Did you know that according to the United States Bone and Joint Initiative (USBJI), there are 50% of Americans over the age of 18 who develop a musculoskeletal injury that lasts longer than 3 months? That’s 108 million individuals who will need physical therapy in their lifetime. Learn how social media can help bring in new patients and enhance your overall online reputation below!
Benefits of Social Media for Physical Therapy Clinics
There are many reasons why your physical therapy practice needs to be on social media. Not only can you acquire new patients by answering questions and comments on your platforms, but you can also ask your current patients to check in to your location. You can encourage patients to send in their pictures by setting up a social media contest, or simply by reposting and engaging with any patients who check in. Not only does this promote positive communication between your practice and your patients, but it also gives you more authentic content to post on different platforms.
Keep in mind that many of your patients are dealing with injuries and are unable to do things they have been able to do in the past. This can be a difficult time for them, and a little encouragement can go a long way. All it takes is a simple shout out on social media to make a patient’s day.
Developing a social presence is great, but with great power comes great responsibility. And it is your responsibility to develop a strong, platform specific and strategic approach to post engaging content that people will want to see. So what should you be posting on Facebook, Twitter, etc.?
What Physical Therapy Practices Should Post on Social Media
Facebook is ideal for service promotion. With the ability to run and target ads to your liking, your promotions can reach a specific audience. If your practice is mentioned in the media (news articles, blog posts, video reports, other publications), take the time to leverage these opportunities on Facebook. Be sure to tag the publication in your post!
Facebook posts should have a good amount of call to actions, like backlinks to your website and phone numbers. By running ads on a post with a call to action, you will target specific groups with a pre-determined message, so your chances of seeing a return on your investment increase.
Because your Twitter feed is constantly updating, engagement on this platform is typically low. That’s why you should be heavily pushing backlinks to your website on this platform. The more you tweet, the greater your chances of a potential patient seeing something they want to learn more about. It is also good for starting conversations with current and prospective patients, as well as interacting with industry related trending tags.
If done correctly, Pinterest is a great tool for generating organic, cost-free traffic to your website. Utilizing the pin it button, you should be uploading original pins that include backlinks to your website.
Google+
On Google+, you only want to be posting service related posts with backlinks to your website. This platform isn’t where you should express your creativity; instead, it is strictly to help your SEO ranking. Few people are going to actually read your Google+ posts, no matter how savvy you are.
Social Media and Your Online Reputation
Many patients will write online reviews about a specific doctor or practice, especially when they have an extremely positive or negative experience. Encourage your loyal patients to write positive reviews, while also monitoring your pages for negative comments and address them accordingly. Show your fans you care about their feedback!
It’s also important to be monitoring your pages for vulgar and explicit content. You don’t want this type of content being associated with your practice, so be diligent and prepared for anything.
Social media is constantly changing, and so should the way that you need to utilize it for your practice. These tips are just scratching the surface of how far you can take your physical therapy clinic’s social media and online presence. Stay on top of news, trends, and viral content with our social media blog.