– ROSA CRAWFORD that really tap into more of a journey of wellness ,” says Crawford , adding that spas able to incorporate natural outdoor settings into their offerings are likely to draw attention from those looking to incorporate nature into that journey .
HEAD OF THE CLASS Spa and resource partner leaders alike can take advantage of a more wellness-focused audience , but only if they can effectively educate that audience about which services and products are likely to serve their particular wellness goals . This education can be delivered in any variety of ways , but Crawford cites Instagram ’ s versatility and emphasis on visuals as particularly effective for sharing expert knowledge with your guests and social media audience . “ It ’ s not the only very valuable social media platform out there , but it is one that I think , if utilized in a certain way , can really generate sales withing the spa and wellness industry for productor service-based businesses ,” she says .
There are two keys to education in this space , as Crawford explains — the first is leaning on the credibility you and your team have established as experts in your field .“ The quality of that content is really important to look at . People are often really , really interested in you as an expert ,” she says .“ Whoever ’ s behind the Instagram [ account ], whether it ’ s an enormous marketing team or just one spa director , I think you can embrace the voice of authority on the matter , be it why you ’ ve just introduced a new treatment or what , specifically , it ’ s targeting .” And though social media has a reputation as a space where brevity and attention-grabbing hooks are the primary currency , educational posts can — and should — be more robust .“ I think these types of posts are worthy of longer captions as well , and [ they can ] be more in depth ,” says Crawford . Authoritatively sharing the expertise you and your team have acquired in your roles can be the spark that brings a curious individual into your spa .
Crawford advises most clients to dedicate a quarter of all posts to educational output and emphasizes the need to maintain a truly educational — rather than sales-focused — tone in those posts . It ’ s not always easy .“ Some individuals find it comes really easily to them to write content that is educational , and for some people , that ’ s absolutely not the case . They might be writing content that is of a greater entertainment value or finding their voice slips automatically into the voice of promotion and sales ,” she says . If that tendency rears its head , ask for a fresh set ( or fresh sets ) of eyes to make sure the post strikes the right note .“ Planning ahead and making sure you ’ ve got this balance of content is really , really important .” In other words , let promotional posts be promotional , and let educational posts be purely educational .
SMALL SPEND , BIG IMPACT For businesses without deep marketing budgets , determining where and how to best allocate funds given the myriad platforms available to choose from can be one of the most challenging parts of creating an effective plan . There are , however , ways for spa industry businesses large and small to make the most of their spend , according to Crawford .“ Making sure that you ’ re highly tailoring to your audiences and thinking very carefully about which content you ’ re sponsoring , if your budget is limited ,
30 PULSE n NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021