Today’s customer, regardless of the type of business they are choosing, starts their search on the web. The customer journey is largely digital-first, and for highly local businesses, like chiropractors, pain management specialists, and other health services providers, capturing local traffic and engaging with local leads is vital to growing and sustaining a business.
Social media is one of the most effective ways for chiropractors and other health services to reach the people who need what they offer. You can’t provide adjustments or other healthcare services to people who can’t visit your clinic, so you need to focus on local search. Let’s look at how social media platforms can help you localize your online presence for more effective reach.
Using Social Media Platforms to Localize Your Online Presence
Small businesses, including those in healthcare, need local clients to effectively grow. When you have a solid presence on the right social media platforms, you build trust and connections within that local community.
Social media plays a key role in several stages of the customer journey. At the start of the journey, an active social media page can introduce new clients to your business. This builds knowledge. Strategic advertising with a local focus can also reach new clients with your marketing message. When someone is aware of you and “likes” your page, then you can start to build a relationship with them. When the local high school team is going to nationals, and your clinic shows support, you build camaraderie and trust with potential clients. You can even start to build loyalty even before a client books a session with your clinic. Finally, once someone becomes a client, social media provides an easy platform for them to refer others to you.
Choosing the Right Social Media Platforms for Your Business
The best local social media tactics for chiropractors and other health services professionals start with the right social media platforms. Each one has its own benefits and will reach a set type of clientele. The top options include:
- Facebook: Facebook lets you post video, text, and photo content. It’s also a great platform for interacting with clients and building community.
- Instagram: Instagram is video and image centered, and provides comments, shares, and interaction opportunities.
- Pinterest: Pinterest easily links to your website through visual content. It also promotes sharing.
- TikTok: TikTok is designed for short-form video content and engagement.
You’ll need to evaluate these platforms and find the one that is most relevant to your business and your client base. If you’re trending toward younger patients, then TikTok and Instagram are probably the top choices. If your patients are older or varied, Facebook and Pinterest may work better. Make sure your brand is consistent in how it presents itself across all of the social media platforms you choose to create consistency.
Increase Local Search Visibility with the Right Social Media Profile Setup
Once you choose your social media platforms, set them up carefully. Consider these local social media tactics for chiropractors:
- Create a compelling bio with a local focus and search terms.
- use local keywords and hashtags with every post.
- Add your address to your bio, and incorporate other location-based features.
- Keep these consistent across all of your platforms, directories, and your website.
Infuse Your Content with Location Signals
With your page properly set up, you are ready to start posting. In addition to your industry-specific posts, post content that is relevant to your local community. Current events, charity rallies, and other local news are all of interest to your patients.
When possible, show that you are involved in the local community. Did you march in a parade? Show pictures and tag the city. Are you supporting a local kids’ sports team? Post their schedule and season highlights.
Finally, highlight local testimonials from patients who have used your service. State where the person is from to add another opportunity for a geographic-specific tag.
Use Social Media to Engage Your Local Audience
Don’t just post things on your social media profiles and walk away. One of the most helpful aspects of social media is the ability it provides to create a community. Be an active member of local groups and community forums. This shows that you value your local community and also makes you more visible to those who might need your services.
When people review or provide feedback for your clinic, respond. Even if the review is negative, your response shows that you value the feedback and are dedicated to exceeding the expectations of your clients.
Take time to engage with other local businesses. See if there is a way to support them, such as setting up a market in your clinic to promote a vitamin store’s products or a healthy food option. Cross-promoting helps your clients live healthier lives and it also encourages other businesses to promote your clinic.
Finally, run promotions on social media that are specific to your local community. This will drive traffic and get more people interested in your page. The more people who interact with your page, the better your growth will be.
Enhance Your Local Visibility with Social Media Advertising
Advertising can be a great way to make your social media page and your actual website more visible, and it should be part of your local social media tactics for chiropractors. Most social media platforms have robust local advertising tools that let you break down your ads based on zip code, city, and other local tags.
Use these tools, especially on Facebook and Instagram, to create and advertise local promotions. The better you target these to a specific geographic area, the more effective they will be at bringing in new potential clients. You’ll spend your money more effectively while also improving your local visibility.
Collaborate with Your Clients for Local, Authentic Content
Your clients can be an effective resource for new content for your social media pages. A review can become a Facebook post, and user-generated content can show that you’re passionate about your clients and your community. You can also run local contests and campaigns that get your clients involved in sharing and posting, which, in turn, increases your local visibility.
What makes customer-generated content so effective is its authenticity. People expect you to say you’re the best chiropractor in the area, and they feel it is more authentic when a past client says it.
Analyze Engagement and Reach, then Take Action
Another powerful part of social media for local businesses is the analytics each of the platforms provides. Set up tools both on the platform and using third-party tools to track your local engagement and visibility. Find out who sees and engages with your page, and make sure they’re the people you’re trying to reach.
Once you have this data, use it to plan the best course of action for your pages as you move forward. If you’re getting too many visitors outside of your geographic area, make a change to your geotargeted search terms. If you’re getting a lot of visitors, but little engagement, then change your engagement tactic. The more data you have, the better decisions you can make as you work to grow your local presence with social media.
Get the Right Tools to Make the Process Easier
Social media platforms are an important tool in your arsenal as you try to localize your online presence to reach the people who live near you. Remember that localizing your online presence is an ongoing process. You can’t set things up and expect them to perform. You must constantly engage with your audience, adjust your strategies, and keep people coming.
Social media platforms make this easier in today’s digital-first customer journey. They provide tools to reach specific zip codes, engage with clients, and grow your business locally. Yet managing all of your platforms can be overwhelming. Surefire Local helps.
We offer small businesses a streamlined platform to establish and build an online presence with strong local signals across all social media platforms. This makes it easier for your clients to find and engage with you. We also offer tools for social media management, analytics, and reporting, all on one platform. In addition, our marketing platform manages online reviews, optimizes your website for local search, helps with content marketing, and assists with profile and directory management.
If you want to leverage social media platforms but lack the time to log into multiple platforms to keep them running, Surefire Local is the right tool to help. Attend a Surefire Local demo to see how our platform can help your clinic.