Using Social Media for your Physical Therapy Practice

How important is social media for your PT practice?

A reminder that while social media is a useful tool, our goal in marketing a local PT practice is not to reach a national audience or reach influencer status! We just need to connect with our local community.

thoughts on social media

As you’re opening or growing your physical therapy practice, you’ve probably been encouraged to create Instagram and Facebook accounts. And you should! In our current environment, having an online and social media presence is expected and part of owning a business. However, as you’re creating and building your brand and this online presence, keep this in mind:

Success & popularity on social media do not necessarily equal a successful physical therapy practice.

And along those lines…

Don’t judge your own success or value as a clinician or practice based on your social media presence or followers.

My business account had 0 Instagram posts for a 9-month period between August 2018 and April 2019. To the Instagram world, my practice was failing (or non-existent!). In reality, I was seeing 45 patients a week in my new practice, in the process of hiring two new physical therapists, and working on moving into two new locations. If you’re too busy in the clinic to do social media, it’s a sign things are working! No need to stress about how consistently you’re posting.

DON’t PRIORITIZE SOCIAL MEDIA OVER QUALITY IN-PERSON MARKETING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOu’RE FIRST STARTING OUT.

Create your accounts, brainstorm content, and inform potential patients about what you do. But, don’t make this a priority. Instead, some other ways to direct your energy: 

• Become part of the community.

  If you’re treating out of a gym: Go to classes. Get to know the members. Be consistent. The most meaningful long-term connections (and referral sources) are based on frequent contact, trust, and familiarity-- don’t expect to have success just dropping into an occasional class or stopping by to offer a workshop.

  If you’re in a brick & mortar clinic: Get out into the community. Take classes. Meet other small business owners and support their businesses.  

• Create meaningful relationships with potential referral sources.

  Find fitness instructors (outside of your usual gym), coaches, other athletes, and other physical therapists in your area. Take classes from them, get treated by them, learn from them, offer to treat them. Your patients are already excellent referral sources.  Give quality care and the word will spread.

• Take care of your referral sources. 

  Offer workshops to current patients and follow up with your patients/clients. Send referrals, support local businesses, and promote them to your clients.

• Work on your specialty.

  Define your practice, take continuing education courses, find your niche.

• Understand that it’s a process.

  Word of mouth referrals take time to build, and the best way to get new patients is to do a good job treating patients. 

That being said, you ARE going to use social media.

So, be mindful of and purposeful in the content you post. Your social media account should be a direct reflection of your business. 

Be genuine from day one. Whether you have 1 follower or 10k, be honest about yourself and your business. 

Who are your followers? Are you talking to other physical therapists, or to patients? Does this fit with how your clinic will make money? If your goal is to sell content or services to other physical therapists, those connections are 100% necessary. If your clinic only makes money by treating patients, gaining physical therapist followers can help you build great connections and learn valuable content, but….it isn’t directly helping you make ends meet. 

Why are you posting? To share content with other physical therapists? To educate your patients on lifting form or technique? To explain to patients how you can help them? Or to get more likes or gain more followers?

Why are you placing value on social media? Is it generating leads or income for your practice? Or growing your reputation with others who aren’t directly influencing the success of your clinic? 

Social media can be a great tool, but it’s only that-- and your real-world community is what will help your practice succeed.