Founder Letter: Building Patient Relationships Starts With Your Digital Marketing Presence

In an age where technology and artificial intelligence have become a top priority in healthcare, our ability to build patient relationships and genuine human connections remains a key differentiator as providers. The emotional load and impact of injury—the fear, nervousness, and frustration—often get overlooked on the road to recovery. We can’t forget that the patients who come to see us are in pain and vulnerable due to their inability to participate in their daily lives fully. Despite increasing levels of engagement with health and wellness, many consumers are not satisfied with their healthcare experience. So, as much as they can benefit from our clinical skills and knowledge, they also need someone who will hear them, understand them, and work with them through the ups and downs of treatment. 

That’s where I think PTs may be missing the mark when it comes to their marketing. We have leaned towards pitching ourselves as the MSK experts that we are, but have removed some of the softer skill emphasis that allows potential patients to see the human side of care—which is an issue when the vast majority of people still don’t know what a physical therapist does.. 

Let’s face it, if you Google “physical therapist near me”, you are likely to find a list of providers who take the same insurances and say that they offer many of the same services. So how can you differentiate yourself and your practice from the herd? How can you showcase your smart, empathetic, and engaged team, your clinic culture, and project a feeling of “belonging” for your patients while also delivering the efficient, skilled, and outcome-driven services that patients have come to expect? In today’s marketing, it's all about your digital presence—starting with your website, which is then amplified via social media and direct email marketing.

Your website should offer a “why” along with a “what.”   

In the age of Gemini and ChatGPT, getting quick, concise summaries in response to our questions is becoming the norm. That’s also becoming the expectation when a potential patient comes to your website. As Google itself points out, 5% of all Google searches are health-related. And consumers researching physical therapists, nursing homes, and optometrists are the most likely to use search engines. In most major healthcare verticals, over 60% of consumers run a search before scheduling an appointment. Patients today want to be able to quickly discern: Are you the right provider who will be able to make me better? Do you take my insurance? Why should I spend my hard-earned dollars at your specific practice? And will I fit in? 

I’ve seen plenty of PT websites that do a good job with a lot of the basics—listing all the services and insurances accepted, giving their locations, making online scheduling front and center—but appealing to the patient which a clear, compelling case for why this practice is the right place for them is missing. Don’t confuse quantity of information with quality; patients like to have all the facts when they’re researching providers, yes, but they also want to see themselves reflected in  the pictures, testimonials, and content on your site. 

Modern consumers want to get a feel for what it will be like inside your practice. They want to understand your values and culture, not just your services. Showcasing your company's mission statement, accompanied by testimonials and images of that mission being realized, is key to setting the tone digitally.  

One of the best ways to do that through your website is to get away from stock photos. I get it; they’re readily available and maybe even come as part of whatever service you’re using to build and host your website. But there is nothing like the connection patients can make when the faces or images seen on your website, then come to life when they are actually inside the practice. Hiring a professional photographer to come into your practice for a few hours to get high-quality (staged or real-life) pictures of your team performing patient care, as well as images of your clinic, is well worth the spend. Just be sure that if you’re using pictures that feature actual patients, and that you avoid HIPAA violations by having them sign a release for the use of their likeness on your website. 

Don’t be afraid to ask for reviews.

Patients are your biggest and most important marketing tool. Whether it's word of mouth or through a testimonial, they have the power to spread the word quickly to their friends and family network that is powerful and, let’s face it, cheap! But, you have to ask for it. Reminding patients that you are a growing business and that you would love for them to share their experience with others should not seem like a sales pitch. 

As a practicing therapist, in conversation with my patients during our treatment session, we would often talk about their family members or friends who had gotten injured and my response would always be, “You should have them come see me” or “We have someone in our practice that specializes in that area.” If a patient was very complimentary for a member of our team or the services they provided, I would say, “I am so glad that you had such a great experience with me and our practice;  your words mean so much to us. Would you mind if we capture them for our website?”  And 9 times out of 10, it was a yes. I would have them come up to the front office to sign the marketing waiver, and boom!  Another testimonial was captured for our website.  

That became a process that we instilled with all of our therapists and our front office. We trained our team and even offered recognition in our team meetings by reading out some of the amazing praise that was given so that everyone could hear the impact that we were delivering to our community. The policy that we instilled was that after every successful episode of care or a great treatment session, both the therapist and front office should say, “Please share your enthusiasm for our practice with your friends and family as well as on our website. Your positive words will help us continue to provide great care for this community.”  In a fairly short period of time, it significantly increased our highlighted Google reviews and actual quotes, which evolved to videos from satisfied patients. Nothing can match the words about the quality of care you provide like true patient testimonials. It can be a win for your practice, both for marketing and as motivation for your staff to be connected to your mission.     

Social media lets you show the people and personality behind your practice. 

I am not a huge fan of social media myself, especially with a teenage daughter around. But, if you don’t have a social media presence for your practice, you are missing out on where many or, dare I say, most people are looking to find brands. The word of mouth that used to take place via phone call or in-person group meetups has now moved online. Social media excels at quick connections, spreading news, and fostering community. Physical therapy practices and PTs as individuals can and should take advantage of the fast-paced nature of social media platforms to grow a following and showcase their brands. Fully 26% of consumers utilize social media to find their service providers, and according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, and 54% of millennials and 42% of all adults either are or would like to be friends with or follow their healthcare provider on social media.

Highlight your team. Your staff deserves recognition beyond the walls of your practice for all the incredible work they do, and social media is a great place to share their story. As mentioned above, having training and some direction around how they can engage and be part of the clinic’s marketing can be key. Let them talk about what they do in the clinic, how they came to the profession, and what motivates them in their work. It helps humanize PT and shows potential patients the kind of caregivers they’ll see when they choose your clinic. 

Share testimonials. Testimonials and positive reviews are great for your website, but in 2025, you can’t assume that your website is the first touchpoint between your practice and potential patients.  With 84% of consumers stating that they trust online reviews as much as a personal recommendation, your clinic’s social media feed must be equally equipped to make the case for your clinic. Post testimonial videos to your feed or share graphics that feature some of your five-star reviews so that prospective patients  can see how their fellow “curious scrollers” have benefited from coming to see you. 

Offer a peek behind the curtain.  Going to see a new provider can be intimidating, especially if it's your first time experiencing PT. The general public probably doesn’t know much about a PT visit, like what to wear or what to expect—which can make the prospect of scheduling that first appointment daunting. Educational content, including videos, about what goes on day-to-day in a PT practice, including what treatment for certain injuries entails and why that treatment is effective, can help make PT seem a little less intimidating. Also, a checklist of what to bring and wear on your first visit will receive praise from new patients.  

Be responsive. If you’re going to commit to posting regularly on social media, you must be ready to reply to incoming messages, especially direct messages, without leaving people hanging too long. Assigning a staff member to check your channels at regular intervals for any messages requiring responses is a great way to get the team involved with marketing for the practice. It makes sense to promptly reply to potential patients, but it’s also another way to establish that there are real folks at work behind those funny dance videos.    

Don’t forget the personal touch when it comes to email marketing.  

Emails can be a great way to reach people who already know your brand and the services you provide. It becomes much easier to ask them to take action on something, such as scheduling a screen or participating in an educational seminar, since they’ve previously subscribed to your marketing list. 

Here’s where I have to make a confession. I’m a big proponent of AI as it's proving to be extremely helpful in driving efficiency and accuracy of documentation, coding, scheduling, and many other procedural tasks. But when it comes to writing directly to your patients or prospective patients in a way that reflects the tone and culture of your practice, it hasn’t quite hit the mark yet. It’s definitely more expedient and can auto-generate content very quickly, but as I’ve reviewed many examples of emails or blogs written by AI exclusively,  they leave you cold and definitely have an identifiable pattern. 

What I subscribe to instead is AI assisted writing, which allows for efficiency in generating an outline of the content, checking grammar, or fact-checking, while giving the writer the opportunity to edit into his/her own style.  I’d much rather get an email that is slightly less polished with a more conversational tone, which tends to stand out among all the emails that flood my inboxes.  

Fortunately, there are ways to help this more authentic process be more efficient. You can use an automated email platform (like Reach) to create emails that match your brand and tone. They contain a more personalized connection that is unique to your practice and to that patient. Whether it's about creating separate tracks of specific emails based on each specialty offered or type of injury treated in the clinic, patients can receive more personalized content that is tailored to what they have indicated they are interested in, previously been seen for as a patient or what they searched for in finding your clinic website.

The most important thing to keep in mind for your email marketing, or any marketing, for that matter, is: if you’re seeking authenticity, the reality of what you’re presenting when a patient walks into your clinic has to match what you’re selling in your messaging. Overselling or a patient experience mismatch will definitely create a marketing fail that is not worth the risk.

Blogging is another way to establish your voice and build trust. 

While social media is seemingly king and video seems to be the rage, let’s not forget about the written word. Blogging and social media offer distinct benefits for different purposes. A blog page on your website is still a tried-and-true way to build an audience by creating in-depth, long-form content, establishing subject matter expertise, and building a consistent brand voice. Just like social media, however,  it does require time, effort, authenticity, and consistency. The differentiator of a blog page is that it allows you to establish a voice from the place you always want your patients and potential patients to find you and that’s your website. 

Each day, Google receives over a billion health-related searches, which is approximately 70,000 searches per minute. In the U.S., approximately 86% of adults have used online platforms for medical advice. However, half of them will still want to confirm that information with a medical professional. As one of the MSK experts in your area, you want those potential patients to find your educational materials online —and then take the next step and easily schedule an appointment to confirm what they have read or learned. 

Creating content to inform and educate people about the most common conditions treated in your practice is an easy way to start a blog. A few tips: make sure what your writing is easy to understand for someone who isn’t a medical professional and utilize SEO (search engine optimization) to make sure that your blogs can be found when people search for your key words. Consistency with your voice and writing style will help people connect with your content and that evergreen presence allows for access to your blog for years to come.        

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Authentic human connection is our differentiator as PTs. We get to spend hours building relationships with patients, and in many cases, that relationship can last for years as patients keep coming back and referring their friends and family to our practices.  Whether via social media, email connection, or an online search to find your website, the consistency and authenticity of your online presence are key to a successful digital marketing strategy.