Almost everyone is glued to their phones, spending hours scrolling through their social media feed. As a podiatrist, you want to use that as an opportunity to grab the attention of your potential patients, get more traffic to your site, and establish your online presence.
In this blog, we’ll discuss how effective social media marketing for podiatrists is along with some tips on how you can make the most out of these platforms!
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social Media Marketing is when you share relevant information about your podiatry clinic on social platforms like Instagram, Youtube, Twitter, and TikTok. What’s great about this marketing strategy is that you can use this not just to market your podiatry services but you can use this platform to address the concerns of your patients.
Why Social Media Marketing for Podiatrists?
You might be wondering, “Is social media marketing worth it?”. Marketing your podiatry services works best especially if one of your goals is to build brand awareness. With over 4.9 billion social media users around the world, establishing your presence on these platforms can help you reach out to your target audience and attract new patients.
Another reason why you should consider using social media is that it gives you more room to be creative. There are several types of content that you can share with your audience. Some of them could be in the form of short videos, carousel posts, or Instagram stories.
As you share informational and eye-catchy posts on your podiatry clinic’s page, more and more users are likely to engage with your brand. Having a high engagement rate is a good sign that your target audience finds your posts relatable.
Lastly, since most social media platforms have built-in analytics, you can easily check how well your posts are performing. That will give you an idea of which posts on your podiatry clinic’s page get the most engagement (e.g. likes, comments, shares) and are capable of bringing in more new patients to your clinic.
Still in doubt whether social media marketing is right for your podiatry clinic?
How to Create a Social Media Strategy
1. Identify your goal
The first step in creating your podiatry clinic’s social media strategy is by identifying what your marketing goal is. It could be to create brand awareness, generate leads, get more new patients, drive more traffic to your site, or build loyal customers. Whatever your goal is, make sure to make it clear at the beginning so that it’ll be easier for you to track the performance of your social media marketing strategies and you can use it as a guide in creating your future posts.
2. Focus on the platform where most of your target audience is
After clearly identifying what your marketing goal is, the next step is evaluating which social platform most of your audience is on. You don’t really have to be present on every social media platform. You just have to focus on one platform where your potential customers are and have features that are aligned with your marketing objective.
Here are the top social platforms that most businesses use:
- LinkedIn– the majority of its users are aged 25-34 years old
- Instagram– the majority of its users are aged 18-34 years old
- Twitter – the majority of its users are aged 25-34 years old
- TikTok – the majority of its users are aged 18-24 years old
- Facebook – the majority of its users are aged 25-34 years old
3. Brainstorm content
The next step is by brainstorming ideas about the topics that you want to share with your target audience. You have to plan content ahead to achieve a consistent online presence. Aside from that, this also prevents you from cramming ideas about what you’re going to post in the upcoming weeks or months.
You can compile a list of topics and keywords using a spreadsheet so that you can keep track of which ideas have already been written and which need to be written yet.
4. Follow a schedule
When you’re done brainstorming ideas for your future posts on social media, the next thing to do is by creating a social media calendar. Not only does it help you stay organized, but it will also give your target audience something to look forward to every week. You just have to test which time of the day or day of the week works best for your posts.
5. Track the performance of your social media posts
Once you start publishing content on your podiatry clinic’s social media posts, the next thing that you should do is track the performance of your posts. This gives you an idea of which strategies worked for you and which ones need a little more work to keep up with your marketing goals.
Social media marketing KPIs:
- Engagement rate – shows you how engaged your audience is (in terms of likes, comments, and shares)
- Audience growth rate – a metric that shows you whether your followers are increasing or decreasing
- Reach – number of times your posts were seen by unique accounts
- Impressions – number of times your posts were seen by these users
Want to know how these KPIs affect your social media efforts?
Social Media Marketing Ideas for Podiatrists
Now that you have a background of how social media can help you in marketing your podiatry services, we’ll proceed with the post ideas that you can share with your target audience.
1. Patient testimonials
Well-written testimonials can drive more new patients to your podiatry clinic. Since consumers consider online reviews as a valuable source of information regarding how effective a podiatrist is in treating foot problems, sharing the good reviews you have on your business listings can help you convert potential patients into your actual patients!
Here’s an example of a patient testimonial posted on a podiatry clinic’s page:
View this post on Instagram
[Source]
2. Brief explanation about a podiatry procedure
Business owners are becoming more and more creative in connecting with their target audience. Before, e-books and long-form content are some of the content formats they most of them use to explain complex procedures about how their podiatry services work.
If you’re using TikTok, you have probably seen creators and medical professionals posting Duets. What happens here is that you can create a commentary about a specific podiatry procedure while a relevant video is displayed either on top of your video or side-by-side. Like in the example below:
@footdocdana A brief explanation of one type of hammertoe procedure 😁🦶 #hammertoe #hammertoes #hammertoesurgery #doctor #doctors #doctorsoftiktok #medicine #medical #medicalhumor #medicalvideos #surgery #nurse #nurses #podiatry #podiatrist #pediatric #surgeon #surgeons #footsurgeon #healthcare #scrublife ♬ Happy Days – Lux-Inspira
Not only you’re making complicated concepts easy to understand, but you’re also establishing your brand’s authority in the podiatry industry.
4. Promotional posts
Promotional posts are posts that are aligned with your social media marketing goals. Its purpose is to encourage your audience to take an action toward your post (e.g. call your podiatric clinic, schedule an appointment, or subscribe to your monthly newsletter).
Here’s an example of a promotional post on Pinterest:
5. Reaction posts
You can also use social media to share your thoughts and opinions as a medical professional. If you see misconceptions that are hyped up on social media, that’s your chance to debunk those myths and provide accurate information to the community.
Like in these examples:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
6. Giveaways
Want to boost your engagement rate? Hosting giveaways is a strategy that most businesses use to get more page followers, email subscribers, and leads. You just need to provide clear instructions on how your target audience can join.
View this post on Instagram
7. Fun facts
You can also provide useful information about common foot conditions that most people encounter. You just have to be creative in presenting them to your target audience. For example, instead of writing a long-form post on your social media profile, turn it into an infographic to make the concepts a lot easier to understand.
Like in the examples below:
@drdanielleedwards Here’s what to know about and how to prevent Plantar Fasciitis! Have any follow up questions I can answer for you? #plantarfasciitis #podiatry #edutok #learn #healing #medical ♬ original sound – New York Podiatrist
View this post on Instagram
Tips on how to create effective infographics
- Create an outline that contains ideas on what you want to include in your infographic
- Choose a readable font
- Use a color palette that suits the message of your infographic
- Add your podiatry clinic’s logo (for branding)
- Use an easy-to-follow format
- Promote it on other platforms (to get more traffic and backlinks)
8. Celebrate events with your audience
Another social media post idea that will help you stay relevant with your target audience is by greeting them on special occasions like during the Christmas season, New Year, Halloween, and other holidays.
[Source]
9. Milestone posts
If your podiatry clinic received an award or one of your podiatrists participated in a prestigious event, that’s a share-worthy post! Not only does it create an impression that you are proud of your staff but it also creates a positive impression about your podiatry clinic as it shows that your audience plays a part in your success.
View this post on Instagram
[Source]
[Source]
View this post on Instagram
10. Important updates about your podiatry clinic
Another social media post idea is about the latest updates that you have in your clinic. For example, if there’s a new schedule about your podiatry clinic’s business hours due to certain events, sharing them on your page is a great way to give your audience a heads-up in case they plan to call you for an appointment or visit your clinic.
View this post on Instagram
11. Staff appreciation post
You can also create posts showcasing your hardworking podiatrists. Not only does it help boost the morale of your team but it also creates a positive impression about your podiatry clinic. It shows that you really value the efforts of your team.
[Source]
Want to increase your podiatry clinic’s social presence? Our digital marketing experts are here to help.
Social Media Marketing Best Practices
Now that you have a background on what you can post on your podiatry clinic’s social media pages, here are some tips on how you can make the most out of your marketing efforts.
1. Be consistent in posting
On social media, you have to keep on posting fresh content because posts on these platforms become obsolete quickly. The goal is to give your target audience something to look forward to from time to time.
Consistency is very important in social media marketing because it’s something that helps your podiatry clinic to be recognized by your target audience. When we say “consistency” it’s not just about regularly posting on your page, this also includes the tone of voice that you use (e.g. formal or casual), the color scheme of your visuals, and the way you interact with your audience.
By providing consistent content, you’re not just establishing your credibility as a podiatrist, but it also shows that you’re exerting more effort in building the trust of your potential patients toward your podiatry services which will help you drive more new customers to your clinic.
Tips on how to be consistent on social media:
- plan the content you want to share with your target audience
- use a social media calendar to help you stick to a posting schedule
- set SMART goals
- repurpose old content
2. Engage with your audience
The main function of social media platforms is to encourage engagement with their users. With the use of its unique features (e.g. Facebook and LinkedIn post reactions, comment section, and share buttons) your target audience has lots of ways how they will interact with your podiatry clinic posts.
Tips on how to improve your engagement rate:
- regularly check the current performance of your posts
- analyze and find out what elements of your posts your target audience finds engaging
- people love getting freebies, host a giveaway
- apply fear of missing out (FOMO) on your posts
- create filters or start a hashtag challenge
3. Use hashtags on your posts
Hashtags (#) are used to help your podiatry posts show up in relevant searches on social media platforms. This is useful in helping you reach your target audience and making your posts easier to find through a simple search.
Tips when using hashtags on your posts:
- Don’t stuff your captions with too many hashtags
- recommended number of hashtags for Instagram posts: 3-5 hashtags
- recommended number of hashtags for LinkedIn posts: 3 hashtags
- recommended number of hashtags for Facebook posts: 2-3 hashtags
- recommended number of hashtags for Twitter: 2 hashtags per Tweet
- recommended number of hashtags for TikTok: 3-5 hashtags
- Use different variations of hashtags
- location hashtags – where your podiatry clinic is located
- branded hashtags – usually the name of your podiatry clinic
- community hashtags – used to be found by a larger audience
- event hashtags – used by individuals who joined an event
- niche hashtags – used to connect with your target audience
- industry hashtags – a general topic about your podiatry post
- Don’t use spaces, hyphens, or other symbols to separate words
- Test to see which hashtags work for you
- Only use relevant hashtags on your posts
4. Utilize short videos
73% of consumers prefer watching videos to learn more about a product or service. Since most people are busy, they are more likely to consume content that gives them the information they want in an instant. Because of that, short videos like the ones you see on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and IG reels tend to get more views, shares, and comments especially if it’s entertaining and full of interesting information.
Advantages of using short-form videos:
- can easily grab the attention of your target audience
- perfect for people who have a short attention span
- makes your content digestible
5. Create posts for each stage of the buyer’s journey
The three stages of the buyer’s journey are (1) the Awareness stage, (2) the Consideration stage, and (3) the Decision stage. To make the most out of your marketing efforts, it’s best that you create various types of content to help them decide that your podiatry clinic is the one that they’re looking for.
Here’s a quick guide for you in creating posts for each stage of the buyer’s journey:
- for the Awareness stage:
- blog posts that explain a podiatric condition
- fun facts about podiatry services
- social media posts about the benefits
- for the Consideration stage:
- tell them what sets you apart from your competitors
- case studies
- for the Decision stage:
- patient testimonials
- latest promos, consultation offers, and vouchers
- frequently asked questions (FAQs)
- service landing pages
6. A/B test your posts
A/B testing is when you create two versions of your posts and share them with your target audience to see which post performs better. You’ll base the next format of your post on the result of your a/b testing.
These are the elements that you can A/B test on social media:
- the tone used in your caption
- the length of your caption
- the format of your caption
- the emojis used
- hashtags used
- call to action used
- image/video used
7. Follow the 80/20 rule
When posting on social media, you have to keep in mind that it’s not all about you promoting your podiatry services. Instead, 80% of your social media posts should be all about providing useful information and entertaining content to your audience while the remaining 20% should consist of promotional posts.
You have to follow this rule so that you’re not just focused on selling your podiatry services but you’re also keeping your target audience engaged.
Want to know how you can set up your podiatry clinic’s Business listing? Check out our blog about Google My Business for Podiatrists to learn more.
8. Partner with influencers
Influencers are people who have established their reputation on the internet by sharing their expert opinion about a specific topic. Influencer marketing, on the other hand, is when you partner with an influencer to help you introduce your podiatry services to a new audience.
Here are some tips to make influencer marketing work for your podiatry clinic:
- When choosing an influencer, you have to make sure that they can help you create authentic content for your audience. Create a list of qualities that you are looking for in someone that will represent your podiatry clinic.
- After choosing which influencer to partner with, make sure to measure the results to see if they are effective in bringing in more new customers to your clinic
9. Be creative
There are various types of content that you can share on social media. It could be images (e.g. static images, carousel posts, Instagram stories), videos (e.g. IG live, Facebook live, In-feed videos, reels), and you can even add a link to your podiatry blogs! You just have to be familiar with the features that each platform has and know its functionalities, so that you can effectively deliver the message you want to share with your target audience.
10. Use paid media
If your organic posts aren’t performing well despite the use of optimization strategies that we’ve mentioned earlier or if you have a top-performing post that you want to make the most of it, you might want to consider boosting your post through paid media. In fact, 26% of social media users tend to engage themselves with brands that are advertised on their newsfeeds.
Paid media is when you promote your podiatry clinic through sponsored posts and display ads on social media. These are usually shown on a user’s newsfeed as they scroll through their social media accounts. While Instagram ads can be shown in the stories section (where potential patients can scroll up if they want to learn more about the ad).
Advantages of social media advertising
- can help you get more leads
- can help you get a better understanding of your audience
- increased brand awareness
- gives you a chance to advertise to specific users based on their demographics
Ad options for each social media platform
- Instagram ad options
- Photo ads, collection ads, carousel ads, and video ads
- LinkedIn ad options
- Document ads, single image ads, video ads, and carousel ads
- Pinterest ad options
- Standard pins, app install pins, carousel ads, and video ads
- TikTok ad options
- In-feed ads, brand takeover ads, Topview ads, branded hashtag ads, branded effects ads, collection ads
- If you’re looking for ideas and inspirations from the best-performing ad campaigns on TikTok, check out their Ad Library tool. Here, you can sort the results based on the region, industry, objective (e.g. lead generation, reach, traffic, video views), and duration of how long the ads kept running. You can use it as a guide when you start creating ad campaigns for your podiatry clinic.
- Facebook ad options
- Stories ads, Messenger ads, photo ads, video ads, and more
- You can also get ideas from your competitors through the Meta Ad library. It’ll provide you with a wealth of information such as if the ad has multiple versions, check the publishing date, ad categories, and more.
Want to know how you can create ad campaigns for your podiatry clinic? Check out our blog about Google Ads for Podiatrists to learn more.
Need help promoting your podiatry clinic online?
Key takeaway
Social Media Marketing is great for brand awareness. But, aside from that, this marketing strategy can also be used to drive more traffic and more new customers to your site especially if you’re consistent in posting.
