Using the Internet to Attract New Clients – and Retain the Old

As massage therapists trying to make a living at a profession we love, it is often challenging to continually try and entice new clients to our practice. There are the tried and true methods of handing out business cards wherever we go, attractive brochures and free chair massage at community events. But with the increased awareness surrounding social media and wed-based services, many more tools are becoming available. Learn how an Internet presence can help clients find you and increase your business.

Was marketing your practice part of your education at massage school? Depending on when and where you went to school, how to promote your practice may have consisted of a class or two, or maybe a semester of how to put together an effective brochure, create a business card and even how to go out into the community participating in special events such as store openings or local seasonal festivities. If you went to school more than five years ago though, you probably didn’t learn much about how an Internet presence can add to your cache of marketing tools.

There are some tried and true tools for making your practice more efficiently with regard to record keeping, such as customer data bases, SOAP notes and inventory control. Harder to find are sites that offer a way to help potential clients find you. Much of the time you may rely on word of mouth – current clients spreading the word about your good work and perhaps potential clients feeling your touch first hand at community events.

It is important, though, not to overlook the power of the Internet. On popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and others, you can reach a national or even global audience, depending on your needs. At first glance, seeing that may make you think it is not appropriate for increasing your client base ,which is local and maybe no more than, at most, 25 miles away from where you practice.

But more and more there are ways to utilize the services of the Internet to connect with those in your geographic area – companies that offer an easily searchable database of bodyworkers for individuals seeking a local massage therapist.

If you had the time and knowledge you could try and create your own website. Ideally it would contain not only your location and contact information, but information about massage therapy as well – its benefits, when it is or isn’t appropriate and perhaps an open forum where your clients could ask questions and you, as a professional, could answer them. If you have little time and little or no knowledge of building a website, or you don’t know much about marketing to new clients – what could you do then?

One site that offers all of the above and more is The Massage Source, a resource site with listings and contacts for massage therapists in all 50 states. The massage therapist not only has an address listing, but also information about what techniques or modalities the therapist, or company, specializes in as well as operational hours. Additionally, both the massage therapists and clients are able to ask questions and receive answers from actively practicing professionals. Clients can also avail themselves of database listings of more than 100 bodyworking modalities and more than160 health concerns that may be addressed by massage therapy, along with precautions and contraindications.

The other great thing about this site is that clients can see which massage therapist has had their license or other professional credentials verified. This way they can be certain they are going to be contacting someone who has met their state’s requirements for certification, registration or licensing. Massage therapists can also list modalities they specialize in, so clients can see which massage therapists in their area have advanced skills and training or perhaps specialize in a specific population, such as those needed for prenatal massage or pre/post sports event massage.

This is such a great way to have potential clients find you, and have information at your fingertips that is easy to find and understand. For the massage therapist it is a one-stop source for listing your practice information and obtaining resource material, such as blank commonly used forms that you can personalize for your practice.

Better yet? TheMassageSource.com is free. For those of us marketing on a budget, this site could not have come at a better time.

The Internet can often seem like an intimidating and scary place, but availing yourself of tools prepared by massage therapists for massage therapists for your convenience can help to make it easy. And, ultimately, it can free up more time for the work you trained so hard for and love to do – massage. Using sites like this can help bring you new clients as well as retain old clients by offering them frequently requested information about massage and information about your practice.

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About the Author

Linda Fehrs, LMT

Linda Fehrs, AAS, LMT is a freelance writer and massage therapy professional licensed by the New York State Department of Education. She is a professional member of the American Massage Therapy Association and the New York State Society of Medical Massage Therapists. Ms. Fehrs has actively practiced massage therapy in the Mid-Hudson Valley since 2002 with a focus on those with special needs, such as developmental and physical disabilities. She is a graduate of the Hudson Valley School of Massage Therapy as well as a former instructor at the school. Prior to becoming a massage therapist she was former managing editor of a weekly community newspaper and is a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Ms. Fehrs currently volunteers with the Red Cross, helping to educate others about emergency preparedness and disaster relief.