As a chiropractor, being on top of the dynamic nature of the marketing tools and platforms can easily overwhelm you. Google is always changing its algorithm to get more relatable and accurate search results, while Facebook is always changing its terms and policies in order to be compliant with regulators and to stay on top of their recent scuffle with Apple. It seems almost impossible to keep up your marketing efforts without working with specialized marketing teams. Yes, it’s always better to let marketing professionals handle your needs. However, you need to know what marketing services they provide, how these services work for your benefit, and how you can boldly stand out with your practice in spite of the many competing chiropractic services in your area. Here are a few marketing services for chiropractors that can bring in a constant flow of interested new patients to your clinic. Try two or more of these services to see what works best for your practice in your local area, and then utilize your budget on the most successful one. Here are a few marketing services that you can try for your local chiropractic business.
Search Engine Optimization For Chiropractors
If your website is a mansion, you can view search engine optimization as your driveway, and the asphalts and tarmacs that pave the road to your mansion. Without search engine optimization, it’s hard for Google and other search engines to identify who you are, what you do, and where you do it. And if these AIs can’t identify you, be sure that they won’t refer your site to audiences in their SERP or search engine result page.
There are two major aspects of SEO- on-page optimization, and off-page optimization. On-page optimization includes fixing the metas and tags on your site, setting up proper schema and analytics, among other things. Off-page optimization encompasses everything you do in other places on the internet to increase the visibility of and, subsequently, traffic to your website. For chiropractic businesses, it usually takes about two to four months to gain good visibility in your region, depending upon where you are located. If it’s a densely populated area with more chiropractors fighting to be in the first page of Google, it may take longer to gain traction from your SEO activities. Remember, it’s hard to get up the Google ladder, it’s even harder to topple you over once you continue your monthly SEO activities.
Social Media Marketing for Chiropractors
Having a strong presence in social media like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok is a great way to attract new clients. You can run ad campaigns on these platforms to offer discounts to new patients, who can directly book a visit to your clinic through the ads. Make sure to have a strategy in place for your social media- just running promotional offers will not work. Posting informative, educational, and engaging content on your social media pages from time to time will keep the audiences in your social media aware and engaged with your practice. Marketing firms like Brilliant Marketing Agency provide end-to-end services to chiropractors, from running ad campaigns to automating appointment bookings for you through specialized software and systems.
A great way of creating engaging content nowadays is reels. Reels are short-form videos that you can post on Instagram, TikTok and other social media platforms. A short 10 seconds video of your doctor at work, coupled with the cracking sound of bones and the euphoric “ahs” of the patients, may excite your next patient enough to sign up for a visit to your premises! In 2023, these ‘reels’ may prove to be greatly successful in gaining followers on social media and building a loyal customer base.
Chiropractic Paid Ads on Google
The Google platform is actually stronger than most people assume it to be. About 90% of Alphabet Inc’s (Google and Youtube’s parent company) revenue comes through its ad income, which summed up to be about USD 220 Bn in 2021. Paid ads give you visibility on Google’s SERP above or below the organic results. You can also run paid ad campaigns on Google’s display network, where your ads will be shown across different websites that promote healthcare, healthy living, and healthcare practices. When people go to these sites to read blogs, journals, and articles, they will come across your ads.
Best way to take advantage of Google PPC is by working with marketers who can give you industry insights so you know how much your local competitors may be spending. Spending less than the chiropractic standard in your locality means your paid ads will be shown less often or in less prominent parts of the SERP compared to other chiropractors. Spending more means you are not utilizing your money to its maximum potential. So it is very important to know how much to spend to get a healthy return on your ad spends.
Virtual Visits for Chiropractors
Thanks to COVID-19, working from home and virtual meetings have become an integral part of our day-to-day life. Even in the post-pandemic days that we’re living in, most people are still working within the comforts of their own home. The healthcare and personal care service industries have seen this change too, which is why virtual visits have become a common practice for doctors and professionals. Understandably, many services like adjustments and X-rays cannot be provided virtually, but it is mutually beneficial to have the initial consultation via virtual modes like video conferencing. It is a good way to make sure that when a patient does show up at your clinic, you already know what they will need. A great marketing strategy is to offer these video or tele-conferencing services for free to your new and potential patients, as the life-time value of each client will surely cover for the initial consultation fee you would otherwise have charged them.
With newer tools and platforms being developed to promote your clinics and practices, it’s imperative that you don’t feel inundated and discouraged. While technology will be ever-changing, what remains constant is human psychology, and behavior. If you understand your patients’ psychology well enough, no matter what tool you have, you can always make the best use of it to win people’s hearts as well as their business.