SOUND BYTES
Social media expert Marc A Smith outlines the key topics he covered in three snapshot sessions at this year’s Global Spa Summit
T
echnology is changing the spa world in many ways and at this year’s GSS I touched on three major trends: net- works, social media and sensors.
Networks are composed of collections
of connections. Social networks are older than civilisation but new tools like Face- book, Twitter, LinkedIn, email and texting now make these webs of connections easy to document and collect. New tools like NodeXL make these networks easier than ever to analyse and visualise. Like a map of an unfamiliar city, social
media maps can help you fi nd the ‘centre’ and the ‘bridges’ – the core people and con- nectors – in the conversation crowds that gather around the topics relevant to you and your customers. Everyday, people are talking about spas and wellness, diet and exercise, and travel and destinations. Listen- ing to these conversations is a good way of staying connected to the changing responses and preferences of customers who are inter- ested in these products and services. Social media network maps can help fi lter
the torrent of traffi c by identifying the people at the centre of each conversation. Identi- fying these special, strategically connected, people is a fi rst step to building relationships that can help get your message heard. Connecting with new clients is increas-
ingly accomplished through social media. Getting ranked highly in a web search query for terms like ‘spa’ has become a challenge
Being retweeted is key to ranking high in social media searches, says Smith
Clients who have years of vital sign data will want to use this to improve their [spa] experience and demonstrate the progress of their therapies
but getting good rankings in social media searches is much easier. As people search for spa topics and services they oſt en ask friends and search social media services for mentions by previous customers. Getting your customers to tweet and post about your business is an important strategy for build- ing a social media profi le. A simple strategy is to use social network
maps of topics relevant to your business to identify the people in the most strate- gic locations in your communities. T ese communities might be focused on people who tweet about wellness or health and spas.
‘Following’ these people oſt en generates a return follow – the fi rst step to gaining a collection of infl uential followers who can help amplify your messages. Listening to these key people and selectively repeating (or ‘retweeting’) their best comments is a good way to ensure that your next tweet gets heard and rebroadcasted to a wider audience than you can reach yourself. Social network analysis encourages cultivating relationships of quality instead of quantity. A related trend is the rise of electronic
Mobile phones are becoming medical monitoring devices
SPA BUSINESS 3 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
sensors as part of the phones most of us now carry. Mobile devices are on a path to
become medical monitoring devices, chang- ing the level of detailed data that is practical to collect about our daily lives, habits and therapeutic needs. T e spa industry will soon meet clients who have years of detailed activity and vital sign data and want to use the information to improve their experi- ence and demonstrate the progress and impact of their therapies. Devices like the FitBit or the BodyBugg from BodyMedia are worn throughout the day to record motion and activity. T e Zeo device monitors activ- ity while you sleep, gauging the quality of your rest each night. Other services invite users to document everything they eat as part of a weight loss programme. Spas may soon have customers who will
want to share their health data records with them, and expect that their therapist will be able to use this information to know about their prior history and current issues. T is is a great opportunity to make the case for the value of massage and other spa experiences. Most people enjoy and benefi t from a mas- sage, but few document those benefi ts.
For more details see
www.smrfoundation.org and
www.connectedaction.net.
Read Spa Business online
spabusiness.com / digital 43
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