by Matthew Loop, DC

When speaking with the average chiropractor, it is apparent that critical entrepreneurial thinking is still not stressed in school. Hence, why many doctors never make it in the long term in practice. In fact, the chiropractic profession has the highest student loan default rate of any medical profession. Most of the reason for this that the doctors are taught to be great technicians and have good diagnostic ability but that alone does not pay the overhead each month. Many believe they will just hang-up their sign and people will flock through the door. Well, I have news for the dreamers! Times are changing very quickly and the fast learners will profit heavily and grow their practices to astonishing heights while the laggards will be sucked under with the sinking economy.

The same old outdated marketing that your consultant is shoving down your throat had its place in the past and is actually hurting you. Are you still wasting thousands on postcards, newspaper drops, and telemarketing per month? On top of that, are you wasting massive amounts of time trying to meet people at the “Chamber” with very minimal referrals and results? Believe it or not, the best form of marketing and advertising is 100% free now because communication dynamics have made a drastic shift in the last 3 years.

Three years ago I began using SEO / Web 2.0 marketing techniques. I was the first Chiropractor to bring these exciting new tools to our profession, and other doctors were stunned to learn that I was generating huge numbers of new clients with common websites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube.

The very first time I logged on to a social networking site, I was convinced that there had to be a way to make this amazing tool work for me in my practice. I spent countless hours working out methods for generating new contacts and increasing my business online-and I found success!

During my research I observed how other chiropractors were approaching online marketing. They immediately signed up for their own profile and began spamming other members with their advertisements. Not only will this get you kicked off the website (since it is against the user agreement), but most people hate spam and the result will be the exact opposite of what you intended when you sent it in the first place. The only real way to make the most of these sites is to find a mentor; someone who has been there before and knows how to navigate the waters of Web 2.0.

If you want to succeed in social networking, you must be credible above all else. This means that your contacts and ‘friends’ have to feel that you bring some value to the community. Serious thought must be put in to designing your profile page, and the information that you place there. Your page should be interesting, captivating, fun and engaging.

A couple tips that I can give you for marketing on MySpace include: 1. Never send a friend request to someone unless you first type a friendly message letting them know who you are and why you want to be their friend; and 2. Keep plenty of videos on your profile page. These can be about chiropractic, or even subjects that interest you personally such as sports, music, or movies. Part of the success of social networking involves expressing your own personality to your contacts.

There has never been anything like Web 2.0 in the world of marketing. To understand how to use these sites, it is vital that you understand both the spoken and unspoken rules of participating on them. You will see immediate benefits when you finally understand how they work. The best way to do this is to find a mentor or a guide who can give you the support you need while you make yourself a part of this exciting new environment.

About the Author:
Ever wonder how to use social media to simply get an extra 15 new patients / month with Chiropractic Marketing? Learn how to earn $30,000 / month and create other MSI’s with this ultimate social media / SEO video training course. Visit http://dcincome.com now.

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