Chiropractors are among many who have seen their businesses take a turn for the worse in today’s economic environment. Many of these doctors are looking for way to generate new business, but they lack basic marketing skills and often rely on outdated methods.

Marketing has changed rapidly in the past few years. The biggest factor affecting the change has been the advent of Web 2.0 and social networking on the internet. You may have heard these terms used but were not sure what they mean, and perhaps you feel that you can just ignore this new trend. Marketing experts agree that the future of selling is on the internet. Unless you are willing to take on the social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook and YouTube you will continue to flounder in your business.

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!

The amazing part of social networking sites is that they are completely free to join and use. Anyone can set up their own profile and begin making new contacts within minutes. However, many chiropractors make the mistake of joining these sites and sending out spam messages. Not only is this irritating to many members, but it will actually get you kicked off the network if you do it enough. Your hard work will be for nothing. If you’ve ever talked to someone who is sour about social networking as a marketing tool, they probably tried this method and failed miserably. The best way to avoid making mistakes like these is to work with an experienced mentor who has already achieved some level of success on social networking sites.

The majority of people are finally starting to get an inkling of the importance of Web 2.0 marketing. However, I have the advantage of several years of established education-much of which is from trial and error-and have seen a great deal of personal success because of my efforts. For example, I was able to generate $5,000 last month alone from a single YouTube video. Anyone who is not interested in learning more about social networking as a marketing tool is simply not interested in making more money.

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.

The world of online marketing is new and different from what many doctors are used to, but the benefits are so great that they are now beginning to realize the potential. To learn everything you need to know, you could take a year off and dedicate your time to becoming a Web 2.0 guru; or if you’re smart, you’ll find someone who has already ‘been there, done that’ to guide you as you establish yourself as a force to be reckoned with online.

Tags: MySpace

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