DC to DC: Optimizing your digital marketing communications channels when rolling out campaigns

All your digital marketing communications channels require a consistent stream of content in order to work, and consistency is a requirement for momentum and growth

While chiropractors are great at what they do, they sometimes aren’t great at marketing themselves and their businesses. In fact, if you’re a chiropractor, you may be looking at this and wondering, “What are all my digital marketing communications channels?”

Fear not. Jason Deitch, DC, founder of AmpLIFEied.com and co-founder of TheSmartChiropractor.com, took time to answer questions — and highlight what chiropractors need to know. The interview that follows and has been edited for length and clarity.

What are a chiropractor’s digital marketing communications channels?

• Digital marketing communications channels are the various ways a chiropractor can share a message digitally or online. Digital messaging can be video, audio, or text. 
• Digital channels are ways to share and amplify your digital messages and campaigns with more people than ever before. Today’s digital channels allow you to potentially connect with anyone, around the world, anytime. 
• The most popular digital channels include social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, YouTube, and many more. They may also include email, podcasts, blogs, and in-office video streaming. 

What kind of contact should they be getting out on their digital platforms and how often?

Smart chiropractors solve the new challenges of today’s digital marketing opportunities by focusing on the two biggest challenges — content and consistency.

All your digital marketing communications channels require a consistent stream of content in order to work. Each channel has its own culture and format, and most chiropractor’s practices do not have employees trained in chiropractic research, social media graphic design, content production, creation, and distribution management.

Content is like fuel. Consistency is a requirement for momentum and growth. Smart chiropractors understand the work required to feed these hungry digital channels with the right type of content at the right feeding times to effectively build audiences across their multiple channels.

What kind of content should chiropractors be sharing? 

Chiropractic content can be broken up into two categories. 

Syndicated Content — Chiropractors can subscribe to social media content services. There are free options such as following AmpLIFEiedLiving on Facebook and sharing free daily posts. There are also services that automatically post chiropractic content to a chiropractor’s social channels with no effort required by the chiropractic practice. 

Local Content — Chiropractors create and share messaging that is of most interest and value to their “locals.” Local content should not be thought of as advertisements. It’s not asking the question “What do I have to say to get them in the door?” It’s asking “What can I share that would be most interesting and most valuable to my practice’s target audience?” Think of creating content like you think of giving gifts. Be generous and share them with as many people as you can.

How often should chiropractors be sharing on their digital channels?

Too often chiropractors rely on a random “post and pray” strategy. They know they should be sharing consistently, but don’t have a system in place or a dedicated person who is responsible and accountable to follow a campaign calendar and marketing plan.

Smart chiropractors follow a formula so they can delegate responsibilities to their team and plan for long-term success. The best practices create a content cadence of monthly campaigns, weekly topics, and daily posts. Best results come from consistency over time. Creating a 12-month calendar is the smartest way to plan for optimal results.

What are the biggest mistakes chiropractors make?

The biggest mistakes chiropractors make is not understanding the difference between paid advertising campaigns and content marketing campaigns. When it comes to digital marketing campaigns, it’s essential to understand what marketing tactic creates what type of results to prevent unrealistic expectations leading to frustration and disappointment.

Run discount deal campaigns if you want deal shoppers and the chronic need for more new patients – but teach and invite consistently across your optimized digital marketing communications channels if you want enthusiastic, loyal patients and a stable practice. 

Chiropractors have long struggled to understand how to look at their marketing and communication strategy as a system with a strategy versus individual marketing tactics such as deep-discount advertisements.

Remember:

• Smart chiropractors solve the new challenges of today’s digital marketing opportunities by focusing on the two biggest challenges — content and consistency.
• Chiropractic digital marketing can be simple when chiropractors focus on the objective of growing their audience by sharing their uncommon solutions to people’s common problems.
• By sharing their passion for serving people and remembering the goal is not to fill up your practice by offering the deepest discount advertisement that attracts the most deal shoppers, but build a long-term stable practice of people who want to work with them. Focus on real value with a goal to reach as many people as you can to “Teach and Invite Consistently (TIC)” for their optimal health and your practice’s optimal performance.