Marketing and PR

In terms of social media marketing, Facebook and Instagram are the most used platforms by spa respondents, at 97 percent and 79 percent, respectively. More than half of spa respondents reported they do not use LinkedIn (52 percent), Pinterest (59 percent) or Snapchat (64 percent) in their company’s marketing efforts. On the other hand, the majority of resource partners use all social media tools mentioned, in addition to Twitter. The largest segment of resource partner respondents said that Facebook and Instagram were ‘very effective’ tools at 38 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

The most notable change is Instagram, which was still in its infancy in 2012, is now used by 80 percent of all spa respondents and 76 percent of resource partner respondents. Facebook saw slight growth as well with 98 percent using it in 2017 compared to 93 percent in 2012.

To succeed in social media in 2020, set realistic, specific and measurable goals. Are you looking for awareness, click-throughs to your website or social shares? Write it down. Then, follow these nine steps for social media success.

Spas around the world spent a significant portion of 2020 working to prepare for reopening. Grappling with the always-evolving challenges of the COVID-19 crisis meant implementing new sanitation protocols, rethinking budgets, streamlining the guest experience and, in many instances, simply finding a way to survive. Of course, the goal of all that hard work was to create the kind of safe, relaxing, rejuvenating environments that have led millions of people to make spa visits a core part of their wellness routines.

Broadly speaking, that goal has been achieved. Most spas are open, and guests have returned. Despite limitations on occupancy, many spas are even hiring therapists and service providers to keep up with demand. After lockdown periods ended, avid spa-goers were eager to receive the services and treatments that they had been forced to go without.

But what about the portion of the population that doesn’t already have an established spa-going routine? What about those who are enduring the strain and stress of life during the pandemic but haven’t yet sought relief in the form of a spa visit? Attracting the uninitiated and transforming them into repeat spa-goers may be a critical component of the spa industry’s road to recovery. Thankfully, those first-timers are a group that is never very far from the minds of spa leaders and their marketing teams.

It goes without saying: to grow your business, you need to have effective marketing. Whether it takes the form of an email campaign to recapture existing clients, creating positive word-of-mouth among hotel staff or using Instagram to reach a wider audience, marketing is a skeleton key to unlock your spa’s growth potential.

It’s not always easy, though. Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. SEO. Email. Print. Content marketing. Lifestyle marketing. Direct marketing.

There’s a lot to take in. How do you sort out what’s necessary from what’s just fluff? To get the bottom of the issue, Pulse spoke with three ISPA member spas who make a point to be mindful about how they market their spas across a range of platforms.

If someone had walked up to you at the ISPA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas last September, and told you how much our lives were about to completely change, would you have believed them? I don’t think I would have! Let me ask you this: Just as you’ve had to evolve the way that you live and work and eat and learn—have you also evolved the way that you are now posting about your business, your brand, your products and services?

As you have probably noticed since reopening your spa, what “worked” pre-COVID-19 doesn’t exactly translate in these emotional, tumultuous times. But there’s good news: the world needs the health and healing benefits of the spa industry now more than ever before. (I just had my first (masked) massage in four months and it sounded like some-one was stepping on plastic bubble wrap packaging! It was incredible!) Friend, if you’ve found yourself stuck with pandemic posting paralysis, it’s time for you to take an hour and per-form a social media scan to make sure you’re on track in today’s pandemic world. Here are five questions to guide you through this critical marketing exercise.

Monthly Snapshot Surveys provide ISPA members with a valuable look into the state of the spa industry, spa industry trends and help to identify the needs of spa professionals. Snapshot Surveys are conducted on the third Friday of each month, with full results provided only to respondents two weeks from the release date of the survey. Knowledge is a valuable tool and these quick surveys provide a wealth of information shared by ISPA’s members. The September Snapshot Survey requested information from spa members relating to marketing.      The most popular advertising methods that ISPA spa members currently use include email (91 percent) and social media (93 percent). More than half of spa members are advertising in magazines (52 percent) relying on print marketing.  The advertising methods that are used the least by ISPA spa members were targeted IP address advertising (12 percent), television (14 percent), and billboard advertisement (18 percent). Among resource partners, email (90 percent) and social media (88 percent) were the most popular, with billboard advertisement (3 percent), radio (1 percent), television (3 percent) and newspaper (6 percent) being the least popular. 

However, as we move toward a digital future where technology advances such as virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) quickly becoming mainstays, capturing the imagination of a generation of “cord-cutters,” and “cord-nevers” will prove to be a big challenge for digital brands. But this is where “influencers” can make a big difference to your marketing efforts. 

When LinkedIn first came into the scene in 2003, several professionals thought of it as an online resume. Today, it is more like a personal branding platform—one that provides you with visibility and the opportunity to connect with like-minded industry professionals.

As spa directors continually search for ways to create authentic experiences for their guests while also increasing revenue, many have decided the best way to do that is by tapping into local resources. Businesses need revenue-boosting partnerships to succeed, and spa directors have decided that looking at local resources does that and also distinguishes them from their competitors.

In many Native American communities, for example, medicine bags represent more than a place to store medicine. It’s something much deeper. It’s a connection between a person and the world. It’s about maintaining harmony with the physical and spiritual realm.

These factors enable me to help you understand two things. Firstly, why are we millennials so challenging to communicate with? Secondly, how can the modern spa professional use social media to be more successful? 

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Referral program are being used significantly more by day spa member respondents than resort/hotel spa member respondents (64 percent and 16 respectively).  Loyalty cards and points systems which result in discounted or free treatments or products are two of the most popular programs being used. Other referral incentives included giving customers free upgrades on services, gift cards to redeem for the products or services and percentage discounts on services and treatments.

Thirty-five percent of all spas reported they do not recognize customers who refer a new client in any way. Nearly half (48 percent) of all resort/hotel spas stated they give no recognition for referrals, with day spas reporting this number to be much lower at just 20 percent. The most popular means of recognition reported was expressing gratitude in person the next time the customer visits the spa, with 42 percent of all spas using this form of recognition.  An large majority of all spas (81 percent) reported that they do not have any sort of incentive in place for employees who refer new clients.