Being Personable, Personal and Showing Personality - Should Integrative Waves Show the 3 Ps?

People like to read interesting blogs that are well-written and entice them to continue reading. What comprises this type of article? Often, the writer includes a personal touch so their personality shows through their writing. However, is this appropriate all the time? Should every article  be personable so that the reader feels like they know the writer? Or are there times when information needs to be presented in an impersonal way?

So the question is - How personable should Integrative Waves be in its blog? Hmmm...

Integrative Waves is a wellness practice - a very hands-on, touch oriented practice. One of the goals is to have people relax when they visit in person. So why would Integrative Waves not want people to relax and enjoy reading when they visit our blog?? Our words on-line should produce the same healing results as our hands do in person. Of course, unlike the physical visits where clients often fall asleep (a desirable response), viewers falling asleep reading our blog is NOT a desired result!

One of Integrative Waves' objectives is to educate. It has been found that people learn better when the information is presented in an interesting manner and if they can relate to it. They can relate better if they feel they can develop some sort of a relationship with the writer. In my opinion, it is important for Integrative Waves' writing to show personal touches and personality.

However, does including personality mean that serious subjects cannot be discussed? I do not believe that this is true. As a registered nurse of many years, I found that many difficult discussions regarding health were dealt with better when the healthcare professional, whether it be an MD or RN, showed some of their personality. People felt more connected and comforted than with someone who just stated the facts.

When a blog is written as though the writer is having a conversation with the reader, it can effectively impart both the personality of the writer and the information, whether serious or more lighthearted. By its very nature, a conversation is looking for a partner. Will YOU be Integrative Waves' partner in conversation???

Twitter Tweeting - Who should Integrative Waves Follow?

Twitter is a very interesting and fun social platform. Tweeting is definitely an art and Integrative Waves is exploring all the ins and outs and ways of tweeting. 140 characters total helps one to communicate precisely, creatively, and without verbosity!

However, an important consideration for Integrative Waves is the purpose for being on Twitter. How can Twitter be used most effectively to promote Integrative Waves? The question is WHO to follow and HOW to find them!

So lots of decisions....

I used both the search and advanced search functions to search for different people and businesses to follow. It was an interesting but a bit frustrating task working out the keywords and search terms. Perseverance was definitely needed!

The first word I used was 'Facials' since Integrative Waves performs many types of facials. This was NOT the best word as I found out - a few of the first tweets to appear were very graphically tweeting about a different type of facial - related to sex! Hmm, I thought, probably not the best word for Integrative Waves to use....

The search words I ended up using were 'Lipedema', 'Clinical Aromatherapy', 'Lymphedema', 'Professional Skin Care', 'Beauty in San Diego', and 'Lymphatic Drainage'. These search words are all related to the business practices of Integrative Waves.

The people and businesses found and chosen to follow were a diverse range. Focusing on San  Diego first, one was a local competitor, another a friend and holistic business owner, and yet another was a potential client. Others were an aromatherapy school, an authority on Lipedema, a specialist in Lymphedema, and a skin care school owner who is on the California Board of Cosmetology.

Decisions made but now I need to assess.......

Is this a good group to follow? Have I chosen well? Will they help my business grow? Will their tweets be interesting? Will I be able to 'retweet' them for my clients or use their information in other ways?

Many questions with no answers at present. After decisions, patience is next......

Visual Media - Will it Work for Integrative Waves?

Will the visual platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr work for Integrative Waves? Will they help or hinder the brand that is Integrative Waves? Will the use of videos, photos and other images effectively promote this business?

I pondered this question and deliberated..... Finally I decided I needed some help. I looked at other businesses who are similar to Integrative Waves to see what and how they were using visual platforms to promote their businesses.

I actually had a very difficult time finding another business which is very similar to mine who actually used much visual media. Integrative Waves is a wellness practice run by a solo practitioner. I looked for other solo esthetician practices or small full service salons. I examined many of the esthetic/wellness practices that I personally know and most used no visual media. This surprised me because facial services and products lend themselves to visual media. Some had Facebook Pages - that was the extent of their social media use. Maybe they think that their website and Facebook Page is as far as they want to go with regards to 'online stuff'. Remember wellness is a very hands-on field and social media is at the other end of the spectrum in 'hands-off' land! They may consider it too time-consuming.....

So I widened my search and turned to bigger practices... Still tough, however finally lucky!

Beauty Kliniek is a large day spa and wellness practice that uses a wide variety of visual media, some very well and some questionable.
YouTube: This business uses YouTube very effectively. Videos are used to educate regarding different treatments such as massage and regarding different conditions such as lymphedema. They are also used to advertise the salon directly speaking about the different services offered. I personally know Linda-Ann - she speaks well and is very effective in communicating and educating.
Pinterest: uses Pinterest for advertising treatment specials and the salon in general. Some of the pins are eye-catching. However, I am not sure how effective these are.
Instagram: not used. Instagram is a mobile platform only. To use this platform, this business would need to delegate someone to posting on Instagram - easy enough, but obviously not considered.
Tumblr: there are very weird posts from this business on Tumblr. Unfortunately they read as if the person who is writing is on drugs or does not write English very well. The blogs are very difficult to understand. I do not feel that this is a very good advertisement for the spa. They are also long which compounds the problem of non-comprehension. (I thought Tumblr was a micro-blogging site!). It is a pity because I believe the person has a lot of knowledge that is worth sharing. Unfortunately the writer is unable to communicate this knowledge at all well!

Bella Tosca Day Spa is another large day spa in San Diego who uses some visual media.
YouTube: this business uses YouTube for advertising the spa.
Pinterest - they have one pin which is advertising the spa.
They do not use Tumblr or Instagram.
In my opinion, this spa does not use visual media at all effectively.

Despite the mixed reviews on how other businesses have used visual media, it will work for Integrative Waves if planned out well. Through videos, we can demonstrate services and products and also educate about different conditions. Products and services can be showcased through photos and short blogs.

Regardless of what visual platform chosen, the most important thing is to be consistent, post regularly, and have interesting content! People will then seek you out.....

Are We Liking What We Are Seeing - Connecting With Visuals

Will Integrative Waves use visual platforms to market and showcase the business? How many to use - and what to use. Where does our target market look when researching businesses - that should be the focus for the decision of what we will use. Integrative Waves will definitely use a visual platform - the services and products can be promoted very easily and well through visuals.But what to use and why?

Let's look at the four main visual platforms -
1) YouTube - videos
Who wouldn't use YouTube? Especially with Google owning it! Video can help the viewer in getting to know my business - feeling as if they know me - and establish a stronger relationship. They can be inserted into the business website.When people watch videos, they stay on the website longer, assisting the stickiness of the website.
Videos can showcase my services and products in such ways as demonstrating the use of skin care products and facial massage techniques. It can also help the viewer feel as if they are seeing 'behind the scene' secrets, as if they are being included in a special group.

2) Pinterest - pinboard-style platform
People can "pin" images and videos from other websites - things that they find interesting. Businesses can link images to product pages on the business website - this can increase product sales. This platform has a lot of potential for my business but I have not used it yet. It looks fun and different and a new way for me to connect with my current and potential clients!

3) Tumblr - microblogging platform
This appeals to a younger demographic - teens and twenties - something. It is a microblogging platform where text, video, audio, video and photo content can be shared in a short blog. A lot of it is recycled.  I have not used Tumblr yet as my target market is not really using this platform. I may find more relevancy for my business as I explore this platform further.

4) Instagram - photos shared only on the mobile web.
Photos/pictures are worth a thousand words -they are very powerful! Instagram is a mobile web  platform, only available on smartphones. It is very user- friendly - snap a photo, apply a filter, and share the photo. Instagram is also owned by Facebook - a definite positive in using this platform. For a small business owner with limited time, this platform can be used 'on the go', which is very appealing.
My services (such as photos of facials) and products (such as photos of essential oils and skin care products) lend themselves well to this platform - these can be made to appear very appealing and pleasing to people's senses and make them want to investigate further.

The most applicable visual platforms for Integrative Waves are YouTube, Instagram, and Pinterest. The underlying message for all of them is to keep it simple, interesting, and visually appealing so that viewers will want to engage further with Integrative Waves!

Looking to the Future in Facebook

How to engage your audience on Facebook is an on-going question for all of us in business.

Integrative Waves is no different. I try to vary my posts using a variety of text-only, text with photo, and mainly photo with minimal text. I post on a variety of topics related to my business of wellness - both news and information that I feel viewers will find interesting and useful. The posts that I have scheduled for the coming week include topics such as sleep, happiness, and one of my definitions of stress relief! Previous posts have included discussing conditions that I have treated lymphatic drainage with, and a reminder about the importance of drinking enough water. Open-ended questions are asked, and information is given in a brief yet explanatory way that the viewer can quickly understand what I am discussing.....

Take a look at my page and see for yourself - do you find this interesting enough to stay around and rest for a while reading....??

Pondering Strategic Connections and the Facebook Page 'Like'.

What comprises strategic connections for businesses? What do we look for in other businesses that could help our business grow? Does it sound cynical or is it part of a healthy marketing plan?

Considering potential strategic business connections for Integrative Waves, I focused on who is my target market and what might they be looking for in other businesses.

Some of the businesses I 'liked' and the main reason for the 'Like':

• The Standing Sock -
  part of my practice involves the treatment of primary and secondary lymphedema and lipedema. This affiliation with a local compression garment store that caters to clients with lymphatic problems can help grow my lymphatic therapy clientele.
• Core Orthopedic Medical Center -
  the MDs there are aware of the results that I obtained with a client with a fractured ankle which healed 2 and a half weeks ahead of schedule after treating her with lymphatic drainage. This affiliation with a local orthopedic group can help grow my orthopedic clientele.
• Skin Inc Magazine -
  a professional magazine for the esthetics industry. This has content that I can share regarding skin care with my followers.
• Stillpoint Aromatics -
  an essential oil company who has content regarding aromatherapy and essential oils that I can share.
• Rhonda Allison Skin Care -
  one of the skin care product lines I retail - has information regarding the different products that I can share. They are also a referral source.
• Vodder Schools International -
  has information regarding manual lymphatic drainage and lymphedema that I can share.They are also a referral source for consumers searching for lymphatic therapists. 
• Beauty Kliniek -
  a direct competitor. I can see what this company is doing to engage the customers and learn from them.

This 'Like' feature of Facebook can be a useful tool to aid the growth of Integrative Waves. By 'liking' businesses who have some kind of pertinent relationship with my business, whether it be useful information to share with my followers, a competitor whose customers are similar to our potential ones, or business sites that my potential customers are using, it will help Integrative Waves to become more visible and add to the benefit offered to followers. More interesting, pertinent content can attract more followers and more interest in the business. More interest and exposure will help growth.

The Search for Facebook - Are We Reaching or Engaging?

When a business launches a Facebook page, it is for a definite reason -  to increase exposure of the business and gain new clients. The business wants to be heard and seen.

So how does this happen and how does a business know whether its goal is being achieved??

Ah, welcome to the wonderful world of Facebook Insights - the world of post Reach and post Engagement; of Likes, Comments, and Shares.  For a Facebook newbie like me, these terms meant absolutely NOTHING until this assignment made me dig further into this Facebook world.....

So I wondered how many other people had no clue either and decided to help by defining these terms in common, non-Facebook, English. (Yes I do appreciate that you, Facebook, want all of us to speak YOUR language. However, there are some of us who still want to live a normal life!)

After this defining work (excuse the pun - this article could be considered a dissertation on Facebook!), I then want to discuss why understanding all these terms must be important to a business...

So....speaking about business, let us continue!

Post Reach - is the number of people who have seen your post. According to Facebook, this number is for the first 28 days after the post's publication. It includes people viewing on a desktop computer AND on a mobile device. Your post is counted as having 'reached' someone "when the post is loaded and seen in News Feed".
O...K.....News Feed?? - a list or a collection of updates detailing 'friends' activity to give a person a quick look at what their 'friends' have been doing.

Hmm. OK, so far so good...

Post Engagement - people engage with your post and become involved by liking, commenting on and/or sharing your post - they actually do an action regarding your post.
Yep, more definitions -

Likes - indicator of how well people like your content.
Comments -  these can show how people feel about your content, products and overall your brand.
Shares - when people share content, it raises the exposure even higher to those who see it.

So why is knowing the difference important to a business?

A business needs to engage people, not just reach them. Reach does not expose your post and brand to any other person except the viewer. It does not include engagement. However, engagement does include reach. How many people saw your post and became engaged meaning they were motivated enough to take some kind of action? How many people found your content interesting enough to want to do something?

When people engage, their activity with your brand, such as their comments, appears on their timeline. This is very important. It means your post (and your business brand) also becomes visible to their friends. Post engagement is a major factor in Facebook's EdgeRank Algorithm. This determines which news feeds your posts get displayed in. This will ultimately determine how many people you will be able to reach.
The amount of the engagement with your posts can show the quality of your audience and engagement on certain types of posts can help show what they are interested in.

So how a business can use Facebook Insights to better serve their customers? 

Facebook Insights provides page owners metrics about their content. What does this mean? They can see if people are engaging with their content or just looking. If they are, what are the viewers liking? Are they just giving a quick thumbs up, or are they taking time to comment? What content are they commenting on? What are they sharing? What are they talking about?

The business can also discover at what times their audience is on Facebook. Do they respond better to content that is text only or with photos? What content obtains the most reach? What percentage of the reach audience become engaged - the virality?

The business owner can analyse this information and make better decisions about what content they post. They can modify their approach to better suit their engaged audience - their customers and potential customers - so they can engage them even more by providing them the information that they are seeking.

And isn't that what a business is all about - finding ways to provide the answer and benefit to the customer's need instead of our competitors......