SOCIAL MEDIA FOR SMALL BUSINESS

When you first opened your spa, chances are you had a business plan. It spelled out the details of income and expenses, employees and services, hours and location, and all the other bits of information your bank or other financial backers wanted to know. It spelled out how you would succeed.

That business plan probably also included at least a rudimentary marketing plan — how would you get the word out and bring customers in?

Well, now it is time to take your planning to the next level of detail in order for your social media marketing to succeed. Successful social media marketing requires having a plan.

1. Identify your channels. Which social media channels are you already using? Which others should you add? You don’t have to try to tackle all of them, or all of them at once. But we suggest you should at least include Facebook (which has 2.4 billion current active users; in the United States, 68 percent of the population uses Facebook, including 80 percent of Americans ages 18-49). Instagram is also a wise choice, with its visual focus and growing membership.

2. Set goals for posting frequency, followers, engagement and actions. How often will you post to each social media channel? How many followers would you like to attract? How much active engagement (clicks, likes, shares) do you want to drive? What action do you want your social media presence to generate: new clients, return visits, increased sales? Put your goals in writing.

3. Determine your specific posting schedule, complete with topics and content to include, and who is responsible for posting and monitoring for follow-up. Again, putting it in writing will help you stay on track in order to meet the goals you set above.

4. Create and schedule your social media content, both “organic” posts and paid promoted or sponsored posts. (Download our Social Media Scheduling Template for a ready-to-complete format.)

When you approach social media marketing, both paid and organic content, with a plan in place, you are more likely to succeed because you will be posting well-thought out content, consistently, in coordination with the rest of your marketing. To see how a consistent Facebook presence can impact a spa’s business, download our case study on the success Serenity Medical Spa found in just a few months time.