Physical therapy marketing is an essential part of running a successful physical therapy practice.
And even though you probably already know that things get a bit more tricky when it comes to strategy.
Marketing can be difficult to get right sometimes, especially since not every strategy is suitable for every business. For example, while telemarketing might be great for selling niche products, it won’t be effective for advertising your clinic.
Medesk is an assistant for clinic managers, collects and presents complex statistics about the work of the clinic in a simple and understandable way, that makes it easier for the manager to make both operational and strategic decisions.
Learn more >>So what will be effective?
We have compiled for you a list of the best physical therapy marketing strategies that will help take your practice to the next level!
10 Most Effective Strategies in Physical Therapy Marketing
#1. Make your Own Website
In this day and age, the internet is often the first place people look for almost anything they need. This includes healthcare. In fact, as much as 80% of people make health-related searches online.
So what does this mean for your practice? It gives you the perfect physical therapy marketing opportunity!
By creating your own user-friendly website, you’ll leave a great first impression and attract more new patients. You can share useful information, reviews, and testimonials, and offer patients convenient tools such as online booking or consultations.
#2. Drive Organic Traffic to Your Website With SEO
While many businesses use online paid advertising, results actually indicate that unpaid organic search engine results are better at driving traffic to your website.
This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in. An SEO expert will use relevant keywords, content design, hyperlinking, and other methods to rank your website higher on google search results.
This will, of course, result in more traffic, and hopefully, new patients for your physical therapy practice.
Due to the individually customized reports at Medesk, you can always understand which articles and blog materials engage paying patients.
Learn more >>#3. Use Email Marketing
Another highly effective form of physical therapy marketing in the digital age is email marketing.
Sending out personal, highly informative emails can catch the attention of prospective patients and is very likely to turn leads into actual patients and financial growth for your practice if done right.
All you really need to make this work is a short, information-dense message that will pique interest and allow patient engagement. You’ll want to link your website, social media, and various contact information here.
And most importantly, make sure to finish it off with an effective call to action that will drive prospective patients to book appointments and turn into your regulars.
#4. Get Active on Social Media
Speaking of social media, what better way to reach a wide range of prospective patients than with your physical therapy marketing campaign? After all, more than half the world’s population now uses some form of social media or another. And most probably spend more time on these channels than they should.
This means that your physical therapy practice needs to be on top of social media marketing to raise your online presence. You can create promotional videos, blogs, webinars, or other information materials to attract new leads.
And you don’t necessarily have to reach everyone directly. The great thing about social media is that it is highly engaging and interactive. So odds are, your posts will be shared, retweeted, and linked, if done right.
Make sure you add a call to action button that will easily lead those who are interested directly to your booking system to make appointments.
#5. Don’t Forget Traditional Advertising
Although more people are online now than ever before, there are still potential patients out there who don’t use social media, aren’t tech-savvy, or simply prefer to engage in real-world activities and stay offline.
Though this isn’t the largest segment of the population, it is considerable enough that you definitely don't want to exclude them from your physical therapy marketing campaign.
To reach these potential patients, it’s best to employ more traditional forms of marketing such as business cards, newspaper ads, snail mail, brochures, and signs.
#6. Establish Professional Partnerships
While you will mainly target prospective patients directly with your physical therapy marketing strategies, don’t overlook the power of referrals. You should also advertise to and build relationships with other wellness professionals in your area.
This can include:
- Athletic trainers
- Yoga instructors
- Rehabilitation counselors
- Massage therapists
- Chiropractors
- Nutritionists
These kinds of relationships can be mutually beneficial, as the services you provide can complement each other. This will increase the number of patients for both parties while also providing more thorough care.
#7. Focus on Getting Great Reviews
As much as 91% of people regularly read reviews and most of them trust those reviews as much as they would their own friends. So it’s definitely a good idea to include patient reviews as part of your physical therapy marketing strategy.
While your advertisements and informational content are very effective, people might perceive your own content as biased. On the other hand, your patients have no reason to embellish their accounts.
This makes even a few raving reviews go a long way in attracting new customers.
There are many ways you can go about getting these reviews. You can directly ask some of your most loyal customers, send out emails, or even offer incentives such as small rewards.
For broader marketing strategies, check out our healthcare marketing ideas.
#8. Establish your Brand Identity with the Right Logo
Brand identity is extremely important to any business and should be a big part of your physical therapy marketing strategy.
One of the fundamental steps to establishing your own brand identity is to create the right logo that represents your practice. Whether you want to convey nurturing, reliability, or strength, your logo should reflect it.
Once you’ve got the right one, make sure it is visible and recognizable. This can be done by creating promotional items such as hats, shirts, or notebooks with your logo and making it prominent on all of your printed and online content.
#9. Have a Monthly Campaign
A great way to boost rates of visits is by providing monthly content to your patients and referring doctors. This can be newsletters, postcards, or even events such as webinars, to name a few.
There are many ways this can be an effective physical therapy marketing strategy:
- You can remind patients of your presence. Out of sight is out of mind, after all. So you want to appeal to your existing customers regularly.
- You can provide useful information to your patients that will add value to the services you offer. This will encourage patients to stay loyal to your practice.
- You can share promotions or new services that can increase the number of appointments made by your existing patients.
Individually customized reports at Medesk make it clear where to advertise and what services to offer. You can plan special offers, use color-coded tags that will help segment and analyze specific data for pre-selected positions.
Learn more >>#10. Keep Stock of Promotional Items
Promotional materials such as brochures, rack cards, tee shirts, or other giveaway items can come in handy in many situations. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep plenty in stock for whenever you might need them.
When it comes to brochures and rack cards, it’s good practice to keep them on display in waiting areas for your patients to pass the time while also receiving important information. These items can also be handed out for promotions and special events to attract new customers.
And giveaways will not only make prospective patients feel appreciated, but they also provide a great opportunity to spread brand awareness. Things like tee shirts, mugs, or pens can include your logos and slogans, allowing your patients to advertise your practice themselves.
When working in a physical therapy clinic you might encounter some problems, with telehealth or patient retention being just a few. Read our detailed guide to physical therapy problems, including tips on how to fix them!
Key Takeaways
With these 10 strategies, you now have the makings of a great physical therapy marketing strategy underway.
Just remember:
- Stay up to date on the technology. Create a website, get on social media, and use email marketing.
- Focus on establishing a good relationship with both your patients and peers for good reviews and referrals.
- Don’t forget about traditional marketing and make sure to keep stock of plenty of promotional items so you’re always ready.
- Keep up your marketing efforts by using SEO to drive traffic to your website, working on your brand identity, and having monthly campaigns.
