Chiropractors: Use Marketing to Grow Your Practice
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Today’s chiropractors face a difficult challenge. They must balance doing what they were trained to do – caring for patients – with running a business. And one of the most difficult aspects of running a business is marketing. See if you’ve wrestled with any of the issues below:
If any of these concerns sound familiar, you should know they aren’t exclusively yours. In fact, many chiropractors, and many other medical practitioners for that matter, have been dealing with the challenge of marketing for years.
Are you a chiropractor seeking help with your marketing? Work with an experienced chiropractic copywriter.
Chiropractors need to do ongoing marketing to ensure a steady flow of new patients.
Years ago, word-of-mouth was sufficient to maintain a steady stream of new patients. Everyone in your area knew you were The Chiropractor. But now the chiropractic industry is more competitive, and you’re not the only game in town.
In fact, it seems there are chiropractors in every shopping plaza and office park. And more are coming — young, new, hungry chiropractors with lower rates and longer hours looking to build their practice with patients who might otherwise go to yours.
Consider these 2019 statistics from the American Chiropractic Association:
The U.S. has over 70,000 practicing chiropractors with thousands more joining the field every year.
As if you didn’t have enough of a battle on your hands with the ever-growing field of chiropractors, you now also have to contend with professional crossover. Practitioners in other industries have moved in to take a slice of your pie:
All of these healthcare professionals manage to persuade patients who might otherwise go to chiropractors that they are the specialist who can best cure them.
To increase revenue you can either attract new patients to your chiropractic practice or get more business from your existing clientele. Better yet, do both!
First you’ll need to up your marketing game to increase your visibility to prospects. These days, the best place to start is with a professional website. Your website is your most important marketing tool.
So, when is the last time you added to or significantly changed your website? One year? Two years? Three years or more? Gasp!
Just like fashions change, so do web designs. A snazzy look could breathe new life into your ailing site and help build your brand. After, all, if your website looks outdated and plain, visitors might assume your chiropractic business is as well.
But design isn’t everything. You need to have substance too if you’re to persuade visitors to contact you. It must clearly explain who you are, what you offer and what you stand for.
Use your website to build trust among patients for your chiropractic services.
The following pages are among the most important. If you don’t yet have them, add them or get help from a website copywriter for chiropractors.
If you already have these pages on your site, check to make sure they’re up to date, comprehensive in their descriptions and persuasive in their wording so visitors will take the next step and contact you for an appointment.
The need for your services is great. A poll conducted in 2021 by the American Chiropractic Association revealed that 90% of chiropractors were seeing patients or knew of people who were experiencing more musculoskeletal issues since having to shelter due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even before the coronavirus pandemic, there was a trend toward inactivity caused in part by sedentary occupations, motorized transportation and increased use of technology. As a chiropractor, people need your services. Now you just have to help them find you!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical if you want people to find your chiropractor practice’s website. Let’s say you’re a chiropractor in Miami, Florida. If someone searches Google for a chiropractor in Miami, ideally you want your website to come up on page 1 because, let’s face it, most people don’t bother going beyond page 1 or 2.
A professional copywriter knows what factors Google and other search engines consider when determining the rank for a website.
SEO helps your website get ranking on Google, which in turn brings visitors to your site.
You can get on that first or second page with the right content. And whether you’re a chiropractor, cardiologist, dermatologist or urologist, that’s the type of free advertising that can greatly increase your revenue.
Back in 2018 Google released a broad core algorithm update designed to improve the quality of its results. This is certainly not the first time Google implemented a broad core algorithm updates. But this particular one, now being called the “Google Medic Update” for reasons you’ll soon understand, has special significance for healthcare practices.
Many medical and health websites immediately dropped in the rankings as Google Medic updates began. Google clearly wants healthcare-related websites to prove their value and trustworthiness. Medical information should come from reputable websites/companies, and the content should be created with a high level of expertise and authority.
The Google Medic Update means the content on your healthcare website must be highly detailed and credible.
So what can you do in 2021 and beyond to demonstrate to Google that your chiropractor practice’s website, and the people behind that website, are authorities in the industry? Try some of these ideas or work with a professional copywriter to:
Now, more than ever, mobile chiropractic marketing strategies are critical to your business success. Your patients are more likely to view your website on their smartphone than their desktop PC or tablet. So it’s critical that your website is mobile optimized.
What does mobile optimized mean? According to ChiroTouch:
If you’ve covered all the basics and would still like to add to your website but aren’t sure where to go with it, consider promoting a niche. Vertical marketing can pay huge dividends.
Do you have a chiropractic specialty? Is there a certain type of prospect who’s a good fit for you?
Not sure what to pick? Start by thinking about what interests you outside of your office. If you’re a runner, consider targeting runners who can improve their running ability and overall health with chiropractic care.
If you’re the parent of a young child and know chiropractic care can often help children with certain conditions or issues, that’s a great niche worth promoting.
Rather than be a chiropractor for EVERYTHING, select a few specialty areas that you can promote and attract new patients to your practice. Think outside the box and be an industry leader. Here are some niche treatment ideas to get you started:
If you can discover a niche and devote yourself to becoming an expert in that area, it’s worth promoting your talent both on your website and in other marketing materials. You can use that niche to differentiate yourself from other chiropractors, giving you the ability to attract new patients, and build your brand, and ultimately grow your practice.
A copywriter for chiropractors can help you improve your website and create marketing materials like brochures and a blog.
Seeing is believing. Consider making a video of you explaining a common chiropractic issue (even better if you have a visual aid to demonstrate) or performing an adjustment on someone. Explain what you’re doing.
A video can be short and simple or long and involved. Not only will visitors see you in action, it will give them a glimpse of your personality, which can be important to patients selecting a practitioner.
Another great marketing tool is a blog. Write posts that talk about chiropractic issues, things like posture, exercise and proper stretching.
“Regular blog posts on health and wellness topics, chiropractic services, and things your practice is passionate about shows your patients that you are an authority in your industry and you want to help them live their best lives,” according to a recent article listing chiropractic marketing tips.
The blog posts will position you as an authority. They’ll also give you added visibility on the internet. And finally, they’re a great way to stay in touch with your clients, who are then more likely to contact you when they need chiropractic services.
An endless array of marketing tools exist, all designed to give you visibility and build your brand. But no chiropractor, or any business for that matter, has unlimited time and funds to advertise. So you’ll have to choose those marketing products that will give you the most bang for the buck.
You start with your chiropractic website, making sure it’s as professional, engaging and persuasive as you are. From there, you can consider promotional tools such as:
Make sure you give whatever method you choose enough time to work. As you probably know from watching TV, running a commercial once is never sufficient. That’s why you often see the same commercials ad nauseam. Consumers must see your message frequently enough to have you in mind when they’re ready to buy your services.
Promoting your practice is critical to your success. The best chiropractor in the world won’t be successful unless people know about his or her services.
As a chiropractor, your time is best spent treating patients. Your years of study and experience in the field are what make you unique and qualified.
Consider working with a marketing professional such as a copywriter for chiropractors to take on the responsibilities of promoting your practice. With a little help, you could create a steady stream of new patients and increase your revenue.
Get a no-obligation quote here.
Susan Greene
Professional Copywriter
Affordable Rates
Orlando, Florida
floridacopywriter@gmail.com
(407) 578-5528
