Living with the pandemic has drastically changed everything including physiotherapy. Just like any other aspect of pandemic life, delivering physical therapy clinics also has to step up and offer new solutions to their patients. With online consultations and remote rehabs replacing actual check-ups and sessions, the need for adaptation has never been more important.
Bouncing back from this pandemic will require new content marketing strategies to help rebuild the patient-therapist relationship that has been in decline amid COVID-19. Whether you have a sports therapy clinic in Mississauga or you’re an RMT in Waterloo, you have to remain vigilant of the ever-changing content marketing trends in the biz.
Main Content Marketing Mantras
Effective company marketing is all about going with the flow. You have to be observant of the current needs of the public and aim to provide them. These marketing trends are heavily affected by public opinion, world events, and sociological shifts in the population.
The COVID-19 pandemic encompasses all these 3 factors, making the need for new marketing strategies even more important. Well, here are the main content marketing mantras that you should take note of including other tips:
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Focus on Telehealth Service
Social distancing protocols have made in-person physiotherapy services extremely difficult. With the airborne pandemic, protective clothing and strict health guidelines may hinder the physical therapy experience for both the provider and patient. Even with vaccinations underway, no one can predict the future outcomes of other mutations and variants. To avoid procrastination and waiting for things to go back to “normal”, telehealth service is here for you.
Advancements in audio teleconferencing apps like Zoom, Skype, and other platforms have made virtual sessions much easier during quarantine. Experts predict that this increasing surge in telehealth service demand will continue. Other businesses are even branching out and are now offering permanent telehealth services on their list.
Physical therapists or physiotherapists are now facing a hard challenge, and it is just a matter of time that they overcome this problem on physical distance with technology. So, if you’re a practicing physiotherapist and business owner, telehealth services should be a priority and should be posted in your content.
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Adapting to Digitalization
The world may have paused for a while amid the pandemic, but this momentary delay has led to dynamic growth in digitalization. Before, no one would ever consider an online consultation, but with health and safety on the line, it is now a sought out service.
Advertisements and getting the word out can now take gigantic leaps from videos to social media hashtags while using effective SEO techniques on website content. Software integration in terms of billing, communications, and telehealth service is also the future of the physical therapy industry. Article postings regarding the advantages of digitalization can attract prospective clients.
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Improving Processes and Services
COVID-19 restrictions and strict health protocols have turned the world upside down. However, even with the world stuck in limbo, the need for non-pandemic related medical care continues to pour in. The situation has led to an increase in the demand for services including website traffic in the physical therapy market but is sometimes hindered by some concerns regarding safety.
Patients who have been unable to visit the clinics and offices are now clamouring and waiting to be physically and mentally aided. This spike in demand needs to be met with an aggressive drive to reach patients on the side of the physical therapist. If you are a physiotherapy practitioner, you have to provide these services, while informing them that you are observing required health protocols.
This goes along the lines of focusing on making your clinic space safe for clients and employees. By following government guidelines you should install sanitation sites, provide PPEs, and conduct pre and post-session disinfection. Informing clients and prospects about such improvements in website postings will address any concerns they might have regarding safety.
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Include Mental Health Awareness and Relief
Mental health issues have always been there. With 21st-century developments in the field of mental health, these cases are more visible and easier to talk about. The past year, 2020 has caused anxiety, panic, depression, and pressing mental problems in the population. However, with the help of physical rehabilitation and exercise, patients can start their healing process and find relief.
Physical therapy does just that, with exercise and physical movement you can help in alleviating feelings of anxiety and depression in your patients. As a physiotherapist, actively communicate with your patients regarding their mental well-being and regularly check in on them. Include topics regarding mental health in your newsletters and website content.
Through this, your patients can have a more holistic recovery, both mentally and physically, as they move on to the future. A good way to start this type of sensitive conversation is to open up and share your own vulnerability too. A strong bond between physiotherapist and patient will soon follow.
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Take Advantage of Technology
Innovation is the name of the game. To survive and stay in the physiotherapy market, adapt and take advantage of the recent developments in technology. As a practitioner, it can greatly help you communicate better with patients and as a business owner; you can be more efficient in distributing your services to the masses.
Blog articles informing readers that you are infusing technology into your services will attract them to your website. Here are some of the useful tools you can use in conjunction with your services:
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Patient Engagement and Rehab Apps
Patient engagement is a vital factor in effective sessions. The pandemic has hindered the physical sessions and giving out exercise instructions to patients will sometimes fail with the lack of motivation and human interaction.
With patients already experiencing physical traumas, coupled with anxiety, sadness, and depression caused by consecutive lockdowns and unsure futures, bringing a bit of fun to the routine may actually help.
Gamified rehab or gamification is the perfect combination of therapy and self-motivation. By developing software apps that provide rewards and engagement towards the patient, this type of physiotherapy can boost incentives and results. How does gamified rehab work?
Using developments in fitness technology, gaming companies have made software apps that track and sense your patient’s overall health status. It can even detect mistakes in exercise execution. By collaborating with these companies, you can still provide excellent results to patients without having them feel like it’s a chore.
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A.I. Healthcare Response
Artificial intelligence is not just for sci-fi movies and future generations. Developments in machine learning and robotic response are currently in our lifetime, and might upgrade your physiotherapy business to a whole new level. With artificial intelligence, you can have an assistant that has higher accuracy, a bigger database, and unlimited working hours.
This type of technology can help you track your patient’s progress more efficiently. It’s also important to take note that you can’t replace experience and human intuition but using an AI in healthcare can make things easier.
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Portable and Wearable Therapy
Concerning gamified rehabilitation, wearable technology is a huge key player in physiotherapy. Fitness trackers like smartwatches and ankle bracelets can now help you and your patient engage with each other without having to risk both your health in the pandemic.
From analyzing movements, checking heart rates, tracking footsteps, and much more, wearable technology allows patients to transition to remote physical therapy much easier. Partnering with this technology can help your company branch out and expand your services being offered to a wider bracket.
Additional Marketing Strategies
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Communicate Compassion
Building and nurturing the trust and bond between you and your patient takes transparency. To communicate your passion for service, you begin by showing them that you empathize with the current situation.
As mentioned, you can do this through social media blasts and content postings on your websites and pages, assuring them the steps that your business has taken is to ensure their safety and about coping with mental health issues brought about by the pandemic.
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Prioritize Patient Safety
Safety in the pandemic should be a top priority for both ends of the market. Your customer should feel safe during your clinic sessions, while you as the therapist are also protected. This can be done effectively through compromises on schedules, set-ups, methods, and duration of the therapy.
Constant checking in with comfort should be done all the time, and sanitation should be first on the list. Never forget to inform clients and prospects of the additional measures through blog articles so they can appreciate your focus on safety.
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SEO Investment and Branding
By revamping your brand to be more inclusive and open, you can target a niche of the population that requires special needs. Through physical therapy, your company can help those patients who may be overlooked by the competition and help them move forward from the pandemic. To do this, you have to be the first one to reach out through your website content.
With almost three-fourths of the population connected to the internet, patient to physiotherapist interaction is becoming faster and more efficient. Your company can expand and have your own social media page and website, ready to welcome patients in just a click.
By investing in services from a Toronto SEO expert or any digital marketing company near you, you can cast a more customized net in the market while boosting your website and its content.
The field of physiotherapy is all about strengthening patient and therapist engagement. It is through that bond that the patient can fully recover. However, you may have a difficult time doing that with the limitations and restrictions imposed by the quarantine. There is no need to fret, because technology can overcome all those challenges.
By adapting to recent trends in the market, you too can come back from hiatus and help the patients who desperately need your help. Through technology integration and investing in SEO and website postings, you’ll be able to reach out to the people who need you the most.
