Embrace the Digital Frontier

Every small business owner in 2024 should have an online presence, including massage business owners with a steady client base and those with great local networking skills. This goes especially for new business owners and anyone actively seeking new clients.

A solid online presence means a potential or current client can quickly search and find information about your business, connect with you easily, and find your office. The foundations of a professional online presence for your business are threefold: a website, a custom email address, and maps listings.

Website

A website with a custom domain name is important for credibility. There are affordable website options, and it's a worthy investment of your marketing budget. You can register a domain name for under $15 per year, and there are DIY website options ranging from free (Google Sites, sites.google.com) to more than $200 annually. (ABMP members have access to a free website builder. For information, visit abmp.com/members/site/setup.)

A website is your home base, a place to control and update your business information as needed. Even if you are brilliant at local networking and have a strong word-of-mouth foundation in your community, a website is the best way to help the right clients find you and keep your regular clients informed.

A solid business website should include the following five components.

• A home page that clearly states what kind of clients are the best fit for your work. The verbiage on your home page should be unambiguous. Clear statements like "Massage therapy for people in pain" or "Holistic healing for women" will attract clients most suited to your practice.
• An about page with a short biography and maybe a list of your credentials and education. It's ideal to include a quality headshot, but don't let that be a deal-breaker. Do the best you can.
• A services page that includes your pricing and a short description of each service, with an emphasis on the outcome of each service. Avoid putting your service descriptions and prices in separate places. If a potential client can't find the information they want efficiently, they'll get frustrated and move on to another website and practitioner.
• A schedule or book page to embed your online scheduling system or any instructions for scheduling an appointment. You can also put your policies and protocols on this page.
• A contact page that includes your contact information. You can decide how you want clients to contact you and include just those methods. Be clear in stating how clients should reach you. "Call or text 555-555-5555" is very clear, as is "Please call 555-555-5555. Texts are not accepted. I will return your call on my next business day."

Include your business hours on the contact page so people know when they can expect to hear back from you after leaving a message. If you prefer to avoid phones altogether, include a professional email address for clients to reach you.

Include your office address (or at least the neighborhood or cross streets) and any important instructions for finding you. If appropriate, add a few pictures of the outside of your building and your entrance.

Email

It's worth the effort and small expense to have a custom email address using your website domain. A custom email would be [email protected] versus a free email that's [email protected].

Both Google and Yahoo have tightened security, and it's much harder to get your business emails to a client's inbox when you are using a free email service. Also, a custom email address garners more credibility for your business and improves your professional appearance.

You can set up a custom email through your domain registrar or using a service like Gmail for Business (workspace.google.com). Most plans are affordable and range from $2 to $10 per month.

Maps and Listings

A Google Business Profile (business.google.com) and Apple Business Connect listing (businessconnect.apple.com) are effective at getting your business seen on GPS apps and maps. A complete Google Business Profile will also help your business website appear higher in search results.

You may have noticed I did not include social media on this list of must-haves. Having a business presence on any particular social platform could help your business if you are willing to learn it, use it, and be consistent. But it's not required to have a great online presence.

Establishing a basic online presence is no longer just a recommendation for small business owners, it's a necessity for most small businesses in the digital landscape of 2024. In a time when information is sought at the speed of a search query, your online presence can be the key to unlocking new opportunities and fostering lasting connections with clients. Embrace the digital frontier to help your business grow.