The Internet is an abundant source of new patients if you know how to tap into the power of digital marketing for chiropractors.
Yet, in our experience, not enough chiropractic professionals use digital marketing. And we get it – there are a LOT of marketing tools and strategies out there. And guess what?
Most of them work. At least a little. It’s how you fit all the ideas together into a strategy that makes the difference. In this blog, we’ll look at five chiropractor digital marketing ideas in depth and explains why– and in what order– you should use them.
Chiropractor Digital Marketing Stats: Why Digital Marketing?
According to Forbes, the average business should spend between 5% and 10% of its overall budget on marketing just to maintain the status quo. Business owners who want to grow their business need to spend up to 20% on marketing in order to grow. If you’re not spending this much on marketing, your business may be stagnant. We wrote a full blog on an easy 2-step way to determine your marketing budget based on your revenue, which you can access here: https://physicaltherapymarketing.com/right-marketing-budget/ .
5 Chiropractor Digital Marketing Ideas + 1 Brilliant Plan for Each
1. Digital Marketing for Chiropractors: Email for the Win
What is Email Marketing for Chiropractors?
Email marketing takes many forms, including the regular newsletters you send to past, present, and potential future patients. In these emails, you can offer health tips, announce upcoming classes and workshops, and highlight patient success stories. You can also advertise specials, like free year-end health screenings or discounted visits for first-time clients.
How Much Does Email Marketing Cost?
It has little to no cost.
How Important Is Email Marketing for Chiropractors?
Email marketing plays a critical role in the marketing strategy for most businesses. It also counts among the most effective digital marketing tactics around. According to HubSpot, at least 50% of people will make a purchase from an email once a month.
The Key Purpose of Email Marketing
One of the best ways to get your chiropractic office’s numbers back up is to get past patients back in the door. Statistically speaking, people who have purchased from you in the past are more likely to buy from you again.
This type of advertising campaign also works well if you have a number of people on your email list who haven’t made an appointment with you for treatment yet. This is a perfect place to offer a free health screening for new patients.
Chiropractor Digital Marketing Challenge: Past Patient Marketing
If you want to see results right away, commit to starting a past patient marketing campaign. Something as simple as a “New Year, New You” email campaign can be enough to bring your past patients back.
2. Digital Marketing for Chiropractors: Websites Are Critical
What Is a Website?
When you create a series of webpages that live under the domain of one main URL, you have a website. It’s like a piece of property on the worldwide web. It even has a web address (the URL).
How Much Does a Website Cost?
The cost on a website can vary, depending on how elaborate it is, its number of pages, and its function. The cost also depends on whether or not you have it custom-made or if you make it yourself using a site like Wix or WordPress.
How Important Is It?
Having a website is crucial if you want your chiropractic business to be a success. Your business can’t survive without one for very long, particularly if you’re trying to build up a local clientele.
What Is a Website’s Main Purpose?
Your website functions as your clinic’s online storefront. If potential clients can’t find you on the web, then you have no business to speak of. In other words, your website’s main job is to help you land new clients.
Chiropractor Digital Marketing Challenge: Blog to Help Their Pain
Your website is also a place where you can host a blog and speak to people’s pain points. This is particularly important when it comes to attracting new local clients. Most people research their health issues before deciding on a care provider.
When you create a blog that answers the most common questions about chiropractic, you build trust with potential new clients and establish yourself as an expert. Your blog supports your website’s main mission. Make it your goal to blog on the regular – at least once a month to start with.
3. Digital Marketing for Chiropractors: Learn SEO
What Is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is a series of tactics whose purpose is to drive traffic to your website. These tactics include using keywords and meta data in your website’s content.They also include so-called off-page strategies, like guest blogging to get backlinks to your website. Online reviews on sites like Yelp give your website some additional SEO juice. A Google Business Profile (GBP) also plays a big role in your website attracting local clients.
How Much Does SEO Cost?
Costs on SEO can vary. If someone in your office, like an office manager, maintains your website, it may cost you less than to hire the job out. However, in the long run, hiring out your SEO tasks may cost you less because you may get better results and your staff will be freed up to do other things.
How Important Is SEO?
Good SEO is as important as your website.
Just think about it – if you have a beautiful website, but no one can find it online…is your website useful?
No. It’s useless.
SEO makes sure people can actually FIND your website when they Google “physical therapy” or things like “neck pain.”
Employing the right SEO tactics allows you to be found by people in your local area who are searching for chiropractic care.
It’s also important to realize that people often find their chiropractor because they’re searching for solutions to their health issues. Almost 80% of people will search for their condition (like back pain) and not for chiropractic treatments specifically.
The chiropractor who approaches his or her SEO strategies with this mind has a better chance of gaining inroads into the local market where all the qualified clients are.
Chiropractor Digital Marketing Challenge: GMP or Google Review Tasks
Fill out your Google Business Profile in detail, making sure that all of your contact information is on there and is accurate.
Additionally, you can regularly update the information on your GBP account, using it like you would social media. Google favors new content. Updating this account regularly allows you to add new content, like contests, coupon specials, and more.
Or…
Host a Google Review contest. Ask your staff to reach out to clients and ask for reviews on Google. Then, keep track of what an uptick in recent 5-star reviews will do for your business.
4. Learn Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
What Is SEM?
SEM, or search engine marketing, means that you pay to show up on Page 1 of Google. Like SEO, it’s a way to help potential customers find you on the web. Since Google is the biggest search engine, the most common form of SEM is Google Ads. Your Google Ads campaign will target keywords like “neck pain” so that when a potential patient Googles “help for neck pain near me”; then, your website shows up in the top three spots on Google!
With organic search, the product of SEO, it takes a while for your blogs and other online content to rise to the top of Bing, Google, and other search engines. When you undertake a search engine marketing campaign, you’ve basically paid to be at the front of the line.
How Much Does SEM Cost?
The cost of an SEM campaign using Google Ads is in the mid-range. Typically, SEO/ SEM companies will quote you a price, based on your business’s needs and the scope of your Ads campaigns. Expect to pay $500 – $1000 a month to Google for ads, plus an additional fee to a marketing agency, if you’re using one.
How Important Is An SEM Campaign?
SEM ranks just behind getting your website built and having a solid SEO campaign going in terms of importance. In other words, don’t start an SEM campaign until those two other drivers are in place. However, once they are, search engine marketing is one of the most important steps you can take in your digital marketing efforts.
What Is The Key Purpose of An SEM Campaign?
The main reason you run a search engine marketing campaign is to drive massive amounts of traffic to your website. This result will come once your website ranks #1 on Google for a number of keywords on the SERPs.
For example, you may want to rank for terms, like “chiropractors in [your city]” or “back pain management near me.” Your SEM campaigns move you closer to that goal.
It’s also important to note that any kind of search engine-related work you do, whether it’s SEO or SEM, allows you to tap into a group of people who are already searching for what you’re selling. There’s no need to hard sell them. They’re already on the hunt for remedies for back, neck, or head pain. This makes it easier to convert them to customers.
Chiropractor Digital Marketing Challenge: Do Some SEM Research
This week, make it your task to do a Google search for the words “chiropractors in [your city, state].” See what results come up in the ad box on the left-hand side of the results.
You want to make a note of how often your competitors advertise their businesses via Google Ads. Then, count how many times the names of their businesses show up on Page 1 Google search. Also note if your business’s name appears at the top of the search.
The more times a business appears on Page 1 of Google, the more reputable they’ll appear. Based on your search, who seems to be the #1 provider of chiropractic care in your area?
If it’s not you, you have some SEO and SEM work to do.
5. Employ Social Media…But Have Realistic Goals
What Is Social Media?
Social media sites, like Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, TikTok, and Twitter, are digital media tools that allow you to connect with other people on the worldwide web. Like their more traditional media counterparts, like TV or newspapers, they allow you to keep track of what’s going on in the world.
Unlike their traditional counterparts, however, they allow you to interact with news content, entertainment offerings, like videos or blogs, and other businesses in real time.
How Much Does It Cost?
Like email marketing, the cost of social media advertising is low. Interacting on social media is free. You just need someone on your team to run your social sites.
How Important Is Social Media For Chiropractor Digital Marketing?
Having an active social media presence can play an important secondary role in digital marketing. Your social media accounts allow you to offer social proof to potential clients. Social media also gives you the opportunity to interact with your current patients in real time. It’s an easy way to stay connected to those who already support your business. However, it’s not as effective when it comes to gaining new clients. Your best bets for new client acquisition will come from your website as well as your SEO and SEM efforts.
What’s Its Purpose?
Being active on social media allows you to interact with your current and past patients. For example, you can host a weekly “Ask me anything” Twitter chat, which allows people to ask you questions about chiropractic, pain management, and other topics.
Your social accounts also let people know that your business is alive and well. (This is particularly important, given that many businesses closed because of COVID restrictions.) An active social media presence re-affirms that you’re open for business.
Chiropractor Digital Marketing Challenge: Social Media Tasks
Find out where your ideal clients hang out on social media and actively promote your business there. Facebook is a good place to start if you’re not sure.
Almost 70% of people are on Facebook. Nearly three-quarters of them will visit a local business’s Facebook account each week. Make a social media content calendar and start posting on your social accounts regularly.
Learn The Ultimate Patient Acquisition Strategy
No ONE digital marketing idea or tool will get you a steady flow of new patients to your chiropractic clinic.
Fortunately, the 5-step Ultimate Patient Acquisition Strategy shows you how to use all of these digital tools to promote your practice! Download our Ultimate Patient Acquisition Strategy guide today! This FREE PDF walks you through all the steps you should take to maximize the success of your digital advertising and marketing strategy for your chiropractic clinic.
You’ll also get a free 15-minute video filled with actionable ideas for your chiropractor marketing campaigns.
Or…
If you’re ready to start your digital marketing campaign but aren’t sure where to start, reach out to Practice Promotions. We offer monthly marketing and advertising packages that include Google Ads, website creation, blog content creation, and more!