Chiropractic Social Media Marketing: Free May End up Costing You More Than you Anticipated.

Now that social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace offer a free venue to reach massive amounts of potential patients, many Doctors of Chiropractic have taken to the web to promote their services. Why this seems like an ideal situation on the surface, there also lurks a potential danger for causing great damage to your reputation, your practice, and even the chiropractic profession as a whole. Read on to see if you or any of your associates are flirting with disaster in your chiropractic social media advertising.

What is this potential danger? The sad truth is this danger is no stranger in the chiropractic advertising and marketing world. This sore has been festering on the face of Chiropractic since the dawn of the profession. You guessed it: unsubstantiated and unfounded claims about the benefits of chiropractic care. Yes that's right, educated Doctors of Chiropractic are STILL making promises they can't keep and shouldn't be making in the first place. Some of us are STILL making statements we couldn't support if challenged. This problem has been around forever and the internet and social media has made it twice as easy to cause yourself problems when marketing your chiropractic services.

Not only has the problem been around forever, but I fear the internet is actually making the problem much worse. Don't believe me? If you are an ethical chiropractor with decent common sense I'd like to issue you a challenge. Simply search for the phrase "chiropractic" or "chiropractor" on Twitter and see how long it takes before you cringe. Go to http://twitter.com/ and in the box labeled "See what people are saying about…" type in "chiropractor" or "chiropractic" and click search.

It shouldn't take long to see some sketchy ethics and even a few down right ridiculous chiropractic marketing tactics. Some of these are minor and innocent mistakes; and some are downright idiotic claims. I'm not here to point out any specific doctors or practices but you'll recognize it when you see it.

Here are the three biggest issues I see when I read and review chiropractic internet advertising and promotion:

1. Advertising Chiropractic care as a cure.

2. Making well intentioned but unsupported statements.

3. "Ambulance chasing"

In this post I'll address what I feel are the two most common offenses: advertising chiropractic care as a cure and making unsubstantiated claims. I'll touch on "Ambulance chasing" and wrap things up in my next posts.


1. Touting Chiropractic care as a "cure" for anything.

Chiropractic should NEVER be advertised as a cure for anything. You may not like hearing it, but it's true. You may be convinced your chiropractic skills can cure anything from low back pain, to hypertension and cancer. I don't really care. What I do care about is when you start voicing and advertising these overly confident thoughts.

Don't get me wrong, I believe in the power of chiropractic care. I went to Palmer College of Chiropractic, so believe me, I got my fair dose of chiropracTIC philosophy. I'm also a practicing health care provider in today's litigous society. I have common sense and I'm careful. I don't even say I can cure a patient's pain. I'm always careful to say I "may" be able to help a patient.


I don't care if inside my head I'm 100% sure the low back pain will resolve after a side posture adjustment or two. I don't care if I KNOW that an atlas adjustment is going to get rid of a patient's headaches. The point is I don't even make promises within the walls of my practice. Why would I do it in public and to total strangers? What happens when you promise a patient they will get better? Well the short answer is they better! If you promise chiropractic can cure something and it doesn't you are opening yourself up to a world of potential problems

Unfortunately promising pain relief is just the tip of the iceberg. I see Doctors of Chiropractic making bold statements and unethical promises on a daily basis. I see fellow colleagues advertising allergy "elimination", swine flu prevention, immune system strengthening, headache elimination, and pretty much positioning chiropractic as a cure for everything under the sun. The problem is these doctors would be hard pressed to support their claims.



2. Making well intentioned but unsupported claims.

This second advertising danger is more of an innocent or accidental mistake. It often starts by a well intentioned chiropractor who wants to show patients and the public that chiropractic may be beneficial for more than back and neck pain.

Do I see a problem with linking to a study about the potential benefits associated between chiropractic care for headaches, low back pain, or hypertension? Not at all. Do I see a problem with advertising chiropractic, spinal decompression, or flexion distraction as a potential treatment for pain or a possible alternative before resorting to surgery? Absolutely not if you can provide some sort of supporting research or documentation. Point the public to studies and information and let them draw their conculsions.

There is a huge difference between advertising "chiropractic care may help headaches" and "Chiropractic cures headaches". One must be extremely careful when choosing what to say and how to say it. If you aren't sure you should be making a statement try asking yourself these two questions: 1. How could this come back to hurt me? 2. Can I prove or at least support what I'm saying? Carefully considering the answers to these two questions can keep you out of a lot of hot water. Check out my next posts where I'll discuss the chiropractic equivalent of ambulance chasing and 10 ways to stay out of trouble with chiropractic social media marketing.

-Dr. James