Digital marketing: Are you getting left behind?

To be a successful chiropractor, you must understand the importance of digital marketing.

This is a principle understood by the businesses of the world and it can take your practice to a new level. However, understanding the importance of marketing and understanding how to market are vastly different things.

Good marketing takes some skill and also a little luck. But because luck has been said to favor the prepared, a look at some of the marketing strategies that are leading the pack, so to speak, can shed a little “luck” on your endeavors, too.

The power of Google

To maximize your content strategy and rank highly on search engines, use Google AdWords to identify relevant keywords for your website. You can also use Google Pay-Per-Click (PPC) ads as a part of your inbound-marketing campaign. PPC ads have advantages over traditional marketing because you only pay when an interested person clicks and you can potentially reach your target patient at the perfect time with the right ad.

To create an effective PPC ad, use the right keywords to create relevant (and highly searchable) ads and landing pages. Be sure to optimize your ad copy to maximize conversions and determine the right goals and metrics for your ads, including setting a budget.

The social media advantage

Given the large amount of buzz around social media, it is easy to see why it is so popular among digital marketers. The advantage of social media advertising on Facebook and Instagram is that you can target a highly specific audience with your ads, a technique known as “sniper marketing.”

For example, you can target a patient within 25 miles of your practice, one who is 35 years old, female, married, has three open lines of credit, uses an American Express credit card, has a two-year college degree, purchases vitamins, and exercises regularly. You can also use job-title targeting, which is a helpful tool if you want to reach a decision- maker or niche patient group.

Retarget wisely

By placing a tracking pixel on your landing page, you can see who has visited and get their online profile. You can then create an alternate audience (called a “lookalike audience”) and Facebook will show your ads to people who fit the profile of the ones who frequent your pages. You can also set this up to retarget people.

Retargeting is activated when people click on your ad and visit your site but do not purchase, call, or fill out a form. These people will then see another series of ads that might encourage them to do business with you.

Display all the options

Carousel advertising on social media has also opened a new genre of ads. Carousel ads on Facebook allow you to showcase up to 10 images and links within a single ad unit to direct people to your site. Why show one selling point when you can show more in one swoop? Customizing these ads to your audience is an impressive way of getting creative and delivering various messages that sell a scenario.

For example, if you want to promote your functional medicine program, you could use the carousel to present a series of messages such as:

• Blood work normal, but you are still feeling bad?
• Thyroid disorder?
• Hormones driving you crazy?
• Adrenal fatigue? What is that?

Each of the ads would speak to different daily scenarios and capture the interest of those viewing.

All in the geography

Another form of specific targeting is called “geo-fencing.” This is when you use GPS coordinates to define geographical boundaries, and it is an effective way to target customers in a given zip code.

For example, if you want to target people who are visiting a certain mall or high-end shopping district, geo- fencing allows you to target customers in a selected radius. You’ll often notice this when using mobile apps with advertisements and on apps like Snapchat where you can customize your snap filter based on a geo-fence.

These are but a few of the options that are available to you right now with digital marketing. Never before have you had this capability to target and retarget select groups for less than you’d spend on traditional print and radio advertising.

The world of digital has changed with data segmentation, and targeting is becoming more popular, leading the way to show the right ads to the most relevant people.

 

Bryan Hawley, DC, has been in healthcare for more than two decades and owned and operated several high-end clinics. He is an international speaker, author, and coach. He is also CEO of SocialMediaDigimark, an online ad and marketing agency that specializes in helping DCs reach their goals. His partnering company Brighthaus is an international SEO agency, with clients such as Oakley, Warner Bros., McDonalds, and more. He can be reached at info@drbryanhawley.com.