Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Social Media: Chiropractic Marketing's Hot New Face

By Matthew Loop, DC

Many chiropractors go to school and gain excellent technical knowledge of their science. They graduate and start their business under the misguided notion that they need only hang a sign on their door and clients will begin flocking to them. When business takes too long to pick up speed, or even worse begins to falter, these practitioners are unequipped to market themselves. Particularly in today's digital world, chiropractors who are willing to learn the simple techniques of online marketing will find themselves pulling ahead of their competition at an astonishing rate.

Marketing has changed rapidly in the past few years. The biggest factor affecting the change has been the advent of Web 2.0 and social networking on the internet. You may have heard these terms used but were not sure what they mean, and perhaps you feel that you can just ignore this new trend. Marketing experts agree that the future of selling is on the internet. Unless you are willing to take on the social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and YouTube you will continue to flounder in your business.

For three years I have been teaching chiropractors and other professionals how to get the most from social media websites. I have authored and created a system of marketing that has literally transformed chiropractic as a business.

I have had various marketing consultants try to grab my secrets, which I've shared with only a select group of my fellow chiropractors. These consultants have tried all manner and method of tricking me by calling from anonymous numbers or posing as potential clients. They wanted to capture and sell my ideas, and I was more interested in making my ideas come to life.

During my research I observed how other chiropractors were approaching online marketing. They immediately signed up for their own profile and began spamming other members with their advertisements. Not only will this get you kicked off the website (since it is against the user agreement), but most people hate spam and the result will be the exact opposite of what you intended when you sent it in the first place. The only real way to make the most of these sites is to find a mentor; someone who has been there before and knows how to navigate the waters of Web 2.0.

While the profession and 95% of chiropractors are playing catch-up, I've been on the cutting-edge discovering new, and even more powerful ways to leverage these Web 2.0 technologies to create a steady stream of new patients and multiple sources of income for me and my hundreds of students. Last month was a great example, as I made over $5,000 in one month from just one video that I posted on YouTube. With returns like this for minimal time investment, many are crippling themselves by not learning how to market the proper way with social media.

Let me leave you with a couple simple tips about chiropractic marketing on Myspace. Never send a friend request without a polite message! This is Myspace 101 stuff that is very important since you want the person to know how you ran across their profile. Always include videos on your profile, as it makes people stay on your page for a longer period of time and holds interest. Now, I'm not talking of all chiropractic videos either. People want to know the real you, not just what your profession is!

This is going to be a new language for most doctors since we live in more technologically advanced times. You have a choice though. You can either take a year out of your schedule to learn everything you need to know about social media marketing or you can find a mentor who's been there and done that. The latter will reduce your learning curve by about a year while the first one will cost you an arm and leg in money and mistakes. - 15275

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