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Has Facebook Really Helped Your Business Grow? Give Details

Hello all,

I just wanted to get different opinions on the ongoing marketing craze which is online social networking. Facebook, Twitter, etc. has become the big boom as a marketing avenue.

But my question remains, has it really done all that much into bringing you new clients? If so, HOW?

I've been on Facebook for awhile and have come to realize at least in my case, that although I have a good amount of 'friends'....how many of those I wonder are ACTUALLY FOLLOWING ME? In the months that I have been on FB, I have had NOT ONE CLIENT.

Don't even get me started about Twitter....I've had to close my account with them due to the hundreds of 'followers' that are in the prostitution biz who were spamming filthy material. Apparently Twitter AUTOMATICALLY was adding these people even BEFORE I could approve them myself. Of course I always went in to my account to delete them but it was an everyday occurence and I had to be over vigilant...I have no time for such nonsense so I left Twitter.

On Facebook, I try not to over promote my business for fear of 'spamming' and being overbearing/pushy. I post mostly friendly stuff or answering others posts in order to create a rapport with other 'friends' and on occasion post a special offer or something to promote my business.

It seems more and more however, that at the same time they have accepted me on their 'friend request' they move to the next page to delete me from their news feed, (especially if they dont know me)....If this is the case, then how can Facebook really help anyone?

I have to admit, I'm one of those people myself...If I don't know the people and ESPECIALLY if all they post is their business stuff and have no interest in establishing any type of 'friendship' or at least aknowledge a post from me from time to time, then I'm more inclined to delete them from my news feed. This is why I would think it so important to aknowledge their posts and talk about other stuff, not just my business.

I have thought of creating a Fan Page, when I become fully licensed but there again...How many 'friends' become a fan NEVER to look at your page ever again?

Any feedback or advice would be appreciated!

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Julie Onofrio on February 12, 2010 at 10:42am

Yes Facebook and Twitter are touchy subjects with me. Facebook has really helped me build traffic to my websites on massage for professionals but has done little to build my business but then again I am not doing much with it either. I find it to be really inefficient in communicating with people. You post something on your wall or fan page and there is no guarantee that anyone will see it that day or ever. Most people are friends with so many people that the list that shows up each day or each time you log on is really limited.

To me Facebook you do have to 'go after' people and I also have issues with all of your clients being friends and seeing each other on your friends or fan list even though - yes they choose to opt in. Also having them be your 'friends' allows them to see your personal life and yes even though there are privacy settings it just isn't good enough in my view anyways.

There are much better ways to build your practice and use your time I think specifically having a website that gets found for your main keywords and using your website to collect people's email addresses so you can send them a series of emails on massage and how/why it works and work directly to get them in for a massage.

Julie
www.massagecareerguides.com
www.thebodyworker.com
www.massageseattle.net

Permalink Reply by Las Vegas Massage In Summerlin on February 12, 2010 at 11:07am

Hi Laurie!

You touch on a couple great topics in your post.

I also know that you received my e-book.

Have you put in place what was mentioned in the e-book?

Why I ask is based on some of your comments above...

First and foremost, one needs to change the mindset from US to THEM.

What do THEY want? What are THEY looking for?

Are you providing a solution to THEIR problems or issues?

Are you providing quality lead-generating content getting them to inquire more about you and what it is you do?

Listen with your eyes (as we only have the written word) to what they are saying or asking for, without an agenda of 'how am I going to get this person as a client.' This point is the kicker, and most difficult task to grasp. We have to provide what it is they are looking for, not what we want to them receive.

I see this all the time face to face with actual 'listening skills,' as well as people who send me messages. They say they are really paying attention to prospective clients, actual clients, etc., etc., yet when they reply to me they don't address what I've asked and never even touch on it. This demonstrates to me their agenda. It's similiar to actual conversations. Have you ever had that happen or seen it occur? People having a conversation never listening to each other, just waiting for the 'gap' to occur where they can get their two cents worth in? Heh...I'm quite guilty of this myself at times!

Do you have your specific target market in mind that coincides with your practice? If so, are you locating these people with greetings and thank you's?

As I'm the author of the e-book and since it's all based on personal experience, it's obvious that I've had huge success with social media. Of course this doesn't mean that I've done a terriffic job translating 'how' to do it in the book ;)

Let me know what you're having difficulty with and we can address it!

Kris

Permalink Reply by Laurie Weber on February 12, 2010 at 12:49pm

Thanks Julie,
It's comforting to know that I'm not the only one having problems with this.

Julie Onofrio said:

Yes Facebook and Twitter are touchy subjects with me. Facebook has really helped me build traffic to my websites on massage for professionals but has done little to build my business but then again I am not doing much with it either. I find it to be really inefficient in communicating with people. You post something on your wall or fan page and there is no guarantee that anyone will see it that day or ever. Most people are friends with so many people that the list that shows up each day or each time you log on is really limited.

To me Facebook you do have to 'go after' people and I also have issues with all of your clients being friends and seeing each other on your friends or fan list even though - yes they choose to opt in. Also having them be your 'friends' allows them to see your personal life and yes even though there are privacy settings it just isn't good enough in my view anyways.

There are much better ways to build your practice and use your time I think specifically having a website that gets found for your main keywords and using your website to collect people's email addresses so you can send them a series of emails on massage and how/why it works and work directly to get them in for a massage.

Julie
www.massagecareerguides.com
www.thebodyworker.com
www.massageseattle.net

Permalink Reply by Laurie Weber on February 12, 2010 at 1:44pm

Thanks Kris for your feedback.
I have indeed taken steps and followed through on most of the material you mentioned in your Ebook. Especially the part where you must maintain a level of professionalism...ie, no cutsey game postings, etc, I also don't post anything negative, political or religious biased rants. I don't post pictures of me boozing it up, etc....I DO try to time my promotions so that a wide variety of people would see them and I've created my tagline to target my audience.
I have also taken others advice in niche marketing, specializing in a few areas of expertise such as chronic pain, tension. For example....once in a while someone will actually post that they have been having migraines and I''ll post back that I know how to help get rid of that with massage and to give me a call. Of course...No answer. Or one person who did respond to me that they would like to have a massage but had to be home at a certain time. I immediately said she'd be home BEFORE that time. Again...No reply.
Kris, although you said you were successful with Facebook...was this with your actual practice? Or on the sale of your ebook and marketing?
If it's the latter then of course it naturally stands to reason....Your 'friends' mainly consist of practitioners themselves who will be the ones buying your books. Is this what you mean by target marketing?
What about your private practice (assuming you still have one?) Has Facebook helped at all with that?
If so...then I should be targeting friends with whom?....Sports and fitness people? Beauty Salons and Herbal markets?
I will be honest....I've NEVER liked marketing, in fact I DESPISE it! I couldn't even sell my own mother. I never thought I would have to do it, but unless I want to work for 'the man' I see no other option. I thought that all I would need is one or two satisfied clients to recommend me highly to their friends and that would create a snowball effect which would mean I wouldn't have to sell myself, but I have a feeling that marketing and massage are going to have to go hand in hand for life.
You are so right Kris, you do have to know what it is they want and what the are looking for, but I thought I knew what it was. Who knows? Maybe THEY don't even know what they want? I live in Ohio in a financially depressed area as well as 'bible belt' who don't believe in holistic medicine or the power of touch.....this is why I took it a step further and posted the benefits of massage and how it can help them. We are not as progressive as out West so it's real difficult to get people to believe in massage. Even our doctors here have that same mindset and will send their patients to physical therapists who massage them instead of a massotherapist. (That's another thing that bugs me, but that's another story!)
I've been told numerous times and even on the Department of Labor that states how big the massage profession is going to be, but I cringe everytime I see another massotherapy business in our area shutting down.

Kris Kelley said:

Hi Laurie!

You touch on a couple great topics in your post.

I also know that you received my e-book.

Have you put in place what was mentioned in the e-book?

Why I ask is based on some of your comments above...

First and foremost, one needs to change the mindset from US to THEM.

What do THEY want? What are THEY looking for?

Are you providing a solution to THEIR problems or issues?

Are you providing quality lead-generating content getting them to inquire more about you and what it is you do?

Listen with your eyes (as we only have the written word) to what they are saying or asking for, without an agenda of 'how am I going to get this person as a client.' This point is the kicker, and most difficult task to grasp. We have to provide what it is they are looking for, not what we want to them receive.

I see this all the time face to face with actual 'listening skills,' as well as people who send me messages. They say they are really paying attention to prospective clients, actual clients, etc., etc., yet when they reply to me they don't address what I've asked and never even touch on it. This demonstrates to me their agenda. It's similiar to actual conversations. Have you ever had that happen or seen it occur? People having a conversation never listening to each other, just waiting for the 'gap' to occur where they can get their two cents worth in? Heh...I'm quite guilty of this myself at times!

Do you have your specific target market in mind that coincides with your practice? If so, are you locating these people with greetings and thank you's?

As I'm the author of the e-book and since it's all based on personal experience, it's obvious that I've had huge success with social media. Of course this doesn't mean that I've done a terriffic job translating 'how' to do it in the book ;)

Let me know what you're having difficulty with and we can address it!

Kris

Permalink Reply by Las Vegas Massage In Summerlin on February 12, 2010 at 2:23pm

Laurie: Thanks Kris for your feedback.

Kris: Most welcome!

Laurie: I have indeed taken steps and followed through on most of the material you mentioned in your Ebook. Especially the part where you must maintain a level of professionalism...ie, no cutsey game postings, etc, I also don't post anything negative, political or religious biased rants. I don't post pictures of me boozing it up, etc....I DO try to time my promotions so that a wide variety of people would see them and I've created my tagline to target my audience.

Kris: Sounds good so far, but then you mention...

Laurie: I have also taken others advice in niche marketing, specializing in a few areas of expertise such as chronic pain, tension.

Kris: For me, your line above is not 'nichy' enough! ;) Chronic pain of......? Tension.........?

Here's an example of what my buddy does:

He's into sports massage and Reiki. He attempted to go after many 'sports' and 'athletic' related venues. Well, you can't do that. (Well, you can, but have to target each individual one.) So he narrowed down to Martial Arts. Joint mobility, flexability, etc., etc. Then of course he narrowed it down even further. Each group of specific martial artists.

How about, hair dressers who are on their feet all day, and their hands and forearms are sore? Or, find very specific types of 'tension' and 'chronic pain' you mention above. You mention migraine headaches. Have you done research on who gets migraines the most? Find out all about it, then craft a message to that very specific target market.

Laurie: For example....once in a while someone will actually post that they have been having migraines and I''ll post back that I know how to help get rid of that with massage and to give me a call. Of course...No answer. Or one person who did respond to me that they would like to have a massage but had to be home at a certain time. I immediately said she'd be home BEFORE that time. Again...No reply.

Kris: Oh, I've had that occur many times myself. What I found out was that I didn't build the relationship enough, first, prior to laying on them my agenda.

Laurie: Kris, although you said you were successful with Facebook...was this with your actual practice? Or on the sale of your ebook and marketing?
If it's the latter then of course it naturally stands to reason....Your 'friends' mainly consist of practitioners themselves who will be the ones buying your books. Is this what you mean by target marketing?
What about your private practice (assuming you still have one?) Has Facebook helped at all with that?

Kris: Good point. I have several accounts, and you are on my 'massage therapist' account. I have my own personal account for clients, others for marketing to massage therapists, reiki masters, reflexologists, etc., etc.

My experience came directly from (intially) my personal clients. Just as I describe in the book. My target market is more 'business professional' people in the Las Vegas Valley. Then, I scope them out, further. What do they do all day? Are they on their feet? Do they sit all day? How can my massage assist them? Then, I begin discussion with them. Some are open to discussion, some are not. It's OK. I just keep going.

Laurie: If so...then I should be targeting friends with whom?....Sports and fitness people? Beauty Salons and Herbal markets?

Kris: Well, what do you specialize in? You mentioned above chronic pain and tension. What exactly? For me, this is a pretty broad description. Look at exactly what you do; what do you LOVE to do? What are you great at? Take that, and look then at a specific target market. What solution can you provide them? Here's an idea. I'm certain you know someone who is in business. A friend of yours. Go talk to them, interview style. Get comfortable talking face to face. Ask them what they do. Find out how your massage will benefit them. I realize this is a step further than what I mention in the e-book, but we're hands on people, so it's going to come to this sooner or later ;) Or, you get your hair done, right? (Perhaps not, but as an example.) But if you do, talk to your hair stylist. How do her/his feet feel after standing on them all day long? How do her hands feel after all the cutting and clipping and washing of her hands. How can massage assist her or him? I'll be covering this in another article coming up soon. The Facebook e-book sidetracked me for a bit, away from all the written material I'm putting together.

Laurie: I will be honest....I've NEVER liked marketing, in fact I DESPISE it! I couldn't even sell my own mother. I never thought I would have to do it, but unless I want to work for 'the man' I see no other option. I thought that all I would need is one or two satisfied clients to recommend me highly to their friends and that would create a snowball effect which would mean I wouldn't have to sell myself, but I have a feeling that marketing and massage are going to have to go hand in hand for life.

Kris: Well, you conver a lot of ground in that paragraph ;) They do go hand-in-hand, but shouldn't be as painful as you describe. I'm getting my material together as quick as I can.

There's certainly others folks here that have excellent ideas as well. Ann........? can't recall her last name, but she just posted a great blog to her website. Check it out! IMHO, we all pretty much cover the same concepts, and what works for one may not work for another. Once again, I'll send you my material once it's a bit in order.

Laurie: You are so right Kris, you do have to know what it is they want and what the are looking for, but I thought I knew what it was. Who knows? Maybe THEY don't even know what they want?

Kris: You're correct. Most don't. What we need to do is at least find out the basics and touch on each target markets 'hot buttons' to get them responding. We can work on those, together. I'm out of time now though....

I live in Ohio in a financially depressed area as well as 'bible belt' who don't believe in holistic medicine or the power of touch.....this is why I took it a step further and posted the benefits of massage and how it can help them. We are not as progressive as out West so it's real difficult to get people to believe in massage. Even our doctors here have that same mindset and will send their patients to physical therapists who massage them instead of a massotherapist. (That's another thing that bugs me, but that's another story!)
I've been told numerous times and even on the Department of Labor that states how big the massage profession is going to be, but I cringe everytime I see another massotherapy business in our area shutting down.

Kris: Understood. Let's work on it, together!

Gotta run for now....late for a meeting, and unfortunately it's not a massage session.....

Kris

Permalink Reply by Laurie Weber on February 13, 2010 at 9:07am

Thank you so much Kris for breaking this down for me. WOW! I feel like the light bulb just went off in my head!
Everything you said is finally making sense to me so much that I feel more in control of the things I need to do and have the direction now in where I need to go.
I'm so glad I've found you Kris, your generosity and loving guidance in mentoring us is so appreciated.
A BIG thank you to whomever it was that created such a useful and powerful site as this and I'm so honored to be a part of it!
This community website ROCKS!

Kris Kelley said:

Laurie: Thanks Kris for your feedback.

Kris: Most welcome!

Laurie: I have indeed taken steps and followed through on most of the material you mentioned in your Ebook. Especially the part where you must maintain a level of professionalism...ie, no cutsey game postings, etc, I also don't post anything negative, political or religious biased rants. I don't post pictures of me boozing it up, etc....I DO try to time my promotions so that a wide variety of people would see them and I've created my tagline to target my audience.

Kris: Sounds good so far, but then you mention...

Laurie: I have also taken others advice in niche marketing, specializing in a few areas of expertise such as chronic pain, tension.

Kris: For me, your line above is not 'nichy' enough! ;) Chronic pain of......? Tension.........?

Here's an example of what my buddy does:

He's into sports massage and Reiki. He attempted to go after many 'sports' and 'athletic' related venues. Well, you can't do that. (Well, you can, but have to target each individual one.) So he narrowed down to Martial Arts. Joint mobility, flexability, etc., etc. Then of course he narrowed it down even further. Each group of specific martial artists.

How about, hair dressers who are on their feet all day, and their hands and forearms are sore? Or, find very specific types of 'tension' and 'chronic pain' you mention above. You mention migraine headaches. Have you done research on who gets migraines the most? Find out all about it, then craft a message to that very specific target market.

Laurie: For example....once in a while someone will actually post that they have been having migraines and I''ll post back that I know how to help get rid of that with massage and to give me a call. Of course...No answer. Or one person who did respond to me that they would like to have a massage but had to be home at a certain time. I immediately said she'd be home BEFORE that time. Again...No reply.

Kris: Oh, I've had that occur many times myself. What I found out was that I didn't build the relationship enough, first, prior to laying on them my agenda.

Laurie: Kris, although you said you were successful with Facebook...was this with your actual practice? Or on the sale of your ebook and marketing?
If it's the latter then of course it naturally stands to reason....Your 'friends' mainly consist of practitioners themselves who will be the ones buying your books. Is this what you mean by target marketing?
What about your private practice (assuming you still have one?) Has Facebook helped at all with that?

Kris: Good point. I have several accounts, and you are on my 'massage therapist' account. I have my own personal account for clients, others for marketing to massage therapists, reiki masters, reflexologists, etc., etc.

My experience came directly from (intially) my personal clients. Just as I describe in the book. My target market is more 'business professional' people in the Las Vegas Valley. Then, I scope them out, further. What do they do all day? Are they on their feet? Do they sit all day? How can my massage assist them? Then, I begin discussion with them. Some are open to discussion, some are not. It's OK. I just keep going.

Laurie: If so...then I should be targeting friends with whom?....Sports and fitness people? Beauty Salons and Herbal markets?

Kris: Well, what do you specialize in? You mentioned above chronic pain and tension. What exactly? For me, this is a pretty broad description. Look at exactly what you do; what do you LOVE to do? What are you great at? Take that, and look then at a specific target market. What solution can you provide them? Here's an idea. I'm certain you know someone who is in business. A friend of yours. Go talk to them, interview style. Get comfortable talking face to face. Ask them what they do. Find out how your massage will benefit them. I realize this is a step further than what I mention in the e-book, but we're hands on people, so it's going to come to this sooner or later ;) Or, you get your hair done, right? (Perhaps not, but as an example.) But if you do, talk to your hair stylist. How do her/his feet feel after standing on them all day long? How do her hands feel after all the cutting and clipping and washing of her hands. How can massage assist her or him? I'll be covering this in another article coming up soon. The Facebook e-book sidetracked me for a bit, away from all the written material I'm putting together.

Laurie: I will be honest....I've NEVER liked marketing, in fact I DESPISE it! I couldn't even sell my own mother. I never thought I would have to do it, but unless I want to work for 'the man' I see no other option. I thought that all I would need is one or two satisfied clients to recommend me highly to their friends and that would create a snowball effect which would mean I wouldn't have to sell myself, but I have a feeling that marketing and massage are going to have to go hand in hand for life.

Kris: Well, you conver a lot of ground in that paragraph ;) They do go hand-in-hand, but shouldn't be as painful as you describe. I'm getting my material together as quick as I can.

There's certainly others folks here that have excellent ideas as well. Ann........? can't recall her last name, but she just posted a great blog to her website. Check it out! IMHO, we all pretty much cover the same concepts, and what works for one may not work for another. Once again, I'll send you my material once it's a bit in order.

Laurie: You are so right Kris, you do have to know what it is they want and what the are looking for, but I thought I knew what it was. Who knows? Maybe THEY don't even know what they want?

Kris: You're correct. Most don't. What we need to do is at least find out the basics and touch on each target markets 'hot buttons' to get them responding. We can work on those, together. I'm out of time now though....

I live in Ohio in a financially depressed area as well as 'bible belt' who don't believe in holistic medicine or the power of touch.....this is why I took it a step further and posted the benefits of massage and how it can help them. We are not as progressive as out West so it's real difficult to get people to believe in massage. Even our doctors here have that same mindset and will send their patients to physical therapists who massage them instead of a massotherapist. (That's another thing that bugs me, but that's another story!)
I've been told numerous times and even on the Department of Labor that states how big the massage profession is going to be, but I cringe everytime I see another massotherapy business in our area shutting down.

Kris: Understood. Let's work on it, together!

Gotta run for now....late for a meeting, and unfortunately it's not a massage session.....

Kris