It can be hard to choose which social media platform is right for your business. You may not know where to start and you need to consider all of your options before finding the best one for you. So, how do you choose which social media platform is best for your physical therapy website? There are lots of different variables and Physical therapy can be prescribed for many different reasons. With this in mind the demographics of your customers can be difficult to narrow down. Looking into all the reasons why someone may require physical therapy and finding out about those people will help you decide where to market to them.
Many of your physical therapy patients will be athletes looking for rehabilitative or proactive measures. So, this demographic should be within your target audience. But there are also others who require treatments too. Think about the wider audience and where they are most likely be reached online. You also need to look at other factors to identify your target audience. These include finding out the psychographics or more personal attributes of your potential customers. Look at your current customer base and analyse their demographics as well as the clients of your competition. Once you have a good idea of what your target audience is all about, you can fit the social media platform that is best for your business.
The best social media platform for marketing your business depends on your marketing goals so you need to set an objective and realise the purpose of your campaign. Decide what your end goal is and what you want to achieve. For example, if you are looking for new patients or customers then Facebook may be a good idea, but if you are looking for people to follow your blog posts, Google plus may be a better option. Once you know your aim and have set a goal, you can decide which platform will be best for you to use.
As one of the most used social media platform no wonder Facebook is a popular site to use. The demographics are wide therefore you are likely to have the whole of your target audience using Facebook. With most users logging in at least once a day. So, it is a great place to share your content with your customers are potential customers improving your brand recognition.
Users are also very likely to share interesting content they see. ‘Sharing is caring’ is the view of many Facebook users so if what you post is relevant, interesting or fun, you are more likely to be shared and receive more views. Visual posts are important on Facebook too. So, if you post content with videos and photographs, your followers are more likely to engage.
But how does Facebook work for you? Well, using your Facebook page insights can be a very useful way to track your progress. You can find out how many people have seen your post and how many likes and shares you have received. You also have the opportunity to invite users who have liked a post to like your page.
Using paid Facebook marketing for your page is easy to follow and gives you a good evaluation at the end of your campaign. You can choose the reason for your marketing, such as to promote page likes, website visits or followers. You can also specify your demographics by location, interests and age amongst others which helps you get your posts to the right people at the right time. So, depending on your reason for marketing on social media, Facebook can be a good all-rounder for your Physical Therapy business.
Google plus is a social networking platform that allows you to share messages, photos, videos and links to your followers just like Facebook but the difference here is you can do it directly from your My Business page. If you like using Google resources and products then it is a good idea to incorporate your marketing on social media with what you are already using like Hangouts, Communities, You-tube, Gmail, Google Maps.
Users of Google plus often join for a mixture of business and social reasons. You can join and create communities who have similar interests and it makes it easier for your share with people who will be interested in your content. Articles are really popular here, so if you are planning on sharing patient education and plenty of information it will be well-received on Google plus. Blog posts from your own website and other relevant informative sites will work well.
Google plus works for you in another way too. As soon as you share your content it gets indexed immediately and shows up in Google search results. This means search results will now drive traffic to both your business website and your social media page. If you want to connect to local businesses as well as people and create contacts with other Physical Therapy communities, the Google Plus is a good choice for you.
With Instagram it is all about the visual. So, if you are a creative person and like photos and videos this social media platform might seem interesting. It is a way to showcase your clinic, revealing what you are all about, posting behind the scenes photos and customers results.
The great thing about Instagram is that users want their own photos to be seen and shared, so you could encourage your customers to share progress photos. This gives you some great publicity and promotes the services you offer, and the results potential customers can expect. You can also let your customers get to know your staff. Posting photos including bios, some personal information and what each member of staff specialises in. This way your customers are more relaxed when they book in with your clinic.
When you market on Instagram you can view your insights just like on Facebook. In fact, you can link your Instagram page to your Facebook page, meaning you can share the same content over both platforms. You can analyse which posts are well received, what hashtags are working and what types of posts are receiving more views and likes. Not everyone will enjoy using Instagram however if your customer base uses this platform it is an excellent way to show your brand.
Instagram, Facebook and Google Plus are the platforms that are the best for your Physical Therapy niche. They cover wide demographics and offer the chance to share different types of media. However, if you think you need something else there are a few other platforms to consider. Twitter is a way to share short updates and articles and has a wide audience range. Many people use the platform to follow celebrity, big brands and get news updates which might not be the target you are looking for to promote your Physical Therapy business. There’s also LinkedIn which is more about making business connections and sharing articles about your brand. Of course, it depends on what your marketing focus is on whether you nee to connect with other businesses to use this platform.
What should you share, how often to post and what to promote are all things you need to think about. Remember everything you post should link back to your own website to make sure the content is attributed to your clinic. Think about how you want your brand and business to be represented and only post content and share articles that go well with your image.
You should also encourage engagement whichever platform you choose. This includes responding to comments and answering questions connected to your content. Make sure all of your business details are listed on your social media pages, making it easy for your customers to get in contact with you and learn more. It is an extension of your business, so you need to get it right.
If you are using influencers to promote your business, then you will want to consider the platforms they use and which are the most popular and effective. At the end of your social media marketing campaign you should evaluate your results. Find what works and what doesn’t work for your business and change accordingly for your next campaign.
Overall if you are struggling to choose, you can’t go wrong starting with Facebook. It is easy to set up your account and start sharing promoted content. This is the best platform to choose if you still can’t decide after reading this post. But of course, it depends on your own business and where your particular customers are.
Even with all this information marketing on social media can be a fine art. It can be time consuming to keep up with your marketing strategy and post regular relevant content. Sometimes you need some professional help with marketing to grow your business. If you do need some help with social media marketing visit patient sites and see what professional marketing management can do for you.
Do you want to take your physical therapy marketing to the next level? Download our Free Evergreen Marketing Blueprint for Physical Therapists and start creating long-term assets that generate new patient bookings for years to come.