The Hottest Buzz: Social Media Marketing

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 19:27:56 +0000

Social Media is the “hottest” buzz word on the Internet today. For those of you who would like to explore Social Media marketing as an adjunct to your overall chiropractic internet marketing strategy, but aren’t quite sure what all the buzz is about, let’s take a minute to talk about the “Who, What, When, Where, and How” of social media and you, that’s “Who.”

Social media marketing could possibly be very much like, and entirely unlike, any chiropractic marketing strategy you’ve contemplated. In the “very much like” category, you wouldn’t consider any kind of marketing plan without making an effort to understand what it’s about and what you want to get from it. It’s important to ask yourself, “What are my goals?” Once you’re clear about what you want, it’ll be easier for you to use social media to your biggest advantage.

Before you actually start your social media venture, it will be highly important for you to make certain that you “own your name” on all the social media outlets, that is to say, be certain that your name or the name of your clinic is attainable so that you can use precisely same name on each and every one of the social channels you decide to use. There is a free service to assist you with your search when you’re ready. Knowem.com is the who to go to. This service will check where your name is and/or if it’s available or not on a substantial number of social media sites.

The next step, once you have all your social media accounts “locked up”, is to choose where you would like to be active. Because you have a clinic to run and patients to see, in the beginning only a few social media sites is best and may well be all you’ll need. That way you won’t get caught up in too many channels. How do decide which sites are best for you? The big ones (where most of the action is) are facebook, twitter, linkedin, and Youtube.

What your social media activity goal should be is to build a real presence in your community. What is definitely a no-no is for you to try to “sell” on your social media sites, which is to say don’t sell your clinic, don’t sell services or products, don’t sell anything! The objective of social media is for you to go out and network with the community. Sure, inform them about what you do, but do it by participating in the conversation. Social media works the same way as social networking offline. There is no getting around it, people on social media do not want to be sold to! Social media sites are very much like a neighborhood backyard barbecue. People are standing around chatting about who they are and what they do, and then a person asks you what you do. Or, maybe you start the conversation by (just) stating, “Hello, I’m Dr. ____. The same kind of interaction applies with social media. Social media sites should be handled the same way you’d “work” offline networking opportunities to promote yourself, i.e., answer the questions and concerns that let people know who you are and gets them interested in the who that’s you!

Technorati Tags: chiropractic marketing, facebook, linkedin, social media, social media marketing, twitter, Youtube

Chiropractic Internet Marketing Strategy: Do it Yourself or Outsource?

admin — Thu, 13 May 2010 23:49:39 +0000

Here’s an interesting question for you to consider: Do you want to keep your chiropractic internet marketing in-house or do you want to hire a professional? There are pros and cons to both, and the answer lies in your particular situation. Let’s check out the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Advantages of in-house chiropractic internet marketing

There is a lower monthly cost involved in using someone already employed by you.
The staff knows your practice intimately. Your staff has a good understanding of your clinic’s particular services and, therefore, is able to describe your specialties easier than those who don’t know the specifics of your particular practice.
You can communicate anytime. Being in-house it is easier to set up times to have meetings or just to chat about situations on the fly.

Disadvantages of in-house chiropractic website marketing

The staff may not be fully aware of what SEO (search engine optimization) is, let alone how to accomplish it. In that case, a lot of education and training will be needed to make sure SEO gets done right.
The staff may be overworked. Sometimes the time it takes to do SEO can be underestimated. It is an ongoing process that can actually be a full-time job. If a marketing manager has been told to do SEO as well as his or her full time job, obviously that person will be overworked and feel overwhelmed.
Attention needs to be paid to detail. This goes together with Point #2. If the staff is overworked, they have no time to check out search engine news and keep up-to-date on how the search engines have changed the game each week and what needs to be done to implement those changes to keep your clinic internet presence up in the rankings.

Advantages of using an outside professional

Chiropractic marketing companies are specialists in the field. They have experience in working on numerous clinics and their websites and optimizing them for SEO. They know, first hand, what works effectively and what doesn’t.
There is a dedicated team at the company who will be working on your site and can give it the attention it requires.
The company has a specific plan and won’t be just jumping around, going from short term tactic to short term tactic with no organized strategy and no clear way to reach your desired goals. In other words, they have an “integrated” internet marketing strategy.

Disadvantages of a chiropractic internet marketing company

Let’s face it, it can get expensive, but costs vary widely from company to company. Some companies out there are charging $600-$700 a month for their services. It is definitely worth your while to shop around and research before you buy.
There is usually a commitment. Most chiropractic internet marketing companies will want you to sign up for at least six months to a year.
Account management can be a problem. With high turnover rates at many companies, especially the big ones, there may be a chance that you’ll get handed from account manager to account manager just when you were building a relationship of trust. You may have to start over again, maybe even have to redesign and reiterate your strategy with the new manager.

Now that you’ve taken a moment to look at the pros and cons of both keeping your internet marketing in-house or hiring a professional, the solution to SEO and your internet marketing strategy will depend on the size of your practice, the time and staffing you can devote to it, and your overall long-term goals.

Now, of course, we are a chiropractic internet marketing company that specializes in helping chiropractors with their internet presence. So, I will admit that I am a bit biased on the side of your hiring an expert to do it right. If you are thinking of hiring a company to develop and implement your internet marketing strategy, it is tremendously important for you to hire one that specializes in chiropractic clinics. Why? Because we understand the chiropractic profession intimately. Therefore, in the long run it will save you both time and money not having to explain what chiropractic is about to some general SEO company. There are several of us out there.

If you are going to go with an outside company, be sure to read the fine print. Look at the bottom of their page for a disclaimer. If they have one, read about their “typical” results. You don’t want to be fooled by outrageous claims even though such hype can be enticing. Remember, your internet marketing strategy is just one stream of new patient leads. Even though chiropractic internet marketing is fast becoming a great source for new patient leads, and even though internet marketing gets more important with every passing day, and even though it is a crucial area in which to generate new patient leads, it is still not the only source of marketing you will need to succeed in your practice.

Whether you choose to keep your internet marketing in-house or to hire a professional, you want to be sure that the time and money you spend on SEO gets you where you want to go. A member of your staff that does your internet marketing for “free,” while squeezing those efforts in-between other tasks, may “cost” you in the long run. A professional whose sole focus is internet marketing, won’t lose sight of your goals. Internet marketing is essential to your practice, so choose your chiropractic internet path wisely.

Technorati Tags: chiropractic internet marketing, chiropractic marketing, SEO

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The Hottest Buzz: Social Media Marketing

Chiropractic Internet Marketing Strategy: Do it Yourself or Outsource?