Social media is for more than just sharing pics of your favorite dishes and pets. In fact, social media can be a powerful resource for your friends, family, followers, and patients to learn more about the benefits of PT and your clinic. Done correctly, your social media platforms can be used to educate and inform people from all across the world.
While this may seem intimidating, it’s actually quite simple. Use these 4 ways to make your physical therapy clinic’s social media a better resource.
Use Self Promotion Sparingly
When first starting your social media platforms you may be tempted to focus on self promotion. And you may be amazing, incredible, and totally out of this world but keep the self promo to a minimum.
Why?
The most successful social media platforms provide visitors with value. This means you should be providing visitors with new information, fun facts, and industry news. The more value you can provide online, the more likely followers will view you as an industry thought leader. Once you’ve established yourself as an innovative thought leader you won’t need to convince people to come to your physical therapy clinic.
Educate
As mentioned above, education is one of the best ways to make your social media platforms an excellent resource for your followers. Sharing 3rd party industry articles, providing your own personal anecdotes about PT, and even sharing safe stretches and exercises are all great educational tools.
Sharing educational knowledge to followers is a great way to help people without ever seeing them. Because social media’s reach is so vast, you may be able to help people from all over the world with a simple post. They don’t call social media a powerful tool for nothing!
Engage Early and Often
They don’t call it social media for nothing. Engaging with your audience is a fun way to let your followers get to you know you. Asking questions, responding to comments, and liking/sharing posts can help you and your followers get to know each other.
Why is engaging important?
With endless options in the physical therapy world, it can be difficult for new patients to find the right PT for them. Engagement allows followers to get to know you on a more personal level, thus building confidence between them and you. Once a confident digital relationship has been established, followers are more likely to take the leap and take that relationship off line.
Be Human
You may be slightly hindered by a screen but you have to remember that behind the screen is another human, just like you. Maintaining your composure and compassion can help you connect with your followers on a human level. Kindness goes a long way online so remember that you’re more than just a business but a business that is designed to help people.