Strategies For Growing Your Patient Base
As a podiatrist, word-of-mouth recommendations and local print advertising are very reliable in marketing your practice. But have you ever considered including digital advertising techniques in your podiatry marketing repertoire? There are other ways to grow your practice that do not need to cost you as much as you might expect. You can become capable of breaking down that last barrier to let potential patients know you exist so you can take your podiatry practice to the next step and beyond.
Social Media Marketing
To get started on digital marketing, let’s start with the essential must-haves. This one is pretty basic, so many doctors should see that they include it in their advertising to-do list.
Social media marketing is essential to a lot of practices. Some use it as an alternative to building their own website, which will have its own domain. Compared to a “.com” address, a Facebook page is free of charge and makes your practice accessible to millions of attentive users. You will be able to make your brand name familiar to thousands of online ‘passers-by’ when one of your posts is randomly included in many people’s newsfeeds. There are many social media platforms out there, but of all of them, you must ensure that you have a foothold on Facebook.
Still, there are many others you can try. Instagram and Twitter are just some other popular apps you can use to market your podiatry practice. Via Instagram, you can post photos of your office so that people can become more familiar with its location and the technology you have invested in. You can also post inspirational photos and quotations to encourage people to try your services out. Twitter can also be a good way to communicate with possible patients. You can gain thousands of followers, which can transform into new clientele. On Twitter, you can reply to tweets about podiatry-related concerns. You can also use it to communicate with current patients so that you can tell them when you might be unavailable.
One important function of these applications is their ability to legitimize your practice in the eyes of the public. They also make your practice more accessible. One limitation of a website is that visitors have to know the online address to access the site. There is a lesser chance of a stray click compared to the opportunity presented via a social network. On Facebook, when patients comment on your post, you become visible to their social circles without them having to mention your practice to their network directly. These days, having a social media profile is also akin to getting your phone number listed in the old phonebook. It makes your practice more trustworthy when a patient can contact you at any time of day—because social media never sleeps!
Search Engine Optimization
If you haven’t heard of SEO before, it’s time for you to get acquainted with it so you can work it in your podiatry marketing.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about producing text content. Whether these are words that you type on your Facebook post or text that you enter into your website blog, these keywords will help lead more people to your podiatry practice.
The first thing you have to do to make SEO work for you is to think of your business’s right keywords. These might be about different services you offer or the common questions you get from your patients. Even information about your business location forms helpful keywords that will put you on the digital map. Once you’ve already collected all of the right keywords to use, you can proceed to the next step.
Secondly, you have to make sure that you frequently create the best content to include the chosen keywords. These articles might get posted on your website or Facebook, and other social media platforms. As long as you ensure that your content includes the essential tags you have previously identified, these articles will go the extra mile to leading new patients your way.
The alternative to SEO is paid ads and special placements on Google. Using this advertising plan might cost you per click of a visitor. Meanwhile, on Facebook, you can also run sponsored ads to define your marketing budget and promotional time length. Either of these options will definitely eat a hole in your capital over a long period. On the other hand, if you use SEO, you might even be able to write the content yourself, making this marketing plan absolutely free.
Now and then, you’ll have to get familiar with other keywords you might be able to use so that you can keep your site relevant to online searches.
Claim Your Online Listings
If you have an office, this means that you have a physical location in the real world. Many healthcare services miss out on the opportunity to grow their practices when they forget to claim their pinned locations in popular maps like Google Maps. Don’t be one of them!
Another way to create more traffic in your general direction is by waving a digital sign showing exactly where you are to the people looking. One way or the other, you might even already be on Google Maps without having been made aware.
A further advantage of claiming your Google spot is the presence of reviews. Since Google is already the most popular engine around, more reviews are found and trusted by consumers. When you own your listing, this gives you the capability of addressing concerns mentioned in patient feedback. It will also be a good strategy to boost your position in search results when local patients try to look up podiatry practices and doctors in their area.
Regular Podiatry Newsletters
Did you know that a staggering 98.4% of Americans check their email every day?
Let’s face it; podiatry is a particular healthcare concern that doesn’t occur to many people. But once you have a patient who particularly appreciates your services, there is a big chance that he or she will become a repeat patient and go as far as referring your practice to their friends who start experiencing similar issues.
If you already encourage signups at your website, like booking an appointment or sending payment, invite your patients to subscribe to your email newsletter. This regular email can contain information on the latest developments in podiatry or rising occurrences of certain conditions. It can be a great strategy for brand recall as your patients who willingly sign up for these newsletters will be able to keep you in their mind. This will help them in remembering you easily once they need to avail of your services.
Final Thoughts
No matter which digital marketing strategy you choose, it is important to see that you are employing one strategy in your podiatry marketing. These practices will go a low way of introducing you to new people who previously didn’t have you on their radar.
Are you ready to take your podiatry marketing to the next level?
