DAYSPA is the business resource for spa & wellness professionals! Each issue covers the latest in skin care, spa treatments, wellness services and management strategies.
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[ 72 ] • DAYSPA • may 2017 marketing savvy by Leslie Lang Be Our Guest Hosting the media at your spa could be just the ticket to positive publicity and promotion. © GETTY IMAGES I n today's social media driven world, spa owners are turning to infl uencers and journalists as a proactive way to spread the word about their spas. By providing complimentary treatments in exchange for publicity on a writer's website, blog, Facebook or Instagram, spa owners can capitalize on a unique form of advertising. Though it isn't exactly "free marketing," off ering a comped treatment to a writer so they can spread the word about your business is an easy way to attract new customers. "It's like word-of-mouth marketing," says Tanya Gerber, spa manager at Oxford Club Spa in Denver. "These infl uencers have a wealth of readers and followers who trust their judgment and will really buy into what they post." In other words, if a writer or social media savvy individual shares about a fabulous experience at your spa, their readers may be inclined to seek you out. Inviting digital infl uencers to the spa is a cornerstone of the marketing strategy at the Four Seasons in Toronto. "It's hugely important for us," says the hotel's public relations director Halla Rafati. "The power of word of mouth far exceeds other types of marketing strategies, so when you engage social infl uencers, you're seizing upon that power." Rafati points out that consumers are typically unwilling to take chances with something as intimate as a spa treatment. "People love their regular technicians and therapists," she says. "Before anyone will even consider switching over and trying a new facility or esthetician, they look closely at peer- to-peer recommendations." And that, says Rafati, is where social media infl uencers come in. Abby Brennan, owner of Brennan Massage and Spa in Brookfi eld, Illinois, agrees that it's important to get your spa's name into local blogs, social media and in print. "If someone writes about a business, it gives that business more of a foundation and solid roots in the community," she says.