You’re busy running your practice, seeing patients, training staff, making sure the phones get answered and keeping your charts up to date.
So, why would you want to add something else to your list?
“The times they are a changing….” timeless words from Bob Dylan.
Patients and healthcare consumers are changing and the way that they find you is changing too.
- 80% of people will do an online search to find services like yours or they may use an app, like League or DashMD, to book and pay for a service ahead of time.
- 65% of people will come into your office with a diagnosis from Dr. Google.
- 50% will have attempted self-treatment or another service (like massage or yoga) before coming in.
So, what does this mean for you?
It means you need to go where the eyeballs are. Get online and grow your presence to increase traffic to your practice.
Before sharing any content, do a quick scan of the population you serve and figure out where they are online and what content they like to read.
Are they primarily an athletic population? Are they mothers? Do they subscribe to certain blogs or follow particular people on social media?
Put yourself in your patients’ shoes and write content that is insightful and useful.
Once you’ve done a little bit of market research – start sharing. Here are 5 types of content that clinic owners should share online.
1. Your Blogs
Writing your own blog establishes you as a thought leader and expert in a particular area.
If you decide to write your own blog, create a list of the types of posts that you’ll write about. Some examples include seasonal posts (ex: Prevent Golfer’s Elbow this Summer with these 4 exercises), list posts (breaking your content down into the format of a list is an easy way for your readers to consume content) and review of research posts (more on this in number 5).
2. Blogs and Resources from other Sources
Some good places to find relevant content for your community is on influencers websites – what was the last course you took and what content do they have that you could share?
Another good spot to start is to find the top trending posts related to health, physiotherapy or exercise. The top trending physiotherapy blog right now is the 10 reasons to love physiotherapy with 27.5K engagements on FB, 521 shares on Linkedin and 303 shares on Twitter.
The next most popular article is ‘Physiotherapy, Chiropractic and osteopathy: What’s the difference?”
3. Video
From do-it-yourself tutorials to adorable animal clips, videos are a big part of our life – and clinic owners should take notice.
Video is on a roll, and it’s evident if you look at any social media network today. Youtube, for one, has over a billion users, and social media channels like Facebook has even dedicated its News Feed to the use of video.
Some ideas for videos to post:
- Record a popular exercise
- Record a short explanation of a frequently asked question from patients
- Share videos from other sources – look for influencers in your specialty who have YouTube channels
- Ted Talks and other sources from outside of our industry who touch on health related topics
4. Image Posts
Image posts get 68% more engagement on social media and blogs that feature high-quality, relevant pictures get 94% more views.
If you haven’t found the perfect photo-editing tool, Google a variety of photo editing tools, get to know their features, and pay close attention to how much they cost.
One of my favorites is Canva – a photo design tool for non-designers. It’s simple to use and you can easily choose what you’re creating the post for (Facebook, Instagram). Canva also provides templates to work from so a lot of the design work is already done for you!
5. Report on Research“Science says” stories:
The word “science” adds credibility to any article. Lots of the most shared content quotes scientific research. Those posts either promise self-improvement, hold out some hope for our health, or explain why a behaviour or characteristic is positive based on scientific research. We are all looking to be understood and articles like these seem to help.
As physiotherapists we’re regularly exposed to research. The next time you read an article that you think your patients would be interested in, summarize it in either a few sentences (for social media) or in a few paragraphs for a blog, add an image and share.
Here’s an example of a research based post. Want a video to share as well – here’s one related to this post by Peter O’Sullivan!
The times might be changing but there is no reason that you can’t join the evolution. Never has there been a time when getting in front of people and sharing your message has been easier.
To summarize, take a look at your audience and where they are online – are they reading blogs, watching videos or are they on a particular social channel? Then either find or create content that speaks to your audience.
Test out different types of content to see what resonates best. Execute, analyze, rinse and repeat. Once you find something that works well (i.e. you get lots of views, likes, shares) double down on that strategy.
‘Tech Roundup’ is a bi-monthly post by Maggie Bergeron, RPT and co-founder of Embodia, that looks at the latest health technology trends and the impact on your practice.
