Planning a winning marketing strategy to have your spa stand out among the rest is a crucial process for generating high foot traffic through your doors. You already know what makes your spa different from your competitors, now you need to put strategies in place to properly share that “why” with your community.

Keeping up with the latest and greatest marketing trends can feel like a full-time job. To help take the guesswork and brainstorming off your plate, we’re sharing the 5 must-have marketing strategies you need to have in your spa.

You might be thinking to yourself that you already have this strategy covered. If you have your accounts setup on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, you’re on the right track, but there’s much more to social media marketing than just a presence for brand awareness.

What organic strategies are you implementing to use your platforms as a conversion method for spa bookings and retail sales?

As engagement between consumers and brands continue to rise, let’s talk about my winning DM strategy.

DM stands for Direct Messaging. Most often used on Instagram and Facebook, the DM is an opportunity for you to engage and nurture a potential customer through personal conversation. Plus, clients will feel seen and heard, while you will be generating new clients and business.

Here’s how I recommend getting active and consistent in your DMs:

1. Be First! While watching Instagram stories from other accounts, send DMs in response to your ideal clients and other brands or businesses to begin relationship building.

2. Insert a Call-To-Action (CTA) on social posts: “DM me PEEL to learn more about chemical peels.” Use a word that relates to the sale you’re trying to make. When a potential customer DMs you “PEEL,” this is your opportunity to follow up with the sales process of booking a service and selling upgrades.

3. Use DM stickers on Instagram Stories. Make it simple for people to engage with you. The DM sticker gives a clear CTA of how they can learn more from your spa.

Email marketing is a strategy that continues to thrive because of the ability to have full control over your list and the messaging you send out.

In a digital world reliant on algorithms, the ability to have control over who receives your promotions in their inbox is a valuable tool (check out this Email Marketing 101 podcast episode!)

In spa, it’s recommended to send out consistent newsletters once a month to keep your clients informed on all the happenings.

The biggest recommendation is do not make it all promotions based. A good rule of thumb is to make the newsletter 80% value, 20% promotions. 80% of the content should be educational, inspirational, or entertaining to your clients. 20% should be promotional - asking them to buy a product or book a service.

You can start building a list by adding an email list signup on your website and gathering email addresses when clients book services at your spa.

As an expert in the beauty industry, you have educational value to offer your ideal clients beyond the treatment room.

To help reach a wider network of people and build more authority for your brand, consider launching one of the three:

• Blog
• Podcast (listen to this episode to learn how to launch a podcast for your spa!)
• YouTube channel

What do all 3 of these options have in common? They are top strategic marketing channels for establishing your authority, growing your audience, and driving your sales engine.

Whichever option you choose, all three are an opportunity to spread your expertise to more people and yet another outlet for ideal clients to find you, get to know you, and ultimately book a service at your spa.

This type of marketing is a partnership between a brand and a person who retains a loyal following on social media. Forbes describes influencer marketing as “the influencer promotes the brand's products or services through various media outlets such as Instagram and YouTube.”

This is different from celebrity endorsements because influencers are people who built a following through their niche and became a trusted authority on the subject. Listen to this podcast episode to learn more about influencer marketing. 

Influencers don’t have to have millions of followers to have an impact for a brand. As a brick and mortar business, you can tap into micro influencers in your area that are community leaders to promote your spa. You can pay them or offer to trade services if they are also small business owners. 

This strategy will help you launch a brand ambassador program filled with trusted community members that have a decent size following in your area. 

Bonus Tip: Make sure you give each ambassador their own specialized code to keep track of who books appointments or buys products from influencer marketing. 

The last must-have marketing in spa is a no-brainer: a referral program.

Tell your clients: Refer friends and family to my spa and I’ll offer you XYZ. The incentives are usually discounts on products or services for a specific amount of referrals.

This loyalty program is a guerilla marketing tactic that encourages people to spread the word about your spa for free.