With the Introduction of Local Search and Social Media, Do You Still Need a Website for Your PT Practice?

Local search directory listings and social media now form critical parts of the relationship building “machine” that we can create online.  But rather than replacing your physical therapy practice website, they make it more necessary than ever.  Here’s how.

Local search directory listings (Google Places, Yahoo! Local and Bing Local) provide an easy way for people to find your PT practice using mobile technology like smart phones and tablets as well as more traditional desktop and laptop computers. They provide limited information about your business, like address, phone number and hours of operation.

These practical details help searchers quickly locate a business that meets their basic needs – if they are primarily interested in hours of operation and location.  They also appear at the top of most search engine results pages, which means that suddenly potential patients can find out at least something about your practice.

Social media (Social media (facebook, twitter, LinkedIn) allows you to interact socially on the web.  This means that there’s a natural give and take – a conversation, if you will.  Social media gives people you’ve never met before the chance to see who you really are and to tell you what they really think – good things.  Social media platforms also allow people to talk about you and easily share useful information that you provide.  But it can be like the “telephone” game on steroids.  Good information goes a long way.  Bad information goes further!

Once someone has learned basic information about your PT practice from local search listings or social media, it’s only natural that they’d want some more information.  That’s where you physical therapy website can create magic.

Once people find you in social media or local search they’ll have questions like:

• Do they treat my condition? Do they focus on my problem or are they “experts” at everything?
• What does the clinic look like? Is it somewhere that I would be comfortable? Are there other people like me there?
• What do the therapists look like? They’ll be touching me (that’s pretty personal). Will that feel OK?

While local directory listings allow you to post pictures and include additional information about your physical therapy practice, they don’t allow you to create a virtual space that has the look and feel of your clinic.

You can talk about these things in social media, but just like in any conversation, int means repeating yourself over and over again.  Your website can give a topic the detailed, comprehensive exploration it deserves.

This is one of the huge opportunities that many PT practice owners completely miss when they have a website designed. The focus is on the website, rather than its place in the path of a prospective patient.

A website is your opportunity to invite someone into your clinic in a way that carries no risk for them.  It implies a deeper commitment on your part than social media or local search listings.

In addition to all the other important aspects of a website including usability and search engine visibility, the feel of the site can be a match for the feel of your clinic.

Is your clinic geared toward active, young, athletic people? Your website should reflect this. It should be dynamic, interactive. It should include easy links to facebook, twitter, maybe youtube. These links are familiar to younger people and will help them be comfortable on your site. That will in turn help them feel comfortable in you clinic.

Is your clinic geared toward retired people? Again, your website should reflect this. It should feel safe, secure. Perhaps the fonts will be slightly larger and more traditional and there will be less “going on” on the page.

Too often physical therapy website designers follow the easy path.

They create sites that are cutting edge, follow “best practices” or express their personal style rather than the unique needs and preferences of the patients the website is meant to attract.

I’m always sorry when I see one of these sites because I know that the intention of the PT who bought it was to connect with new patients and build their business, while the intention of the designer was to sell a website to that PT. Creating a marketing tool that connects with your potential patients and moves your relationship forward is a different proposition all together.

The reality is that a website that is worth your investment is where you end up, not where you start.

It’s a tool you have to learn to use with skill. You have to lay the foundation for using a website to market your PT practice just like you laid the foundation for your clinical practice.

As physical therapists our education began with anatomy & physiology. Then we built on the knowledge, learning neuroscience and biomechanics. Only then did we learn therapeutic exercise, neuromuscular reeducation, manual therapy and the rest of the tools in our box. Most important, as we learned our tools, we learned what to use and when it was most effective. And we learned when a perfectly good tool could cause harm.

It’s no wonder that so many PT’s fail to get the full benefit from our websites. We spent 5…6…7 years learning what we need to be PT’s, but I never had a marketing class?

Even if you’ve been reading articles in PT magazines and combing the internet, the vast majority of information out there is on fancy new ways to use marketing tactics like facebook and twitter, rather than marketing fundamentals.

We don’t need more fancy marketing tactics. What we need is a clear, simple, strategy for growth. We need to be able to leverage our strengths and provide the best outcomes for our patients while supporting our business objectives: Consistent income and time away from the office to enjoy it.

Physical therapy marketing tactics can be incredibly effective when you know when and how to use them.

We don’t need more marketing tactics. What we need is a clear, simple strategy for growth, a physical therapy marketing strategic plan that uses marketing tactics in synergy. One that leverages our strengths and provides the best outcomes for our patients while it supports our business objectives: Consistent income and time away from the office to enjoy it.

If you’d like to use tools like social media and your website to expand the influence of your practice, demonstrate respect for your prospective patients as well as your business and (finally) truly leverage technology, I’ve put together a webinar for you.

In the webinar, I’ll share a physical therapy marketing system that becomes part of the fabric of your physical therapy practice, integrating your website and everything else you already do into your marketing plan. You’ll learn:

• Where the real opportunities for growth are in your practice.
• How an integrated marketing system helps you clear the three hurdles that currently stand between you and a consistent stream of new patients.
• How your physical therapy practice website allows potential patients to find you when they’re most likely to benefit the most from what you have to offer.
• How service-based marketing, done right, gives your practice a viable, structural presence in your community, so your practice becomes the “go to” resource when people have a problem you can help them solve.
• How service-based physical therapy marketing actually helps you provide higher value to your patients, increasing their satisfaction at the same time it improves your profitability.
• How providing more value helps you develop more diverse income streams and increases referrals.
• How physical therapy marketing allows you to tap into growing trends in patient autonomy and consumer choice creating a practice full of informed clients who are happy to pay you for the value you provide.

I used only a small part of this integrated marketing system to build a practice from three full time PT’s to eleven PT’s and PTA’s in less than one year – improving patient satisfaction and outcomes as we grew.

I didn’t design this system from scratch (I’m not that smart), I discovered it. Then I refined it (I’m not dumb, either). And now I’d like to share it with you.

“Finally, a physical therapy marketing system that works.”

The webinar will not include a bunch of hype-y sales-speak or “physical therapy marketing tips and tricks” (I hate those, too).

If it makes sense to you to use a proven physical therapy marketing system to maximize the investment you’ve already made in your clinical education as well as your practice and you’re open to making small changes now that will have dramatic effects in your practice in the next 60 to 90 days, then this webinar will show you what to do.

Now, I’ve spent thousands of dollars and 5 years of my life learning, using and refining what I’ve condensed down to share with you in just 90 minutes. This knowledge completely transformed my business.

And I’m offering this webinar to you at no cost – Completely Free.

All I ask in return is that if you sign up for the webinar, you respect other participants by attending and being engaged. Listen, Ask questions then Use what you learn to grow your practice.

Interested?  Click on the link below to watch a short video overview of the webinar.  You’ll see available dates and times there, too.  Then, to register for the webinar, just follow the directions on the page.

Thanks for visiting GrowYourPTPractice.com. I look forward to seeing you on the webinar.

Take Good Care.
Do Great Work.
Have a Wonderful Day!

Melissa Gerdes, MPT

PS. Don’t miss out while it’s free. Reserve your spot Now!