It’s here. Another summer filled with family vacations, summer camps, and weekend block parties draw to a close. It’s time to send the kids back to school and the adults back to work. The 2018 back-to-school season is upon us. To help your physical therapy clinic make the most of this transitional period, we’ve put together the below list of our top tips for marketing during back-to-school season.
Why Should A PT Clinic Market During Back-to-School Season?
Before we dive into our marketing tips, let’s talk about why a physical therapy clinic should market during back-to-school season in the first place. The short answer, it all has to do with the establishment of routines.
As kids go back to school, schedules get set, and people fall into a different routine than their summertime counterparts. They wake up earlier, start working out more (or at different times) and buckle down in the run-up to the holiday season.
By marketing during this transitional timeframe, you can better establish yourself as part of this new routine. You’re also be reaching your audience when they are more likely to hear and retain your marketing messages now that the roar of summer has passed.
4 Tips for Marketing Your Physical Therapy Clinic During Back-to-School Season
Switch Up Your Social Media Content Theme
If your physical therapy clinic is on social media (and it should be), back-to-school season is the perfect time to switch up your content theme. Trade out those summertime posts and focus on posts that are more relevant to what your audience is experiencing.
A couple of ideas to get you started:
- Provide useful healthy living tips and recommendations for parents to pass along to their students
- Switch up your color palette to focus more on autumn colors
- Play off of other autumn trends (pumpkin spiced latte’s anyone?)
Not on social media? Check out our guides on getting started here and here.
Reach Out and Establish Relationships with Local Schools
Whether you’re a parent or non-parent, almost everyone thinks about school when the calendar hits August and September. Consider becoming an invested part of your local community by establishing a relationship with a local school.
This could mean:
- Donating proceeds to a local athletic department
- Directly sponsoring athletic events – if allowed in your area
- Establishing a relationship with athletic directors or principle
- Offering free weekend clinics
However you choose to support your local schools, just make sure it’s part of your advertising messaging.
Make Your PT Clinic More Eco-Friendly
With summer winding down, now’s the perfect time to make some eco-friendly investments. This summer was undeniably hotter than most. Most people are more aware of our warming climate, which has lead to a conscious shift in consumers choosing to support brands and clinics that they believe to be eco-friendly.
We’ve talked before about ways your clinic can become more green, but some of our favorite tips include:
- Installing a programmable thermostat
- Opting for low-flow aerators on your sinks
- Switching from paper or cloth pillowcases to a reusable vinyl pillow cover like tour EcoPro Pillow Covers (each cover saves over 2,600 gallons of water a year!)
Leverage the Power of Fall Holidays
Back-to-school isn’t the only event of the season. August, September, and October are full of holidays that can be leveraged to support your marketing messages. Whether it’s timely discounts, social media content, emails, or direct mail pieces, incorporating the holidays can be a fun way to make your marketing messages stand out from the crowd.
Key Upcoming Holidays:
- 8/30 – National Marshmallow Toasting Day
- 9/3 – Labor Day
- 9/9 – Grandparents Day
- 9/9 – Rosh Hashanah
- 9/11 – 911 Remembrance
- 9/18 – Yom Kippur
- 9/22 – Oktober Fest Begins in Germany
- 9/23 – Autumnal Equinox
- 9/29 – Native American Day
- 10/5 – World Smile Day
- 10/16 – Boss’s Day
- 10/27 – Make a Difference Day
- 10/31 – Halloween
With only a few months remaining in the year, now’s the time to jumpstart your advertising and marketing efforts to end 2018 with a bang.