Hey guys, welcome to Shama.tv. I’m answering a question from one of our viewers today. Janna is a massage therapist and she emailed me and she asked, “Hey Shama. I’m curious. I’m a massage therapist. I serve the local area. Is social media for me? What kind of things should I be doing and what might be the purpose of doing more marketing than just to my local area?” And so, excellent questions, especially for a local business.
So the one thing you want to think about is, even though you’re a local business, a lot of the people you are trying to reach, Janna, are people who are in, you know, are online. A lot of local people are also online, especially if you live in a metropolitan city. So my recommendation is you should have a web site by all means. Your web site is key. Social media, of course, comes later, but your web site is your platform, your foundation. I cannot stress this enough. So by all means, have your web site in place.
The other thing that I would highly look at and recommend looking into is Twitter, because Twitter is an excellent place for local businesses to get known. And, you know, people when they know you, obviously you have a chance of building a relationship with them, which I think as a massage therapist even more so. The relationship you have with your therapist is very important. So it really allows you to do that.
There are coffee shops who are doing this very successfully using Twitter to, you know, get known and hosting Tweet-Ups at their locations, so there’s a lot that local business can do. So Twitter is probably one of the best social media sites for you to be on, but only after you have a web site in place and you have some good marketing materials online in place.
The other question is very interesting that you asked me. In terms of “If I’m a local business, should I be considering doing more marketing? What’s really in it for me to get known overall?” Here’s my question to you: Do you want to be a massage therapist all your life? Is that your main… is that the main service you want to provide? Because when you’re working that way – and there’s nothing wrong with it. I think it’s an excellent profession, especially for me working my back all the time on the computer, it’s excellent when I can go to my massage therapist.
But something to think about is: Do you want to do this forever? Or do you also want to have income streams? So do you think you would ever want info products out there? I’m not sure what kind of info products a massage therapist would put out; maybe it’s “How to Correct Your Posture When You’re Using the Computer” – whatever it might be. You want to think about other sources of income as well that may be related to what you’re doing. And I think always having a community built around you – who like you, who really enjoy your work – is excellent because, I mean, it’s great for your present time because of course it’s going to get you referrals and build your business up. But it’s also good to think long-term in terms of, well, “How can I, if I’ve got this great community and they trust me and they believe me and they respect what I do, then how can I maybe take that in the future and monetize upon that?” There’s nothing wrong with that. So things to think about, and hope I’ve answered your question.
If you have questions for me, you can definitely ask in the “Ask Shama” section, and that’s, you know, up on the web site in the sidebar. Just go ahead and click and submit your question.
May 1st, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Hi Shama,
First a big congrats on all of your success! I love what you are doing & the type of person you are! You are the type of person I like to #follow.
I work with local businesses as a lead generation expert & coach but I only use the internet, search engines and social media to get these leads. And it works really great!
With social media I use Twitter and Facebook pages. I find Twitter to be the best for connecting local businesses with local clients. I recommend using http://www.twitterlocal.net and http://www.twellow.com to find locals using Twitter.
Then I set up http://www.tweetdeck.com with different columns using the built in Twitter search to keep track of locals discussing topics related to local businesses. Once you see them you can gently join in the conversation…and that’s the key…do not hard sell…offer tips, advice and create trust…once they know, like and trust you the sales will follow naturally.
I tell my clients to use their personal account but have a link to their business website in their profile. AND I tell them to use a picture of their face NOT their logo…since people relate to faces better. Also people do business with people not with businesses.
http://tweetgrid.com is also a great live feed Twitter search tool.
Last thing…with every Friday being #FollowFriday where people recommend / refer other people to follow on Twitter…I took this idea and 2 Mondays ago I started #FollowLocals as a way for locals to connect, recommend and refer other locals – I am doing #FollowLocals on Mondays so it doesn’t interfere with #FollowFriday and also to get the week off to a great start with local networking. I also benefit from this local Twitter networking I get many of my clients through Twittering locally.
I plan to also start local Tweetups with the network of locals I have made in my area.
Keep up the great work Shama and I’ll catch you online!
Please remember that Mondays are #FollowLocals!
Best,
Martin Maybruck
May 1st, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Great video, Shama, and excellent suggestions!
One of the things I would add would be to include your web site URL and/or Twitter address on EVERY other piece of literature you have: business cards, letterhead, newspaper ads, etc. This can be an effective way to build your relationship base through offline-to-online connections.
May 1st, 2009 at 12:47 pm
I have benefited from both of you, Shama, and Martin – thank you. As a recent grad I have so much to learn from people like you.
May 2nd, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Hi Shama -
I had the opportunity to hear you speak at the World Massage Conference last year. I’ve really enjoyed listening to what you have to say and am currently work on a series of continuing education classes for LMT’s (Licensed Massage Therapists) in Texas and eventually nationwide.
Keep up the great work. I’ve attached some highlights from a recent panel I participated in titled “the Art & Science of Self-Promotion.
Take care -
Scot
Click to play this video.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
For me, I want to find a good massage therapist who is affordable and who meets my need for a good right shoulder massage. Finding someone who did 15 minute massages in my community would be great because on my limited income that would be affordable. Yes, find a niche and then pass the word there are lots of folks with aches and pains that can benefit from massage, we just need to be able to find the affordable ones
May 6th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Shama,
Thank you so much for addressing my questions.
I will definitely start tweeting. As to information products, that’s something I’ve long been interested in but have yet to happen upon the right idea.
Thanks for the wonderful resource you’ve created in this vblog and in your website and newsletters! They truly are a treasure.
Warm Regards,
Yanna Loam
http://www.Thai-Traditions.com
Serving Joliet and Southwest Chicagoland
May 6th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Hi Martin,
Wow. Thank you. That was excellent! : )
May 6th, 2009 at 8:23 pm
Hi Jassen,
A solid point. Thanks!
June 11th, 2009 at 7:19 am
[...] This video is from Shama’s VBlog Shama.tv [...]
July 16th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
I have to agree with Jassen. So important to let people know how they find you online. A lot of people will research you before they pick up the phone and call. So it’s great if you make it easy for them.
July 17th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Great comments. I saw this guy on YouTube using a unique video to promote himself. It’s really funny. You should check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLusnDrj6To
July 18th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Nice video, great advice for small businesses to embrace social media marketing. Liked the way you informed your viewers about the back-end, knowledge products and communities. Will follow your blog. Cheers!
July 30th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
[...] This video is from Shama’s VBlog Shama.tv [...]
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:50 am
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