Here are 11 common (and all too costly) online marketing mistakes you, as a chiropractor, must avoid making if you ever want to realize substantial increases in monthly new patient numbers and limitless practice growth from the internet.

1. Thinking that having a website constitutes marketing online.

The same holds true for a Facebook Fan page. Having those are great, however, you MUST know how to be able to send a flood of local traffic to the site (and be able to convert them) if you every hope to get patients through the door.

You could have the best website in the world, but if people don’t know about it, you’re screwed. Having a website is not the same as proactive internet marketing. It’s only just the start.

2. Assuming that all website traffic is created equal and having unrealistic expectations.

An example of this would be Google search traffic versus Facebook advertising traffic. While both can be extremely effective for generating new patients, realize the marketing, ad creation, and destination pages have to be structured differently. Their is a certain (and predictable) way to ensuring success with any traffic source.

3. Subscribing to the notion that social media marketing is unprofessional.

This perception is hurting A LOT of chiropractors right now and has prevented them from harnessing a highly powerful practice growth medium.

Professionalism is dependent on how well you position yourself online in your local market.

There are a number of factors that determine this and we go in-depth with personal coaching clients.

Many docs are still on the sidelines while patients are leave them behind. Static yellow pages are all but dead. Just know that people want to get to know their doc and see he / she is a real person.

NO OTHER MARKETING MEDIUM showcases this better than social media if done right.

4. Expecting Facebook page “fans” to automatically become new patients.

The truth is, you must build relationships with most prospective patients first before they’ll ever walk into the office. Now, their are direct response methods that you can use to dramatically accelerate this process but most docs don’t use them.

On this same note, the number of fans you have is not directly proportional to the paying patients you can expect. Too many are pushing that nonsense

5. Searching for the “magic bullet” tactic that will get you all the patients you need.

There are dozens of strategies to combine when using internet marketing effectively. There is no quick-fix. Anyone that has built a big practice or brand from the web (including myself) never hit it big overnight. Social media can change your life but it takes work and commitment.

6. Going ALL IN without a well structured, systematic daily / weekly marketing task list.

Without a plan, social media and online marketing can be a HUGE non-productive time suck. This is where many doctors just go off the cliff. Because much of the marketing can be done without spending money on traditional advertising, a lot chiropractors assume that it must be simple. The truth is, it’s not.

7. Not tracking or knowing how to track your website analytics AND how well your site is actually converting online visitors (if you’re getting any) into real patients.

What gets measured gets improved. You must have a baseline to compare your stats to. It’s important to know how many visitors are coming to your site, how long they’re staying there, where they’re coming from, what pages they’re frequenting, the site bounce rate, etc.

8. Getting caught-up in the latest “shiny object” marketing tactic and not focusing on core fundamentals.

Certain internet marketing methods have worked like magic for years and will continue to work. Social media, traffic generation, and building relationships haven’t changed as much as fly-by-night consultants want you to believe. If you’re not getting the results you want, it’s probably not because you’re missing the latest and greatest tactic.

9. Becoming overly preoccupied with Google and minimizing all other aspects of social media marketing.

Google is just one aspect, yet many chiropractors look at a #1 Google ranking as the pinnacle of internet marketing success. This is not smart and certainly doesn’t guarantee new patients. Any company or coach that tells you otherwise is not being completely honest with you.

10. Inconsistent internet marketing.

This is the kiss of death. When you stop and start, you lose. This makes you VULNERABLE to your competitors. There are proven ways to seamlessly delegate in-office without spending a lot of time, money and effort. Remember, though. “Busy work” does not necessarily constitute strategic marketing.

11. Thinking you can do everything alone without professional guidance.

You’re a trained chiropractor, not an experienced marketer. Know your limitations and when to get help. This can save you headaches, frustration, wasted time, and money. If internet marketing were easy, every chiropractor would have a BOOMING practice. If you look around, you’ll see in short order this is not the case.

The window of opportunity is shrinking as the web evolves.

The question is, are you evolving with it? If you’re ready to get serious in regards to attracting new patients and more recognition from the internet and social media, visit this link to get started.

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