5 ½ Physical Therapy Website Development Mistakes to Avoid

physical therapy website development

How many visitors do you have see your website each month…100, 200, 300+? In a service business people judge what they can’t see based on what they can see. Ask yourself this question, “Have you chosen a business because of the look, quality of information, or usability of a website?” If you are like most, the answer is “yes”.

Do you spend hours at community events, visiting doctors, volunteering hoping to get in front of patient or referral source? The fact is that lots of people are visiting your website right now and many are potential patients. Let your website do the work for you. With this in mind, here are 5 ½ solutions to common mistakes many make why you should fix them fast.

[info_box]1. Fresh Content – updated content gives you credibility. It gives viewers the perception that you use the most popular communications tools (i.e. the Internet) to keep your patients and prospects informed. It’s not easy to repeatedly create fresh content but E-rehab.com can help.

2. Interactive Content – too many websites are just online brochures…and poor ones at that. Make sure your website provides viewers with interactive driving directions, videos, contact forms, FAQ, social sharing functions and ratings and reviews capabilities.

3. Appointment Requests – anyone with a smartphone has it within 3 feet of their body 90+% of the day. Take advantage of this and fast-paced world we live in by giving patients the option to request an appointment right from their smartphone…and your desktop website too.

4. Optimized for Google – the 900-pound gorilla of search, Google, is how 50% or more of your website traffic will come from. Make sure that your website is designed and optimized to show up on Google. If you are having trouble with this, we can help.

5. Analytics Enabled – what pages are patients visiting, how long are they staying, what search engines and key phrases are they using to find you? All of this business intelligence is necessary to help you make decisions about what is and what isn’t working with your online marketing efforts. Make sure you have an analytics program easily available to you; moreover, make sure you understand how to use it.

1/2. Mobile Optimized – What does mobile optimized mean? It means that your website is built with the mobile user (someone that is viewing your website on their smartphone) in mind. It means that the mobile user won’t be waiting 10-20 seconds for your big graphics to download to their phone. It means that the viewer will be able to:

1. click one button and call you,
2. click one button and map your location on their phone,
3. click one button and fill out an appointment request form,
4. click one button and “Like” you on Facebook,
5. click one button and save your mobile optimized website right on their home screen like the Doodle Jump, Angry Birds, or Bejeweled apps,
6. click one button and write a draft review of your practice on Yelp,
7. click one button and send you an email.

These are some of the outstanding opportunities that are available with a mobile optimized website.

I give this 1/2 because mobile websites are their own animal. You can learn more about mobile website here.
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If you are in need of assistance with any of the above problems, we can help. We are here for the smaller private practice to help you build your local online footprint and stand out in the community.

See a complete list of our services by clicking here.

Give us a call at 800-468-5161 x 1101.

Physical Therapy Marketing – 5 Tips for Facebook

Strategy

The most common mistake when posting to Facebook is businesses don’t have a strategy. When developing a physical therapy marketing Facebook strategy first decide why are you posting this? What is it that you want to accomplish from this? Who is your Target Audience? What is the action item for the reader? Posting just to post will accomplish very little and is the quickest way to get “hidden” from news feeds.

Sharing

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“Sharing” is a great addition to Facebook and a great way to drive people to your Facebook page. When posting on Facebook only about fifteen percent of your “fans” actually see your post. One way to boost this percentage a bit is to encourage sharing. Try using these keywords “Like, Comment, Share”. For example, “LIKE if you agree!” When your fans interact on your page their activity shows on their news feed and leads to your post and YOU.
YOU (through your own personal Facebook profile) can also share your business posts. Make sure you are posting as yourself and not as your business. Then go to your business page, click the share link under your business post, and then share on your own timeline. Also, ask your Facebook frends to share your post as well! The greater the number of shares a post has the more exposure your business page will get.
-Key point… Make sure your post is “shareable”. Is your post valuable? If the tables were turned, would you want to share the post?

Engage Engage Engage.

Spark conversations about your Facebook posts. The key is to keeping your wall “alive”. Once you a start conversations though, you need to make sure you respond as well. It’s social media – back and forth. The average business takes twenty-two hours to respond, while customers expect a response within the hour or they will consider the conversation over. Another great thing about engaging your current followers is that their comments show up on their stream for their friends to read which indirectly serves you.

Easy Tools. Drive People to You.
• An easy way to get people to your Facebook page is by simply adding a link to your Facebook page in your email signature:
John Doe
###-###-####
Facebook/Username Like Us! 

• Also, adding your social media buttons to your webpage creates an easy way for your clients to connect with you.
• Adding your Facebook URL to business cards, marketing material and newsletters are great ways too!

Consistency

physical-therapy-marketing-facebook

Keep posting! This does not mean 10 times-a-day but on a regular schedule maybe two-three times a week. Obviously we know with everyone’s busy schedule it is hard to keep up with this; so, that’s why Facebook created “Scheduled Posts”. If you click on the clock on the bottom left you can pick a date and time for a post to go out.

We hope these 5 Facebook physical therapy marketing tips will help you generate more fans and more business.  If you have questions, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Physical Therapy Blog Ideas

blog
Online blogging has given individuals and businesses alike the opportunity to reach out to others, spread their message, and gain support for their practice and profession.

Physical therapy blogs are a great way for physical therapists to explain more about their work, inform the public about health conditions, and connect with potential patients.

While blogging about physical therapy can seem more daunting than posting about the movie you saw last night, it is a great chance to gain awareness about your services. Keep reading for some physical therapy blog ideas, and let us help you make your blog a success!

iconWhat to Blog About

 

While the idea of starting a blog may seem exciting, knowing what to write about can be a gigantic challenge. Listed below are three of the most important things that you should stress when writing a blog for your physical therapy services:

1. Remind Readers to see a Physical Therapist First! A common tenant in medicine is the use of conservative treatment before other options are explored. Too often, patients think that they should turn to prescription drugs or invasive surgery for treatment before looking into conservative care. Throughout your blog posts, strive to make sure readers realize that seeing a physical therapist should be their first step before they investigate other options. Write some posts about the ways that physical therapy has benefited real-life patients.

2. Show the Benefits of Physical Therapy. Physical therapy is a clinically proven way to treat a wide variety of different movement disorders. Unlike other treatment options, physical therapy rarely has any negative side-effects and is good for the body and mind. Use your writings to prove to readers that seeing a physical therapist is a fast, easy and affordable solution that actually work! Interest your readers in subjects about new therapy techniques and how they are being used to treat various conditions.

3. Toot Your Horn About Your Training and Accomplishments! While doctors are often viewed as professionals, the general public knows little about physical therapists and aren’t sure if they should trust them. Use your blog to showcase the extensive training and accomplishments that you and other therapists have undergone. Consider writing a section on “what it takes to become a physical therapist” and go into detail about your journey to become a therapist.

Using some of the physical therapy blog ideas listed above, you can start to write posts that will interest your readers while gaining their trust and friendship.

Mobile Should be Part of Physical Therapy Marketing Strategy

Call us crazy but we see great potential for online mobile marketing. We really don’t think it’s crazy given the unbelieveable statistics.

Check out these numbers from Google regarding the number of times users go online on their smart phone each day.

physical therapy website marketing

As such, part of a comprehensive physical therapy marketing strategy should be about mobile. Practices can improve their communications with patients and prospect thru the mobile platform.

Check out some of our new mobile designs too.

Physical Therapy Mobile Websites

Click on the graphic above to see more of our designs on Pinterest.

Physical Therapy Reputation Management – Part 1

I recently wrote this guest blog post on the Web PT blog. Below is the summary and you can follow the link for the entire article on physical therapy reputation management.

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As Benjamin Franklin once said, “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one negative one to lose it.” With this statement in mind—and 21st century technology—let’s talk about reputation management in 2013. Here are a few questions to start you thinking:

  1. Do you know your online reputation?
  2. Are there any negative reviews about your practice on the Internet? If so, do you have a procedure for handling these reviews?
  3. Do you have a proactive reputation management program in place to inoculate your practice against negative reviews?
  4. Have you considered the impact that positive reviews will have on your practice’s reputation?

What is Online Reputation Management?

Click here to read the entire article

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How to Avoid Negative Yelp Consumer Alerts that Could Hurt Your Physical Therapy Marketing Efforts

Physical Therapy Marketing

Patient reviews are powerful. Consumers trust their peers more than anyone else when making buying decisions. Studies indicate that great Yelp reviews can positively impact business growth.

Pew Internet studies indicate that 19 percent of patients consult reviews when making health care decisions.

Yelp Wrong and It Could Cost You

Yelp is continuously making efforts to obtain consistent and authentic reviews from consumers. As such they have “review filter” system in place that will flag suspicious activity.

Yelp Takes Suspicious Reviews to the Next Level

I have often written about the importance of not fabricating reviews or equally important, not using the same computer (i.e. IP address) to collect reviews.

Yelp and Physical Therapy Marketing

Yelp has taken it to the next level. If they think you are buying reviews, they will hit you with the Big Red Box that says “Consumer Alert”!

As Yelp management said in their a couple months back:

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…the allure of a page full of five-star reviews can turn even the most ethical business owner starry-eyed and persuade some to attempt to game the system by paying for reviews.

This pretty much breaks every rule in the book, not to mention it’s just wrong to mislead consumers with fake reviews. To combat this, we’ve put on our detective hats, tracked down these rogue solicitations and are now giving you a heads up. Starting today, when we’ve determined that there have been significant attempts to pay for reviews, you may see a warning (like the one below) that some shady practices may be at play.

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If you purchase reviews or try to game the system, it could impact your business.

We recommend you get authentic reviews, from consumers that feel you have delivered exceptional care.

The Easy Way to Gather Yelp Reviews

One of the easiest ways to do this is to direct them to your Yelp page from your mobile website. The patient “yelper” then logs in to their own account and does their own review. This is one of the better and easier ways to build your online footprint.

If you have questions about this, don’t hesitate to give me a call.

So, go out and build your practice’s online footprint. It will pay off.

We want to make sure you start 2013 with the tools and information you need for success!

December Deal

I’ve been brainstorming with some of the industry’s leading professionals like marketing expert Lynn Steffes, PT, DPT of Steffes & Associates, and finance expert Chuck Felder, PT, DPT of HCS Consulting, about how we can help you succeed in 2013.

It’s not your fault that Medicare/CMS are proposing such drastic changes. We do need to work together and make sure you are prepared.

This is what we came up with:

Improve Your Message, Your Marketing, and Your Finances

Lynn, Chuck and I have come up with a plan. We are offering you a package of services and our support at a significant discount. Here’s our offer:

1. IRIS Marketing: Lynn’s program focuses on internal marketing and helps you capitalize on your practice team to build referrals in the most influential and cost-effective manner. Click here for more information.

2. Benchmark 2013: Chuck’s assessment provides you with the specific data you need to take control of your business operations and stop wasting precious time and money. Click here to learn more.

3. E-rehab’s Online Marketing Systems: My company provides time-saving online business growth systems like custom websites, search marketing, social media marketing, mobile websites and patient/doctor video newsletters. Click here to learn more.

[fancy_header2 variation=”red”]The entire package, tools and consulting are just $1,150*. That’s a savings of $1,200 to you.[/fancy_header2]

Start 2013 off with better internal marketing, online marketing, and solid financial information and advice.

[note_box]Call me, David Straight, PT for more information at 800-468-5161 x 1101. We want to get to know you and help you and your practice move forward in 2013.[/note_box]