A round-up of top marketing tips for growing an integrative practice

Photo Cred: Startup Stock Photos/Pexels

By Liz Gold, Liz Gold

Love it or hate it, marketing is a needed function to manage a profitable practice. Whether that is through word-of-mouth referrals, content creation on social media, or more traditional advertising, marketing can help generate new patients, keep existing patients informed and connected, and boost exposure of a practitioner’s expertise.

We asked practitioners and a marketing consultant to share their top marketing tips to building an integrative healthcare practice. We found the list is ever-changing and growing.

“Be yourself and don’t try to be someone you’re not,” said Todd Born, ND, CNS, co-owner and medical director of Born Integrative Medicine Specialists of Gig Harbor, Wash. “If you’re a good clinician and care about your patients, they will come. Do what you love and what interests you. That being said, if people don’t know you exist, you won’t be open for long.”

Born pointed to having a referral network, and a strong Internet and social media presence, as a must.  For him, being interviewed as an expert for podcasts, journals, radio, and television has drawn the most patients to his practice. “Frequently speaking at medical conferences can drive a lot of patient referrals, he added via email. “Since other practitioners know who you are and are aware of your clinical prowess.”

Content creation can run the gamut and be challenging unless there is a dedicated person or team to help with development and consistency, but some practitioners find it critical to maintaining a presence.

“The best tip I have for marketing your practice is to generate quality, valuable, information that you can always stand on,” said Michael Ruscio, DNM, DC, chief executive of Ruscio Institute for Functional Medicine in Walnut Creek, Calif. “Building a library of researched and supported content will help you convey your message and build your platform.” 

Neil Paulvin, DO, who maintains a private practice in New York, agreed. He said creating content on social media platforms such as YouTube and TikTok have not only boosted his search engine optimization (SEO) capabilities, but has helped patients understand his treatment style, while also giving them useful information. In his videos, Paulvin will share some general information and then break down the subject manner at hand – whether that be how to approach a certain condition, take a supplement, or use a specific product.

For Ashley Koff, RD, founder of The Better Nutrition Program in Columbia, Ohio, the key is focusing on marketing tactics and resources that encourage client retention. “Specifically, showing them where they were, are, and can be if they stay working with you, versus attracting new clients,” she said via email. “Everyone – your patient, you, the business – wins when the patient works with you more than one session or package.”

According to Brandy Kinnear, founder and owner of Your Ideal Patients, a consulting firm in Toronto who works with integrative practitioners, 90 percent of practitioners are still working on crucial basics to boost their marketing.

“Key elements of a solid marketing strategy allow you to communicate with existing patients, reach potential, and stay top of mind but just running some paid ads or posting on social media, or having an up-to-date website, does not make for a solid plan,” she said via email. “Consistency is key and taking advantage of different channels to communicate is key.”

She said marketing in the integrative healthcare industry is essentially education based with some inspiration, motivation, and success stories mixed in.

People need to know that you have the skills and experience to help them. That you understand their issues, you have helped others like them, and that you are relatable, said Kinnear.

It’s important to first make sure communication is strong with existing patients to stay top of mind. “It’s much easier to win back or sell more to someone who has already met you and worked with/bought something from you in the past,” she said. “Then work towards attracting new patients.”

Kinnear shared some of her top tips for practitioners looking to enhance their marketing efforts:

For retaining/reactivating patients

• Keep people connected and engaged. Email marketing as well as social media keep people connected to you, your message, your wisdom and in turn works very well for both patient retention and referrals.
• Provide immense value always. Weekly emails are her best recommendation and keeping them short and sweet is key. They can be a combination of patient success stories/case studies, sharing a top tip for one health topic, busting a myth, or speaking to one frequently asked question, something current in research or life that keeps the patient connected by building a deeper relationship. Another option is sharing a truncated version of an article or blog post sending readers over to your site to learn more. 
• Share on social. Kinnear recommends two to three posts per week. Short videos make for better traction. Use the same content as in the weekly emails.

 For attracting new patients

• Take advantage of Google. Google My Business is a heavily underused tool that is free and ready to work for practitioners, but the Google machine must be fed. How do you do that? Kinnear said to take the same social media posts and repost them on Google My Business. Post events, special offers, programs, include new headshots, any patient photos, clinic photos, and make sure the listing is correct and up to date.
• Ask patients to leave Google reviews – People make decisions based on experience of others so the concept of social proof is a huge part of people’s action-taking behavior. The more reviews, the better. This should be a priority, along with collecting emails, in building a practice.
• Get in front of other people’s audiences. The old ways of networking have turned to online. Find other people with large online audiences and ask to be a guest and deliver immense value to their audience, recommended Kinnear. This can look like an Instagram Live, a webinar, a podcast, or a Facebook live.
• Optimize your website so people can find you. This can take time and the help of a marketing professional. Look at this step as a foundational part of business infrastructure that has lasting impact.

Marketing does not have to be overwhelming. Practitioners can determine what strategies and platforms work best for their practice and start slow. The key is being communicative, creative, and consistent.