Social Networking and Branding for Chiropractors in 2009

Its essential that you brand yourself online as “the” top chiropractor in your area. No time is this more important than in 2009. Not only is it the key to success, but it is perhaps the only way to successfully market yourself and stay afloat in these difficult times. When people know your name, your face, your profession, and attribute credibility to all of these things combined, you have marketing and professional gold that stands the test of time. The only place to create this kind of credibility is the internet.

Some of the best, successful branding you can do for your practice is on the immensely popular social networking sites that you find online today. The more creative you are at softly marketing yourself and your skills, the more you put your name ahead of the rest. This creates a marketing buzz that youll find priceless for giving you the ability to drive new patients through your doors.

The very first step, and the most powerful, that you can take for your chiropractic marketing is to get on sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and LinkedIn; just to name a few. If youre already a fan of social media in your personal ventures, then you understand the potential for making new friends and connection in this way. When you harness this same tool for your business, the potential for successful marketing is extraordinary.

The magic of these sites comes from the fact that you can send a friend request to someone, and theyre automatically interested in who you are. Theyll accept your request to learn more, and when they do, theyll see your profile and be even more intrigued. This will eventually drive them to your website, and if they live in your community, this will drive them to your office for help when they need it. Do you see the marketing gold of this strategy?

So what you need to do is join quite a few of these social networking sites, and the easiest way to do it is have your CA or marketing director follow through while you go on with business per usual. Hiring someone else to do it or outsourcing the task is going to make it a lot easier for you to see returns on your money and not have to deal with the ins and outs of internet marketing all on your own. That way you can focus on your practice and let other people take care of the rest.

The key here is that you want to get your profile on these sites and begin to softly market your chiropractic practice. You can begin to add blogs, videos, articles, links, and so much more that will help to really flesh out your profile and make people intrigued by who you are and what you do. You can begin to use the instant messenger feature, as well as offering special promotions and discounts to your friends on the site. As it continues to expand, people in your network will start to consider you the #1 destination for all their chiropractic problems.

Status updates allow you to let everyone know what is going on with you or the practice and what sort of help you can offer them. It is always important to be able to offer those on your friends list a little something special so that they will resonate with you and potentially become patients. Be yourself, share some personal information, and let them know that your practice can take care of their many health concerns. Since chiropractic care is known to help other ailments aside from back problems, many people will be appreciative of having this knowledge.

So, today you can start using these social networks to expand your chiropractic marketing in ways you never imagined possible. This way, youre successfully branding yourself to the point where youre the head chiropractic office in your area. When anyone needs a chiropractor, they think of your offices first and foremost. You can even become a local celebrity in due time!