Today, consumers are wizened and hardened to traditional marketing techniques. Flashy signs that say “BUY THIS NOW!” and tacky advertisements that declare that something is THE BEST IN THE WORLD being spruiked by an actor who clearly doesn’t believe what he’s saying no longer work. Effective marketing in this day and age needs to be genuine, informative, and entertaining. On top of that, it needs to grab attention.
It needs to grab attention because a lot of life today is lived online. People’s attention is on their smartphones and tablet screens, and there is a lot of information that flies past people’s eyes when they are scrolling the web. Your marketing needs to be punchy enough to catch those eyes and convince the reader to devote precious time to your piece of marketing. And this is why content marketing is now king.
What is Content Marketing?
The Content Marketing Institute describes content marketing as such:
“Content marketing’s purpose is to attract and retain customers by consistently creating and curating relevant and valuable content with the intention of changing or enhancing consumer behavior…The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.”
For physical therapists, content marketing should be a key component of your marketing strategy. You can’t just tell clients that you’re the best physical therapist, you have to show them.
Ideas for Good Quality Content Marketing for Physical Therapists
The goal of content marketing for yourself and your clinic as a physical therapist should be to establish yourself as a knowledgeable leader in your field. “Content” can be anything from sharing links to articles, publishing your own articles, giving lifestyle tips, or posting inspirational or instructional videos.
One of the joys of content marketing is that it doesn’t cost much, which for physical therapists with small marketing budgets can be a relief.
Physical Therapy Marketing
Demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in your area by starting a blog section on your website. Your blog could include discussing the findings of a new research study and the impact it has for your patients, fitness and lifestyle tips, opinion pieces (as long as your opinions aren’t too divisive), profiles of you and your colleagues, and/or case studies. You’re aiming to post anything that provides useful information to your clients.
As well as being informative, your content should be entertaining. Keep the client in mind as you are creating and curating content. Eye-catching headlines and easy-to-read formats are essential.
Social Media Marketing for Physical Therapy
You should have a social media presence for yourself as a physical therapist or for your clinic. Content should not just be being published on your website, but should be cross-promoted on all of your social media pages. At least a Facebook page is essential, but you should also consider a Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or YouTube profile as well. It doesn’t need to be all of these, but the more platforms you can promote yourself on, the better. Decide which ones are right for your clinic and create a cohesive posting strategy across all of them.
Across your social media pages you can promote your own blogs to drive traffic to your site and to show that you know your stuff when it comes to physical therapy. Even more simple and far quicker is reposting and sharing industry information and articles that provide interesting information to your clients. Links to YouTube videos explaining exercises (which you could also consider making yourself), or relevant podcasts are great ideas.
Consumers these days are impervious to traditional marketing techniques. They aren’t going to just believe what you say when you say that you’re “the best ever! Don’t look anywhere else!”, you have to prove it.
Physical therapists and their clinics have to bear this in mind when developing a marketing strategy. And most of those customers and prospective clients are spending a lot of time online, so it wouldn’t hurt to be at the first page of a search engine (i.e. Google). The way to catch the attention of these people and ultimately drive them through your doors is to offer something – information, entertainment or advice. You get out what you put in with content marketing – give them the information, and you’ll get customers.