The Clinic Marketing Podcast - Local SEO & Healthcare Online Marketing Tips for Clinic Owners & Wellness Providers

Preventive Care Marketing for Clinics: How to Attract Patients Who Want a Plan, Not Just a Quick Fix | Ep. 149

• Darcy Sullivan • Episode 149

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In this episode, we’re talking about preventive care marketing, how to attract patients who want to stay ahead of problems, not just react when something hurts.

If your marketing mostly speaks to pain and urgent symptoms, you can end up in a cycle of one-time visits and inconsistent momentum. Preventive care content helps you reach the “I feel fine, but…” crowd, the desk workers, active adults, busy parents, and anyone noticing early warning signs who wants a clear plan before things spiral.

You’ll learn a simple framework for what to publish, how to talk about prevention without sounding pushy, and how to guide someone from awareness to taking action. I’ll also share an easy monthly content strategy you can repeat without posting every day, plus the language that helps this kind of content convert.

If you want to build a steady stream of patients who value consistency and long-term progress, this is for you.

💥Episode webpage, show notes, & blog: https://propelyourcompany.com/preventive-care-marketing-for-clinics/

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SPEAKER_00:

Hey there, it's Darcy Sullivan from Propel Marketing and Design, and you're listening to the Clinic Marketing Podcast. Today we're talking about preventative care marketing, meaning how to attract the kinds of patients who want to stay ahead of issues, not just react when something hurts. We're also talking about forward-thinking content because if your marketing only speaks to people who are already in pain, you end up with a business that feels more like a revolving door. New patients, crises, quick fixes, they disappear and repeat. Preventative care marketing helps you build something steadier. It grows your clinic with patients who value consistency, who show up for plans, and who are more likely to refer you to other people that you would probably want as your patients. So in this episode, I'm going to break down why preventative health content works so well, what to say when someone feels fine and doesn't think they need you, and a simple content strategy you can put on autopilot without posting every day. Okay, let's jump in. Most clinic marketing is about pain. For example, with chiropractors, it's back pain, neck pain, headache, sciatica, injury recovery, stress. And this makes sense because pain creates urgency. But there's another huge group of people that want you. And they're not being spoken to. These are the people who sit a lot and know it's catching up with them. They're active and they want to stay active. They're juggling kids and work and feel a little off, but not broken enough to say, ouch, I'm in pain. I need help right now. They're starting to notice stiffness, tension, or small recurring issues. They've tried to ignore things and they don't want it to turn into a bigger problem. So they're aware they're just not urgent. And because they're not urgent, they need a different message. Preventative care marketing is how you reach this group of people. Now, when I say preventative care marketing, I'm not saying you should promise to prevent everything or make big claims. I'm talking about marketing that positions your clinic as the place people go to to stay ahead of flare-ups, maintain function and mobility, recover well, and reduce the chance of repeating the same cycle where they feel better in day-to-day life. They get a plan, not just a temporary fix. Preventative marketing is about what happens between those crisis moments. It's the bridge between I'm in pain help and I want to feel good long term. And for clinics, it can be one of the fastest ways to improve your retention, payment plan acceptance, referrals, and overall stability in revenue. Because you're not depending on those emergency, ouch, I'm in pain type instances to get bookings. Let's talk about why this content performs well. Preventative content works because it taps into three powerful patient motivations. Motivation number one, people want control. When someone is dealing with recurring issues, even mild ones, they want to feel like they can do something about it. Content that gives them a clear plan makes them feel empowered. Motivation driver number two, people want reassurance. A lot of people feel a symptom and wonder, is it normal? Is this something I should worry about? Or am I just overreacting? Preventative content explains what to watch for and what to do next. This builds trust fast. And motivation number three, people want to avoid the spiral. Most people have experienced the spiral. I'm sure you have. I know I have. They ignore it, it gets worse, life gets harder. Then it becomes a bigger deal than it needs to be. Preventative content is basically saying, let's not do that this time. Instead, let's make a plan and take better action. The biggest mistake clinics make when they market prevention. There's a few of these, so I want to go into what you should avoid. So here's not what. Here's what not to do. The mistake is creating content that's too generic. I'm sure you've seen it. And it looks like stretch more, drink water, get better sleep. I could like to call these like the baby breath of the bouquet and flowers, because they're just fuller and they really do nothing. And in fact, I've seen a lot of these, especially if people are relying on a social media company that just puts together generic content or blog posts that are generic content. We don't want that generic content. None of this is wrong, but it's not positioning you as the obvious next step. You want preventative content that connects the dots. Here's what you might be noticing. Here's why this is happening. Here's what you can do at home. And here's when it's time to get professional help. That last part, here's when it's time to get professional help. That is what turns content into patience. Now, when we're talking about content, we're talking about social media content, we're talking about blog content, we're talking about general content on your website, we're talking about email marketing, and we're talking about video marketing. So let that kind of float around as you start to come up with ideas. Now let's go into how to give your content framework that is easy to repeat. And I like to call this the preventative content pyramid because it has three levels. Level one, this is the awareness content for the I'm fine audience. This content is for people who are not searching for care yet. They're thinking, I'm fine, I'm just tired, it's normal, it'll pass. Or I'm fine, oh, I woke up with my hips feeling a little off, it'll just pass. You know the examples that probably pertain to what your clinic offers. But your job is to help them notice patterns. Topics could sound like signs your desk job is affecting your body even if you're not in pain. Now that would make a great blog post, video, or social media post. And I'm sorry if you can start to hear the dog barking in the background, but thus is life, and we continue. Some other topics might include if your back tightens up every weekend. Here's what that can mean: the difference between normal soreness and a problem that keeps returning, why your neck gets tight after travel, and what you can do before it turns into a flare-up. The goal here is not to sell, it's to create self-recognition. Because once somebody recognizes themselves, they keep watching or reading. The level two is educational content, the I want a plan audience. This is where you teach, this is where you explain what's going on, what contributes to it, and how to improve it. These topics can sound like the three biggest reasons people keep getting the same flare-ups. Or how to build a routine that supports your mobility in 10 minutes a day, what to do when you're active but you keep tweaking the same area, or how stress shows up physically, and what supports recovery. This is where you position your clinic as the guide. This leads us to level three. This is action content for the I am ready audience. This is where conversation happens. This content gives you a clear next step. Topics sound like when to come in and when to wait it out, what to expect at your first visit if you want a preventative plan, the difference between a quick fix and a long-term plan, how we build preventative care plans, and who it's best for. This level is what turns interest into booked appointments. Now let's make this practical. Here's a simple monthly strategy if you're interested in connecting with this audience. Each month, create one core topic. That core topic becomes a long detailed blog post, a video, maybe three short posts on social media, and one email. So you're not consistently inventing content, you're repurposing. And if you're interested in learning more about repurposing, we've got tons of articles on propelyourcompany.com that goes into detail about how to repurpose content, and I'll link some additional of my favorite pieces of content about repurposing in the show notes. So step one, pick one preventative theme for each month. Maybe it's mobility and stiffness, stress and tension, posture and desk setup, recovery after workouts, recurring headaches, seasonal routines, like gardening or traveling season or something related to winter. Step two, build one core piece of content. This is your anchor piece. Now, depending on your personality, the resources that you have, some people prefer to start this piece of content as a long form video, while others prefer to start it as a long form blog post. Either way, do what feels comfortable for you. If you're doing a video, we suggest that it be between seven to ten minutes. Remembering that you can also break that down into shorter clips. And if you are doing a blog post, suggest that it be between 900 to 1200 plus words. Now, a note here do not, do not, do not, do not, do not, do not reply solely on an AI source to create this content. And if you're looking for more resources on the correct way to use AI resources like ChatGPT, GROK, Perplexity, and more, please check out the resources. But what you're not doing is just going to Chat GPT and asking it to do this for you. So now that we've cleared that up, let's talk about the structure. So you could structure it like this what people notice, why it happens, what they can do at home, when professional care helps, and then what to expect when they come into your clinic. Super simple. From there, you can create short posts. These can include facts versus myths, or checklists, or one-minute try this first tips, or if this sounds like you scenarios. Very, very simple here. And then you can also do step four, which is send an email. Your email can be sent. Your email can be simple. Can be, it can include a relatable opener, one key insight, a link to the blog or video, and then a call to action to book an appointment. This is an easy, sustainable plan. It keeps you consistent without posting every day. And what I like about this is it really layers in nicely with whatever plan you currently have that is most likely targeting some of those ouch, I'm in pain right now pieces of content that you're putting together because you want to be able to monthly ideally have a little bit of both. Now, let's talk about the wording that helps preventative care content convert. See, a lot of clinics marketing preventative care sound like a subscription people are getting pressured into. They don't want that. People don't want to feel like they're gonna have to commit to you for the rest of their life. So what do we do instead? We want it to sound like a plan, a check-in, a tuna, a strategy, or a proactive approach. Here are some called action phrases that tend to work. Request a preventative care consult. Book a movement and mobility assessment. Schedule a wellness plan visit. Ask us what a preventative plan would look like for you. Not sure if this is for you, send us a question. Notice how those really reduce the pressure. They don't sound salesy. They sound like an invite to take an action. Again, without sounding salesy. Let's do a few quick examples so you can see how this plays out. Example one. The desk job professional. They feel stiff, not injured. Your content says, if you feel tight every day at 3 p.m., you're not aging, it's a pattern. Here's what causes it, what to do at home, and when a simple plan can stop it from becoming a flare-up. Wow. I just read that and I can relate to it instantly. Instantly, I feel like that's talking to me. And it's not a chiropractor, for example, asking me to commit to a huge plan. It's just, wow, I can relate to that. All right, let's look at two more examples. The next example is of an active adult. They work out, they want to stay strong, but sometimes something keeps acting up. Your content could say, if you keep tweaking in the same area, it's usually a signal your body is compensating. Here's how to spot it, what to adjust, and how to build a plan that supports performance and recovery. Now, remember, as I'm reading these, I'm not a clinic owner. I come purely from a marketing background. So you obviously need to put your own doctoral spin on any of these examples that I'm giving. And the last one is let's look at a busy parent example. They carry kids, sit in carpool lanes, and they probably wake up tight and tense. Your content could say you don't have to wait until it becomes a big thing. Here's a simple routine. Here's how we support you with a plan that fits your schedule. Again, these are simple, but they speak to the identities and the lifestyles, not just the symptoms. Now, let me be clear. I love content that speaks to the symptoms. I do, because when people are in pain, they want a solution now. Again, this preventative care marketing should be in addition to you marketing to those people that are in pain right now. Preventative care marketing doesn't always spike the same way as pain content, but it builds strong momentum. So here are a couple things you want to track. New patients who say, I've been following you for a while. If you are receiving more acceptance when it comes to booking plans, if you start to see fewer one and done patients, if you're getting higher referrals, and a steady increase in website traffic to educational content. You know, one thing we didn't even talk about was all the SEO juicy goodness that you get when it comes to putting together content like this. It will help with your website ranking, it will help with AI searches when people are looking for solutions to things before they feel like it's at that pain point level where they have to take an action. Also, if people come in and they start using words like, I want to stay ahead of this, and mention that they've seen your content, man, then you know you've really nailed it. All right, let's do a quick recap. Preventative care marketing helps you attract patients who want a plan, not just a quick fix. Forward thinking content works because it builds self-recognition, trust, and confidence. Use that preventative content pyramid that we talked about, which included the awareness content, educational content, and action content. And keep it simple with one monthly theme that you repurpose into a blog or video, a few social media posts, and email. And if you want to build a preventative care content plan around your actual services and the questions your patients ask the most, that is something we do all the time. Feel free to visit propelyourcompany.com. and book a discovery call and see how we can assist you in your website, in your SEO, and in your overall content marketing plan. Thanks so much for listening today, and I'll catch you in the next episode.

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Darcy Sullivan

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