Saturday, February 28, 2009

Social Media Brings Change to Killer Chiropractic Marketing

By Matthew Loop, DC

Chiropractors are among many who have seen their businesses take a turn for the worse in today's economic environment. Many of these doctors are looking for way to generate new business, but they lack basic marketing skills and often rely on outdated methods.

The same old outdated marketing that your consultant is shoving down your throat had its place in the past and is actually hurting you. Are you still wasting thousands on postcards, newspaper drops, and telemarketing per month? On top of that, are you wasting massive amounts of time trying to meet people at the "Chamber" with very minimal referrals and results? Believe it or not, the best form of marketing and advertising is 100% free now because communication dynamics have made a drastic shift in the last 3 years.

Three years ago I began using SEO / Web 2.0 marketing techniques. I was the first Chiropractor to bring these exciting new tools to our profession, and other doctors were stunned to learn that I was generating huge numbers of new clients with common websites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube.

I had many well-known consultants come to me and basically beg and plead for my secret strategies I was sharing with a select group of chiropractors. Many would try and be sneaky, actually call me from private numbers but they would give me an email or contact information that I could trace-back to a consulting firm. I always thought this was funny because these guys are stuck in the realm of competition, whereas I'm an entrepreneur and creator.

During my research I observed how other chiropractors were approaching online marketing. They immediately signed up for their own profile and began spamming other members with their advertisements. Not only will this get you kicked off the website (since it is against the user agreement), but most people hate spam and the result will be the exact opposite of what you intended when you sent it in the first place. The only real way to make the most of these sites is to find a mentor; someone who has been there before and knows how to navigate the waters of Web 2.0.

While the profession and 95% of chiropractors are playing catch-up, I've been on the cutting-edge discovering new, and even more powerful ways to leverage these Web 2.0 technologies to create a steady stream of new patients and multiple sources of income for me and my hundreds of students. Last month was a great example, as I made over $5,000 in one month from just one video that I posted on YouTube. With returns like this for minimal time investment, many are crippling themselves by not learning how to market the proper way with social media.

Let me leave you with a couple simple tips about chiropractic marketing on Myspace. Never send a friend request without a polite message! This is Myspace 101 stuff that is very important since you want the person to know how you ran across their profile. Always include videos on your profile, as it makes people stay on your page for a longer period of time and holds interest. Now, I'm not talking of all chiropractic videos either. People want to know the real you, not just what your profession is!

This is going to be a new language for most doctors since we live in more technologically advanced times. You have a choice though. You can either take a year out of your schedule to learn everything you need to know about social media marketing or you can find a mentor who's been there and done that. The latter will reduce your learning curve by about a year while the first one will cost you an arm and leg in money and mistakes.

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