One of the most common questions I hear from acupuncturists is how to actually turn social media followers into patients.
Social media is a complex beast, isn’t it?
I teach a lot about how to make social media easier in my online courses. One of the reasons I focus on social media for marketing acupuncture is that it’s a FREE marketing tool.
My favorite marketing approaches are usually low-cost or free, and social media is a great example. It’s an incredible way to reach new audiences without spending a penny.
Another reason I like to teach about making social media effective is that there have been times when even I feel a little exhausted by it. It can feel like a lot of work!
Constantly posting, answering comments, searching for new content to share, finding images that match my branding, engaging with my followers in an authentic way… all of this takes time and effort, just like any other kind of marketing.
So I’ve put a lot of thought and effort into how to make social media marketing more effective in less time.
My goal is always to make social media feel manageable, to prevent the overwhelm that paralyzes so many of us.
And I love sharing my approach with other acupuncturists. I want to make your marketing LESS work and yet MORE effective.
That’s why I’m excited to share this list with you.
I’ve worked with acupuncturists at all levels of practice, with all levels of social media experience.
I see certain patterns over and over again that prevent them from getting the most ROI from their social media efforts.
So take a scroll through this list. If you’re doing any of these things, I recommend making changes to get more organized, intentional, and professional with your social media marketing.
No time to read all the details? Click to download a summarized checklist version of this article >>
8 Social Media Mistakes that are Costing You Acupuncture Patients (And How to Fix Them):
1. Not using a call to action in your social media posts.
A call to action is simply telling your audience A) what you want them to do, and B) how to do it.
For example, at the end of an Instagram post about “The Best Foods for Glowing Skin” I would mention how cosmetic acupuncture fits into an all-natural skincare routine and then include my call to action:
“If you have questions about cosmetic acupuncture and how it can help you, schedule your free consult now by clicking the link in my profile.”
I’m telling them what I want them to do (and when) – “schedule your free consult now” as well as how to do it – “Click the link in my profile.”
A lot of acupuncturists are reluctant to include a call to action for fear of sounding “salesy.” I hear this from my students all the time.
But here’s why it’s important and you must include calls to action in your social media posts:
Consumers are busy and distracted by a million things on the internet. You need to clearly tell them what to do if you want them to do it.
NEVER assume that it’s “obvious” that someone should click a link to schedule online. Always assume that they need to be hand-held.
This is not insulting their intelligence. This is a standard, professional marketing approach.
People have the attention of a goldfish (8 seconds) or less when they’re on social media.
If you make them click around too much trying to find what they’re looking for, they will bounce.
You want to make it that they have to do as little clicking as possible so you don’t lose their attention. You do this by giving them clear instructions through a crisp call to action!
Plus, people are used to being told what to do online and barely notice it – they will not think you’re being “bossy” or annoying.
As a rule of thumb, include a call to action in at least every other post that you publish on social media. So if you post four times on Facebook this week, two of those should have clear calls to action in them.
2. Using unattractive or improperly sized images in your posts.
I know, this one’s a pain. We’re taught never to judge a book by its cover, but we all do it every day in the online space.
If you’re using unattractive images, chances are high that people will skim past whatever content you’re posting.
This is true on every social media platform, but it’s especially true on Instagram. I tell my Instagram coaching clients all the time that the first thing they need to do to level up their Instagram marketing is to curate a feed of attractive, on-brand images.
Why is it so important?
Online, the only thing people have to judge your business on is the way your brand looks and “feels.” High-quality images are a huge part of this.
Using images that intentionally match your brand sends a very professional message to your audience. This professionalism helps build trust, which is necessary for people to make a financial investment in you (i.e., set up an appointment).
Social media images that are poor quality, outdated, over-used in the industry, etc. send a message to your audience that you’re not trying very hard – even if you actually are!
I acknowledge that social media is superficial. That’s just the nature of the beast. But at least we can use this to our advantage, by prioritizing high-quality images that enhance our online presence and help build trust in our audience.
Your results will increase significantly if you strive to curate images that match your brand or at the very least, are attractive and modern looking.
Where can you find high-quality images?
- Free – Pexels.com
- Paid – Wellness Stock Shop
- Paid – Haute Stock Library
3. Not having a social media marketing plan.
This one is so important. I think it’s MUCH easier to generate patients from social media if you have a plan of action.
Maybe you’re just posting willy-nilly whenever you remember to. Or maybe you’re sharing/re-posting whatever you can find online that feels even close to being relevant to your audience.
But the truth is, you need to think about each item you post and ask yourself, how does this fit into what I actually want my audience to do?
Have you ever been in the situation where you suddenly realize, “Crap! I haven’t posted on Facebook in like two weeks! I need to post … something! Anything!”
So you post a picture of your lunch and then try to relate it vaguely back to Chinese medicine.
But ask yourself – does sharing this particular piece of content make your followers want to set up an appointment with you? Is it educating them on how acupuncture can help them? Does it have a call to action? Is the image on-brand?
Planning in advance is MUCH more effective than trying to create content “in the moment” that actually relates to what you want people to do.
I recommend using a free social media scheduler like SocialPilot or Hootsuite to schedule your posts in advance.
Sit down once a week for a couple of hours and plan out what message you want to get across that week.
For example, do you want to focus this week on getting new fertility patients? Or are you advertising for a YogaPuncture class or an educational workshop you’re hosting?
This leads me into the next mistake that many of us make…
4. Not having a specific goal in mind for your social media.
In order for your social media marketing plan to be super effective, you’ve got to have an end point that you’re driving your audience toward.
For example:
- Do you want them to click the link in your bio to make an appointment?
- Do you want them to schedule a free consult?
- Do you want them to attend a workshop you’re teaching?
- Do you want them to attend your upcoming Open House? Etc.
Whatever your goal is, create your social media posts specifically around that goal.
Your posts will be much more effective if you take the time to write them in advance and curate all your posts for a particular goal for the week.
5. Posting irregularly and not often enough.
How often you should post on social media is probably one of the great questions of our generation. (Is that sad or what?)
It’s a fluid thing that changes all the time, especially as Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram keep changing the algorithms that govern how many of your followers actually see your posts.
Regardless of the ups and downs of the algorithms, however, I can say one thing with confidence:
Most acupuncturists are not posting NEARLY enough on social media to get their message in front of their audience consistently.
We’re too worried that we’re “annoying” people with our posts. Let me get this out of the way and say: You’re not annoying people! They follow you because they want to hear from you and learn from you.
For Instagram, I recommend posting at least two times a week. More often if you can! For Facebook, slightly more posts is more effective: 3-4 times per week at least.
It also helps to experiment with your own audience to see which posts reach the most people, get the most engagement and click-throughs to your website, etc. (You can check this in the “Insights” dashboard of most social media accounts.)
And remember that consistency is key in marketing of any kind. Social media marketing is no exception.
Your audience needs to be exposed to your brand multiple times to gain enough trust to make an appointment.
So if you post 3-4 times per week on Facebook for a month and then drop off the face of the Earth for two months – your audience will forget about you.
This is why I recommend only picking one or two social media platforms for your business and then sticking with them for the long term. If you try post regularly on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, etc., you will burn out fast.
Instead, pick one or two platforms that you actually enjoy spending time on (Instagram is clearly my favorite) and focus in on it. Post regularly and often enough that your followers will actually see your message so that you stay top of mind.
6. Never showing your face.
The purpose of marketing is to build enough trust in your audience that they decide it’s a good investment to make an appointment with you.
Since most acupuncturists are “solopreneurs” running the whole show, we are each the face of our business.
Even though sharing our faces can feel a bit scary, it’s SO important in building that trust.
Showing your face really humanizes your brand and your business. It makes you real, and people instantly feel connected to you. Sharing your face and posts that allow followers to get to know you helps build trust and makes people MUCH more likely to set up an appointment.
It helps potential patients so much to see the person who would potentially be sticking needles in them.
I recommend sharing your face at least once a month. Write a post introducing yourself to all your new followers and include your head shot or other image of yourself.
Share tidbits about yourself – not just your specialties and education, but also things like how you got into acupuncture, your favorite ways to spend your free time, and a few random facts like your favorite snacks, whether you have pets, etc. These small pieces of info help people relate to you and trust you!
If you’re comfortable with Instagram stories, I recommend sharing your face once a week. Try a simple selfie in the office where you greet your followers “Happy Monday” or something similar. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
And remember that Instagram stories only last 24 hours, so they don’t have to be as “curated” and on-brand as a regular feed post. Less pressure!
7. Not using social media to connect with other small business who might collaborate with you.
Social media is an incredible place to engage in business-to-business networking. If you’re not already using social media to connect with other local business owners in your area, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities.
One of the reasons I love it is that it’s low-pressure networking. It’s much easier to interact online than to stand around at an awkward in-person networking event, isn’t it?
As in introvert, this is a low-key method of generating relationships with local business owners that I can engage in regularly without feeling mentally exhausted. (Read more about my favorite marketing approaches for introverts here: 5 Marketing Tips for Introvert Acupuncturists.)
Some of the best relationships I’ve cultivated – the ones that result in actual referrals to my clinic – began through social media interactions with those businesses.
Why do this? Other local businesses have audiences that you want to get in front of.
If you can get other small businesses to feature you on their accounts, or even to talk about your business to others in person, that’s a huge win.
For example, I follow and interact with a ton of yoga teachers on Instagram in my area, because I want to either do YogaPuncture classes with them (which would get me in front of their audience in person) or because I want them to come see me for treatment and eventually start referring their yoga students to me over time.
It’s a huge opportunity you can’t afford to miss.
How do you do this?
Focus on local businesses that are complementary to yours – ones you might refer to. Follow them on social media and comment/like their posts regularly. Over time they’re pretty likely to follow you back and once they do, reach out with a private message letting them know how much you enjoy their work in the community.
Ask how you might support them and their clients, or how you might work together to support your community at large. Invite them for a casual coffee and chat. The more you’ve already chatted with a small business on social, the more comfortable this will feel – sort of like you’re not really meeting for the first time.
And you’ll already be able to tell if you’re on the same wavelength with the business owner based on their response to your interaction with their brand.
So when it comes time to ask how you might support each other, you’ll already have a feel for whether they’re a good fit.
8. Not doing anything/avoidance.
So many small business owners I know (of all kinds, not just acupuncturists) get stuck in a loop of overwhelm and avoidance regarding social media.
They don’t know what to post and so they procrastinate, until suddenly it’s been months and their social media accounts feel dead.
You know how the cycle goes. You know you really need to post but feel like it’s been so long and you STILL don’t know what to put out there. Then you avoid thinking about it because it gives you anxiety.
Here’s the thing though: Social media is SUCH a great marketing approach because it allows you to reach and find new audience members for FREE. So you really can’t afford to ignore it. And avoiding posting because it gives you anxiety is just a self-perpetuating cycle. So you’ve got to break out of it!
If you’re stuck in this rut/cycle, here’s what to do:
- Acknowledge that it’s never too late to bring your social media back to life. Really, it isn’t.
- Get an accountability buddy and let him or her know that you plan to back on track with your social media marketing. Tell them what you plan to accomplish and when (date/time) so that you actually follow through.
- Create a social media marketing plan with clear goals (i.e., get people to click your “Schedule Now” button)
- Schedule posts in advance so it’s on autopilot and you don’t have to worry about it.
As I mentioned before, scheduling posts in advance takes a lot of the stress and overwhelm out of social media. It’s done, it’s organized, it looks professional, etc. And having a clear goal in mind makes your posts more effective at changing audience members into patients.
I hope this helps a ton!
The big takeaway from this article is that social media marketing is most effective when you have a plan to follow, with specific actionable goals.
You must post regularly and frequently and engage with your followers (let them get to know you) in order to turn them into patients.
Social media is worth the effort because it’s an exceptional FREE marketing channel. It’s a great way to educate your followers about acupuncture and find new people to turn into patients – without spending a dime.
Don’t forget you can download a brief checklist version of this article for future reference:
As always, feel free to reach out with questions or simply to say hello! My email is michelle@michellegrasek.com
And if you want more help that’s specific to you and your business, check out my One-on-One Instagram Coaching for Acupuncturists. I’ll do an audit of your Instagram account and write up a strategy for you to find new followers and convert them into patients – specific to you, your clinic, and your specialty.
