Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Is Your Chiropractic Marketing Killing Your Practice?

By Matthew Loop DC

We all know that we shouldn't put all our eggs in one basket, but it's amazing how many chiropractors are conducting their chiropractic marketing tactics in this same "dead end" way. When chiropractors spend tons of money on media slots and newspaper ads, they're wasting all their money on forms of media that won't get them what they're looking for. Advertising in this way is so expensive and yields so little results, that you're literally driving money away from your practice instead of towards it. It's almost like these DC's are betting their practices at the local horse race. The odds are truly against you.

We are in seriously tough times in this country. The economy is in recession, and older forms of chiropractic marketing and advertising do very little good now. If you spend a fortune on marketing right now, you can be sure that your business is going to tank under all the pressure and expense. That means that chiropractors are marketing less to compensate, but continue to only suffer more. You need to market to get new patients through your door, but you can't afford to do it the same old way. What's the answer for today's chiropractors?

You may think, "I don't have the money, so I cannot advertise and implement chiropractic marketing right now." This is a common, flawed perception many chiropractors have. But the truth is, the best form of marketing and advertising is free nowadays. It's not TV, newspaper ads, magazines, telemarketing, or postcard drops either. Chiropractors have been scammed and led to believe that you have to pay for new patients and the best type of marketing costs money.

So what's the answer? If you have all your money tied-up in expensive ads and old marketing techniques with no results, you can still see loads of new patients walk through your doors using the exposure of Web 2.0 and social media; and it's absolutely free! Chiropractic marketing is being completely revolutionized by sites like YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook. These sites aren't just for teenagers as some would like you to believe. At least 50% of the traffic on these sites is 30 years or older.

When you specifically target your marketing strategy online to people in the right demographic and right location, you are significantly increasing your chances of success and driving many new patients through your doors each month. But you need to begin in the right way! When you're starting to meet people online, and your community is introduced to your chiropractic practice, you need to brand yourself in the right way to get great results. Don't make the same mistakes that others do. You need someone by your side that has experienced success already, and knows how to guide you there as well.

Let me give you a specific strategy that you can begin to implement today, as far as marketing on these networks are concerned. Invite people within a 5 mile radius of your zip-code to become your friend and begin to communicate with them. Every person that you invite as a friend will eventually learn about you and what you do for a living. This is not just virtual "hog-wash." Getting traffic and visitors to your website is the same, exact way. You can literally explode your website visits in a matter of hours with proper social media chiropractic marketing.

When you also provide these people useful information online by making videos, you will greatly increase people's awareness of what you do. I can't believe the viral marketing success I achieved by making a video about reliving headaches a while back. My video was viewed by 3,000 people in one week, and that's largely thanks to viral marketing where people view the video and pass it on to friends. Do you see the potential for success and driving people to your website this way?

Social media marketing is the answer to your marketing problems during these difficult times. When you have the right coach by your side, you can instantly tap the power of Web 2.0 without wasting time trying to figure it all out alone. Watch your practice soar to unbelievable heights as hundreds of new patients walk through your doors each month. And not only that, but this success can be yours absolutely for free! - 15254

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