David Straight, Author at E-rehab

Physical Therapy Marketing – 5 Tips for Facebook

Strategy

The most common mistake when posting to Facebook is businesses don’t have a strategy. When developing a physical therapy marketing Facebook strategy first decide why are you posting this? What is it that you want to accomplish from this? Who is your Target Audience? What is the action item for the reader? Posting just to post will accomplish very little and is the quickest way to get “hidden” from news feeds.

Sharing

“Sharing” is a great addition to Facebook and a great way to drive people to your Facebook page. When posting on Facebook only about fifteen percent of your “fans” actually see your post. One way to boost this percentage a bit is to encourage sharing. Try using these keywords “Like, Comment, Share”. For example, “LIKE if you agree!” When your fans interact on your page their activity shows on their news feed and leads to your post and YOU.
YOU (through your own personal Facebook profile) can also share your business posts. Make sure you are posting as yourself and not as your business. Then go to your business page, click the share link under your business post, and then share on your own timeline. Also, ask your Facebook frends to share your post as well! The greater the number of shares a post has the more exposure your business page will get.
-Key point… Make sure your post is “shareable”. Is your post valuable? If the tables were turned, would you want to share the post?

Engage Engage Engage.

Spark conversations about your Facebook posts. The key is to keeping your wall “alive”. Once you a start conversations though, you need to make sure you respond as well. It’s social media – back and forth. The average business takes twenty-two hours to respond, while customers expect a response within the hour or they will consider the conversation over. Another great thing about engaging your current followers is that their comments show up on their stream for their friends to read which indirectly serves you.

Easy Tools. Drive People to You.
• An easy way to get people to your Facebook page is by simply adding a link to your Facebook page in your email signature:
John Doe
###-###-####
Facebook/Username Like Us!

• Also, adding your social media buttons to your webpage creates an easy way for your clients to connect with you.
• Adding your Facebook URL to business cards, marketing material and newsletters are great ways too!

Consistency

Keep posting! This does not mean 10 times-a-day but on a regular schedule maybe two-three times a week. Obviously we know with everyone’s busy schedule it is hard to keep up with this; so, that’s why Facebook created “Scheduled Posts”. If you click on the clock on the bottom left you can pick a date and time for a post to go out.

We hope these 5 Facebook physical therapy marketing tips will help you generate more fans and more business. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Physical Therapy Blog Ideas

Online blogging has given individuals and businesses alike the opportunity to reach out to others, spread their message, and gain support for their practice and profession.

Physical therapy blogs are a great way for physical therapists to explain more about their work, inform the public about health conditions, and connect with potential patients.

While blogging about physical therapy can seem more daunting than posting about the movie you saw last night, it is a great chance to gain awareness about your services. Keep reading for some physical therapy blog ideas, and let us help you make your blog a success!

What to Blog About

While the idea of starting a blog may seem exciting, knowing what to write about can be a gigantic challenge. Listed below are three of the most important things that you should stress when writing a blog for your physical therapy services:

1. Remind Readers to see a Physical Therapist First! A common tenant in medicine is the use of conservative treatment before other options are explored. Too often, patients think that they should turn to prescription drugs or invasive surgery for treatment before looking into conservative care. Throughout your blog posts, strive to make sure readers realize that seeing a physical therapist should be their first step before they investigate other options. Write some posts about the ways that physical therapy has benefited real-life patients.

2. Show the Benefits of Physical Therapy. Physical therapy is a clinically proven way to treat a wide variety of different movement disorders. Unlike other treatment options, physical therapy rarely has any negative side-effects and is good for the body and mind. Use your writings to prove to readers that seeing a physical therapist is a fast, easy and affordable solution that actually work! Interest your readers in subjects about new therapy techniques and how they are being used to treat various conditions.

3. Toot Your Horn About Your Training and Accomplishments! While doctors are often viewed as professionals, the general public knows little about physical therapists and aren’t sure if they should trust them. Use your blog to showcase the extensive training and accomplishments that you and other therapists have undergone. Consider writing a section on “what it takes to become a physical therapist” and go into detail about your journey to become a therapist.

Using some of the physical therapy blog ideas listed above, you can start to write posts that will interest your readers while gaining their trust and friendship.

Mobile Should be Part of Physical Therapy Marketing Strategy

Call us crazy but we see great potential for online mobile marketing. We really don’t think it’s crazy given the unbelieveable statistics.

Check out these numbers from Google regarding the number of times users go online on their smart phone each day.

As such, part of a comprehensive physical therapy marketing strategy should be about mobile. Practices can improve their communications with patients and prospect thru the mobile platform.

Check out some of our new mobile designs too.

Click on the graphic above to see more of our designs on Pinterest.

Mobile Physical Therapy Marketing – PTPN Presentation

From PTPN and E-rehab: How to Use Smartphones to Market to Your Patients and Add Dollars to Your Bottom Line from PTPN Inc on Vimeo.

How to Avoid Negative Yelp Consumer Alerts that Could Hurt Your Physical Therapy Marketing Efforts

Patient reviews are powerful. Consumers trust their peers more than anyone else when making buying decisions. Studies indicate that great Yelp reviews can positively impact business growth.

Pew Internet studies indicate that 19 percent of patients consult reviews when making health care decisions.

Yelp Wrong and It Could Cost You

Yelp is continuously making efforts to obtain consistent and authentic reviews from consumers. As such they have “review filter” system in place that will flag suspicious activity.

Yelp Takes Suspicious Reviews to the Next Level

I have often written about the importance of not fabricating reviews or equally important, not using the same computer (i.e. IP address) to collect reviews.

Yelp and Physical Therapy Marketing

Yelp has taken it to the next level. If they think you are buying reviews, they will hit you with the Big Red Box that says “Consumer Alert”!

As Yelp management said in their a couple months back:

[note_box]

…the allure of a page full of five-star reviews can turn even the most ethical business owner starry-eyed and persuade some to attempt to game the system by paying for reviews.

This pretty much breaks every rule in the book, not to mention it’s just wrong to mislead consumers with fake reviews. To combat this, we’ve put on our detective hats, tracked down these rogue solicitations and are now giving you a heads up. Starting today, when we’ve determined that there have been significant attempts to pay for reviews, you may see a warning (like the one below) that some shady practices may be at play.

[/note_box]

If you purchase reviews or try to game the system, it could impact your business.

We recommend you get authentic reviews, from consumers that feel you have delivered exceptional care.

The Easy Way to Gather Yelp Reviews

One of the easiest ways to do this is to direct them to your Yelp page from your mobile website. The patient “yelper” then logs in to their own account and does their own review. This is one of the better and easier ways to build your online footprint.

If you have questions about this, don’t hesitate to give me a call.

So, go out and build your practice’s online footprint. It will pay off.

How to Provide Better Patient Care…Larry Benz Looks Outside In

“Outside Looking In” by Larry Benz from Evidence In Motion on Vimeo.

How might we apply this knowledge in the promotion of physical therapy as well?

We want to make sure you start 2013 with the tools and information you need for success!

December Deal

I’ve been brainstorming with some of the industry’s leading professionals like marketing expert Lynn Steffes, PT, DPT of Steffes & Associates, and finance expert Chuck Felder, PT, DPT of HCS Consulting, about how we can help you succeed in 2013.

It’s not your fault that Medicare/CMS are proposing such drastic changes. We do need to work together and make sure you are prepared.

This is what we came up with:

Improve Your Message, Your Marketing, and Your Finances

Lynn, Chuck and I have come up with a plan. We are offering you a package of services and our support at a significant discount. Here’s our offer:

1. IRIS Marketing: Lynn’s program focuses on internal marketing and helps you capitalize on your practice team to build referrals in the most influential and cost-effective manner. Click here for more information.

2. Benchmark 2013: Chuck’s assessment provides you with the specific data you need to take control of your business operations and stop wasting precious time and money. Click here to learn more.

3. E-rehab’s Online Marketing Systems: My company provides time-saving online business growth systems like custom websites, search marketing, social media marketing, mobile websites and patient/doctor video newsletters. Click here to learn more.

[fancy_header2 variation=”red”]The entire package, tools and consulting are just $1,150*. That’s a savings of $1,200 to you.[/fancy_header2]

Start 2013 off with better internal marketing, online marketing, and solid financial information and advice.

[note_box]Call me, David Straight, PT for more information at 800-468-5161 x 1101. We want to get to know you and help you and your practice move forward in 2013.[/note_box]

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF LINKEDIN FOR FREE (PART 2)

TIP 4: CREATE YOUR PRACTICE BUSINESS PAGE

Last week I discussed 3 TIPS to help you make the most of LinkedIn when trying to hire a new PT for your practice. This week I am going to provide you with a 4th tip that will help improve your business’ presence on LinkedIn. Below are some procedures on how to create and optimize your LinkedIn business page.

Set up your page:

Just like your practice’s Facebook page, you can also set up your LinkedIn business page. To do so, click on the “Companies” icon on the upper tab of your profile.

Then click on the “Add a company” link on the upper right-hand corner. The first window will appear and ask you the name of the company and your email address that you are using for your company.

Note: your business email address should NOT be a generic account (e.g. @gmail.com or similar). It has to be an email address that is using the company domain name (if you do not have one, call me and I will explain to you the benefit of having one and how to do it). Check the box to verify that you are an authorized representative of the company and hit continue. LinkedIn will send you an automatic message to verify the email address you just provided. Next, fill in the necessary information about your company (e.g. size, type of ownership, industry, website, year founded and specialties).

Pay attention to the description you provide for your practice overview. Avoid excessive text which forces the viewer to scroll down the page.
Include the phrase “physical therapy in YOUR TOWN” (e.g. physical therapy in Encinitas) to help with search engine listings.
Remember, your target audience is potential staff members, not new patients. A “very flexible schedule” for appointments may be very attractive for your patients but not so much for your potential employees.
Focus your message on the unique culture of your practice and what makes it remarkable.
You will be able to modify this overview after your page is set up; so, do not hesitate to tailor your message to your current staffing needs.

Add your services:

After you write a great practice overview that will catch the attention of your target, you can focus on the presentation of your services. From the company home page go to the “Edit” icon (upper right-hand corner), click on the arrow and select the “Add a product or service” option.

You will be taken to a page where you can complete your service tab in 11 steps. Don’t worry, it’s painless 🙂 Fill in the different items and do not forget to add a picture. This is the first thing that people will see when landing on your services page. I also suggest that you add a video presentation of your practice (step 11). This will give a prospects a better sense of the atmosphere and culture at your practice.

To create a free video slideshow of your practice, use a service like www.animoto.com

When you are done click “Publish” and LinkedIn will automatically post an update on your page saying you added a product or a service. If you want to modify it click on the “Product & Services” tab.

Next, click on the product you want to modify and click edit.

When you are done click “Publish” and LinkedIn will let all your company followers know that you updated your service. The “Product & Services” tab on LinkedIn is not a place where you want to showcase all the services you provide. Instead I suggest that you concentrate on 4-5 items maximum…the ones that differentiate your practice or in which you have the most expertise.

[note_box] Again, remember that you are writing this for prospective employees. Here you can get away with PT jargon. Make your practice attractive to prospective employees.[/note_box]

Job posts:

Let’s now talk about how you can support your recruiting efforts with your company page.

The first level of subscription service on LinkedIn will let you add complete job descriptions on your “Career” tab. The higher level will allow LinkedIn members to apply for a position via their professional platform. However, this is not something I recommend for a small private practice. Chances are you won’t get a good return on your investment. Instead, I suggest you post your job descriptions on your practice website and then post a link to them on your LinkedIn Company page. This way all your followers will see it, as well as all people visiting your website.

To do so, go to the “Home” tab of your company page and write your update on the top of the page in the white rectangle. Copy and paste the link to the job description on your website, like the example below.

If your link is correct a second new box with your website preview will appear. When you are satisfied with your post select to whom the post will be visible (e.g. All followers) and hit share.

Final Thoughts:

If you want your company page to be an asset for your practice, you should commit to the following:

Let all your connections on LinkedIn know that you created your practice page, i.e. by posting an update on your LinkedIn profile, and encourage them to become followers of your page.
Keep your company page alive by posting regular updates about your practice. It could be job posts, services updates, welcoming the arrival of a new staff member, or a special event or promotion. This will show candidates that you own an tech savvy practice, and will be more appealing than a page that has not been updated in months.

This concludes my 4 tips on how to make the most of LinkedIn for free.

If you have questions or comments please feel free to drop us a line on the comment section. Let us know what topics you would like to know more about!

3 Tips on How to Use LinkedIn for Physical Therapy Marketing & Recruiting

HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF LINKEDIN FOR FREE!

You probably already have a LinkedIn profile on the number one professional social media platform…LinkedIn. But are you using it to its full potential? For example have you ever used it to find your accountant or to recruit a new physical therapist for your practice? In this post I will give you few tips that might just help you find new employees without paying a dime to LinkedIn.

From the very beginning, when you create your profile, LinkedIn will try to convince you that you need to upgrade to a paid version and it’s tempting to do so as the platform does a very good job at hiding its most valuable features, even if they are accessible from the free version. Here are some valuable ways to unleash the true potential of LinkedIn.

Tip 1: To attract the best candidate, have an attractive profile:

Whether you are looking for new employment opportunities or trying to attract new candidates, it’s important that your profile make a great first impression. Some professionals do not take it seriously and only fill the name of their practice. Providing viewers with more details such as your location, specialty, your mission statement and some of the opportunities your community has to offer potential new hires, is crucial if you are going to attract savvy LinkedIn prospects. As far as your own career path is concerned do not forget to mention if you are board certified, if you belong to a professional association (e.g. the APTA or more specific organizations may exist in your specialty) or if you have other activities (volunteering, contributions to a magazine, website or journal) that are physical therapy related. Finally put a picture on your profile. It may sound unimportant (I know people should only care about your skills and experience) but statistics show that profiles with a picture have twice the chance of being clicked on than the profile without a picture.

Tip 2: Expand your Network

Now that your profile is ready, you can start building or expanding your network. Obviously, the number of profiles you have access to and can connect with, is proportional to the people you have in your network. Because of this feature, LinkedIn will try to convince you that you need to upgrade your account in order to be able to see more profiles and contact them. Therefore, my advice is that you concentrate on building your network of people you already have a relationship with. In order to do this there are quick and easy steps to follow.

Step 1: Start with your email contacts:

Fortunately, LinkedIn users are less reluctant to accept an invitation to connect with you than on other social networks. When you create your profile, LinkedIn will offer to search people you already know based on your email contacts. Even if you may be reluctant to “spam” all your contacts (including family and friends) with an invite, do not forget that LinkedIn is a PROFESSIONAL social network which means that they do not share personal or intimate information. Moreover, even your personal connections can still help you connect with other professionals that might be potential employees; i.e. your cousin Jane is an accountant and her best friend is married to a PT!

When you complete this first step your 1st level connections will enlarge your network and give you access to 2nd level connections (connections of your 1st level connections) and 3rd level connections (people connected to your connections’ connections). But you can broaden your network even further by joining LinkedIn groups.

Step 2: Join as many groups as you can:

Groups are very useful on LinkedIn. Not only do they enlarge your network but more importantly, they allow you to CONTACT other group members DIRECTLY (see tip 3). In addition they keep you updated about relevant discussions in your field of interest. The free version of LinkedIn will let you join up to 50 groups, which gives you plenty of opportunities to connect with new professionals. Here is how my own list of groups looks like.

There are 2 types of groups on LinkedIn: restricted and open groups. The restricted groups are the ones you can see with a lock icon like the APTA for example. Those may have special criteria for your acceptance e.g. a professional association may require you to be a member of the organization in order to be a member of the LinkedIn group.

When choosing your groups there are 4 things to consider:

Is it an open or a restricted group? You want to have a good mix of open and restricted groups. This way if you reach the limit of 50 groups and you would like to join a new one, you are be able to withdraw from an open group without being concerned about the approval process if you choose to return to the open group you just left.
What is the group interest? Choose that are relevant to your professional field, personal/professional interest or the field of professionals you’re looking to hire.
How many members does the group have? Some group titles may seem very appealing but if they only have 50 members it won’t help you grow your network.
How active are the discussions in this group? You want to belong to groups that have lively discussions. Groups where members are engaged are also groups where you can interact with people easily or get noticed when you start a public conversation.

Tip 3: Use your groups to their full capacity

One of the features I like with respect to groups is that they allow you to reach others within the group. There are 2 ways to accomplish this. First, you can post a discussion for everybody in the group to see, below are examples on the APTA LinkedIn group.

If you are looking for a new PT to expand your practice, you could start a discussion posting your job announcement headline.

The second way to contact group members is to send them a direct message. Let’s say that you noticed one very active member of the group, you looked at his/her profile and you think he/she could be a good fit for your practice.

Click on Members, (the icon circled in green in the picture below).

You will arrive at the following page:

Type the Name of your potential candidate in the search box and his/her profile will appear in the search result.

When you hover your pointer over the profile a “send message” link will appear.

Click on that link and you will be able to send a personalized message to this group member, including for example your job offer.

Tip 4: Take Things to the Next Level: Create a LinkedIn page for your practice

LinkedIn now offers you the opportunity to create a page for your business just like you can create a business page on Facebook or Google +. This feature allows you to post content related to your business on your page, and you can also fill in the services and career tabs.
All of these features are available within a FREE version account. Stay tuned and next week I will go over this last feature in more details and show you how to get the most out of your Physical Therapy Practice’s LinkedIn page.