While online marketing is a no-brainer for organizations that operate on a national scale, it may seem almost counterintuitive to turn to the expansive, anonymous internet to attract local clientele to your brick-and-mortar business. However, the key to successful chiropractic marketing is understanding your prospective patients and how they ultimately make decisions.

Though word of mouth still has its place in chiropractic marketing, in this day and age, the vast majority of consumers turn to online search engines and review websites to seek out practically all manner of services. In many instances, your website could well be a potential client's first exposure to your office—even if they live just around the corner. Dr. Patrick McNamara of the marketing firm Next Generation Chiropractor relayed the anecdote of a fellow physician attending an industry conference in Atlanta who was unable to attract attendees of a nearby college until he took his practice online.

"Being one block away with good visibility [wasn't] enough to connect with collegiate prospects. It took the power of the Internet to open those doors," wrote McNamara.

What does this mean for your practice? Simply that your online presence should not be a throwaway that you attend to intermittently. Instead, maintaining your website and updating your social media profiles should be accounted for within your office workflow, as the results of these efforts could well be the deciding factor among local residents who are considering your services.

In future installments, we'll address how to manage your online presence in a way that targets and engages your specific community. 

Finding the time to devote to your website and social media accounts can prove challenging, particularly for physicians who are already struggling to balance administrative and clinical work. Introducing chiropractic management software that streamlines your workflow can provide more flexibility, freeing you to invest more in your online presence.