We are online marketing specialists around here so forgive us it the overall list is a little internet-heavy. That said, we are confident you'll find some online chiropractic marketing ideas in the list below that no one else is writing about. The online world moves so fast, unless you are in the flow every day, you may not know these options exist.
The Basics
1. Have a marketing-oriented chiropractic website designed with a specific action in mind.
2. Get love from search engines. HINT: This is your #1 completely hands-off, free, long term source of patients.
3. Get online referral traffic from local business groups and referral partners.
4. Collect email addresses on your website.
6. Send useful emails to the people on your list.
7. Get some written and video testimonials.
8. Tweet about twice per week. Share 90% useful content and 10% marketing messages.
9. Post to Facebook twice per week. Share 90% useful content and 10% marketing messages.
10. Write a blog post once per week and have it syndicated to at least Facebook, Linked In, Twitter.
11. Be personal, be funny, be real, be yourself online. Consumers can spot a marketing campaign a mile away.
Have we scared you off proclaiming that these are the ten basic chiropractic marketing ideas? They are in the basic category because they are fundamental, and because you'll probably see roughly the same advice in every second chiropractic marketing ideas article.
WARNING: If you haven't done the things in the basic section, stop reading and re-reading about them, and get them done. We can help and so can many other entry-level agencies. If you haven't covered all these bases, DO NOT attempt any of the ideas in the stealth section.
The Stealth Stuff The following 5 online chiropractic marketing ideas are definitely in the advanced category. Since most of these will be new to you, we've included a 2-5 minute video about each method. Don't let the coolness-factor of these techniques keep you from covering the basics.
Mining Twitter - Our all-time-favorite stealth chiropractic marketing idea. Find out who hurt their back this weekend pulling weeds or who has just been in a car wreck...in real time and local. You have to see it to believe the power.
Gmail Advertising - You can place ads inside of Gmail email using the Google Adwords system. This allows you to enter the dialogue between friends over email. The good news story with this technique is that the pay-per-click rates are super, super low and the competition is nearly non-existent. Check out the video to see how it works. NOTE: This technique will also show your ads when people are reading the email newsletters they get from other chiropractors.
Retargeting- This chiropractic marketing idea can make your practice seen 100 times larger than it really is by having your ads follow people around the internet no matter which websites they visit. Now that you know about it, see if you can spot ads being retargeted at you.
Pop Ups on Your Site - We recommended a general pop-up to capture names and email addresses for your newsletter plus an exit pop-up that provides an offer too good to turn down. Free massage with first visit anyone?
Pop Unders on Competitor Sites - Bet you didn't know you could run an offer as a pop-under on a specific website you are competing with for new patients. You can. Write up a list of 50+ websites and have your offer shown any time someone visits one of those other sites.
Offline Chiropractic Marketing Ideas
While our expertise is clearly with online marketing tactics, we are around chiropractic marketing enough to have an opinion about various offline chiropractic marketing ideas. We tend to favor ideas where you can showcase knowledge and expertise in a meaningful way. To really teach anybody anything and get them to know, like and trust you, you need at least 5 minutes. With this type of marketing you only need 1 opportunity to get in front of the person. By contrast, a lot of chiropractic marketing is done in 30 second sound bytes. With this type of marketing - whether it is print, radio, tv, email - you need many repeat impressions and a memorable sound byte.
Education-based Chiropractic Marketing Ideas
1. Speaking at local employers during lunch. Contact the HR department and see if they have an existing lunch-time speakers program. Many employers do.
2. Talks or seminars at local fitness-oriented businesses. Think beyond the standard health club to include yoga studios, martial arts studios, batting cages, bowling alleys and ski shops.
3. Talks to elementary and middle-school sports teams. Why? Because the parents will be in attendance. Approach the local little league coordinator, elite gymnastics or ballet school and any youth football clubs and offer to do a seminar on injury prevention. Be sure to provide a handout targeted at parents.
Stealth Offline Ideas:
1. Get the seminar schedule of your local hospital or rehab facility. For any talks they have scheduled on back pain, hip surgeries, nutrition, weight loss, chronic pain etc...show up and mingle with attendees. You may be able to pass out literature or wear a button or name badge identifying you as a doctor in the audience. This method allows you to piggyback on the marketing dollars of the big hospitals and surgical centers and mingle with people that are actively considering different care options.
2. Public Access TV. Most mid-sized cities or counties will have a public access TV station where any local resident can submit a 15, 30 or 60 minute TV program. Rates vary, but are often ridiculously low. Our local station charges $30 per quarter ($10 per month) to submit up to 8 hours of programming. TV is a great way to catch channel surfers and really build up your authority. After all...if it is on TV it must be true, right?
Repeat Impression-based Ideas
1. Email offers to your own email list
2. Email list rentals. This refers to sending a promotional message to someone else's email list.
3. Door hangers.
4. Personal notes
Neutral or Bad Chiropractic Marketing Ideas
We didn't forget the following ideas. We just haven't seen that they have consistent positive ROI. Please share your story good or bad with any of these methods.
1. Postcard mailers
2. Contests and giveaways
3. Open houses, events and theme-parties
4. Pay-per-click advertising - at $10 a click you had better KNOW that your site converts
5. Yellow pages and print directories
I know how hard and confusing it can be to develop an online marketing strategy for your chiropractic practice. There is so much garbage and misinformation out there, it is hard to know who to trust. That's why PracticeLight Internet offers a downloadable self-assessment and a complimentary narrated video review of your website by one of our experts. We'd like to demonstrate to you that 1) we know our stuff and that 2) we care enough about each individual chiropractic practice to develop a customized recommendations.
You can get the self-assessment and expert video analysis of your website right here: Chiropractic Marketing Ideas
P.S. Did you know that you can get free chiropractic articles written by experts for use on your website, blog or newsletters? Learn how to get Chiropractic Articles and get 75 starter articles in a ZIP file by clicking the link.
