The internet is everywhere. Smart phones that can connect to the web from just about anywhere are in practically everyone's pockets these days. People turn to the internet for almost everything—which makes it an incredibly powerful tool for doctors looking to market their podiatry practices. Here's the problem, though: if you don't understand what you need to be doing, or you execute your strategies wrong, you're just going to be ignored. And being ignored is a colossal waste of time and money. 
There are three major keys that are at the heart of getting noticed online: knowing your numbers, using your social media, and collecting great reviews.
Know Your Numbers
By now everyone understands you need a website. A website simply existing on its own, however, isn't enough. It has to be found by the right people. A variety of things work together to optimize your website so that when someone with bunion pain in your local area Googles for help, your website appears at the top of their search results. How you know if these things are actually working, however, is all in your numbers.
Numbers are impartial. They provide insights into how people are finding your website, what they look at while they're there, and how long they stick around, among other things. This information is what helps you figure out if what you're doing for your web marketing is actually working. You get these numbers from tools like Google Analytics, so you can regularly pull reports on your stats—and make adjustments when things aren't working the way you'd hoped.
Embracing Social Media
Social media has changed a lot about the way people act and communicate online, growing from something just the kids are doing to a staple of everyone's internet habits. Whether it's your own kids, your parents, or your aging great-aunt, you can find almost anyone on some social media platform or another. This is an incredible chance for your practice to build relationships with your patient base. The problem is, though, just having a Facebook page or Twitter account and posting randomly can be repetitive and boring.
You have to provide interesting content that catches people's limited attention. There are strategies and ways to do this while still remembering your page is for your business and ultimately should be directing people back to your office or website. Understanding these strategies can transform your social media from something you do because you're supposed to into a valuable tool for your office.
Collecting 5-Star Reviews
The Yellow Pages are dead and local search killed them. That doesn't mean people aren't still looking for your crucial information or, just as importantly, reviews and insights into your practice. They are. They simply turn to what's called Local Search for that information now, where they can find your practice on sites like Yelp and see what others have to say about you and their experiences in your office. Increasingly having high-quality reviews are playing a role in people's decisions making, acting much like word-of-mouth between friends and neighbors.
You need to collect 5-star reviews from your best patients on a regular basis, directing people to the most popular review sites to do so. A good strategy can turn off-handed comments about how much someone appreciates your services into top reviews that work for you in the long run. Failing to get these reviews means you're not really able to market your practice effectively online.
If all this sounds overwhelming, know you don't have to figure it out alone. An experienced team that understands the ins and outs of marketing for a podiatry practice can help you master understanding your numbers, using your social media, and collecting high-quality reviews. At Top Practices, we've been helping doctors do just that and much more for many years. We can help you, too. If you'd like to learn more about mastering the internet, or are looking for help in your own online marketing strategies, contact us. You can e-mail [email protected] or call us directly at (717) 626-2025.
