MODERN CHIROPRACTIC MARKETING ROAD MAP: Part 3 “The Vehicle”
The Vehicle: Distribution of your content that has a clearly defined message to match your clearly defined audience.
Too many Chiropractors are focusing on just the Vehicle. You can't get anywhere without the fuel or knowing where you are going (GPS). Modern technology has allowed for us to get our content and message out, but it is very noisy now. Social media is a crowded space. That is why it is vital to optimize each of the below distribution channels consistently, with a clear message and by optimizing each platform.
Some Chiropractors are going to hit a grand slam with one channel and develop a huge audience that even transcends their private practice. Think of the story we told on my podcast episode with Grant Elliot, who is a Chiropractic student who has over 80,000 Instagram followers. He is able to monetize that even before graduating from school with an online course. Once he does graduate and settle down, he will be able to leverage that audience to grow his practice exponentially.
In my practice, we consistently see 8-15 new Google patients per month. We have achieved this by having a “Total Web Presence” that consists of our Google presence, website optimization, content creation, and social media marketing. The key ingredient has been the combination of optimizing our website and Google My Business, along with creating and delivering consistent content.
These are just two examples of many Chiropractors implementing the 6 aspects of “Epic Content Marketing” and leveraging the distribution channel to get exceptional results.
Epic Content Marketing
Fill a need
Be consistent
Be human
Have a point of view
Avoid sales speak
Be best in breed
On the other hand, you don’t need to become a celebrity or influencer to have an effective marketing strategy for your practice. Most Chiropractors will benefit from a consistent and comprehensive marketing strategy that compels people to come into your office for care.
Having a well-rounded approach that optimizes the Before Unit, During Unit, and After Unit of marketing will provide you with a predictable and sustainable patient flow that will grow your practice.
As a reminder from Part 1 of this blog series, here is a summary of Unit Marketing.
• Before Unit: New Patient Marketing
Ex. - Facebook Ads campaign compelling them to visit your website and call your office.
• During Unit: From the time a person contacts your office until the end of their treatment plan, or whenever they discontinue care.
Ex. - New Patient email autoresponder dripping them a few useful emails after their first visit in your office.
• After Unit: After the patient is no longer coming in for care or on your schedule
Ex. - Top of mind awareness created by weekly emails with valuable content.
Here are the most common distribution channels for Chiropractors to deliver their content consistently. I have broken it down into properties you can own and rent, as well as in-person opportunities to get your content to the community. You will also see the notation of Before, During and After Units next to each distribution method.
Owned Properties
Website (Great Before Unit)
Proper Messaging
Search Engine Optimization
Content Platform
Great design
Strategic calls to action
Email Marketing
Email on-boarding sequence to all new patients (During Unit)
Email your patient base once per week. (After Unit)
Direct Mail
Welcome letters to new patients (During Unit)
Thank you letters to the patient who refer you new patients (After Unit)
Birthday cards (After Unit)
Monthly newsletters (After Unit)
Books (Before, During and After Unit opportunities)
You can write a small book on a topic that serves your patient base and community. You can use this for patient education and a high authority way of getting your message out. With today’s technology, writing and publishing a book is easier than ever.
Free Online Courses (Before Unit)
We have implemented Learn Dash plugin on our WordPress website and have offered a free online course on the desk sitting pain prevention. There are other platforms you can utilize to offer these free, short online courses to your community. This is a great strategy to get your content distributed that has high perceived value.
Rented Properties
Google (Great Before Unit)
Google My Business
SEO
Google Reviews
Content
Google Ads
Claim all local listings
Social Media
Facebook (Before, During and After Unit)
Instagram (Before, During, and After Unit)
YouTube (Before, During and After Unit)
Podcasting (Before and After Unit)
Podcasting is not as hard as it once was and can be done in your community very effectively. There are multiple examples of Chiropractors and other healthcare providers having a community-based podcast to grow their following.
Virtual Summits (During and After Unit)
I am still on the fence with this strategy. We did a Triathlete Injury Prevention virtual summit in 2018 with moderate success. At the time the effort-to-results ration wasn’t great. We cherry-picked 8 local experts in the running, swimming and cycling fields and interviewed them on video, or they shot an instructional video and submitted it to us. It definitely provided us with an opportunity to connect with local experts, and it also provided us with content that we are re-purposing into a free online course on the same subject matter.
In-Person Opportunities
Public Speaking (Before Unit)
Community Outreach (Before Unit)
Patient interaction (During Unit)
This is an overview of the distribution channels you need to be considering in your practice. If you are starting from the beginning, I don’t want you to get overwhelmed. My recommendation is to start with getting your website and Google My Business to be optimized and move on from there. If you have a well-established marketing strategy, which of the above aspects can you implement to take the next step?