How content marketing is changing the game for health care providers

Marketing expert Neil Patel shares how content marketing is changing the game … his search traffic increased almost three times

Chiropractic Economics’ 2021 Salary & Expense Survey revealed that, over the past year, chiropractic professionals spent an average of $10,000 marketing their practices. Here is a look at how content marketing is changing the game for chiropractors.

The question is whether you got the most out of the money you paid to help build your brand and grow your practice. If not, you may want to consider developing a content marketing strategy.

How content marketing is changing the game

When you hear the phrase content marketing, do you think primarily of writing blogs or publishing articles on your website or in online publications? While this is part of it, content marketing is much more than that.

The Content Marketing Institute defines this form of marketing as “a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”

Under this definition, content marketing includes a variety of materials designed to stimulate interest in your services and products. Videos, social media posts, and pay-per-click advertising can all be used to create and distribute content that is valuable, relevant, and consistent. This is how content marketing is changing the game for chiropractic providers.

Top 3 chiropractic content marketing strategies

Certainly, every marketing professional has their own idea of how chiropractors can best promote their practices. However, a few stand out as being above the rest.

• Video marketing. In a survey of 12,000 people, one-half of millennial (people born between 1981-96) and Generation Z (people born between 1997-12) respondents indicated that they didn’t know how they’d manage without video. So, if your target audience is 40-years-old or younger, video marketing is a great way to get your practice noticed.

This same survey found that webisodes, tutorials, and short video clips were most appealing to younger viewers. With 46% watching in the hopes of learning something new, think about what you can teach viewers that they don’t already know. If they have sciatica, which exercises can help? What’s the best sleep position for a healthy spine? What could be causing the pain in their neck?

Individuals surveyed also indicated that they prefer user-generated content, which is content created by people versus brands. For example, if a patient posted a video of themselves walking without pain for the first time in months, this is an example of user-generated content that you may want to share on your website (after obtaining permission).

• Landing pages. A landing page is a web page that is separate from your website, and it is a page that is designed for a singular purpose. Marketing expert Neil Patel shares how content marketing is changing the game: when he started creating individual landing pages for each of his search engine optimization (SEO) guides, his search traffic increased almost three times.

If the purpose of your landing page is to increase leads, you might use it to offer visitors a free eBook on back pain in exchange for their name and email address. You can then use this information to create a list that you can then target with specific ads.

Conversely, if the purpose of the landing page is to increase product sales, the page could supply information about your bestselling product (what it is, how it works, who should use it, etc.) with a “buy now” link at the bottom.

When building your landing page, Patel recommends being strategic with the words you use, also referred to as keywords. Think about which words people use when searching for your service or products. SERPWARS reports that the top three searches related to chiropractic over the past 12 months included the words or phrases: “chiropractor near me,” chiropractic,” or “best chiropractor.”

• Content collaboration. Ever go in on a gift with a family member or friend? By pooling your money, you can buy something more expensive than you could each afford on your own. Do the same when advertising your practice and you can expand your marketing dollars while also reaching a broader audience.

Make a list of local businesses that would be a natural complement to chiropractic. Massage therapy, physical therapy, health food stores, and dietary supplement stores are options to consider. Next, reach out to these companies to see if they would be interested in collaborating on some marketing content.

Also think bigger picture. Are there any podcasts people in your target audience listen to regularly? If so, see if you can be interviewed or secure a guest slot. By working with others, you can get more bang for your marketing buck while increasing brand awareness.