How Trump’s wall has increased spine surgery patients 30x for one Arizona practice

You’re probably thinking how on earth does building a wall along the southern US border increase spine surgery patients by 30 times? Is it from worker’s compensation claims from on the job injuries or has the building of the wall stopped medical tourism to Mexico and Central America, creating more demand for US spine clinics? Is it the combination of the two or is this another fake news story?

Ok don’t be mad at me for misleading you with this article’s headline, it’s not fake news. I’m about to offer some content marketing advice that I have used to get more exposure for my clients than the run-of-the-mill  “back pain treatments” & “diets for back pain” posts typically receive.

“Smart Content” Marketing

Trump’s wall hasn’t increased spine surgery patients 30x for any practice I am aware of, but tying or weaving current news headlines into something relevant for your patients is a smart way to become relevant. We call it “Smart Content”.

Smart content has the potential to:

• Improve Click through rates (CTRs)
• Increase web site visits
• Position your practice or surgeon as a subject matter expert
• Create viral content

Tiger Woods & Back Surgery

For example take the recent news of Tiger Woods coming in second place (-9 par) at Innisbrook in last week’s PGA tournament and the fact that he has had multiple spine surgeries (four actually). A smart spine marketer might write an article about how Tiger Woods has “Got his game back” after having 4 back surgeries with his last one just about one year ago.  A pretty amazing feat considering healthy PGA golfers without back problems didn’t do as well. Additionally, a surgeon could very easily create a video explaining the procedure Tiger had and the recovery process, then post it on Youtube, Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

You’re probably thinking, yeah there are probably a bunch of spine marketers already doing this type of content writing, but you’d be surprised! A quick Google search on the term “Tiger Woods back surgery” shows us that there is only one spine clinic on the first page of Google (see highlighted below).

And it’s not until page 3 of Google SERPs that you see another spine related website. In addition, no paid search ads appear in my area (Atlanta), which is another opportunity. Dr. Andrew Hecht, interviewed by the Golf Channel, did do a great job of shedding light on Tiger Woods procedures in a video interview on Golf Central. If I’m considering back surgery and I hear that Tiger Woods had four of them, I am doing research on his procedure and the doctor who performed it.

Using Current News for Medical Practice Content Marketing

As you can see there is a lot of opportunity to use “Smart Content” to create interesting and sharable content using recent news headlines and sports stories to market your surgeon, Orthopedic or spine practice. Use it on your website and across social media on sites like Twitter, Linkedin and Facebook. It’s also great PR for spine surgeons who discuss procedures that famous athletes have had (think Payton Manning cervical fusion).

Just a few more examples of news stories that could be weaved into the services your practice offers or videos presented by a specialist:

• Concussions from sports injuries (CTEs)
• Elizabeth Warren DNA (Pharmacogenetic testing)
• Andy Murray hip surgery
• Idaho Gov. Butch Otter (infection after spine surgery)

If you’re looking for creative ways to market your orthopedic or spine specialty practice and want to stand out in a crowd, using smart content should be part of your strategy. Interested in learning what else you should be doing?

Contact us for a free practice marketing review. Call me directly at 678-825-5838 to schedule an appointment.

Thanks for reading! We appreciate your comments, thoughts, and experiences.