Supercharge Your Massage Marketing for 2025 - Here's What's New

It’s hard to believe 2024 is ending already.  Did you meet your business goals this year? It’s a good time to get introspective and answer that question. More on that later.  For now…let’s figure out how our marketing landscape has changed.

What should you do for your practice as we move into the new year?  What’s changed in massage business marketing”

Well, we’ve seen significant shifts in marketing strategies over the past 12 months. Everything is getting more and more saturated.

Sidenote: Just the other day I was telling one of my therapist friends how I have been using Grok (X’s AI) instead of Google for most of my searches!

With that sidenote as a backdrop, here’s how the landscape has changed, and what it means for anyone trying to build or even maintain a massage, chiropractic, or any kind of bodywork business.

Google's Recent Changes

Even with the big tech changes, Google is still the primary gateway for online searches.  They have introduced some updates that directly impact how massage therapists can market their services:

• Local Search Enhancements: This is HUGE.  Google has refined its local search algorithms to favor businesses with comprehensive Google Business Profiles. This includes prioritizing businesses with updated information and positive reviews, making it essential for therapists to keep their profiles current and engaging.  You MUST be updating your profile and getting good reviews.
• Mobile-First Indexing: With more consumers using mobile devices to search for services, Google's shift to mobile-first indexing means that your website must be optimized for mobile or risk falling behind in search rankings. I have come to like some of the websites from Wix or other hosted solutions because they seem to handle mobile pretty well.  Still, like 85% of the sites we see are Wordpress.
• AI and Machine Learning: Google's AI is now better at understanding search intent, meaning your content needs to be more directly relevant to the queries people are making. For instance, if someone searches for "relaxing massage near me," having content and keywords that match this intent closely will improve your visibility.  Selecting “keywords” for your site shouldn’t be some crazy esoteric process.  You can’t overthink it.  But having consistent, well targeted content added to your site over time will feed the AI beast exactly what it wants.
• Voice Search Optimization: With the rise of smart speakers, optimizing for voice search is becoming important. This means thinking about how your services might be queried through voice commands (e.g., "Find a massage therapist open now").

Paid Advertising Costs for Massage

Advertising, particularly digital advertising, has seen its costs fluctuate:

• Inside your local geography, competition may increase or decrease. But overall, we see increasing saturation.  That means higher prices to advertise.  For smaller budgets (think under $1000/month) we’ve seen some success using Google Smart campaigns. But for anything more than like $35/day, you need a regular Google Search campaign, where we see clicks costing anywhere between $2.00 and $10.00.  It can get expensive, so make sure you know what you’re doing.
• Google’s machine learning is everywhere inside Google Ads.  This can be good, but we have seen it CRUSH campaigns.  Changing the bid strategy setting to “maximize conversion value” for example has killed campaigns.  And you change it back, and then your ads completely stop.  This is an area where you really have to be careful if you’re running your own campaigns, because Google is pushing these tools and they’re not always good!
• Niche Targeting: As targeting capabilities improve, costs can also vary based on how niche your targeting is. For instance, targeting specific demographics or interests related to wellness can be more cost-effective than broad targeting. Facebook/insta has pretty good audience targeting. A good offer to your local people DOES work.  And you can do it pretty cheap.

The Importance of a Google Business Profile for Massage Therapists

Annnnnnd….  Here’s our broken record speech…Your Google Business Profile isn't just a tool, it’s one of the most important things for you to focus on besides your website:

• Visibility: It increases your visibility in both local searches and on Google Maps, making it easier for potential clients to find you.
• Customer Reviews: Encouraging reviews on your profile can significantly boost your credibility and SEO ranking. Positive reviews act like digital word-of-mouth.
• Direct Booking: With features like Google Reserve, clients can book appointments directly from the search results, streamlining the process and enhancing user experience.
• Insights: Google provides valuable insights about how customers find your business, which can help in tweaking marketing strategies.
• Engagement: You can post updates, offers, and even respond to reviews, fostering a community around your business.

Adapting Your Marketing Strategy

Here’s a brief guide on how to adapt:

• Find a way to add new information to your website on a regular basis.  At least once a month, once a week would be better.
• Build your FB/Insta profiles. For most of our therapist friends, Meta is the place to be. Most clients are not in the TikTok demo, and LinkedIn is really not suitable for massage tehrapists to find new clients (but it could work in some cases!).  Share client testimonials, behind-the-scenes looks, and wellness tips.
• You absolutely must use email to re-book and keep clients coming back and to get referrals.  It works.  You just have to set the time aside to do it.
• You’ll be surprised at how many new clients and referrals you can get by participating in a once-a-week networking group.  Find a good local group and show up!
• Networking should not just be about getting new clients.  Talk to each other!  Find other therapists, especially in different modalities and share tips, and refer clients.  Best way is to do some trades to find out who is really good. 

Looking Forward to Success in 2025

As we roll into 2025, the key to success for massage therapists will be adaptability mixed with authenticity. Here's how to keep your spirits high and your schedule full:

• Keep Learning: Stay updated with digital marketing trends. What worked last year might need tweaking this year. (You’re in the right place!)
• Personal Touch: In an increasingly automated world, the personal touch of massage therapy can be your unique selling proposition. Personalized marketing, like handwritten thank-you notes or custom follow-ups after sessions, can go a long way.
• Innovate: Maybe it's time to try a new massage technique or a wellness workshop. One of our local therapists started doing Sound Baths a couple times a month.  It’s awesome.
• Relax, But Be Ready: Marketing can be stressful, but remember, you're in the business of relaxation. Get good advice so you don’t waste money.
• Celebrate Small Wins: Every new client, every great review, every fully booked day – celebrate! They're signs you're on the right path.

As you step into 2025, keep your approach light-hearted yet strategic. Remember, in our world of massage therapy and helping others unwind, your marketing should reflect that same ease. Here's to a year where your business not only grows but also evolves in ways that keep you passionate about what you do.

Keep your hands on the pulse of both your clients and the latest marketing trends, and you'll be well on your way to a thriving practice.

Cheers to kneading your way to success!  (Heh – see what I did there?)