2018-07-23
5 Ways to Market Your Physical Therapy Clinic for Free

 A patient receiving treatment, exercising in the clinic.

Marketing your business across many different mediums can become quite expensive so it is great to know some ways to market for free. There are things you can do to promote your Physical Therapy clinic without making any payment at all. Of course, there are upgraded ways to get your brand and business noticed and paid marketing is great for that.

But if you want to save money and spend some of your own time marketing your clinic you can do this for free. It may be hard work but sometimes it is all about watching the pennies and making the most of what you can do for your business. Here are five ways you can market your physical therapy clinic with no cost.

1.    List your business on Google Local

It is free to set up your business page on Google local and it is a great way to get your Physical Therapy Clinic noticed. Fill in your business details and answer the questions and once completed you will be listed on Google, where you are more easily found in search results and on Google maps.

If you want local customers to find you then it is a great tool especially if they are looking for a physical therapy clinic near to them. If customers search by distance, then you will be found in the business directory. This has links to your website and shows your opening days and times if you fill this information in.

It also gives an option for customers to write reviews, and you can respond to them too. It is a great free platform to engage with customers and market your business. If someone searches for a Physical Therapy Clinic near you, then you want to be top of that list. Many people will search this way and it is such an easy way to get your brand noticed. Keep everything up to date, including opening times on bank holidays and other holidays to give your customers accurate information.

2.   Write and share blog posts

Many people underestimate the power of blogging, but it can be a really great way to get your brand noticed. And if you write the blog yourself, the only cost to you is time. Sharing great articles that are informative and engaging will build confidence in your brand. Your followers will read and share if they enjoy what they read on your blog.

It is also an excellent way to tell your customers about new service, treatments or staff in your business. Keeping people up to date and sharing your knowledge keeps them close to you and reminds them of your service, especially if that client hasn’t seen you in a while. It is a personal and professional reflection of your business and if you write excellent content you will be relatable to your clientele.

Blog posts are a way of improving SEO too, having your website links in many different places means your ranking will increase. By including good quality back links and perhaps writing guest posts you can ensure your website is high quality and updated regularly. So even if you don’t have to update your core website, new pages are being generated when you write a new blog article.

3.    Use social media

Social media marketing is a big thing these days, but you don’t have to pay a fortune to market on these platforms. In fact, most social media business pages are free to set up and you can share as much as you like. It makes your presence known and is an easy platform to communicate with clients and potential customers. You can answer questions and queries n real time and show that you care about them.

If you share interesting content that is relevant to your customers and your brand you will get organic likes and shares. Invite your clients to follow your pages, mentioning it at the clinic and telling them about it will get them interested. It is also a great place to share your recent blog posts and to share new offers and discounts to your loyal following.

Marketing strategies often use paid social media marketing techniques to ensure they are showing content to a specific target audience. Paid marketing will increase your growth faster, but you can still do this more slowly with organic free marketing on social media. Never underestimate the power of content shared by your customers and followers.

4.    Send email newsletters

If your clients have signed up to receive email updates from you then you should use this great way to market to your customers. This takes a personal approach and you are guaranteed that the person will receive the email newsletter and be reminded of your business. Make the title short and engaging to entice your customer to read what you have to say.

Within the body of the email you should always make sure there is a clear purpose for the correspondence. You don’t want to lose custom and avoiding sending emails for the sake of it will reduce that risk. You should include a call for action within the email too, linking back to your website to ensure they know where the information has come from and where to find more.

There are free tools you can use to generate your small business marketing emails, so you don’t always have to pay for this service. Or if you really want to save the cash you can send out emails yourself. This works when it comes to sending birthday greetings with a discount code for example, but you must make sure the client is happy for their data to be used in this way.

5.     Get customer opinion and reviews

If you offer a great service and your clients are happy with your business as a whole, you should encourage them to give feedback in an open way. That may be leaving reviews on your website, social media pages or on your local business page on google.

Having good reviews listed next to your business encourages others to use your services. It also gives a personal experience from another’s point of view, giving them an insight into what it is like to visit your clinic. Reviews help your business in other ways too, you get to know what you are doing right and learn things you can improve upon. Thanking your customers for reviews makes them feel valued and are more likely to return to you and shows potential customers that you read your reviews and value their opinions.

Having a positive impact on your clients is a key goal for your business in Physical Therapy and by acknowledging and sharing great feedback you are showcasing what your business can do. Positive promotion that is free is always a winner when thinking about marketing strategies for your business.

When to use paid marketing?

Sometimes you just don’t have the time to do all of these things and run a successful business. If your business is growing, sometimes you need to outsource tasks and marketing can be one of those tasks. There are other times when you might want to use paid marketing strategies, such as for a stand-alone promotion or to send out the monthly newsletter.

Evaluate your time and your budget to decide how to strategize your marketing plan. Whether you want to do the marketing yourself, manage your marketing strategy or get someone to do the whole lot for you, there are many ways to get your business noticed.

Do you need a marketing plan?

The best thing you can do is make a plan to ensure you know what your aims are and what results you expect. Then you can evaluate how well you have done when your campaign comes to an end. Having a good marketing plan requires research, time and lots of commitment, but it is a valuable process to go through. If you are struggling to start your plan, there are online templates that will get you going if you want to do it on your own.

What shouldn’t you do when marketing?

Your customer base is really important, and you don’t want to lose them to neighbouring competition. Ignoring your competition is a big mistake, what they are doing can have an impact on your business. Make sure you are aware of new clinics in your area and the services that they offer. When you market your clinic, you need to show that you are the experts in your field. Show that you are the clinic to go to above all the rest. You should also avoid forget about updating your website. Just because you are marketing in other places, it doesn’t mean you should neglect your own website. Updating your own website will instil confidence in your followers and your current and future clients.

How will you market your Physical Therapy Clinic?

Will you be completing your own marketing for your business or do you need a little help? Whether you decide to do the marketing on your own or use a professional marketing company, you should definitely check out patient sites for more information on how marketing can work for you. If you think your physical therapy business can benefit from this take a look.

Image from pixabay.com

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.