These days, chiropractic marketing budgets are usually tight and it's more important than ever that your advertising and marketing investments return a steady profit. How can you get the most bang for your buck?
First off, avoid spending money on paid directory listings like phonebooks or web directories. Any intelligent marketer knows that directories are dying and that it's almost impossible to get a return on paid directory advertising. Sure, these websites and phonebook companies guarantee "vast traffic" and "thousands of patients" but they can't compete with websites like Yelp, Google, Facebook and other modern websites and hubs of information. If you're spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on phonebook advertising, you're getting scammed!
The same thing goes for newspaper advertisements. Who the heck remembers newspaper ads for chiropractors?
Now that you're saving a hefty chunk of change, you need to find solid investments.
1. AdWords
No marketing tool can guarantee faster or more effective results than AdWords. It's also the most expensive option- you can easily spend $200-$300/month for a medium sized city. Calculate the number of patients you would need to convert in order to cover that kind of expense and invest $300-$500 in a 30 day trial run. Make sure you set up AdWords properly. If you're one of our clients, we can do it for you (no cost).
2. Facebook
This is the best long-term chiropractic marketing investment. The service doesn't cost anything but you'll need to calculate the number of labor hours. If you're a web savvy chiropractor, try investing 1-2 hours per day on participating in the Facebook community. If you're a busy or less savvy chiropractor, hire a bright college student to manage your Facebook profile/page. If you want advice for how to effectively use Facebook for chiropractic marketing, give me a call (or have your bright college student call me).
3. Google Places
Here's another free chiropractic marketing resource. Google Places has been called the phonebook killer and it's a great way to improve your website's search engine ranking and gain more visibility without paying a dime. If you're one of our clients, we'll setup and optimize your Google Places listing for free!
4. Yelp
Yelp draws a growing audience of smartphone users who want rapid information on local businesses and is another free profile that'll boost your exposure and allows you to collect positive reviews. Your Yelp reviews and ratings will automatically upload to Google Places, saving you time and boosting your credibility/exposure.
5. Youtube
If a picture's worth a thousand words, then video is worth a thousand pictures. Nothing will help promote your credibility better than a good 1-2 minute introduction video. Pay a young film student $300 to film and edit a friendly, professional video of you introducing yourself and briefly explaining chiropractic. A talented student can film, edit, and upload a high quality video in less than 6 hours and you'll see immediate results. Make sure you upload the video to youtube, embed it on your website, and then upload it to Google Places!
There you go, proven marketing strategies with guaranteed return-on-investment. What the heck are you waiting for?
Have questions? Not sure where to start? Call me at (800)295-3346.
Rod Campbell
Marketing Director
ChiroHosting.com
