzz and generate interest in your Spa /Salon’s holiday gifts is through social media, specifically Facebook.

Facebook is the quickest and most expedient way to share information about your services and holiday gift solutions with a much larger audience now more than ever before. Think about this example – I send my best friend in New Hampshire a gift certificate for her birthday, she posts it on Facebook; her sister-in-law who lives in Spain, sees the post, and buys a spa package gift certificate for the two of them to use while she is visiting over Christmas. What could be better than free advertising, a returning client and the purchase of a larger Christmas package gift certificate? Facebook makes the connection that easy.

You may not like the idea of Facebook, or use it personally, but don’t you want to reach those potential spa and salon goers who are talking about their next purchase, hair cut or service treatment? And who knows, maybe Kevin Bacon will stop in!

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Social Media, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing • Comment »

It's going to be an epic Cyber Monday, with $1.2 billion in online sales expected today. Mobile sales are a growing portion of online transactions, fundamentally changing holiday shopping and bringing an extra dose of revenue to savvy, mobile-ready retailers. Smart phones have changed our purchasing behavior forever. The number of consumers using smart phones to purchase gifts is expected to double to 14.5% this holiday.

SpaBoom's Dynamic Websites can automatically detect a smartphone user and deliver an optimized mobile version of your website. Your address becomes a link to Google Maps so customers can find you, and your phone number becomes a link so they can click to call you. Best of all, unlike creating a separate mobile website, the SpaBoom mobile version of your Dynamic Website is great for SEO (search engine optimization).

So what can your spa or salon do to catch more smart phone consumers sales this holiday?

Provide Stellar Customer Service

During the holiday many stores are too busy to provide customers with great customer service. Make sure your spa or salon is ready with superior service this holiday . You are a service business so use that to your advantage and shine above the rest of the fray.

Check Online Reviews Daily

Take a look at your spa or salon's online reviews every day. If you need to address any last-minute issues do it right now. You don't want to lose a sale over a bad review.

Create Simple, Valuable Promotions for Customers

Spas using the strategy outlined in our recent article on great Last-Minute Cyber Monday Ideas are generating up to 80% more business than a similar promotion from last year. Click here to see how you can set one up too.

Reward Social Media Use

Encourage your clients to check-in on Facebook at your business and give them an extra incentive when they do it. This targeted marketing will increase your online visibility with friends of existing customers.

This Cyber Monday 17.8 million people will use their phones to shop for deals and your spa or salon needs to be ready online to deliver a great experience and stay top-of-mind throughout the holiday.

If your site is not mobile optimized give us a call today!

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • 2 Comments »

I received an email today from Amazon, inviting me to enter their sweepstakes on Facebook to win a Kindle. Over four weeks, they are giving out 4 Kindles plus 3 to the friends of the winners.

So, I can go to Facebook and Like Amazon, then enter the sweepstakes. Guess how many people Like Amazon right now? 1,686,315 (Scratch that.  Since starting this post they are now at 1,689,515.) Now, that might not be nearly the same number as those that have entered the contest, but really, what kind of odds does that represent? That's about a 1-in-fuggedaboutit odds. I might as well buy a lottery ticket. (Or just buy a Kindle. Perhaps that's the real hook.)

However, YOU can give your clients what they deserve — both the amazing gift of YOUR services, and a real actual chance to win. If you have a few hundred Likes, or even a few dozen, or a few thousand, the clients that enter your sweepstakes using the BoomTime Sweepstakes feature, they can count on having a fighting chance on seeing some gift certificate joy.

Now, that's something to get excited about.

Feel free to tout this very sentiment when you promote your Sweepstakes – use my words all you want. I won't mind.

Posted in Creating Customers, Social Media, Spa Marketing • Comment »

Need some effective and engaging social media tips to quickly incorporate into your holiday marketing plans?

Blue Glass blogger, Kerry Jones, offers up 60 creative social media tips that will help you connect and share your unique brand of spa or salon this holiday season. Some of her tips are more applicable to spas and salons than others but her blog post will get you thinking about new ways to add social media to your existing marketing strategy today and throughout 2012.

SpaBoomer's have access to powerful tools to promote great deals so think about running a BoomTime Deal during the holiday. It's easy to set-up and will get your clients excited about your holiday promotions.

A holiday Facebook Sweepstakes takes about 5 minutes to set-up and allows your spa or salon to gather new Facebook fans in a short amount of time. It's viral in nature; the sweepstakes application creates an incentive for existing fans to invite new people to increase the chances of winning. A more robust fan base means more people get your Facebook posts on their news feed during the holiday. In addition, when someone enters your sweepstakes they provide an email address and can give permission for your spa or salon to market to them. Those new email addresses go directly into your SpaBoom account. That means a new set of customers will see your holiday promotional email campaigns.

Use Facebook and Twitter to promote your spa or salon as a gift-solution center. You can promote treatments, product/service packages and create the awareness that your business offers a last-minute gift solution with Instant Gift Certificates.

Posted in General, Group Deals, Social Media • Comment »

Or maybe we should just say, "Let the real you shine through!"

More and more businesses are hiring out their social media management, often with mediocre or just plain dismal results.

Why doesn't hiring a 'pro' for this work?

Your social media audience, particularly your Facebook friends, want your thoughts, your expertise, your style, your viewpoint out there, not some canned copy that's being used repeatedly and which means, well, certainly less than what you have to say.

SpaBoom takes all the pain out of keeping it real out on Facebook-your posts are created automatically, and reflect exactly what you are featuring and promoting at any given time, so it's always all about your newest news.

3 Social Media Blunders To Learn From, on OpenForum.com, elaborates in Blunder 2:

So put the "real" you out there or you may find your following shrinks, rather than expands like you'd like.

It'll be time well spent.

Posted in Creating Customers, General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • 1 Comment »

Imagine if you installed a phone in your place of business and invited people to get in touch with you that way. Your phone number is easily found on the internet and anyone could call. And then… you pick up the phone about one in every 20 times it rings. Crazy, right?

This is what a new survey found on Facebook business pages – 95% of posts to business Facebook Pages go completely unanswered. Wow.

Some industries are better than others (telecommunications companies tended to be at the top and they're still just 25%!). Overall, it's pretty bleak. Luckily, it is not hard to fix.

There are clearly easy ways to build your customer relationships, and social media is one of the easiest. But you DO have to pay attention. Set up a notification so that you receive a text or an email when someone posts to your Wall. If the sheer volume would overwhelm your SMS plan, you might have other issues in managing your business. A couple per day or week isn't going to put much dent in your phone usage or even your free time.

Even when someone just posts a "thank you!", or a "I love this spa!" — give them feedback.  Acknowledge and thank them for reaching out.  For actual questions or concerns, handle those as needed.  Address posts as soon as possible — by the end of the business day is best.  Keep a good track record and your clients will be singing your praises — even more than they already do.

Posted in Creating Customers, Social Media, Spa Business Management • Comment »

It's the end of September. NOW is the time to perfect your holiday marketing campaign. It might seem soon, but trust us, your clients shop earlier every single year and having your strategy in place as soon as possible will get YOU in front of their shopping list before many of your local competition. Our webinar this week is exactly what you need.

Janell and Dena were rockin' and rollin' on Wednesday, taking a holiday-hungry audience through tips to leverage your online holiday marketing campaigns, resulting in growth potential for the coming year and increased revenue for your salon/spa this holiday season.

If you could not join in for the engaging presentation, just view and download our webinar files on your own schedule — but do it soon!

Watch the Video: Ignite Your Holiday Revenue for 2011

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Posted in Creating Customers, Holiday Promotion Brief, Social Media, Spa Gift Certificates, Spa Marketing, Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO), SpaBoom Webinars • Comment »

Huzzah! If you had to suspend a Sweepstakes, please contact support to start it up again. If you weren't running a Sweepstakes — well, why not? Now is a good time to start one.

Posted in Social Media, SpaBoom System Events • 5 Comments »

Well, Facebook hasn't fixed the bug that caused our Sweepstakes app to stop working, so we've been busy totally re-writing the app. We're testing now and expect the fix to be available soon.

Posted in Social Media, SpaBoom System Events • 1 Comment »

Facebook introduced a bug yesterday that prevents your clients from actually entering your sweepstakes which pretty much defeats the purpose of running them. While we're working on a way around this issue, we've made it so you can't create a new Sweepstakes event. Sorry about that but it's for your own good. If you are running a sweepstakes right now, please contact support for options. Stay tuned for updates!

Posted in Social Media, SpaBoom System Events • Comment »

Research demonstrates that optimistic feelings induced by mild everyday, positive events, like congratulating a sweepstakes winner, can have a significant influence on social interactions and our overall thought processes.

Often people won't enter a sweepstakes on Facebook because they don't actually think they will win. That's why it's so critical to make sure your spa announces who wins each time you hold a sweepstakes on Facebook.

When your spa announces the sweepstakes winner on Facebook it generates instant engagement and a positive impression of your spa brand. Because winning is a true possibility, the announcement creates a tangible and affirming experience with your spa.

Fans who enter your spa sweepstakes get to see who wins, the winner loves to share their excitement using Facebook’s handy social interface and lastly, it is the perfect medium for friends to congratulate the winner giving your spa incredible social media reach.

We've had tremendous success with the Joy of Spa sweepstakes on Facebook because once the winner is randomly chosen, a Facebook post is generated linking to the winner and congratulating them on their win. The congratulating comments and likes begin to flow in from fans, friends and family creating a wealth of additional exposure for the brand.

Cloud 9 Spa Salon had a very successful Sweepstakes before Mother's Day. When it was all over, they posted the name of the winner and kept the Mother's Day excitement going with another promotion. In the end, Cloud 9 Spa and Salon had 1,346 people register for the sweepstakes. Those registered then invited 4,857 of their friends to become fans of the Cloud 9 Facebook page.

The morning after your sweepstakes ends, the winner will be randomly chosen. If the winner is a friend that was initially invited by someone else, then the person who invited them wins, too. Make sure you are ready to give away up two GCs, as you indicated in your initial Sweepstakes Event setup.

The winner(s) receive an email that contains a referral code that was generated by the Sweepstakes. Here is an example of the Sweepstakes winner email:

The winner simply clicks on the email link to claim their gift. They can use it themselves, or gift it to someone they adore – it's totally up to them. They'll be happy, and you'll have new clients to wow with everything that you offer.

You can monitor the sweepstakes event to see the number of entrants, friends invited and, once it's over, the winners in Events in the left sidebar. Included are links to the winning client(s) and the referral codes sent to them; the referral code detail will show you the value of the referral code and whether or not it's been used.

Setting up and running a sweepstakes on Facebook is super straightforward. We know that growing your Facebook fan base is key to your spa, salon or massage therapy practice's social media management and SpaBoom gives you a super easy way to do that!

Facebook is such a valuable medium because it's built around social communities, a foundation that businesses can use to extend the reach of their brand and engage with fans. The very fact that clients become fans of your Facebook page validates your business to their friends just by interacting with you.

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • 2 Comments »

What have you shared today?

Using social media to engage with clients and share information, video, new products, a great event or a new blog article is growing exponentially. We know that top spas in the country use SpaBoom's built-in social media tool to take advantage of social sharing and maximize their reach as part of an overall integrated marketing strategy.

According to Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, online sharing is growing at an exponential rate, a record 4 billion shares every day on Facebook.

750 million Facebook users spend more time on the site and each user shares twice as much as they did last year with approximately 2 billion shares per day in 2010 and 4 billion per day in 2011. Does that mean there will be 8 billion shares per day in 2012?

Spas and Salons must think about offering products and services in a social way and in conjunction with their overall marketing strategy. Facebook is the platform for sharing experiences, ideas and suggestions with friends and family. If your spa is not actively participating in that conversation it will be pushed to the margins.

It has never been more critical for businesses to be part of the conversation and that means doing more than using social media as a means to disseminate your latest offer or promotion. You must consistently and effectively communicate value in a way that engages and encourages your clients interact with your spa or salon brand.

Start Sharing Today:

• Create a social media schedule by picking a spa or salon industry topic that you can use to engage with clients each month (not a promotion but a topic).
• Look online for relevant articles, video, images, opinions or your own original blog articles to post to Facebook and Twitter.
• Use SpaBoom to schedule multiple social media posts in advance.
• Next, highlight a treatment or event that will complement your monthly spa or salon topic.
• Ask for feedback and respond to comments in a timely manner.

Congratulations, you have just created the base of a social media strategy for your spa or salon. 

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • Comment »

Flawless Skin Spa is set for growth here in New Mexico. We don’t always get to see spa clients take their first steps with such panache and style but they are doing everything right. Flawless Skin Spa specializes in advanced skincare and they have differentiated themselves with an inspired membership program that rewards loyalty.

Our graphic designers are raving about the Flawless Skin Spa logo because it’s clean and modern, by all measures fitting their business concept perfectly. The logo has the ability to evolve and develop significance as they establish their local brand in the community.

Ernest Hemingway taught us that getting the most from the least multiplies intensity. The contemporary look of the Flawless Skin Spa website exemplifies that ideal. Their strategic use of white space is clean and distinctive, a complement to their modern aesthetic.

The Flawless Skin Spa has launched their social media presence on Facebook and Twitter. This will help them build valuable connections in the local community and will evolve as they see their fan’s reactions to specific content, events and promotions. All their marketing efforts will continue to create a powerful synergy that extends their reach and delivers positive results.

The power infused into a spa brand over time is what gives it value. It’s cumulative, each spa experience, image, marketing communication, employee interaction and news item influences the way consumers think about your spa. You start with a blank slate and build each time you send an email or touch a client; all those collective impressions build in significance and ultimately acquire a representation of your spa brand.

In an increasingly social world it’s no longer just what you communicate that defines your brand, it starts and ends with the experience clients consistently have with your spa. Whether you participate or not consumers are talking about your business, using social media to review and discuss your brand. Make sure you’re part of that conversation by listening, engaging in the online dialog wherever it resides.

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing • Comment »

We are so excited that many of you could join us to talk about how to reach your spa or salon clients where they are most accessible — their mobile phones.

Janell and Seth went over how text messaging is one of the quickest ways to encourage action with your existing client base – text messaging directly to your interested clients, right from your SpaBoom account. Not only that, getting the word out to your own employees about last minute scheduling or other important news is a fantastic feature.

If you missed all the fun, just view and download our webinar files and catch up on your own schedule – but do it soon and capture some hot summer interest.

Watch the Video: Text Messaging to Increase the Bottom Line

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Posted in Social Media, SpaBoom New Features, SpaBoom Webinars • Comment »

You might have missed your chance to take in the webinar about secrets that helped local spas and salons execute successful online promotions and drive more sales than they ever imagined.

Seth and Janell used three wildly successful promotions as examples – what made them blockbusters and how you can easily implement similar programs in your spa or salon.

If you missed all the fun, just view and download our webinar files and catch up on your own schedule.

Watch the Video: Three Successful Promotions with Big Results

Download and follow along with our presentation [PDF]

Posted in Creating Customers, Group Deals, Social Media, Spa Marketing, SpaFinder • 2 Comments »

Everything you need to know in 2 ½ minutes

SpaBoom's Client Services group enjoys nothing more than walking our clients through various features so they can get the absolute most out of SpaBoom. A great call is one that ends in a client saying, "Thanks! I've got it! I'm all set and ready to promote that new service. Appreciate your help!"

We also work hard on our Help files, so you can find what you need there, too. We want you to have not only access to tools that help you effectively market your business online, but also guidance to use those tools to their fullest.

Now we're creating Video Tutorials for those of us who like being walked through a feature, regardless of whether we're at our desk at work or at home late at night in our 'jammies preparing for the next day!

Our first video, Sweepstakes on Facebook for Spas, takes you through the super straightforward steps in setting up a Sweepstakes for your spa, salon or massage therapy practice in just 2 ½ minutes.

We've also added a complete description of Spa Sweepstakes for Facebook on the SpaBoom website, complete with this video, for your reference.

Give the video a watch, and tell us what you think! We're producing more as we speak, and will let you know as they're ready for prime time.

Posted in Social Media, Spa Marketing, Spa Technology, SpaBoom New Features • 7 Comments »

Consider that 60–93% (depending on who you read) of the United States adult population is on Facebook, and the average user spends more than 11 hours a month on the social network. One out of every eight online minutes is spent on Facebook (according to ComScore). Today, an effective Facebook page is  a critical component to any spa's success.

So you need fans (now "Likes") but how do you get them? Start by asking the question every new potential friend will ask you, "Why should I like you on Facebook?" So I will get 9 posts a day about open appointments, specials and the owner's political views?  With friends like that, who needs telemarketers? Rather than using Facebook like tired old media, invest the time to understand its true potential.  If Don Draper was using Facebook, he would understand that a business page is only effective if it's a place to engage, inspire and enrich the lives of your fans.

So how does a local spa business effectively and efficiently use Facebook to engage with their community of followers? The key is to focus on providing valuable content and exciting promotions that will keep them coming back.

Provide valuable content fans can share.

Facebook has made it very easy to share content online and it’s increasingly becoming the consumer's preferred vehicle for distribution. Make your Facebook page a resource for obtaining the latest information on spa, salon, beauty and health. There is an abundance of this content online so search for it and then post it on your Facebook page (with proper credit of course). Encourage your fans to read, share and comment on the information you provide to them.

If you get inspired to write a spa article based on your expertise, post it to your spa blog and on your spa’s Facebook page. For instance, it’s wedding season so write a short article about hair trends you are seeing or outline a bride’s ideal pre-wedding spa experience. Consistently give them insight and guidance they couldn’t get elsewhere and they will keep coming back.

Encourage fans to comment on Facebook posts.

Studies show that simply asking for comments up front will increase the number you receive. Make sure you follow up on all the comments that your loyal fans post on your spas Facebook page.

Powerful promotions increase fans and revenue

Promoting a sweepstakes on Facebook isn’t for big companies any more! SpaBoom’s new marketing feature makes it super easy for spas to deliver a sweepstakes promotion on Facebook.

The goal of sweepstakes is to increase your followers but it has a side benefit of collecting email addresses. Recently Cloud 9 Salon and Spa doubled their Facebook fans using the sweepstakes marketing tool we created for our spas.

Focus on your spas local brand.

Yes, Facebook now has 700 million users worldwide but you are a local spa and most of your followers live in your community. It is the connection you have with your clients that will ensure that your online engagement thrives. Your Facebook page is an extension of your day spa or salon, not a substitute for the experience they want to have in your business.

How dialed in are you to your local community? Do they know and love your spa? Is your business committed to giving back locally? The strength of your local brand has a direct impact on your ability to find success on Facebook. Make sure you respond to all the comments on your Facebook page quickly and remember to say thank you. It will go along way in getting your community tuned into your online message.

It is all about building connections with your online and offline community that will build success long term.

Posted in General, Social Media • 4 Comments »

Many spas have taken the time to create a Facebook page for their business. But did you know you can personalize it with a custom web address, commonly referred to as a vanity URL?

Taking time to create your Facebook vanity URL is worth the effort. It will help the SEO value of your website and make it easier for consumers to find your business on Facebook or Google. A URL with your name rather than a jumble of letters also creates a more professional Facebook page and gives your customers a familiar address that ties in seamlessly to your spa.

Bella Santé Spas have locations in Boston, Lexington and Wellesely, Ma. They are a great example of a day spa business that has taken advantage of the opportunity to create a Facebook vanity URL.

Their Facebook URL is: http://www.facebook.com/bellasante, and it's super easy to search for them on Facebook. If you type in Bella Sante Spa they show up immediately.

When I do a Google search for Bella Sante Spas, their Facebook vanity URL shows up in the search results:

To create a Facebook vanity URL for your spa's business page you must first choose a username for the page associated with your spa's business and have at least 25 fans. Make sure you choose your spa's business name so it is easy for consumers to find you on Facebook and will show up in organic search results.

Click here to get started!

Posted in General, Social Media, Spa Marketing, Spa Search Engine Optimization (SEO) • Comment »

People have Profiles and businesses have Pages. But in the rush to use Facebook, or because Facebook hasn't always made the difference very clear, many spa owners have used their personal Profiles for their spa's presence on Facebook.

Previously, there wasn't any great way to fix this, other than to create a Page for your spa and try to get your fans to like your new Page. Now, Facebook has a solution, letting you convert your Profile to a Page.

The downside is that you'll want to download your personal information first, because you'll need to create a personal profile again after the conversion. Even though it's a lot easier now, is it worth the trouble? The short answer is yes, for two big reasons:

• Using a Profile for a business is a violation of Facebook's terms of service. If you lose your account, you lose all of your fans.
• Facebook is becoming a whole new marketing platform for your spa, and that's all dependent on being a Page. For example, all of SpaBoom's great Facebook capabilities require that you have a Page.

So, it's time to bite the bullet and make the conversion. We're happy to help you get Facebook straightened out: call 800/940-0458 or us.

Posted in Social Media • 1 Comment »