Top 3 Tips for a Well Adjusted Digital Marketing Strategy

Without a doubt, 2020 was a year of many challenges. Many chiropractors and other small business owners have had to adapt and make adjustments of their own in order to continue serving during this “new normal”.

Here’s the good news for you: no matter what kind of economy we’re in, people will always need healthcare. If someone (heaven forbid) has a car accident and gets a case of whiplash, they are eventually going to get on their device and look for a reliable chiropractor near them.

As we enter this new year, you’ll want to follow these top three tips for a well adjusted digital marketing strategy:

1. Video
2. Personalization
3. Google Search Algorithm Update in May 2021

Video

Video marketing is one of the most important marketing phenomena of digital marketing. According to Audrey Anderson, a Creative Professional, 

• 70% of customers would say they shared a video of a brand
• 72% of organizations say that the conversion rate of the video has increased
• 52% of customers are more confident in online purchasing decisions when they watch product videos
• 65% of management visits the site of the marketer
• 39% calls a seller after watching a video

Creating a video can be the biggest opportunity in 2021 especially within our “new normal.” As a chiropractor, there are a number of ways you could use video to your advantage:

• Have a welcome message on your About page
• Talk about how you and your staff follow universal precautions (doing temperature checks, sanitation measures, social distancing measures, etc.)
• Give a virtual tour of your clinic
• Ask for video testimonials from past patients and put them on your website
• Address some of the most common misconceptions of chiropractic

In Kevin O’Leary’s ebook Digital Pivot or Die, he even talks about the importance of using video to grab the attention of your visitors and tell a compelling story. You’ll want to really bring prospective patients into your world with video content.

Personalization

Personalized Marketing is also one of the digital marketing trends to watch out this year. Salesforces defined personalization as an act of tailoring an experience or communication based on information a company has learned about an individual.

Here are some ways you could integrate personalization into your chiropractic business:

• Segment your email lists and have one group for prospective patients, another for current patients, and maybe another for past patients (people who have not come in a while) and develop campaigns for each one
• Have a happy birthday message go out to current/past patients in your database (maybe even offer a special deal as a birthday gift)
• Consider having a chatbot that responds to online visitors based on keywords or questions they input
• If you run Facebook ads, run retargeting campaigns to where if someone clicks on an ad but does not take action (such as booking an appointment), then they’ll see another set of ads encouraging them to go back and set an appointment

All in all, it’s all about meeting your current/prospective patients where they are at and sending the right message at the right time.

Google Search Algorithm Update in May 2021

Chances are local SEO plays a big part in your overall marketing strategy. After all, when someone does a Google search for “chiropractors near me” – or goes to Google Maps to search for nearby chiropractors there – you want to make sure your clinic shows up.

In addition to staying on top of your local SEO game, you’ll want to prepare for this upcoming Google algorithm update. Before May 2021, you’ll want to make sure your website has these seven elements in place:

1. Your web pages should load in less than 3 seconds. 
2. The links, buttons, and other clickable elements should be interactive because broken links can get your website on Google’s bad side.
3. The links, buttons, and other clickable elements should be in a right position so people can see it easily.
4. Your website should be mobile friendly. Double check your website on desktop, mobile phones and tablets. Make sure the links, buttons, and other clickable elements are not close to each other. 
5. The website has not been hacked or infected with malware and/or blacklisted. 
6. The website has an encrypted connection displaying the HTTPS in the address bar (most hosting providers make it easy to install the free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt)
7. Don’t use pop ups or other annoying elements that will suddenly appear and get in the way of someone checking out your website. 

Bottom line: your website should be designed for both human eyes and search engine eyes.

Conclusion

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected how chiropractors and other service based businesses operate. However, as more people are working from home and spending time online, this presents an opportunity for small business owners to pivot. Although there are so many different aspects of digital marketing, you should start with one aspect (such as video) and get really good at that.