Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Chiropractic Marketing with Social Networks and Video

By Matthew Loop, DC

When they first originated, I don't think anyone could've imagined just how lucrative and powerful social networking websites like YouTube, Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter were going to be for business growth and exposure. When I introduced social media and simple video marketing to the chiropractic profession three years ago, I was confident that these Web 2.0 platforms would change the face of marketing as we knew it. With that confidence, I still could not have predicted the explosion that has taken place globally in such a short amount time.

And that wasn't the end of it either. I was able to save a remarkable amount of time by leveraging tasks, and was able to use web 2.0 and all its services at absolutely no cost. No wonder expensive marketing firms are working like crazy to find new clients to charge loads of money. They sense the end is near, because the real power of SEO and web 2.0 can be unleashed on your own! When I started to introduce myself to my community three years ago using MySpace, I was meeting nearly 50 people a day online. The traffic this drew to my website was unheard of. Soon enough, calls from potential patients starting coming in.

Marketing on social media can yield instant results but it's absolutely phenomenal for positioning yourself in the long-term! It's similar to planting seeds within the community and getting into every nook-and-cranny possible. If you set yourself up correctly, you can brand yourself as an authority in whatever specialty you choose and gain trust and credibility with your community. Then, you can keep tabs and consistently build top-of-the-mind awareness with the friends and subscriber lists that you've built. The avalanche occurs after you've amassed several thousand people that you keep in touch with regularly that need you or refer new patients to your chiropractic practice for the conditions that you treat.

Perhaps the greatest goldmine that I discovered for chiropractic marketing and other forms of marketing is online video submission. When you make and upload online videos, it's a simple and easy thing you can do that yields huge results in your chiropractic practice and its popularity in your community. There are a couple tricks to learn though, like how to properly compress your video through Windows Movie Maker or iMovie. It's vital that you do this before trying to upload to YouTube or video sharing sites.

I noticed a while back that videos receive tremendous index status in the major search engines. When you understand the basics of optimization, you can begin to see your material reach top billing as well. When the most highly targeted visitors see your videos and get the link to your website, you officially have the internet working for you and your chiropractic practice 24 hours a day. My new patients said they felt like they already knew me, even before stepping into my office. That says a lot! When I provide new health and chiropractic information over the internet to help and inform people, they sense that they're not getting junk or spam. They're getting information and support they can trust.

Almost half of the content online today is video, and its time you jumped on the bandwagon and put your chiropractic marketing into high gear. Remember, the more material you have online in the best variety, the more credibility you gain. Just imagine Googling someone or something, and coming up with a particular office or practice in multiple top billing positions. That person would automatically appear to be the authority on something, right?

I take my viewers on fun journeys in my videos to really give a total experience of learning and putting people at ease. I've filmed tours of my office, talked in detail about my practice, and given pointers and tips to people searching for answers to their chiropractic questions. I've even shot segments on vacation in Costa Rica! When you keep the videos fun and interesting, people are going to always want to come back and see more. They will perhaps share your videos with friends, and things only can grow more from there.

In your chiropractic video marketing campaigns, make sure to also crank-out at least 1-2 videos per week. You can do them yourself or outsource production. If you outsource, though, you will pay a pretty penny. I recommend doing it yourself, as it's so simple and free. It's also a good idea to invite people to subscribe to your YouTube video channel at the end of your video messages. If you directly ask them, they will be more inclined to do so.

The important thing to remember is to relax, have fun, and to not be pretentious. Your videos should not be fake or give a false impression of who you really are. Convey your genuine feelings about wanting to help people and be the go-to person for their specific problems and this is what you will attract. With that in mind, provide a large amount of use value that your followers or people that see your video can implement that same day. This will give you even more credibility and build faster rapport with your community.

You truly do need a good chiropractic coach that understands the current marketing climate, and how modern technology and communications function for chiropractors today. Find a coach that specializes in chiropractic marketing utilizing web 2.0 and social media sharing sites. There's no use finding someone who specializes in anything else. Once you find the right mentor, fasten your seat belt because your practice is about to explode on the internet! - 16463

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