reimbursement has comprised a very small percentage of a massage therapist’s workweek for the past several years (1%). In 2020, massage therapists spent 12% of their time cleaning and sanitizing their massage room and office. 37 2F. How are therapists using technology in their practice?10 Massage therapists continue to use various technology tools with more frequency in their practices. As the pace of innovation and developments in technology continues to accelerate, and people rely on technology more in their daily lives, there are more options for massage therapists to leverage technology within their practices. Technology can be used by the massage therapist to book appointments, field intake forms, process payments, provide background music during massages, host a website, take continuing education courses online, and various other uses. Massage therapists use an average of three devices to manage their massage practice. Devices used by massage therapists in their practices 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Figure 25. Technology used by massage therapists for their practices Kindle or other e-reader 5% Windows tablet 5% Mac desktop or laptop 31% Android tablet 14% Other mobile phone 6% Android phone 37% iPhone 64% iPad 38% Windows desktop or laptop 55% Highlights from Figure 25 Massage therapists used iPhones and Windows desktop or laptops most often to manage their practices in 2020. Sixty-three percent of massage therapists had websites for their practices, and an additional 10% planned to start one within the next six months. The number of therapists with an existing website for their practices remained steady from 2018 to 2020. For those therapists working as employees, 66% reported that their employer had a website for the business. 38 Online tools for promotion and management of practice Massage therapists use a variety of tools to promote and manage their practices. We asked both massage therapists who have their own practices and those who are employees to tell us how they or their employers used technology to manage their business. Note that some employees may not know all the methods their employer uses to promote their business. See Figure 26 below for more details. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Website for practice Facebook Twitter AMTA's Find A Massage Therapist… Other online massage therapist locator Yelp or other review sites Google Maps or Google My Business Pay Per Click Advertising Paid social media advertising Groupon, Living Social, or other deal site Blog Instagram Massage Employer Own Practice Figure 26. Online promotion tools used to promote massage Highlights from Figure 26 Websites and Facebook remain the most prevalent tools used for therapist and employers to promote their practice. Massage therapists also used other digital tools to facilitate the management of their practices. See Figure 27. 39 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% Own Practice 10% Massage Employer 0% Figure 27 Digital tools to facilitate practice management Highlights from Figure 27 Credit card processors are used by both employers and therapists that have their own practice. 40 Social Media Use by Massage Therapists Massage therapists used a variety of social media for both professional and personal reasons. The table below shows which sites are used for which purposes. Facebook continues to be the most used social media outlet for therapists, with TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter being the least used. Where and Why Massage Therapists Use Social Media Mostly for Mostly for Use for Practice Personal Both Use Use Plan to Use in Future for Massage Practice Plan to Use in Future for Personal Do not Use. Social media used by massage therapists Highlights from Figure 28 Massage therapists used Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram mostly for personal use. LinkedIn was frequently used for mostly professional purposes. Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok are not widely used among massage therapists. Massage therapists used social media sites for a variety of different reasons, both professional and personal. Figure 29 shows the main reasons. 41 Why Massage Therapists use Social Media Keep in touch with friends and family 81% Follow businesses or causes I care about 59% Promote massage practice 47% Catch up on news 47% Keep updated with news about COVID 45% and massage Keep up with trends in the massage 43% therapy industry Network with other massage therapists 39% Find old friends or coworkers 35% Keep in touch with clients 31% Figure 29 Reasons massage therapists use social media Highlights from Figure 29 Massage therapists used social media primarily for keeping in touch with friends and family. Social media was not used as frequently for catching up on news or keeping in touch with clients. 42 2G. What’s the latest on the spa industry and massage therapy?11 According to the ISPA 2020 U.S. Industry Big Five Study, covering 2019 activity, spa visits and revenue increased for another consecutive year. This research includes activity before the COVID-19 pandemic and