physical therapy marketing Archives - Page 3 of 3

Why Seeing the Big Picture of Digital Marketing Is Therapeutic

It’s a little ironic: you’re a physical therapist who improves the health of others, but when tasked with the overwhelming flood of information involved in online marketing, you become stressed, tense, and exhausted.

But there’s a quick relief valve to this stress: step back and look at the big picture — at the panorama that sits behind all of the little online chores of physical therapy marketing.

And, thankfully, this big picture is not complicated — yet so many businesses overlook a simple truth: marketing, in the end, marketing for small businesses, i.e. physical therapy practices, is about getting your market (doctors, current & past patients, and your community) to know, like and trust you. But obtaining that prized marketing goal requires an essential skill.

Being a Good Listener

Yes, online marketing involves plenty of techno-babble at times — terms like “scalable,” “metrics,” “big-data,” “viral,” or “growth hacking.”

But the heart of online marketing, or any marketing, thrives on something everyone can relate to: being a good listener.

In the ancient days of sales before the Internet, door-to-door salespeople — the really good ones who ran their numbers through the roof — all did one thing really well.

They listened.

They listened carefully and sincerely. They were comfortable with silence. They weren’t eager to steamroll their customers with non-stop pitching and strong-arm talking tactics. They asked good questions and then really listened to their customers until they pin-pointed that one red-hot need, that one cry for help that perfectly matched what their product offered.

Nothing has changed. Although you do not travel door-to-door conducting surveys on paper or pitching services, you are still listening. In the digital age, we now do much of our listening through screens. All of the online spheres — social media, data analytics, web design, e-newsletters — have become digital ears.

Superb Web Design: Making That Crucial First Impression

[pullquote1 quotes=”true” align=”right” variation=”steelblue” textColor=”#4c7c81″]In fact, over the last 6 weeks, across all of the mobile websites
E-rehab.com manages, we’ve logged over 5,000 calls. [/pullquote1] If you fail to make a stellar first impression with someone you meet, they’re less likely to enter into a meaningful conversation with you. Your website — its visual appeal, navigational ease, functionality — has to be top-notch to earn the trust of visitors and create those conversations.

Physical therapy practice owners need a complete, state-of-the art online marketing system, and that’s exactly what we offer in our proven web design model. By combining Google, Yahoo!, and Bing-friendly content, an intuitive management Control Panel, an integrated blog, powerful visual appeal, and multiple calls-to-action, your site will create valuable conversations with visitors.

But desktop websites are only half of the equation. According to recent studies by Pew Internet, 34% of Internet users “go online mostly using their phones.” In fact, over the last 6 weeks, across all of the mobile websites E-rehab.com manages, we’ve logged over 5,000 calls. Mobile marketing grows every year in its dominance, and a powerful mobile website is a must. We design fast-loading, visually attractive mobile sites that will increase user engagement and attract both new and repeat visitors — in addition to many other features of mobile marketing, including QR code creation.

Search Engine Optimization

Part of being a good listener in the Screen Age means creating more conversations. We learn to listen well by doing it often. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) creates more opportunities for you to listen by bringing more traffic to your site.

But it’s more than just opening the floodgates and letting faceless IP addresses stampede through your web traffic stats. As search engines have evolved, it’s become more about search experience optimization. We make sure your website optimizes the experience for human beings, not the robot crawlers that scour the Internet. When a website creates helpful search experiences for prospects, search engines notice and this improves your ranking.

E-rehab helps you find that balance between excellent user experience in your site design and SEO guidelines that help your website stand out to search engines.

We can also determine your local SEO effectiveness and look for ways to position you more effectively among local prospects.

Remember, according to Pew Internet, 72% of internet users say they looked online for health information within the past year. When asked to think about the last time they did so, 77% of online health seekers say they began at a search engine such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo.

Effective local SEO helps you create more conversations with prospective patients in your community.

Patient Survey

And, of course, the direct approach is the best approach. E-rehab excels in creating attractive, easy-to-use, interactive patient surveys that can be delivered via email. We can post ratings, reviews, and survey results on your website and create dynamic charts. But most importantly, our services help you ask the right questions and listen to what your patients need.

Relief from Marketing Brain Freeze

When you reduce a complex system to its essentials, it’s a little easier to relax. When you know that the goal is attainable — that, when boiled down, marketing is simply about getting your community to know, like, and trust you– it makes the process less intimidating.

The bottom-line? Digital marketing doesn’t have to be a splitting headache. Contact us to see how we can alleviate your stress and help you listen well in our digital world.

10 Reasons Physical Therapists Need Reputation Management

physical therapy reputation management picture of quality

Reputation management for physical therapy is an important aspect of modern marketing and business practices. Your business reputation is important, and in the social age, people can say things about you anytime, anywhere and have a drastic impact on your business processes. The following reasons PT businesses need reputation management show the value of proactively engaging your online reputation.

Knowledge – The first part of customer service is knowing what your customers are saying about you. At this stage, even the bad reviews are valuable to you. Knowledge about what people are saying gives you power to respond positively and turn negative customers into positives (if possible), increase word-of-mouth from positive customers, and address and fix systematic issues.
Visibility – With changes to Google’s algorithm, website management is social management. For your SEO to perform, for your website to be seen, you have to manage your reputation on social media sites. From accurate information (have you checked your Google+ page recently?) to creating positive dialogue (when was the last time a customer got a personal Facebook response?), reputation management creates an online presence for your business.
Manage Multiple Presences – Your business is PT. Marketing 25 years ago was simple: phone-book, physicians and hospitals, and a good location would be the primary methods of reaching your customers. With the internet, marketing has changed. You must maintain local listings on the 3 major search engines, create regular posts on Facebook and Twitter, create videos on YouTube, and do regular email updates.
Track Customers – Many people just see reputation management as taking care of social media, but a good program will integrate with websites and internal databases to locate where customers are coming from, giving you control over advertising as well as managing your reputation.
Videos – With increasing access to high-speed internet and 4G services growing in both service and technology (LTE), users are looking for full audio/visual communication from service providers. Good reputation management programs will not only set up a YouTube channel, but help you create and post videos to let people know about your business.
Review Creation – When a customer has a great experience with your business, they will want to tell their friends on Facebook or Twitter about it. If you create surveys, online comment forms, email receipts and more with Facebook and Twitter links embedded in them, you bring customers’ friends to them with the click of a button.
Technology Tracking – Reputation management experts know SEO, SEM and social marketing. It is their business. A good reputation management program works not only today, but with the changes down the road, too. Whether it is the increase in mobile technologies or changes to search algorithms, reputation management helps your PT business stay technologically relevant.
Inform Prospects – A reputation management team focused on PT knows what your customers want. From medical libraries to Privacy Policy and FAQs, a reputation management package should include management of your information on your website: giving customers the information they need and creating dialogue on various sites through social network links.
Manage Physicians and Patients – Your PT reputation is affected by both patients and physicians who refer them. The best teams will understand that physician relationship management is entirely different than customer relationships, and give you tools to reach both groups and build your reputation.
Website Maintenance – Now with mobile platforms and social networking, integrating all of these marketing platforms with your website is an essential part of a reputation management program. Physical therapy practice owners often times don’t have the knowledge and/or resources to stay on top of the constant changes that occur with online marketing. Therefore, it is important that you have someone you trust keeping an eye on this because it does impact your online reputation.

To find out more about reputation management, online PT services, and how to be found by the right people, please contact E-Rehab.

A Simple Physical Therapy Social Media Marketing Strategy

Digital marketing has quickly become the most common and fastest way to reach a wide audience. However, simply having a website isn’t enough to reach a vast audience. We recommend you have a simple physical therapy social media marketing strategy. A 2014 study performed by Social Media Examiner found that a whopping 97% of marketers were using social media to expose and sell their services; meaning that if you aren’t currently using social media to market your business, you are already behind. But it takes more than just opening a Facebook account to succeed at physical therapy social media marketing. Here are some things you need to know about social media marketing so that you can take your physical therapy clinic to the next level by reaching and impacting a wider range of audience:

Use Multiple Social Media Sites

It might seem like everyone in the universe has a Facebook account, but this isn’t necessarily true. Individuals tend to favor one social media outlet over the others, so someone who is very active on Twitter might miss your Facebook announcements and promotions. To optimize your business’s outreach, set up accounts on all the major social media outlets: Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Stay Active

Simply having social media sites isn’t enough to draw attention or business from followers. You need to update regularly with new information, exciting news in your office, and any news events that are relevant to your practice, your community, and the profession. But don’t panic if you don’t have time to personally make these updates. E-rehab takes care of Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ updates for you so your pages will always be active and current.

Engage With Followers

Consumers are more likely to trust brands and companies they follow on social media than those that they don’t, largely because social media offers a personal, human factor that just isn’t present in direct marketing or even commercial campaigns. People are likely to lodge complaints or offer high praise on your social media sites, and these need to be addressed. Apologizing publicly to a dissatisfied client on Facebook or Twitter demonstrates that you listen to your clients and care about their feedback. Further, you can openly discuss any new policies or strategies that will take place based on the feedback. Likewise, accepting compliments and graciously saying Thank You shows followers that your business takes the time to read and respond to clients long after they have left your office.

Word of Mouth

We all know that personal referrals are the most important way for PT practices to generate new patients. When your patients respond to your social media announcements, they end up referring you to their followers, meaning you are reaching a much wider range of audience than through other forms of marketing. The best part is, you don’t have to do any extra work to reach this audience.

[info_box]Is Your Competition Already Ahead of You? Do a quick Google search for your competitors, and you will likely find that they are already using social media to market their business. Don’t waste any more time giving them the social media advantage and taking clients away from you. Contact us today, and let E-rehab work with you to develop a complete social media campaign for your physical therapy office. We will develop and maintain a customized Facebook account, a customized Twitter account, and a customized Google+ channel. “Not having time” to keep up with your social media accounts just isn’t an excuse anymore since we do all the work for you. All you have to do is sit back and reap the benefits of getting additional business for your physical therapy office thanks to your social media marketing campaign.[/info_box]

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]

What Does My Mom and Tole Painting Have to do with Physical Therapy Search Marketing?

Every year my mom paints these really nice decorative ornaments for my kids. It’s a tradition that she’s kept up for years and she’s pretty good at it too. However, one day she called me in a panic. She had run out of a couple colors of paint that she needed and wanted my help. You see, she didn’t know where to get them anymore since the local arts and crafts shop had gone out of business. (What does this have to do with physical therapy search marketing? Bear with me).

I, of course, opened Google and did a search. Within a minute, I had several names of stores that she could go to for the paint she needed. I called a couple of them up, asked if it was in stock and then gave my mom a couple of options. That same day she had her paint and the ornament tradition will continue this holiday.

Physical Therapy Search Marketing – Patients Research Online Buy Offline (ROBO)

So, what does the story above have to do with physical search therapy marketing? The fact is that patients and their adult children ROBO all of the time. In fact, a client of ours in Florida (yes, think Medicare because 70% of his patients are Medicare) generates 30% of his business from Internet marketing. Furthermore, it’s not the Medicare patients that are researching online either. It’s the adult children of the patients that are doing the Googling.

How People Look for You – We’ve Run the Tests

Intuitively, one might think that patients will search for back pain treatment in your community. While 1 or 2 of those searches may occur each month, our data suggests that there are 3 main ways people research physical therapy practices online.

By business name – PT is a referral business so this makes sense.
By geographic convenience- this too makes sense. The doctor tells the patient, “Find a physical therapy clinic close to you.”
By clinician name – if you were referred to an orthopedist for a consultation/treatment, would you research him/her online first? Many do.

Do a Few Searches Yourself

Based on our experience with physical therapy search marketing, we suggest you do the three searches we indicated above for your practice. Google your practice name. Google physical therapy in your city. Google your own name. Are you listed?

How to Get Listed

There are three different ways to be listed on a SERP (search engine results page). Click here for those. A good way to get started is to go to www.getlisted.org and search for your practice. They have lots of good information on how to do it yourself. Much of it pertains to how to get listed in the local business listings. This is a great place start.