What is our most expensive commodity? Most would say time. The BIGGEST objective I hear all the time about marketing from practitioners is coming up with content or more having content that drives traffic or engagement that still looks awesome. And then the phone is ringing and your customers (patients) are walking through the door and there are medical reports that need to be completed and a blog post that needs to be written and a newsletter that needs to be emailed and, and, and… the list goes on and on. In this blog I’ve got a quick list of my favorite tools we use quickly re-purpose content and some great tactics, enjoy! =-)
“Marketing is about being consistent and having a message that is congruent to have the best success. It does take commitment and you will have to apply some thought but you can master the process.”
Marketing is generally not what you are thinking about when your appointment book is constantly full however, you have to be dedicated to marketing your practice all the time. Not just in high times or slow times, but all the time to avoid any slow times.
If you happen to be in a slow time, that is when the cash flow is tight and it hurts to even think about opening the wallet for marketing your practice or you might be so tight that as much as you would LOVE to pay for marketing, the $$$ just aren’t there. What you do have the most of if your personal time during the slow times to concentrate on the marketing, so this blog post fits your needs cause I have included some really cool tools that enable you to create some great looking content for FREE or extremely low cost.
If you are currently riding that high tidal wave of clients, your appointment book is filled and the thought of marketing to get new clients feels overwhelming, congrats! The fact is, that is the time to continue branding your practice, building your email list, making those connections so that when space starts to open up in your appointment calendar, you have cultivated relationships and someone new is ready to book their first time visit. During those high times, when you are building side boards on your plate to hold all the projects to get done, this blog can help you with some ideas on how to quickly get the most benefit from content.
I know I have said this before (actually many times) but I have to say this again. In order to save you the most time, you really have to have a plan for each of your places where you are using content. In other words, before you start considering content, make a list of all the places you would be sharing content.
Newsletter Email updates Website updates Blog Post Podcast Videos Live Presentations Social Media
Next assign a theme for each month, like perhaps January is “Beat Winter Blues” and “February is Get Fit” and March is Nutritional Health Focus, April is New Beginnings etc… keep listing out ideas until you have a theme for each month.
Now you are ready to start brainstorming ideas for topics that relate to each of the monthly ideas for your blogs and newsletters. One great time saver would be invite others to contribute. Have guest bloggers or work with another business in your area to exchange content for each other’s newsletters. If you share a blog post every other week that 26 blogs you have to write. If you trade your 4 of your blog posts with another non-competitive business for 4 of their write ups, now you only need 22. Let’s say you connect with some of your suppliers or social influencers you can write a 2 paragraph summary regarding one of their blog posts (of course you will be sure to give them credit and link to their blog) but let’s say another 4 blog ideas completed there, now that leaves you with on 18 that’s just over 1 a month! In about an hour of web searching and a couple of phone calls you have yourself a whole year’s worth of content lined up!
After you have completed the blog or newsletter and scheduled it to be shared social media sites, the next quick project would be to utilize Canva, Picmonkey, Relay or YouZign to now create fun bursts of texts in images. Sharing the wonderful “nuggets” of info on social media.
All of these were made using YouZign and Canva tools in less than 10 minutes!
You can also schedule those same nuggets as “quotes” in status updates without making them into images.
Looking for another quick way to find famous quotes and turn them into any type of images you want? You will LOVE Quotes cover. Select a few favorites that match up with your theme or topic most appropriate for your practice and go to town! Or you can even create your own quotes , check it out!
Also, be sure to utilize items that provide tons of great content that is beautiful too sites like AmpLIFEied has a large selection of high quality images, blog and artile links, videos and more for great promotional and educational content that sparks conversation around your practice.
There are benefits to sharing from well recognized social influencers, not only does it reduce time invested in creating your own, but it also shows your customs and prospects that you are on top of your game! Non-profit organizations share great content that helps educate Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, The Massage Foundation, the Foundation for Chiropractic Progress, American Chiropractic Association, and more… all have social pages that regularly share great content you can like and share for your practice.
If video is your thing instead of writing or if you have complete writer’s block, record yourself talking about the topic, or interview your guest blogger. Upload the video as content then have the video transcribed to be used into blog posts or in the newsletter!
Take the quick talking points from the videos and make them into social media posts. Snag 20 seconds from each of the videos to share on Instagram, SnapChat, and Twitter.
Next, take one of the main talking points use that as an email blast expanding a little on the point in the weeks following the blog or newsletter.
Before you know it content will be eazy peazy! I recommend creating a spreadsheet to plan out your content and it also allows you to organize what exact items you will need. Simplify things by organizing them. If you need help getting started, then you can download my free Social Media Content Cheat Sheet . Included in the spreadsheet are links to videos explaining how to use the shortcuts for organizing your content. Remember, the 30 minutes you spend organizing will save you hours of staring at a blank screen! =-)
What is one of your favorite tools or tactics that help you stay organized with your marketing?