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98 DAYSPA | APRIL 2014 MARKETING SAVVY • Turn up the tunes. Music is a vital part of youth culture and a powerful way to help teens relax and feel more at ease in your spa. Turn on some Top 40 tunes and let them play in the background. (Just make sure it is in a more secluded part of your spa, so as not to disrupt other clients.) • Create photo ops. Teens love posting photos, so use this to your advantage. Designate a space or room for photo opportunities that will allow teen clients to post photos of themselves having fun at your spa on Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Make sure you have active accounts set up so that young guests can "hashtag" your spa and boost your profi le. You can even offer an iPad in the waiting area onto which teens can load photos of their experiences at the spa and invite other kids to respond. Trent says that while this can be an expensive investment initially, you may be able to fi nd a local electronics store to coordinate some cross-promotion. 6 Party on. The new generation of spa-goers is one social bunch. Capitalize on this by pushing teen spa parties. Here are a few tips for making spa parties "take off": • Sharing spa time with friends for group make- up instruction, skincare demonstrations and manicures can be a great holiday or birthday treat. It's also a wonderful get-together oppor- tunity for older teens going off to college or returning home for the holidays. • Everyone loves a little spa swag, and teens per- haps even more so! Nail polish, hair accessories and/or lip balm make great gift bag items that help them vtake the spa experience home (and won't blow your budget). • Offer to take group photos that can be posted on social media sites such as Facebook or In- stagram. You'll need signed releases in most cases to post shots on the spa's social media ac- counts, but you can include those in the initial paperwork everyone fi lls out. Again, having an iPad available makes this process easy and fun for your guests. • Sweeten the deal with some bite-sized snacks. Scooops Spa stays true to its theme by offering guests ice cream after a treatment. "We want to create the perfect place to celebrate the sweetest part of still being a kid," says Storey. Deborah Stambler is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer. TEEN (AND TWEEN!) TALK Young spa-goers speak out on their spa experiences and what keeps them coming back for more. "My mom thought I should come in to learn how to wash my face properly. Laurie showed me how to do it quick and easy and told me what my skin type is. She told me how my cell phone could be part of why I get breakouts on my chin. She also gave me a shoulder massage that was awesome!" —Anna, 13, client of Waterfalls Day Spa in Middlebury, Vermont "I was never really big on facials. I have very dry skin and the teen facials that are designed for my age group typically fi ght acne and oil, and make my skin even drier. After talking to Shelly about my skin issues, she decided to change my treatment from a teen facial to a moisturizing facial. She really cared about my experience and my skin and made sure I was comfortable the whole time. My skin felt great when I walked out of there! She worked wonders!" —Lauren, 17, client of Spa Loft in Woodland Hills, California "I love going to Scooops! My friends and I all have fun when we go. I like to wear the fuzzy, comfy robes and use a strawberry fi zzball on my feet. The best part is getting ice cream while I'm at the spa. I had my birthday party there and I want to do it again!" —Kaitlyn, 10, client of Scooops Kid Spa Salon in Madison, Wisconsin Designate a space for photo opportunities that will allow teen clients to post photos of themselves having fun. © PURESTOCK/GETTY M k t g S a v v y 4 1 4 . i n d d 9 8 Mktg Savvy 414.indd 98 3 / 7 / 1 4 9 : 5 3 A M 3/7/14 9:53 AM