David Straight, Author at E-rehab

Physical Therapy Marketing – Is Yelp Advertising Worth It?

Yelp – is it worth it?

I get calls from my clients almost every week – “These Yelp sales people are hammering me,” is what I heard yesterday. They share numbers that aren’t likely to be accurate (e.g., number of leads & page views) and try to convince them them they are missing out.

I thought I would share my perspective on their advertising program.

Here’s what Yelp offered one of my PT clients:

“We offer 6 programs that vary based on how aggressively you want to advertise your business on Yelp. All packages include the mentioned* features and are based on an annual agreement.

Ultra Premium- $2,200/mo – includes 6,500 targeted ads per month
Super Premium- $1,600/mo – includes 4,650 targeted ads per month
Premium- $1,050/mo – includes 3,000 targeted ads per month
Standard- $800/mo – includes 2,100 targeted ads per month
Basic- $550/mo – includes 1,200 targeted ads per month
Intro- $350/mo – includes 500 targeted ads per month

*Mentioned features include: video production, video hosting, picture slideshow, Call to Action button, competitors ad removal, tracking in your business owners account, and an Account Manager.”
[note_box] Most of these things aren’t clear.

Video production – who produces the content for the video? Who owns the video? Can the video be used on your website?
Call to action button – what is that?
Competitor ad removal – does that mean that others that are advertising on Yelp, will be removed? I bet not.
Tracking – how is this accomplished to demonstrate if a patient truly came into the practice?

These are not easy questions to answer.

[/note_box]

Will Yelp Pay for Itself…Probably Not

Financially, there are 3 ways that I see you can analyze this opportunity and see if it makes sense for you.

A. Straight Profit and Loss Analysis

Remember, you have costs to treat/run your business (i.e,. salary & overhead) for every patient and what you have left over is profit of course.
Each one of you is different but the typical profit on a patient case is 10-20% and average revenue per patient about $800 (so, profit per patient case is $80).
If you aren’t getting a minimum of 4 patients from your Yelp advertising, you are losing money.

Conclusion: No one I have spoken with (well over PT practice owners about this) has used Yelp’s paid advertising and made a profit. Note: 1-3 patient per month, for most PT clinics, even if they advertise at the cheapest level, will not result in a break even ROI.

B. Lifetime Market Value Analysis

In this analysis you take into account the number of patients (generated from your advertising campaign) that will return when calculating ROI.
For example. Let’s say you spent $550/mo on Yelp ads (the basic package noted above). You have a year contract as well so your annual expense is $6600. Applying the rationale from Straight Profit and Loss Analysis, you need to generate at least $6600 in new patient revenue to break even.
Let’s say you generate 5 patients/mo (this is very aggressive and unlikely but let’s use this number). That is 60 patients per year. Your profit is $80/patient and your ROI from your Yelp advertising is 60 x $80 or $4800.
Now, let’s consider that 30% of those patients will come back (that’s 18 total over the course of the year). The number of new patients you generated from your Yelp campaign might be considered to be 60+18 returning or 78.
Now multiply 78 x $80 and you get $6240 of profit.
You still don’t break even.

Obviously, this analysis depends on a number of factors. The total number of patients you get per month, your profit margin, and the percentage of patients that return to you (i.e., Lifetime Market Value of your patient).

Conclusion: Looking at ROI over the long haul. This is a reasonable way to analyze your ROI for an ad campaign but your ROI is recovered over a longer period of time (i.e., the time it takes for the patients to come back a second time, or even a third time).

C. Gross Revenue Out and In Model

In this analysis of your campaign spend, you aren’t concerned about profit. Rather, your objective is just to cover your costs, pay your salary, your staff and your overhead. In other words, you want to keep your doors open It looks something like this.

You generate 60 patients (5 per month) in one year from your Yelp advertising at a cost of $6600.
Your gross income generated from the advertising campaign is 60 new patients created from Yelp ads x $800 of revenue/case = $48,000 of gross revenue from Yelp Ads.
Assuming a 10% profit per case, your profit is $4800 (i.e., 10% of $48,000 gross revenue).
Your cost to do the Yelp ads, again is $6600.
Your total $4800 in profit – $6600 in Yelp ad costs = ($1800) loss.

NOTE: if you consider Lifetime market value (i.e., your ads generated 78 patients), your profit is $6240-$6600 in ad costs and you still lose $360.

Conclusion: If you are more interested in getting people in the door, then this might be a way to analyze your advertising costs. In the end, you are still losing money and most practices can’t afford to do that anymore.

Things to Consider

These analyses heavily depend on the number of patients you get from the Yelp advertising. Five new patients per month, that would have NOT come to you anyway, is a large number. I don’t think this is possible except in the largest markets like San Francisco and NYC.

Opportunity Costs: Finally, you need to ask yourself, if I am committing to spend this kind of money (i.e., $350/mo+) on marketing, is there a better use of this money doing something else? For example, Google Ads, Doctor Lunches, Novelty Items like shirts, postcards mailing, patient follow up campaigns, etc., etc. I think there might be some better options. What do you think?

[colored_box variation=”deepblue”]Take Home Message: I don’t believe, based on the input of many others that have advertised, and the financial analysis, that Yelp advertising is a good use of your dollars. However, you have to plug in your own values (percentage of profit margin/case, number of patients you get from Yelp ads, lifetime market value, and the number of months you are committing to run the Yelp ads) to arrive at your own conclusions.[/colored_box]

Please share your thoughts too and help your colleagues and help your colleagues make good decisions about how they spend their ad dollars.

How to Use Social Media for Your Physical Therapy Practice

Simplicity of Technology Breeds More Competition

More and more physical therapy practices these days are joining the online revolution and giving their business an online presence. On the one hand, technology has made it so much easier to accomplish this. Almost anybody with virtually no technical skills can take their business online.

However, on the other hand, with so many practices going online, the level of competition is getting tougher as each day goes by.

As a private practice, you have a tough challenge ahead of you, as you need to get yourself noticed, build your online brand and attract new patients to bring in more business.

The good news is that it isn’t all an uphill struggle.

There are so many online marketing strategies that you could use to promote your practice, but one of the best marketing methods is the use of social media. Small businesses and large-scale corporations alike are using social media to promote their products and services.

How to Use Social Media for Your Physical Therapy Practice

With the use of social media, you will have that much-needed leverage to not only stay in the game, but also positively flourish and enjoy huge profits that you wouldn’t have had if without the focus on an online presence.

This is great news for businesses and gives you the perfect platform to promote your practice. If you’re looking for an affordable means of marketing your practice, then social media is definitely the direction you need to go.

With so many different platforms to choose from, you will be able to find the perfect one that suits your practice and start reaping the rewards very quickly, compared to the traditional means of marketing.

A Brief Overview of Social Media Marketing

When it comes to reaching a wider target audience, the numerous social media sites on offer will not let you down. The most popular social media networking sites have millions of active users all around the world.

You will have a much better overall Internet marketing strategy if you include social media as part of your marketing campaign. With it, you’ll be able to easily promote and market your company, as well as the products and services you are offering.

It’s an incredibly effective method of gaining better company branding. In addition, it is easily one of the most affordable online marketing strategies, and allows you to share content, photos and video sharing that will engage with your customers and fans which will then, in turn increase your web traffic, online and presence and sales.

Benefits of Social Media Marketing

[note_box]There are several things that you can do with social media marketing that will help your practice by providing you with various benefits such as:

• Better company brand recognition
• Increase the public’s awareness about the services and treatments you offer
• Interact, socialize and build a stronger relationship with your patients
• Gain new patients while also retaining existing ones
• Provide excellent customer service in an effective way[/note_box]

Here are some other reasons why your practice should be involved in social media marketing:

It Helps You Establish the Identity of Your Company. You can use this to your advantage and make your services more recognizable to the public. With social media, you can create the buzz for your practice and attract lots of new patients.

You Get More Exposure. Almost all of the social media sites have a ‘share’ feature, which means that your fans and followers can help spread the word about your services by sharing your posts and content with other people that they know. Testimonials such as a successful recovery from an injury are a great way to get the word out as well, and can be easily shared on social media.

Great for Feedback. Social media marketing quickly allows you to get to know what other people are saying about your practice and how they feel about the treatment you provide. This feedback is invaluable because you will be given the opportunity to improve your services when needed and adjust them to better suit the needs of your patients. You will also be able to answer any questions that your patients might have in a professional, timely and interactive manner. This will help you to attract even more potential patients.

Enjoy Higher Search Engine Ranking. By making good use of social media marketing, not only will you get all of the great benefits mentioned above, but your website will also have higher search engine ranking. Sites like Google are rewarding websites who have a good social medial reputation. If your practice is active on these sites, then your website could get a much higher ranking in the search engines.

General Strategy for Super Social Media Marketing

Despite its many advantages, some small businesses are daunted by the prospect of promoting their businesses on social media sites. It is fast-paced and constantly changing. Don’t let that put you off, as these traits can actually work to your advantage.

Here are some tips that will help give you a solid foundation in social media:

Figure Out Which Platform Will Work Best for Your Practice:

Unless you happen to have unlimited resources at your disposal to set up an advertising campaign on every social media platform available, chances are you will just want to focus on one or two sites instead.

In fact, depending on your practice, not every social media site is going to suit your marketing, your audience or what you are trying to achieve.

For example:

For a business heavily reliant on SEO, then Google+ and blogging might be the way to go.

If your practice is trying to get involved with community building, then Facebook, blogging and Twitter will be better for you.

If you’re undecided which platform to use, the best advice when you are first starting off is to experiment with the social media platform that you think will work best for your practice, and then measure the progress, or lack thereof. If you are not getting the results you expected, then you can refocus on other platforms that might suit your practice better.

Once you are established and comfortable on, for example, a Facebook, Twitter and YouTube account, you can then start thinking about expanding on to Pinterest or Instagram. Use whatever is best for you and your practice.

If expanding doesn’t work or is too much for you, then concentrate all of your efforts on the social media network that works best for your practice. You don’t want to run the risk of spreading yourself too thin and becoming a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. Trying to be active on too many sites will only drain you of time and resources and you won’t achieve what you wanted to from social media marketing.

Define and Access Your Goals

Know in advance what you want to achieve from your social media marketing. Whether it is brand awareness, more sales or customer loyalty, stick to one main goal at a time. For example, your goal might be; “I want to increase traffic to my website by 15% in the next three months”. During those months, evaluate how your marketing is going and make the changes needed in order to reach the goal.

Test, Tweak, Re-test and Repeat

It is unlikely that you are going to get everything right on your first attempt at social media marketing.

With that in mind, don’t be afraid to experiment. Test the waters with new ideas, tweak old ones and repeat what works for you. It is imperative that you evaluate your progress with social media marketing regularly and brainstorm ideas on how you can improve your ongoing marketing campaign.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Social media success doesn’t happen overnight. Just like in real life, friendships and bonds between you and your patients can take a long time to build. Keep working at getting results. So many small businesses dive into social media marketing with so much enthusiasm, only to give up not long afterwards because they didn’t have the 1.5 million Facebook fans and a ton of sales in their first few weeks like they imagined. Be patient. It takes a lot of time and dedication but they rewards are huge once it happens.

Don’t Over-promote: Build Relationships

We can’t overemphasis this point enough: the vast majority of social media users do not visit Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like to be given the hard sell by companies.

Your job is to build trusting and loyal relationships on the social media sites by being friendly, sharing great content, helping people and earning their trust. Just like in the real world, social media followers will relate to a name and reputation that they can trust. All of this hard work will build a positive image around your practice’s name and will soon convert into more business.

The Rule of Thirds

An easy way to balance out your social media output is to think of the rule of thirds: For one third of your time, share your own content, another third with material related in topic but from another source, and then interact with your patients and help them out on a one-to-one basis for the final third of your time.

Engage With Your Fans…But Do It the Right Way

One of the biggest traps that many businesses fall into is that of posting certain kinds of posts as bait to encourage likes and comments. The most obvious examples are; “Fill in the blank” and “Click LIKE if you think X is X…” and so on. While these are great for occasional use, they do not give you a very accurate overview of fans and customers who are really engaged with your content and how successful your efforts really are. Anybody can post an image of a cute puppy to get ‘likes’ but what real impact does it have on your fans opinion of your brand?

Create a Content Calendar

Translate your social media policy ideas into concrete steps for action. An excellent way to do this is by creating a content calendar that can be edited as time goes by. Plan what content you are going to put on your social media site and when.

Your Social media Marketing is Important, So Be Careful Who You Assign to Run It

You get what you pay for, and the cost to your practice could be more detrimental to your business than positive. Remember, thousands, even millions of people could be watching how your business presents itself online. You need to watch over it and make sure that the right message is getting out there.

Put Your Audience First

Think about your target audiences needs, wants and challenges. Use market research to find out where your social media efforts are best targeted.

Spend Time Listening and Observing

One of the most powerful planning tactics for social media marketing is to watch and listen to what people are saying about your practice and the physical therapy industry. Use this information to tailor your approach as time goes on.

Never Attack Your Competitors

Unless you want to damage your brand considerably, never attack your competitors maliciously on social media sites. Instead use social media to communicate and sell better than them.

Have Fun

As mentioned earlier, social media is all about building relationships. Be consistent, present, real and genuine in all of your communication if you want to encourage genuine interaction with patients on a slow and steady path to creating long-lasting relationships.

[colored_box variation=”steelblue”]Social media marketing has become an indispensable tool for local businesses just like your own private physical therapy practice. It gives you the perfect opportunity to build relationships, engage with customers and increase sales like never before.

Feel free to contact us at E-Rehab for expert advice and support in your online marketing campaigns. We will be glad to help.[/colored_box]

Physical Therapy Marketing with Instagram

Instagram and physical therapy marketing

Though the first image that might come to your mind with any mention of Instagram could be the constant flow of filtered personal pictures sent between so many with no real objective in mind. Physical Therapy Marketing with Instagram can also be a powerful tool if you are trying to reach a younger audience. When used properly, the extremely popular and successful photo sharing application has the capability to increase your practice’s exposure, increase your name recognition and increase demand for the physical therapy services you provide.

[note_box]With over 150 million users it is no wonder that so many businesses are turning to Instagram to engage consumers and boost their brands. Recent statistics on Mashable.com revealed that 40% of the top 1000 videos on Instagram are from big brands. MTV, Starbucks and TopShop are regularly featured in the top 10 brands using Instagram.[/note_box]

They invest time and money into marketing on Instagram because its been proven to work. To take full advantage of the power of Instagram and to bring in more patients for your physical therapy practice, sign up for the application and follow these six tips:

1. Show Your Services in Creative Ways

Instagram has so many advantages and one of them is to be able to promote window-shopping by using Instagram to show off a collection of your services.

You don’t even need to be an expert photographer as the application already comes with filters and editing options that help you to be very creative. It is so easy to add your style to your photos. This will help grab the attention of users to your photo.

Photos attract users but it is the conversations that engage them. You want your pictures to be good enough to provoke a good reaction from your followers so that they ‘like’ the photos and add their positive comments. It is even better if they decide to share the photo on other social media platforms as well.

Instead of just writing out the different types of services you provide, add a picture or a sequence of images to better illustrate these services in action to give prospective patients a better idea how they work. Visualizing the treatment and seeing how things work inside a practice will always be a more attractive option to patients than reading form a list.

2. Post Behind-the-Scenes Photos of Your Practice

You can take a shot of almost anything and share it on Instagram. A great suggestion is to post behind-the-scenes photos of your practice, such as a patient receiving treatment.

You will find that your followers really like these kind of photos and will be keen to ‘like’ and comment on them. Why? Because on the whole, we are a curious breed and it’s interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes of any business. Let your patients and followers see what you are doing to provide them with the best offers and service.

3. Show What Your Services and Treatments Can Do

A good way to increase demand for your services and treatments is to show patients ways how they can benefit from them. Engage your followers by inviting them to comment and let you know what they think of the work being done by your practice. You can create an Instagram contest, which is a very effective way of guaranteeing their involvement and spreading the word. For example, ask users to share photos of them after recovering from an injury as a result of treatment from your practice.

4. Update Followers on Your Latest News and Developments

What better way to get the word out about your practice than using Instagram to share the latest activities and events that are happening. Post photos of new staff members, services offered, local news or anything else that you think might interest patients.

To get even more publicity don’t forget to use popular hashtags like #physical therapy, #back pain rehab or #dry needling, etc. This will make it much easier for people who are not following you on Instagram to find out about your offers.

5. Introduce your Employees

Introducing your employees to your followers on Instagram will bring a human touch to your brand and will increase customer loyalty even more.

Use the caption box to share a little bit about your employee such as their role within the company or what their hobby is.

You can spread these posts out and make spotlighting a member of staff a weekly feature. Include all departments within your company and put a human face to your brand. Your followers will love you for it.

6. Expand and Grow Your Audience

You don’t need to confine your followers to Instagram. Why not connect your Instagram account to other social media networks and use relevant hashtags (e.g. #yourbrandname ) to make it easier for people to find your account.

Your followers will love it and reward you with their loyalty if you respond to their comments. You can encourage dialogue by asking questions in your photo caption to engage them.

Your goal is to make them want to interact with you and make some sort of positive response whether it be a comment or simply a ‘like’.

Ideas for Physical Therapy Inbound Marketing

After the trite (but probably necessary) statements on your website, like we are the best, 1 on 1, individualized, hands-on, etc. , what content should you include on your website that will really give you a competitive advantage? Try this infographic on for size for some ideas about physical therapy inbound marketing.

Content marketing for physical therapy websites

Physical Therapy Direct Access – Patients Will Increasingly Use Google to Search Out Value

Physical Therapy Marketing – 3 Ways to Capture Yelp Reviews

When it comes to physical therapy marketing online, Yelp can help. Yelp wants patients to review your business but they don’t want you to incentivize your patients to do so. They want it to happen naturally…organically. Therefore, Yelp provides verified business owners with 3 ways to get patients to your Yelp business listing. If you don’t have a Yelp business listing, click here to read the article on how to do this.

Remind Customers You are on Yelp

1. Add a Yelp Review Badge to your website. To do this, log in to your Yelp business account, copy the code Yelp provides you and paste it into your website.

2. Include stickers on your place of business and include a QR code that will take reviewers directly to your Yelp business listing. They are now able to review your business right from their mobile devices.

3. Encourage a Yelp review with every email you send out and include a link to it on your mobile optimized website too.

Yelp Pages Can Help Physical Therapy Websites’ Search Rankings

If you’ve done a geographic search for physical therapy clinics in your area, you’ve probably noticed a link to one or more Yelp listings on the search results page. If you’ve asked yourself, “How can I get my business listed on Yelp?”, this post should help. Claiming your listing might get your business listed when someone searches for a physical therapy practice in your area. Also, having a completed business listing will also count as a good “citation” which helps with Google Local search rankings.

1. Go to https://biz.yelp.com

Here you are able to create your free account.

Physical Therapy Websites on Yelp Step 1 — Step 1

2. Then try to find your business.

Do a search for your practice.

3. If you can’t find your business, click “Add your business to Yelp link”. If Yelp does find your business you will skip this and go to Step 7.

4. Fill in the necessary information and make sure it is complete! If Yelp does find your business you will skip this.

5. Check the email box you used when signing up with Yelp and click the “confirm your email address link”. If Yelp does find your business you will skip this.

6. Your business Submission will be reviewed by Yelp. If Yelp does find your business you will skip this.

7. After your submission has been approved, you will have a basic listing. If your business was found, then this is where you will add additional information.

8. Next, fill in and complete all of the form fields and options for your business listing.

9. Add photos by uploading them into Yelp’s system.

10. Then, include captions for each photo you upload. Note: add in some keywords that describe your business. For example, “physical therapy Carlsbad”. Do NOT keyword stuff the caption (use the same phrases over and over again).

11. Make sure you watch your email for a message from Yelp to “unlock” their business tools. Click that link.

12. Review the section on Yelp’s business tools page about how to obtain Yelp reviews.

13. Verify your business on Yelp.

That’s it. Assuming you completely filled out your listing and uploaded photos, your Yelp business listing should be complete.

Now it is time to go get some Yelp reviews which will be the subject of our next post.

NOTE: if you see any inconsistencies, let us know with a comment below. Yelp is always changing its process.

Reputation Management – Protecting Your Physical Therapy Practice

Your clinic’s reputation is its most valuable asset. If it’s tarnished, you could lose patients. This article shows how negative reviews are not always what they seem and what you can do about it.

physical-therapy-online-reputation

Many Physical Therapists stand or fall on their reputation. A single therapist or practice can spend many years, and much money, building up a positive reputation through staff training, physician relationships, customer service policies, clinic culture development, customer (patient and physician) feedback and community relations.

Despite everything practitioners can do, a reputation is a delicate object that can easily be smashed into a thousand pieces by a few ill placed words. Never has this been more true than in this modern technological world of internet review sites and mobile digital technology, where damaging reviews can be published to the entire world in a matter of minutes.

But will one bad review really have an impact on your clinic? If this is the first contact a potential patient has with your company, how is it going to look to them? Are your online reviews really the first (and most lasting) impression you want to give those seeking a physical therapist? How much harder will it be to overcome not-so-positive comments and reviews, especially at the start of a patient relationship?

Managing how your clinic is represented online is very important, especially as the internet is becoming an increasingly popular way to search for and research the background of healthcare providers. And if you are in an area with many other Physical Therapists, a bad online review may drive potential patients to explore the next clinic or PT listing, rather than reinforcing a word-of-mouth referral from a family member, friend or physician.

Because millions of opinions can be accessed and read in seconds from online review sites, social media chat topics and buyer reviews, it has become necessary to be aware of and pay attention to your online reputation. So in order to keep an overall positive web presence, you should guard this reputation and take proactive steps to repair any damage you may find.

WHO MIGHT DAMAGE YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION?

It’s always possible that a patient might be prompted to publish a bad review of your clinic. Of course the first thing you want to do is read and understand the feedback. Whether there is any actual truth in the comment or not, clearly that person believed the reason was real to them and was compelled to let you (and consequently the rest of the internet) know how strongly they felt. So, while the negative comments may not always be 100% truthful, you need to remember at all times there is a real person behind them. You need to ask yourself: “What really motivated this person to write these things?”

Patients

People love to tell businesses ‘The customer is always right’, regardless of whether they are being unreasonable, over demanding or have expectations that are greater than can possibly be met by the clinician. They have grown up with this ‘I am right’ culture. So when things do not go to plan, they feel they have the right to say something. You need to look at the patient’s experience on an individual basis to see whether they have a genuine complaint before you decide to take any action.
[note_box]Take a look at negative comments about physical therapy practices on review websites. More often than not, the complaint is about billing. “They didn’t tell me it would cost this much,” or “They ripped me off and didn’t tell me about my bill…” etc. Keep this in mind when dealing with patients. Money is often the issue especially when it comes to health care complaints.[/note_box]

Competitors

Unfortunately, it is true that some unscrupulous competitors can employ dirty tricks by deliberately writing and publishing fake negative reviews. It can be very difficult to prove that a review is not real. Sites like YELP, which actively target false positive reviews, are starting to try to identify and remove these false negative ones, but until it is shown to be a fake review, you must deal with each one as if it were a real customer regardless of any suspicions you may have.

Employees

Whether they are current or past employees, if one of your workers has a grudge or is unhappy, they can end up putting out a load of negative comments or reviews. But it isn’t always those with a grudge who cause a problem. In this day and age, everyone within your company has the potential to stir some negative online press. It could be a staff member’s controversial online statement, photograph, behavior or profile that is somehow connected back to your business. As tempting as it may be to terminate staff employments or launch a counter attack, that type of action will usually lead to bigger problems.

[blockquote]So…what can you do if you do come across negative comments in social media, on a blog, on a review site, or even within the comments sections on your own website?[/blockquote]

AVOID DAMAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION FURTHER!

Although it is perfectly normal to feel angry or upset about negative comments others may be saying about your business, you need to avoid doing any of these things at all cost…

Don’t Try To Erase All Trace…Resist the temptation to delete bad reviews. The unfortunate truth is that once someone has published something into cyberspace, it is very difficult to remove it completely. Deleting comments tells potential patients that you have something to hide or that there is something wrong with your clinic. If you have made a mistake, don’t be afraid to own up and then take positive public steps to make it right. People respect the fact that you have owned up and are committed to getting it right. It builds confidence in your clinic’s motives and ethics.
Don’t Lash OutWe often take these negative comments as a personal attack. In order to ensure a positive outcome, you need to think before you respond. Because nothing ever truly disappears off the internet, it’s best to delay an upset reaction with time. A response written in haste and in the heat of the moment has a good chance to come back to bite you again and again. Begin with a draft, then leave it for a few hours until you can review it in a more composed frame of mind, and soften any overly harsh words.
Don’t Put Good Words In Someone Else’s MouthYou may think, “If they can write a bad review about me, then I can write a good one!’ It may SOUND like a good idea, but a lie is a lie. You may be saying truthful things about your clinic or services, but by pretending to be someone else, or by getting someone else to leave a good review written or prompted by you, you ARE being deceitful. Just remember: All businesses get bad reviews. But not all businesses lie to their customers. If review sites like YELP and search engines like Google realize that “fake” good reviews are being placed on their sites, not only will they remove the offending review but they may lower or even remove the ranking of the offending business so that they don’t show up in searches.

HOW CAN MY PHYSICAL THERAPY PRACTICE BE PROACTIVE WITH OUR ONLINE REPUTATION MANAGEMENT?

[fancy_list style=”check_list” variation=”green”]

Reputation management isn’t just about responding when a problem arises, but involves building up a strong foundation in the minds of potential patients. The best way is to get online and start building up relationships with your current and new patients on social media, Google+ and other places where you or your clinic can be an active participant. By building up a strong positive reputation for your practice, you will be better equipped to weather any negative comments that come your way. Become a voice that is respected and well thought of in the Physical Therapy community as a whole, then people will be less likely to be swayed by one negative opinion.
Don’t be afraid of feedback – in fact as someone in the ever-changing healthcare industry, you should openly invite patients to give feedback as often as possible. This shows that your are practicing as an open and transparent therapist, which cares about the concerns of its patients.
If you do find a negative review or have to reply to a complaint publicly, try to maintain a professional but helpful attitude. Try to resolve any legitimate issues amicably. You may want to take your initial communication with the person off the review site or forum, but publish the results publicly. Even invite the complainant to re-evaluate their original comments.
Monitor Your Reputation – Don’t wait for someone to bring their negative comments to you. You need to be proactively searching to ensure that you can address and comment whenever you come across a bad review. While it can be difficult to constantly read through all the social media comments, there are apps that can help you to monitor what is being said out there in cyber space – apps like Google Alerts, ReviewPush and others. By keeping your finger on the pulse of the internet, you need never be taken by surprise by what others are saying about you.
Follow this simple formula (originally from from Jeffrey Gitomer) React, Respond, Recover, Plus One . React by acknowledging their anger or frustration. Respond by restating the problem and clarifying the cause of the complaint. Recover by offering a solution such as suggesting the unhappy reviewer call the office to resolve the matter. Plus One : if at all possible, do one extra nice thing that is beyond what is expected when resolving a complaint.

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No Physical Therapist or clinic is perfect, and that’s why you need to be aware of – how you can heal the wounds a hit to your online reputation may cause. Look calmly and rationally for a means to resolve things in a way that reflects well on you and your practice. If not, you will only succeed in scarring your Online Reputation even further.

[info_box]Action Items
1. Be aware that all feedabck may not be positive.
2. Think out your response to negative feedback before you respond.
3. Be proactive with your clinic’s online reputation.
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How the Physical Therapist Can Utilize QR Codes

Using QR Codes in Physical Therapy

By now, you’ve probably seen plenty of square barcodes like the one pictured here. They will leap out at you from so many places because they are everywhere: Magazines, advertisements, websites, TV, even the back of cereal packets.

You might have just noticed them recently, or if you are an avid smartphone user, you may be quite familiar with them.

It’s called a QR code and while you may have seen these around, you may not know exactly how it can help you or your practice.

This article will explain why:

What are QR CODES?

QR codes are enhanced barcodes. Data is embedded within these codes and accessed by a user scanning the QR code with their mobile phone. This is very similar to the way an item is scanned at a grocier or department store.

The smartphone user simply points their phone to the QR code and then is instantly taken to the web site page of the company on whose advertisement it is on. Normally this is a specially designed page featuring a special offer or more information about the product they have seen advertised.

How can Physical Therapists use QR codes as part of their mobile marketing campaign

There are so many advantages to using QR codes in marketing your clinic or services. Here are some ideas that you can use to leverage the power of QR codes in your own practice:

Enhance Customer Excitement

Including QR codes as part of your overall marketing will add a new layer of excitement for your patients. They will want to scan your image to see what you have on offer for them. It might be a link to your mobile website, a link that resolves to their home program login page, an electronic business card, information about an upcoming special event, or it could be a special offer on a particular cash-based service.

Marketing company MGH monitored the users of smartphones and discovered that almost half of the smartphone owners who saw a QR code scanned it. When asked what they were hoping to see as a result of scanning the code, they said that they were hoping to see a special deal, coupon or more information.

So if you are planning on using QR codes, it is important to keep in mind what the patient’s motivation might be when they scan the code.

In addition, QR codes can be extremely helpful in obtaining patient feedback about your product or service. Imagine a patient scanning your QR code and it takes them to your patient survey? There are all kinds of uses for QR codes. Remember, it’s just data stored in a two dimensional graphic.

Instant Delivery

The most amazing thing about these “quick” codes is that they offer instant delivery of information. You will be striking while the iron is hot. It means that the patient no longer has to wait until they are at home to turn on their computer etc. in order to research your services, contact you, or log in to their home program. They simply point and click and all of the information that they need is right at their fingertips in a matter of seconds. Naturally, this works best if your website is mobilize optimized. In fact, QR codes are becoming an essential addition to any mobile marketing campaign.

Save on Printing

If you are a Physical Therapist or clinic that spends a fair amount of money and time on printing, QR codes could benefit you by minimizing your printing investment in a new promotion or campaign. Your customers could simply point and scan the QR code and immediately go to the source and for the most current information.
Remove Barriers

One last thought about QR codes. Driving patients to your Yelp, Google, or Facebook page is often a challenge. Once the patient leaves the office, their interest in doing extra work to “Like” you on Facebook or review you Google greatly diminishes. Using a QR code in combination with the patient’s mobile phone can remove barriers from patients taking action.

Where Can You Get a QR Code?

QR codes are a commodity. You can get them for free at www.qrstuff.com. You can even get them in colors or embed your logo too.

Using QR Codes in Physical Therapy — A set of E-Rehab QR Codes: they can be as simple or fun as you’d like. Go ahead! Try it out!

[info_box]Action Items
1. If you have a smartphone, and haven’t already…give it a try. Snap a shot of a QR code to see how it works.
2. Consumers the world over recognize QR codes. They are using then whenever they see them in magazines, brochures and on websites. Consider adding a QR code to your site to generate patient excitement.
3. If your patients seem to want a quicker flow of information, this may be just the answer!
4. Make sure your QR codes points to a mobile-optimized landing pages.
5. Create QR codes at qrstuff.com and point them to your Facebook page and Yelp business page to encourage Likes and Reviews.
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Physical Therapy Mobile Marketing FAQ

Q. I can see my website on my phone so does that mean that it is already mobile-friendly?

A. While most sites will show up on a Smartphone, they aren’t necessarily “mobile-friendly”. Unless your website has been especially designed for mobile devices, your patients are most likely waiting a long time for the site to load on their smartphone and doing a lot of pinching, zooming and scrolling to view your site on their phone. A truly mobile-friendly site is specifically tailored to the needs of mobile users and for the capabilities of mobile devices.

Q. My patients are mostly older. Do they really use mobile phones for web browsing?

A. There are over 120 million smartphones in use in the United States (some estimate the number is as high as 165 million). At this time, 9 out 10 phones sold are Smartphones. As current contracts are running out on older model phones, people renewing their phones are highly likely to get a Smartphone. If you’re truly curious, take a minute to ask you patients and co-workers what kind of phone they have. If they don’t have a Smartphone at the moment, no doubt they will tell you that they will be getting one soon.

Q. We have an app on our company website. Is that the same thing?

A. That’s great, you are forward thinking because most practices don’t have an app that can be downloaded from the Apple App store or Google Play. A mobile apps can be an important part of your clinic’s marketing strategy, but they are not a replacement for a mobile friendly website. The reason is, apps are platform specific, which means that they are only compatible with the specific mobile the customer used to download the app. For example, a patient would not be able to see the app if it was designed to be downloaded from iTunes to use on an iPhone and they were using an Android phone. A mobile site is browser agnostics; therefore, it will work on any mobile device with a browser. And unlike an app, which takes a lot of work to update, it is much easier, quicker and cheaper to update content and information on a mobile site. Fact is, for most practices, an app that a patient would download from iTunes or Google Play is probably not a good investment.

Q. I can’t give my attention to a mobile site at the moment. Can it wait?

A. Yes, it can wait….but only if you are willing to risk missing out on the huge number of patients now using their phones to locate Physical Therapists. Recent website visitor data, pulled from 50 different websites, indicates that 30% of visitors to your website are probably using mobile device. That amounts to about 75-100 visitors per month. It won’t be long before more people are accessing the internet from mobile devices than from desktop computers, and a mobile optimized website is a great way to differentiate your practice.

Q. How can I be sure that a mobile site will help my clinic?

A. This is a good question and it’s understandable that you would like to know for certain if a mobile site really is going to drive patients to your business. The statistics and reasons why you should invest in a mobile site stress the urgency to get yours up and running as soon as you can. Think about it: if a patient finds your clinic on a desktop, they will still need to use a phone to call. In the many cases when this is a mobile phone, if your clinic has a mobile friendly site, they could contact you or make an appointment in a single touch.

Q. Will I really see an increase in my patients?

A. As you would expect, results differs from site to site. Think about it like this: You will be providing current and potential patients an additional and convenient way for them to be in touch with you. It will be a quicker, more pleasurable experience and as a result, they will be more inclined to choose or continue their services at your clinic and maybe even tell their friends about it as well. In the very near future, this will especially be the case if other clinics and therapists in your area haven’t gone mobile.

[info_box]Action Items
1. Ask around your clinic to see what mobile devices people are using.
2. For ideas and research, look at our mobile website designs and the mobile sites of other clinics in your area.
3. Look at the numbers: PC sales and shipments are decreasing, as net browsing on tablets and mobile devices has doubled in the last two years (Source: NetMarketShare.com).
4. Look at your website analytical data and check how many people are visiting your website on a mobile device. If you don’t have access to this or don’t have website analytics, it’s a standard part of all of our service packages.
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If you have any more questions or want more advice on setting up your mobile site, please call David Straight at e-rehab.

12 Web Marketing Ideas for Physical Therapy Clinics on a Budget

Web Marketing for Physical Therapy Clinics on a Budget

Most Physical Therapists are on a tight budget, especially when it comes to marketing. Many clinics simply don’t have financial resources to invest in advertising and marketing.

The irony is that NOT marketing your clinic will have a detrimental effect on your business.

Here are some big marketing ideas for a small marketing budget:

Optimize your website for Google

This is one of the first things you need to put on your ‘to-do’ list.

Why? Because Google is the most popular search engine on the Internet, and so it is the foundation and key to marketing your clinic.

However, you have to invest a small amount of time “optimizing your site” to make it easy for Google. Done in-house, this is free and will one be of the best investments that you could ever make.

Most site optimization work involves using appropriate ‘keywords” – or the most common phrases patients use to find your clinic – i.e. “Houston Physical Therapy”. Google has a great Starter Guide on just this topic.

Google+

While we are on the subject of Google, we can’t miss out Google+. As mentioned in the previous marketing tip, Google really is on your side, because it’s in their best interest to provide users with the most relevant search results.

As a result, search results are becoming much more local and personalized and companies who claim and complete their Google+ profile and optimize it properly get the best rewards.

Start a Blog

It seems everyone has a blog these days– so why not set one up for your Clinic or Practice? It is a great way to keep connected to your current patients, as well as help potential patients learn about Physical Therapy and the specialties of your practice.

Keep in mind, if you are going to create a blog for your clinic you need to do the following:

* Host the blog on your own domain. E.g. www.YourPhysicalTherapyWebsite.com/blog

* Take care with content. Do some industry research, look at current events or talk to those at your clinic to choose what topics you can write about that will be interesting to your patients and the Physical Therapy community.

* Make your blog’s visitors feel part of it by responding to each blog comment. If you do, the more people will be inclined to read and comment on your blog more often.

social-network — You can no longer afford to ignore social media marketing.
In 2012, 85% of marketers found that social media generated more exposure for their business.

Social Networking

Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are all popular sites and excellent sources of traffic that you can’t ignore. By creating a profile on each of these sites, you will open new opportunities for potential patients to find you.

In our experience, it seems that therapists and clinics that use social media sites almost always see a significant increase in monthly traffic. And the best thing is, besides a small investment of your time, this is completely free! The results are well worth it. This will raise your online clinic profile and make your site easier to find in the search engines

Testimonials

If you already have happy patients that love your services, why not get a testimonial from them?

Testimonials are a perfect way to attract brand new patients because they build credibility and give them the confidence to try your practice knowing that other people like it.

The secret is to get your patients to talk about what you do and the results that they got.

Most patients will be happy to do this if you ask them.

You could also provide patient feedback forms on your website. Online users are used to and conditioned to leaving reviews. They are a great way to get more people interested in your clinic.

Post a free ‘Guide’ or article for patients to download

No matter what kind of business you are in, you can get a lot more business by providing free information. It is an excellent marketing technique.

Posting downloadable guides and/or informative, “newsworthy” articles are an excellent way to increase your web traffic, increase interest in your clinic and increase your overall rapport.

Examples:
Beginners Guide to Back Pain
The Basics of Occupational Therapy
What To Expect From Your Child’s Physical Therapist

These kinds of ‘free reports’ rank highly in the search engines, thereby increasing your search ranking, as well as making you an ‘authority’ in your field. Patients will see that you know your specialty well and will feel more confident about their decision to see you.

Harness the Power of YouTube

YouTube is now playing a bigger role in marketing campaigns of all industries. Videos now appear in the search results.

If, for example, you have a unique Therapy Program, a piece of new and promising equipment, or have been featured on a local television station, create or link to a video — or even a simple slideshow — that you can post on YouTube to let users see your clinic “first hand”. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece, and there is plenty of free video creation software available to download online. Even a general photo tour of your clinic could be helpful to your potential patients.

Answer Questions Relating to Physical Therapy

Web Marketing Physical Therapy Clinics on a Budget

It’s no secret that the internet is the first place people look to for answers.

They post their questions on discussion forums and question and answer sites like Yahoo Answers. Providing answers to Physical Therapy questions from users all over the world, you can attract attention to your practice as well as new patients in your area. It is a perfect free way to get more traffic to your website and gain credibility.

Do some online PR

As you know, getting some good PR is a great free way to get a buzz around your clinic. The your Physical Therapy services are mentioned in the community, the more patients will visit your website and potnetially use your practice.

Most people think of PR coming from major media outlets such as radio and television. While this would be fantastic, it is not easy to get that sort of attention.

However, there are easier ways to get PR online which can be just as effective, especially if you have a targeted customer group.

Getting the attention of blog owners is one way of doing this, especially if it is a popular and attracts the sort of readers that you want to target.

You can email the blog owner, asking if they would like to interview you. As they are constantly looking for new topics to write about, many will be happy to interview you, especially if it is something that they think that their readers will benefit from.

Go To Networking Events and Share Your Web Address

Networking events are a great place to find new patients and all businesses should make it a practice to attend networking events if possible.

These are generally arranged by The Chamber of Commerce or global organizations such as BNI (Business Networking International). A quick search online will reveal a number of networking events in your area.

They work because you will always meet somebody who you can form a business relationship with. This will either be as a customer or as a useful contact to give your referrals or joint venture with.

Ask For Referrals

It is surprising how many practices don’t ask their patients for referrals. Why not? If you have satisfied and happy patient, you really should be asking for referrals as it a very effective way of getting even more happy patients in the door.

Some people feel shy about asking and are afraid that the patient will turn them down. However, you will be surprised at how few patients actually will say no. If a large proportion of patients do refuse to introduce you to others, it might be a sign that you are doing something wrong and could be doing a much better job of making them happy, giving you something to work on.

For a pain-free way of asking for referrals, why not try this method; When patients says “thank you” for something you have provided them, ask them if they know of anyone else you can help. It’s human nature to reciprocate. Most, if not all will say yes, especially if you return the favor.

Provide Exceptionally Good Patient Care Then Ask for an Online Review

The best way to keep a patient for life is word of mouth. Getting patients to share this information is by providing exceptionally good patient care. This of course goes from their first phone call to each and every appointment and follow-up.

There has never been a more important time for Physical Therapists to provide excellent care, especially as more and more patients are willing to share their experiences, good or bad, on social networking and review sites. By providing satisfied patients with simple paper instructions on how to review you, you can remove some of the barriers that make it a challenge for patients to spread the word about your practice.

[info_box]Action Items
1. Optimize your website.
2. Utilize Google+.
3. Start and maintain a Physical Therapy blog.
4. Make the most of Social Networking.
5. Ask for and publish patient testimonials.
6. Post an info guide or video.
7. Get something on YouTube!
8. Answer Questions Relating to Physical Therapy.
9. Use the web for Public Relations.
10. Go to Industry Events where you can network & give out cards with your web address on them.
…and most importantly
11. Ask for Referrals
12. Provide Exceptionally Good Patient Care.
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6 Physical Therapy Marketing Ideas for Your Website

Most practices could do with more patients. That’s where physical therapy marketing comes in and physical therapy websites are an important part of the plan and process. Here are 6 simple tips, that if put in place, could help your clinic’s bottom line.

1. Show Off Your Testimonials
When choosing a new practice, reading testimonials from other patients will confirm to users that they are making a good decision by choosing your clinic.

Place your testimonials on their own page. Consider placing one testimonial on each page as well. Also, highlight them not only on your home page but also give them their own place in your navigation. Photo testimonials are great.

2. The “One Benefit Focus” Technique
What is the ONE super thing about your Clinic that you are offering?

If you offer too much choice then people find it hard to make a decision. So concentrate on just one amazing service or program that shows potential patients why they should choose your practice.

3. Behind the curtain
Some potential patients get nervous about what will happen if they see you for care. If they have never had physical therapy before, they don’t know if it will hurt, what you are going to do to them, and they will draw on past experiences with other healthcare providers that might have been less than satisfactory.

Why not make “first-visit video” showing exactly what will happen once they come in for their initial evaluation, guiding them through the process from the reception desk to scheduling their follow-up visits.

This will be reassuring to them and provides a higher level of customer service which is definitely a great way to separate yourself from the competition.

4. Demo – let them see the “hands-on experience”
Why not create a video giving a demonstration showing how awesome your clinic is? For example, if you have a staff member with an exceptional skill, or a program with unique results, then demonstrate how great they are!

When a potential patient can see end results, then will likely be more inclined to choose your clinic.

5. No Risk
Offer free screenings, next-day appointments or educational events to educate the public. This can offer peace of mind to potential patients before their first regularly scheduled appointment.

6. Positive Passion
Of course, and most importantly: You will always be more successful when the audience can feel your excitement for your practice. Your passion and enthusiasm will shine through and help generate new and retain current patients.
[info_box]Action Items
1. Go back and look at your website.
2. Really try hard to view it from the perspective of a new patient shopping for a PT practice.
3. Then review the items above and update your content to differentiate yourself from the competition.[/info_box]