Chances are that you’re reading this blog post because you’re looking for ways to drive more traffic for your physical therapy practice. You’re on a mission to help people do everything from recover from surgeries to learning how to strengthen their bodies to prevent injuries. However, you’re probably a better physical therapist than you are at doing social media marketing so this blog post is for you.

Before we dive into social media best practices for your physical therapy practice, let’s cover what social media marketing is and the benefits you receive from it.

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing uses social media platforms to promote your products and services, drive traffic to your website and increase sales. Over 3.6 billion people worldwide are active on social media as of 2020. It is projected that there will be 4.41 billion users by 2025. With so many users worldwide, marketing on social media is essential for connecting with current and future customers.
There are numerous social media platforms and marketing strategies. It is crucial to determine your target audience to choose the social media platforms and strategies most effective for your physical therapy office. When your target audience aligns with the users of a social media platform, you can find great success. Do you need help getting started? Check out our blog “5 ways you can improve your online presence”.

What are the benefits of social media marketing?

There seem to be limitless ways to promote your products and services on social media. Just as you can benefit from keeping in touch with friends and family from across the globe, you can also create powerful opportunities to communicate with potential patients.

Social media users are expecting to interact with brands. This creates huge opportunities for you to expand your reach with potential patients, build your brand, and increase web traffic to your website.

Here are a few benefits of social media marketing:

Engage your audience: Interacting with your patients builds your credibility as a professional and develops relationships. You can share your authentic self, introduce other members of your team, learn and answer questions, share your passion to your online community, and showcase how existing patients are benefitting from your work.

Build your brand: 65% of B2C marketers with a content marketing strategy report an increase in credibility and trust from their consumers. Post content that is aligned with your goals and values, and is informative. As social media users regularly interact with your content, they can develop a greater feeling of trust in your brand.

Control the message: If concerns arise, you should immediately address it by sharing your side of the story. It is important to reply to positive and negative comments. Personalize your responses to build initial trust. Keep in mind that some conversations are better through private messaging with certain patients. Share that you will relay comments to your team so that they see you are listening and striving to always improve.
Increase website traffic: Most social media platforms do a fantastic job of creating easy access to your website and other platforms. Ensure that you include your website address on your social media profiles so that people who want to learn about you can do so easily.

5 ways physical therapy offices can prove their expertise and genuinely help people through social media

You are a trained professional in your field and you are ready to help patients improve their health and their lives! Social media marketing can promote your brand and show others why they should trust you to help them with their health.

Provide credible information: Healthcare professionals can inform and help stop the spread of misinformation on social media. Show your patients that the information you share is relevant, accurate and up-to-date by providing credible sources of current information. Post content that is informative, answers your patients’ concerns, raises awareness about emerging health issues, and provides credible facts.
Share creative ideas: Get creative in sharing your professional knowledge with your patients online! Share at-home techniques or exercises that your clients can do for prevention or treatment of common injuries. Take your online audience for a tour of your office, equipment and staff. Explain which foods promote healing and reduce inflammation.
Answer common questions: Social media platforms are built for conversations. Help your followers feel like you are approachable to build relationships. You can do more than post to reach your followers. Use the platform features available like taking Instagram Story polls, replying to comments quickly or scheduling live Q&A video chats. Make sure that your comments align with your goals and values, always stay positive, initiate interesting topics of conversation, and be respectful of others opinions-even if you disagree.
Partner with other professionals: Social media platforms are built for conversations. Help your followers feel like you are approachable to build relationships. You can do more than post to reach your followers. Use the platform features available like taking Instagram Story polls, replying to comments quickly or scheduling live Q&A video chats. Make sure that your comments align with your goals and values, always stay positive, initiate interesting topics of conversation, and be respectful of others opinions-even if you disagree.
Launch public outreach campaigns: Public outreach campaigns engage and inform your community of particular goals or issues. A campaign can be run by just your clinic or as a community project. Look for ways to strengthen your community. Run a campaign that helps educate schools, retirement homes or athletic organizations. Build your reputation by showing your passion through education and supporting your target audience with their needs.
During the pandemic, JanSport created the campaign #lightentheload. They had the goal of supporting the youth through the school year by providing different resources besides backpacks. They partnered with several different healthcare professionals to inform youth of common problems they might have. Some of these resources included Facebook Live Chats with professionals that would talk about mental health, exercise from home, or how to prevent back and neck pain from sitting at a computer.

Social media has a huge impact on the healthcare system. Sharing your expertise will not only help your business grow, but you will empower your patients as they make decisions to live their best lives.

Got questions about how to implement these social media marketing strategies and more? Let us know by filling out the form below!

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BONUS TIPS: Instagram ideas for physical therapy/physiotherapy practices

Since you’ve made it this far, here’s an added bonus in case you’re in need of physical therapy Instagram ideas! These Instagram ideas can be quickly added to your overall marketing strategy to grow your brand and attract new patients. Here are 10 Instagram ideas for your physiotherapy office:

Instagram carousel post of 5 different neck exercises for people who work at a desk
An Instagram Live of your front desk receptionist giving a tour of your physical therapy office
A Reel talking about the difference between physical therapy and weight training
A Reel sharing 3 tips for better sleep
Instagram post sharing 3 ways to have stronger shoulders
An Instagram Live of a physical therapist explaining the benefits of using exercise bands
A Reel sharing 3 tips for better hip mobility
An Instagram Live answering frequently asked questions about back injuries
A Reel sharing 3 ankle mobility exercises
Instagram carousel post of 5 ways to increase your energy levels during the day

All of the Instagram ideas above are easy for you to talk about since you’re an expert when it comes to helping people recover from injuries, accidents, surgeries, and more. The key is not to think too hard when it comes to your Instagram content for your physiotherapy practice! If you’ve found value in these bonus tips, leave us a comment below!

Increasing web traffic is not impossible when you implement these best practices for your physical therapy clinic! You can create opportunities to help more people by improving your online visibility. After all, your impact on your community is measured by how many people you’re able to help live their best lives.

Let’s begin with realistic tips you can use as a physical therapy clinic.

5 effective ways to drive more web traffic for your physical therapy clinic

All the tips below can be implemented this week by your business. They’re practical proven tips you can utilize to increase web traffic which results in new leads. As you generate new leads, you’ll be able to help more people heal and live their best lives.

Regularly update your website with original content: When was the last time you checked your website to make sure all of the information you were sharing was accurate? Is your listed address current? Do you have the right staff listed on your website? Those are just a few of the items that are often missed by businesses.
Another way to update your website is by including a blog that you regularly publish to. You can share everything from practical exercises people can do at home for back pain to office news that affects your patients.
Share your website content to your social media platforms: Now that you’ve been adding new articles to your company blog, start sharing your blog posts! You can do this by posting your content to sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn. It’s an effective way to drive more web traffic to your website which will result in more inquiries and closed business. You will also give your current and past patients the opportunity to share your social posts to their personal accounts leading to greater credibility for your clinic.
Collaborate with other health-focused businesses: Have you created any content with your referral partners? Chances are, you have referral partners in the healthy industry who can help you create original online content. Here are some collaborative ideas you can put to work for you:
- An infographic focused on healthy habits you co-created with a pediatrician
- A Facebook Live video with a nutritionist talking about the relationship between eating well and recovering from injuries
- An Instagram collaboration with an orthopedic surgeon on ways to prevent knee injuries
Utilize email newsletters: Newsletters are a great way to repurpose your blog content. You can use your blog content to regularly send email newsletters to connect with past patients and referral partners. It’s a great way to remind people of what you can do for them, their friends, and their family members.
Be consistent with your marketing efforts: One of the biggest reasons why people can’t generate results for their brand is because they give up on marketing. It’s tough to know what works and what doesn’t work if you don’t have enough quality data to make decisions with.

Start using the tips above to strengthen your online presence and increase revenue. As you do everything from creating blog posts to send newsletters, more people will learn about what you can offer them. Investing educational resources for your target audience helps you have a more empowered patient you can treat.

Got questions about driving web traffic for your business? Let us know by filling out the form below!