Is newspaper marketing a good idea for a physio business?

[BelfastPhysio&Massage]

Hi guys,

I'm new in Belfast I've moved from London and I rented a Physio room at Paul Cooney Fitness.
I have a website and I distributed flyers around the area and now I am thinking of promoting myself in the newspapers for Christmas and New Year.
Do you know any newspaper in which I can promote my business? Does this type of advertising work?

Thank you very much for your attention.

Greetings.

 

[TomJ83]

Hello @BelfastPhysio&Massage

Hope you're enjoying belfast With regard to your question if newspaper marketing works, I would say that it works for some and for others it don't. What age group will you cater your services to?

 

[BelfastPhysio&Massage]

Hi Tom,
Thank you very much for your replying I am looking for clients over 28 +.

 

[TomJ83]

It could work for you as you are targeting older customers. But I think that you could use your advertising budget in a more effective way than spending hundreds of pounds on a 3 inch ad space. The newspapers might boast that they have a large circulation but how can you be sure that people will actually read all the pages and find your tiny ad on page 16. I hope you understand where I want to get.

Instead of spending money on newspaper marketing, you could use the same money for doing facebook ads and google adwords. Also you could make another leaflet round.

 

[BelfastPhysio&Massage]

I think it make sense what you said actually it will be useful to advertise my business if it grows.
Thank you very much for your tips I really aprecciate it.

Regards

 

[fisicx]

Do your prospective clients read newspapers? If so do they know they need a physio?

Flyers and newspapers don't offer a good ROI. Get yourself a website and start advertising online. Don't mention physio anywhere. You need to sell the benefits of fixing bad backs and wonky knees. People don't want a physio, they want to get better.

 

[Annoying Donkey]

28+ is not "older", at least not when you're in your 60's
I would say majority of newspaper readers are more likely 50+ or older.
However, it also depends on the newspaper. The Sun readership (and age) is different from the Times which is different from the Guardian and so forth.
Short answer is that newspaper advertising can work - for the right audience.

Perhaps consider some sort of association or advertising with sports clubs or their publications.
Become their officially recognised physio.
Offer a free report on how to avoid injuries in their specific sport, or what to do about specific injuries. Include a special offer just for club members...
Do the same for other groups who might be your customers...

 

[BelfastPhysio&Massage]

Thank you very much for the tips @fisicx it's a key point the benefits!

 

[BelfastPhysio&Massage]

@WeblinkPlus the free report of how to avoid injuries in their sport it's a brilliant idea. Thank u!

 

[Scribe Copywriting]

Do you know any newspaper in which I can promote my business? Does this type of advertising work?

If you've got a good ad in the sporting pages of the local paper, you'll certainly be in the right place. One ad is rarely enough to cut it with newspaper advertising; ideally, you want consistent, continuous coverage, and that can get expensive.

You need to get top-of-mind with local people who are going to need your services ...what about doing something outside of traditional advertising, e.g. approaching a local amateur sports club and doing some sort of sponsorship deal with them? It doesn't have to be the standard thing where you purchase hundreds of rugby shirts -- it could be a donation of clubhouse first-aid kits, a water fountain with your logo on it -- whatever your budget allows.

 

[Ashley_Price]

How many patients have you got currently? Why not offer them a free treatment (or a percentage off a treatment) for, say, every three people they send your way and give the new patient a 10% discount as well for the first visit?

There is no better advertising than word of mouth. To give an example, because of work I did for a researcher at Oxford University, I ended up getting a large contract with an international company based in Abu Dhabi.

 

[columbo]

Print advertising still works and brings in a different sort of customer compared to customers from the internet. They are often more loyal.

But do not waste your money on advertising spend in Dec. People are not in the mood for buying personal services like physio. Second week in January and on wards - that is a good time to advertise.

Don't forget the power of referrals. GP offices and pharmacies refer people a lot to other health practitioners. Might be worth visiting these in Dec with a Xmas gift and some cards/flyers.

 

[BelfastPhysio&Massage]

Thank you very much to everybody. I really aprecciate. I am more than happy all the best for you guys!

 

[The Byre]

London GDP per capita $80,000

Northern Ireland GDP per capita $26,000

All advertising pointless - they're skint!

 

[Scott@KarmaContent]

What about reaching out to local sports clubs and offering them a discount?

 

[Peter Bowen]

A physio I know (or rather, who had an intimate knowledge of my left knee) generated loads of work giving talks on back pain at work to local offices.

 

[GraemeL]

What about reaching out to local sports clubs and offering them a discount?

Thats the key to it. Sports always requires physio, though I am not sure if sports physio is specialism or not. Sports Physio's know how to cause pain!

 

[Orla_marketing]

Hello,
Here's a few suggestions:

Make the most of any communication channels available through Paul Cooney Fitness e.g.

1. Member newsletter. Do they have one? Could you get a mention on it or write an article for it? Failing that could you advertise on it?
2. Solus email to their members. This means that you pay them to send out an email to their database on your behalf. You provide the email copy/images etc to them and then they send it out.
3. Website: could you get a feature on their website? If not a feature an advertise or a link? Perhaps you could write an article for it.
4. Posters. I don't normally recommend print, because you can't track it, but I have seen posters on the back of toilet doors in gyms for other things.
5. Social media - could they share your posts or post on your behalf??
6. Pull up banner: are you allowed to have a pull up banner in the gym advertising your services?

In respect of the above, you need to do at least 3/4 of the above at the same time. Doing only one of the above isn't going to work.

Regarding newspapers, I wouldn't pay. I'd try and get a features article in local magazines. Someone else recommended an article. Are there some exercises people could do in advance of the ski season to make injury less likely?? Approach features editors of local publications.

Read a book: I'm currently reading "15 essential marketing masterclasses for your small business" by Dee Blick. The first chapter is about how to write a marketing plan.

Longer term a new trend in email marketing is to use GIFs. It looks really cool and would work really well for exercises. When I went to the NHS I just got some sheets of paper and I wasn't sure if I was doing them properly.

Hope helps,

Orla

 

[daleepc]

I would suggest a few things things:

(This assumes you already have a clear idea of what your ideal customer is like.)

For quick results:
- Advertising: I'd suggest Facebook as a starting point.
- Publicity: Write a press release announcing your launch and get it out to relevant local newspapers and websites. If your website can take bookings, include it in the release and say so because this is precisely the right call to action.
- Social Media: This is unlikely to get you immediate sales but it'll help build up your presence. Post daily to a Facebook Page and Instagram for starters. Once you have a few followers start doing live video as well. This is free!

Slower build (but very important):
- Write blog posts about your business. Use Google Keywords Planner tool (free) to try to figure out what people are searching for, so that you have the right keywords. There may be little web traffic available so you may need to look for broader terms.

Other concrete things:
- Build partnerships and offer a 'trial' or 'first-time' deal.
- Build a list of clients and offer them a deal (e.g. discount) if they can refer their friends who book.

Hope this helps.

 

[saythisinstead.co.uk]

Newspaper advertising works great...if it is done right. There is a book on amazon by a guy called claude whiteacre the unfair advantage small business advertising. Buy it, digest it before you do any form of print advertising. It will pay off many times over. Good Luck.

 

[James Taylor]

Hey,

Sorry if I'm a bit late to this, just wanted to note that from a publicity view, you can't go wrong with spreading your marketing efforts across several mediums. For me it all comes back to Google, so making sure you have targeted local SEO in place to effectively rank for local terms is a must.

Other than that I would consider a paid social campaign, and perhaps even PPC (budget dependent), and the other mediums you have previously mentioned.

If you're new to local SEO please drop me a message, happy to give you a few pointers

Cheers.

 

[rf-harris]

Many people in their 30s and 40s are still prefer to read newspaper rather than surfing the internet and everybody want to be fit so I would definitely say YES to your newspaper marketing idea.

 

[Hahnbeck]

Spend time visiting local GPs who can refer patients to you. Explain the benefits of private physiotherapy for certain patients (faster treatment = better outcomes). Don't forget to "close" (literally ask them if they are happy to refer patients to you) - a verbal commitment makes them far more likely to actually follow through and remember to do what they have said they will do. Visit other potential referrers too, not just GPs. When they do refer patients to you, thank them and keep them updated with progress letters, out of professional courtesy. Build these relationships over time.

All of this is basically free to do.