When it comes to your private physical therapy practice, are you using Internet marketing and social media to increase patient referrals, build awareness of your brand, and spread the word about your private practice?

Now more than ever, it's important to stay on the cutting edge of the latest online marketing strategies and social media concepts, especially since many of the traditional ways of marketing your business (i.e., the Yellow Pages, newspaper ads) are proving less and less effective as more people use the Internet to find the products and services they need and want.

Simply put, if you're not using Internet marketing and social media to build, and increase awareness of, your private physical therapy practice, you're abandoning some of the most valuable business-building resources now available to you.

It's Widespread

One of the many strategies your PT business should be taking advantage of is social media marketing. Maybe you've heard the term "social media marketing" but you're not exactly sure what it is and how it can benefit your practice. I'll explain how this online marketing strategy can benefit you and what steps you can take to get started using it today.

Here are just some of the mind-blowing statistics about today's social media:

• Facebook currently has in excess of 500 million active users on a global basis.

• Twitter has around 15 million active users who use the site on a regular basis.

• LinkedIn has more than 50 million members worldwide.

• More than 35 million Facebook users update their status each day.

• The average Facebook user has around 130 friends within the site.

• Toward the end of last year, the average number of tweets per day was more than $27.3 million.

• More than 700,000 local businesses have active fan pages on Facebook.

Astounded? As you can see from these stats alone, social media marketing has the potential to attract more clients and generate more income to your physical therapy private practice than any other traditional methods you might be using now. Business owners who see this, understand it and embrace it will reap the huge rewards social media marketing has to offer.

It's Relatively Inexpensive

One of the best things about using social media to market your private PT practice is that there's no monetary cost to start implementing it right now. Other than the time required to build your community of loyal followers and raving fans who seek out your expertise and the valuable services you offer, using social media won't cost you a thing.

Social media is becoming one of the fastest growing methods for marketing a business online, but sadly, very few PTs know what a valuable marketing tool social media is. And of the PTs who do know what social media marketing is, only a handful are using it. Most have misconceptions about how difficult it is to use, and the ones who know how easy it really is, have no clue how to get started.

Sites like Facebook and Twitter that are becoming "go-to places" where people share information and experiences are a great place to start. Sites like these are great places to begin building your following and expanding your reach to those you're meant to serve with your practice.

Through sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, your patients and potential patients can find information about your offices, locate you and keep in contact with your office. All kinds of people in the medical profession are already using these sites now. All you need to do is learn how to use sites like these so you can reap the many benefits.

With the many different social media marketing outlets and their incredible benefits, social media marketing may seem a little overwhelming when you first get started. However, don't let this scare you into not getting involved.

With the right knowledge and tools you can really take advantage of this new marketing medium. You can easily create a social media marketing plan to help get you started and, eventually, help build your social community online.

It Gets Attention

Just keep in mind that if you ignore social media altogether, for whatever reason you tell yourself is a good one, you really will miss out on the opportunity to engage in the most popular medium that your current patients, potential patients, and more importantly your competitors, are all using. You'll also miss a fantastic opportunity to attract new patients and enhance the current relationships you already have.

Here are some practical tips for using social media to expand your physical therapy private practice:

• Focus on using only two to three social networks to market your private PT practice. Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are the best places to get started.

• Make sure to fully complete your profiles on all social media sites you use. Be sure to add your clinic hours of operation, street address and phone numbers so people can reach you offline as well.

• Have your social network URLs visible on your company literature. Put them on your brochures, letterheads, business cards and any other materials you use to market your PT practice.

• Have your social network buttons (connecting people directly to your social media pages) displayed on your website so site visitors can easily connect with you.

• Become the trusted source of information for your patients by providing value. Share interesting information with your social network community (i.e., injury prevention, signs and symptoms, patient education information). Write content that your patients will be interested in so they'll want to share it with their family and friends.

• Build a network of loyal fans. The best form of advertising is still word of mouth. Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter can help you get the word out about your private practice. This could easily lead to potential patient referrals for your practice or clinic.

• Build relationships on the social networks you use. It's important to reach out to people in your social community by engaging with them. Don't just build a profile and sit back and watch. Not much will happen. Social media doesn't work that way. You need to virtually shake hands with people, introduce yourself and connect with the people you come into contact with through social media.

• Try not to sell them on coming into your private practice for your services. That would be a turnoff, and people will view you as a pushy salesperson. Instead, connect with people you come in contact with. Be honest, open and transparent when you engage with them. In the end it's about providing value and trust, and building rapport.

• Get feedback from your community. Feedback is vital to the success of your physical therapy practice. Allowing your social network to give you feedback shows them that you care what they think and that you're always looking for ways to serve them better.

Hopefully, you can now see the incredible benefits of using social media marketing as a powerful way to reach out to your existing and potential patients and you can understand why it's so important to leverage social media interactions to your advantage.

Using social media marketing in the right way and on a consistent basis can not only grow your private PT practice, it can grow your sphere of influence to include people to whom you might have otherwise not had the opportunity to offer your services. 

Resources

1. www.healthcareos.com/250/health-care-consumer-social-media-statistics/

2. http://econsultancy.com/us/blog/5324-20+-mind-blowing-social-media-statistics-revisited (Social Media Statistics)

Samuel Awosolu is a physical therapist, web developer and internet marketer. He blogs at PT Marketing Unleashed, where he writes tips, how to's and resources for physical therapists looking to promote their products and services online. He also consults with physical therapy private practices, CEU instructors and product developers on marketing their services on the web. He can be reached via his website, www.ptmarketingunleashed.com