How Chiropractors Can Get Started On Facebook In 2020
Does your chiropractic practice have a Facebook page? Facebook as a platform has changed a lot in recent years, however, it remains incredibly popular – an incredible 2.4 billion people use Facebook monthly. In particular, two thirds of users say they visit a local business Facebook Page at least once per week. If your practice doesn’t have a page, this could be a setback. Facebook Business pages matter.
Steps to Getting Started on Facebook
1. Create your page
Facebook Business Pages are free to create. But making the most of them requires ongoing effort and a strategy. Once you’ve created your Page, you need to establish what you will use it for. And once you have one, you can take advantage of paid marketing strategies, including Facebook ads. This can get complex, and it’s what we help practices succeed at. But, some basic things to include initially are:
- A clear link to your website
- A way to get in touch with you (e.g. email or phone)
- Some content that you post regularly (e.g. blogs, updates, etc)
- Testimonials
2. Add your brand images
First impressions really do matter. A professional and consistent online presence indicates to your potential patients that your business is legitimate and can be trusted. You will need graphics on your Business Page that reflect the branding of your practice generally. This means including images that are optimised at the correct sizing for Facebook (and again, it’s something we can help with!).
3. Include useful Page information and a clear URL
This includes a description of 255 characters, contact information, as well as any other relevant information like opening hours or pricing. You also have to select a username that is really easy to find and makes sense for your practice. Ideally, it should be consistent with any other social media accounts you plan to use.
The Content You Can Post
It’s really important to keep your Facebook Page updated and to consistently post on the platform. This engages your following, and ensures people find something that feels appropriate when they search for your practice. It’s also an opportunity to build trust and demonstrate the principles of your work as a chiropractor. There are several kinds of posts you can take advantage of. They are:
- Text posts (or a status update). This is just text, but can be a great conversation starter, especially if you ask a question.
- Linked content posts. These are, as the title suggests, links in a post – they usually appear as a nice preview of the linked page, which is either a website or blog post. It’s a great way to share content from others you admire or share blogs from your own website. Direct traffic back to your site and demonstrate your ability to curate great content for your followers with these posts.
- Photo posts. These are a good way to show products or demonstrate something, and they do tend to get higher engagement than just using text. We are visual creatures, after all!
- Video posts. Short videos are a great way to communicate with your audience, convey your expertise and catch the eye of curious potential patients. If you’re intimidated about video, check out our other post about using YouTube for your business for more information about how to make this kind of content work well for your practice.
- Facebook Live videos. This is, as the title suggests, completely live! It’s a great way to broadcast a talk, do a Q&A session with patients, or share announcements in real time. Not strictly necessary, and potentially anxiety-inducing (given that it is live), but just another option in your toolkit on this platform.
- Poll posts. Creating a poll is a great way to engage with followers or get feedback. It could be just a matter of starting a conversation, or you can use the opportunity to learn more about what your potential patients want to hear more about.
Be aware as well of pinned posts, which are a great way to showcase the most important news or information posts you have shared on your page. It will be ‘pinned’ as the first thing anyone finds on your Page, so make it something that captures your ethos as a practice or really answers a common question or need of your patients.
Create Your Content Strategy
Your Facebook Page is another stream for marketing your practice and requires some strategy behind it. Do this by:
1. Defining your audience – think about the age of your target followers, where they live, what jobs they might have, their particular challenges, and how and why they might use Facebook. Through analytics, you can learn much more about your audience, and this kind of attention to detail is something we can definitely help with.
2. Setting goals that suit your business – you might want to attract new patients, direct more traffic to your site, gather testimonials, etc. Whatever your goals, ensure you define them clearly and create content that serves them.
3. Determining your content mix – many businesses will start with the 80/20 rules, which is that 80% of the content you share is designed to entertain or inform, while 20% promotes the brand or business. Of course, you can experiment with this, and it is important to have a diverse array of content types in order to gather data about what works and what doesn’t. Ultimately, the aim is to provide value to your potential patients and keep helping them on their journey towards better health.
4. Incorporating Facebook ads – if you want your posts to be seen and discovered by users, the algorithm strongly preferences posts from users’ friends and family over business-related content on newsfeeds. This means that, to stand out or be found, you need to advertise. With a targeted Facebook ad campaign (which we can definitely help you with!), you can cut through and reach more potential patients.
5. Continually refining – with analytics tools, you can monitor your Page’s performance and alter your content mix or post times/regularity to get the most out of your Page, and respond to what users are really looking for from your business.
And there you have it – all the basics you need to know about starting your own Facebook Page in 2020. Using these steps, potential patients will be able to discover you via this popular social media platform.