Spa Marketing: Essential Social Media Outlets

Here’s a look at five social media outlets you may want to consider for your business.

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Chances are you already have a Facebook page that you use to stay in contact with your clients. However, there are lots of fish in the social media sea that should also be getting some of your attention. Here’s a look at five tools that you may want to consider for your business.

Foursquare
Foursquare uses geo-location, allowing people to “check in” to their whereabouts—at work, at a local business, at a museum—both on the app and even to other outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Their friends and followers can then see where they are, which in turn gives them ideas on where they may want to go. According to Foursquare, more than 40 million people worldwide use the app, with more then 4.5 billion check-ins each day.

Businesses can use Foursquare to promote their business by offering special deals that Foursquare users “unlock” when they check in. Plus, Foursquare users can leave feedback and reviews on businesses, which is also a marketing tool for you.

For more information on using Foursquare for your business, visit business.foursquare.com.

Instagram
Launched in 2010, Instagram is currently having its heyday thanks to celebs like Miley Cyrus and Justin Beiber. Instagram is all about photos—take a photo on your phone and then upload the image through the free Instagram app, allowing you to share it with people all over. According to Instagram, the site has about 150 million monthly active users uploading an average of 55 million photos per day.

For spas, Instagram offers a unique opportunity to connect with clients through images and create an experience based on your strengths. For instance, are you currently focusing on your nailcare offerings? Create an album of unique nail designs.

For more information on Instagram for your business, visit business.instagram.com.

Pinterest
Founded in 2010, Pinterest is a self-proclaimed “tool for collecting and organizing things you love.” Think of it as a virtual scrapbook in which you can “pin” images of things that interest you, then organize them on “boards.” Pinterest is estimated to have 48.7 million users globally.

Pinterest allows businesses to connect on a different level with current clients, and expand their reach to potential clients. Pins and boards can be shared and linked back to your account. The site also has a number of tools for businesses, including promoting pins, rich pins and pin-it buttons, along with analytics.

For more information on Pinterest for your business, visit business.pinterest.com.

Twitter
An oldie but a goodie, Twitter has been around since 2006. The site is all about getting information out as quickly and efficiently as possible, which is why each “tweet” is 140 characters long or less. Twitter is estimated to have more than 500 million registered users with 340 million tweets posted every day.

You may think that if you have Facebook you don’t need Twitter, but that’s not necessarily the case. Through the use of hash tags, Twitter enables you to target exactly who you want to receive the information you are sending. Additionally, when you have a cult following they are more likely to re-tweet your posts, potentially helping you expand your customer base.

For more information on Twitter for business, visit business.twitter.com.

Google+
Google+ is one of the newer kids on the block, and according to reports, it’s quickly gaining steam. According to a recent article on Forbes.com, Google+ has the second highest number of monthly users—343 million—after Facebook.

For businesses there’s Google+ Pages, where a business can create its own page, and interact with regular Google+ profile owners by sharing things, creating and joining Hangouts, plus adding people to its “circles.” All are ways to further connect with clients.

For more information on Google+ for your business, visit plus.google.com.

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