I realized early in my chiropractic career that actively marketing my care would be an important element in my future success. Through the years, I have used marketing to connect with patients, and now daily outreach and a robust website are key elements in keeping my practice dynamic. Let's discuss some strategies I've learned along the way.
Tip #1: Keep Your Website Comprehensive and Up-to-Date
Your website often serves as a first impression of you and your practice. Several years after launching the Bledsoe Chiropractic website, we realized we'd grown and evolved so much that it no longer reflected everything we offered. We needed a complete refresh.
We had continually updated photos while adding tabs and new content to keep things current, but it wasn't enough. It was time to invest in a new version that represents what we are now as a clinic: who are we (staff changes), what we offer (services grow and change) and where we are (we have a brand-new location).
For example, our initial site didn't include massage therapy, even though we added it our second week. Some potential patients could have thought (despite Facebook recommendations) that we didn't offer massage. It could have caused people to assume we didn't care enough to present ourselves accurately and have web congruence. We fixed it promptly!
Does your website call out unique services you provide? Ours lets visitors know we are not your average chiropractic clinic – that we are also the leading foot specialists in our area. We have a special section of our website that explains how foot alignment and custom orthotics are an integral part of chiropractic care, stabilizing the entire body from the feet up.
Our landing page highlights who we are and what we value. We serve the whole family, so the professional family portrait of me with my husband and two children is the first thing visitors see. All marketing features the genius logo created by my husband that's creative, genuine and instantly recognizable.
We use a lot of videos and schedule regular posts, all with entertaining, educational content that engages viewers. We highlight monthly specials. We post daily appointment openings, which shows that as a business we respect the patient's time, enabling them to come in for an appointment on short notice.
Using a review service to help capture and manage feedback has helped us attain 257 Google reviews and a five-star rating! I personally respond to each review. I'm an avid consumer, too, and before I do business with anyone, I search their website and social media platforms, and read their reviews. A website says a lot about the clinic and doctor well before I ever meet / interact with them virtually or in person. It could determine whether a potential patient chooses your care.
Tip #2: Generate Excitement Through Multi-Channel Content
The website is just one piece of a comprehensive marketing plan. No one will find your website without being directed there – this is where supplemental marketing like social media comes in!
Canva, Buffer ... know those words? I do, but I'm not as good at using them as my amazing in-house marketing team. We have dedicated associates working daily to schedule posts, keeping us active inside the clinic, outside the clinic and online! They bring their innovative brains and fresh perspectives to develop new, compelling ideas.
Don't have an internal marketing team or an outside agency? Hire a marketing intern from your local college, use their talent and skills to help you think outside your box and create fresh, ongoing content.
Tip #3: Be Authentic & Spontaneous
How active are you on your platforms? Not recent or frequent? As a potential patient, I'm moving on. You may be the best chiropractor in the area, but I don't get to know that because I make a quick assumption about you based on something as simple as your presence on social media. You could view that as sad and unfortunate – or play the game!
Evolving content generates excitement. I have a really sharp knack for Facebook moments, and my team knows to have their cameras ready and to be camera-ready themselves! Check out our dogs in the office, along with my 89-year-old patient on her birthday and my team wearing their favorite sports team shirts on casual Fridays.
Open your eyes, heart and mind to the amazing possibilities and share what you're about. Don't limit yourself to just telling people what an adjustment is.
Tip #4: Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Google takes people to our reviews, and they read first-hand accounts from patients confirming that what we promote is truly felt and seen. After that, they can't wait to visit our website.
Once there, we eliminate snags with consistent messaging and easy appointment booking! Bam, you've got an educated new patient who already "knows" you and what you're about before you ever walk in to "meet" them! It's a fun way to practice, it works, and I encourage you to give it a try!
We highly depend on marketing and advertising to expand our reach beyond our walls. It helps us continue our mission: giving as many people hope through healing as we can.
We've succeeded through being proactive, trying new approaches and staying flexible to change. Even if you didn't score high in business aptitude, you can still do this! Delegate, seek to be surrounded by those smarter than you in the areas in which you are weak, learn from past decisions, and just be willing to keep growing! Get out there!
Dr. Amanda Bledsoe is a 2005 graduate of Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City, Kan. She also earned a BS in Science from the University of Central Arkansas. She is the owner of Bledsoe Chiropractic of Conway, Ark, founded in 2017. Visit her website at bledsoechiropractic.com.