Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/81195
TELL ME … How the Internet can help grow my practice ABMP Social Media Coordinator | abram@abmp.com "People want to get information they need on their own terms, so it's vital that you are in a position to get found online when they are looking." Eric Brown, BodyworkBiz.com Did You Know? A MAY 2011 SURVEY BY PEW INTERNET FOUND THAT 78 PERCENT OF ALL AMERICAN ADULTS ARE USING THE INTERNET. AMONG 18–29 YEAR OLDS, THAT FIGURE JUMPS TO 95 PERCENT. ACCORDING TO GOOGLE, THE MOST POPULAR SITE ON THE WEB (BY UNIQUE VISITORS) IS FACEBOOK, WHICH HAS 800 MILLION ACTIVE USERS, AND 50 PERCENT WILL LOG IN ON ANY GIVEN DAY. Online marketing is being hailed as a cure-all for your traditional advertising woes—and it just might be, if you have the right plan. By Abram Herman Why Go Web? Consumer habits have evolved, and being online is now virtually a necessity. "Times have changed," says Jennie Degen of Massachusetts. "We're living in a digital era and nowadays everybody expects a business to have a website." In many ways, an online presence is starting to supplement, or even replace, word-of-mouth referrals, because being online allows for quicker connection with a wider range of people. "It's where our potential clients are hanging out; we need to be there!" says Tiffany Blackden, cofounder of ProfessionalMassageNetwork.com. "Social media is a way to have your current clients, folks who already love you, refer you to their friends more easily." And it's effective. "Nearly 90 percent of new clients who've found me did so via Google or some other search engine," says Tonya Taylor from Massachusetts. "Over the years, I've spent a lot of money advertising via fl iers, brochures, direct mail, print ads in newspapers and local circulars, etc., and all of those methods combined attracted less than 2 percent of new clients." 20 massage & bodywork march/april 2012