To keep a full schedule of appointments, patients need to know that your clinic exists and what services you offer. Of course, your first priority with your practice is delivering the best care. However, great care and customer service no longer automatically lead to a full caseload. Insurance coverage and physician referrals have the most influence on a patient’s choice of where to receive therapy.  Learning the ins and outs of inbound marketing and utilizing the following tips will put your clinic in front of your future patients and keep your phones ringing.  There are plenty of channels to get the word out about your facility to potential patients or referring physicians.

Inbound Marketing for Rehabilitation Clinics
Inbound marketing is a strategy of using engaging content; such as blogs, social media, and premium offers, to get patients to come to you.  These days, your patients tune out commercials and unsubscribe from emails at an alarming rate. 44 percent of direct mail is never opened.  Rather than irritating people, inbound marketing focuses on educating and engaging your patients to attract and retain them as loyal customers.  Keep these five points front and center as you craft your next marketing plan.

1. You are an Expert. Make the most of it!
Every day you educate your patients about their conditions, and how to treat these symptoms. Use online resources to reach out to advertise your expertise.

• Start a professional blog
  Blogging is a great way to both advertise your services and establish yourself as an expert in your field. Find out what
• Get interviewed on the industry blogs of others
  Another great way to gain exposure is by sharing healthcare tips or therapy information as an interviewee. You can reach out to blogs in your industry and offer to provide an interview in exchange for a short plug for your therapy clinic.
• Optimize your company website for Google
  To help your facility appear at the top of a Google search, you’ll want to include commonly searched keywords throughout your website. This process, called Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, will help Google users seeking information about therapy be more likely to arrive at your website.

2. Offer valuable tools to future patients.
Take your most popular blog article topics and create content that is useful and interesting around that topic. For example, if running injuries are a hot topic, start a free runners’ clinic. Just think of all the word of mouth possibilities. You can advertise your clinic at shoe stores, running stores, sporting goods stores, and on the radio. You could ask all the area races to share your clinic with their participants. Don’t forget about Inviting high school track teams and cross country teams, and their parents and coaches, to participate in your clinic.

3. Stay in Touch
Once you’ve established a connection with these potential future clients, stay in touch by using the following tactics.

• Start an email newsletter
  This can help your facility stay top of mind, help patients remember their appointments, and increase the chances they may recommend you to others.
• Use Social media
  Set up a Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn page to give your therapy practice a more personal online presence. On these sites, you’ll be able to interact with the public, answer questions and post information
• Make sure your website converts visitors into patients.
  As patients and future patients start visiting your website to access the articles and resources that you post, make sure you have landing pages where they can fill out a form and sign up for an appointment, as well.

4. Keep it up!
Referral streams aren’t built in a day. Building a reputation as the best place to go for therapy takes consistent, timely effort. Create a marketing calendar that helps you touch your audience on a weekly or monthly basis. Use your calendar to schedule articles, events and social media promotions on a regular basis.

If you don’t have the time or resources to maximize your online marketing, consider hiring a marketing coordinator, or working with an outsourced marketing vendor for support. If you’re on a tight budget, another great idea is bringing on a tech-savvy college intern to help boost your online marketing efforts.

5. Finally, Ask for help spreading the word.

• Ask for and share patient testimonials on your website
  The words of others can have an enormous influence on your future patients. If you have a satisfied customer, ask if you can use their praise as a testimonial on your facility’s website.
• Ask for online reviews
  Another way to circulate the opinions of satisfied patients is by asking for positive online reviews. One way to do this is by including a simple statement on the back of business cards: “If you liked your session today, please help us spread the word. Please write a review on [insert the name of an online review site].” You could include Yahoo Local, Yelp, TrustLink or CitySearch.

The more you talk, the more others will listen
n other words, the more you can get your facility’s name out into the marketplace, the more people will remember it. This can help you increase your patient case load by leaps and bounds.

Looking to supplement your staff?

As your marketing begins to bear fruit, you will soon need more staff. Some clinics choose to hire supplemental team member until they are sure their patient load will sustain a continued commitment to a new permanent employee. Or, if you need to find a new hire quickly, consider partnering with PT Solutions. We place qualified physical and occupational therapists and speech language pathologists with facilities across the country. To learn more about how we can work with you to meet your staffing needs, contact PT Solutions today.