Why Most Allied Health Marketing is a Total Waste of Money
If you’re running a physio, podiatry, or speech pathology clinic in Brisbane, you’ve probably been told you need to be "everywhere." You’ve likely had someone tell you to post on Instagram three times a day, dance on TikTok, or spend thousands on a fancy website that looks like a modern art gallery but doesn't actually help people book an appointment.
I’m going to be blunt: most of what you hear about marketing for health practices is rubbish.
I’ve sat down with clinic owners from Chermside to Cleveland who are working 60-hour weeks, treating patients all day, and then stressing at night because their diary for next week looks like a block of Swiss cheese—full of holes. They’re spending money on "brand awareness" but they can't tell you if it’s actually bringing in patients.
At Local Marketing Group, we don't care about "likes" or "engagement." We care about your phone ringing and your booking system filling up. If a marketing activity doesn't result in a patient walking through your front door, it’s a hobby, not a business strategy.
A Real Story: The Physio Who Was "Busy" But Broke
Let’s talk about a real scenario. We worked with an allied health practice in Morningside. The owner, let’s call him Dave, was a fantastic physio. He had a nice clinic, a couple of staff members, and a website he’d paid $5,000 for.
Dave was frustrated. He was paying a "social media manager" $1,000 a month to post pretty pictures of stretching and inspirational quotes. He was getting plenty of likes, but his afternoon slots were consistently empty. When we looked at his numbers, he was paying for attention, not for patients.
We changed his entire approach. We stopped the useless social media posting and focused on the three things that actually move the needle for a local Brisbane clinic. Within three months, Dave went from worrying about rent to hiring a new contractor because he had too many patients to handle.
Here is the exact blueprint we used for Dave, and what I’d tell my mate to do if they opened a clinic tomorrow.
1. Google is Your Best Friend (If You Do It Right)
When someone’s back goes out or their child needs a speech therapist, they don't go to Facebook to browse. They go to Google and type in "physio near me" or "speech pathologist Brisbane north."
If you aren't showing up in those top three results on the map, you don't exist to those people.
The "Google Business Profile" Trap
Most owners set up their Google profile and then forget it. That’s a mistake. To Google, a stagnant profile looks like a closed business. You need to treat this like your digital shopfront.Photos matter: Don't use stock photos of smiling models. People want to see your clinic, your reception area, and your friendly face. It builds trust before they even call. Reviews are gold: You need a system to ask for reviews. Don't just hope they happen. A clinic with 50 five-star reviews will beat a clinic with 5 reviews every single time, even if the second clinic has a better website.
Why Your Website is Probably Failing You
Most health websites are built by designers who care about how things look, not how they work. If a potential patient lands on your site and has to click three times to find your phone number or booking link, they’re gone. They’ll go back to Google and click the next result.Your website needs to do one thing: get them to book. It should work perfectly on phones (because that's how 80% of your patients find you), it should load fast, and your "Book Now" button should be impossible to miss.
If you want to see how this works in practice, look at how we get patients in your clinic by focusing on what actually makes people pick up the phone.
2. Stop Chasing New Patients and Look at Your Files
Here is a secret most marketing agencies won't tell you: it is five times cheaper to get an old patient back than it is to find a brand new one.
Most allied health owners are so focused on getting new enquiries that they ignore the hundreds of people already in their database. These are people who already know you, like you, and trust you.
The "Inactive Patient" Goldmine
Think about the patients who came in for a knee injury six months ago. They finished their treatment, felt better, and haven't been back.Sending a simple, personal email or SMS to those people can fill your diary in 48 hours. No jargon, no sales pitch—just a "Hey, haven't seen you in a while, how is that knee holding up?"
When we implement this for Brisbane clinics, the results are almost instant. You don't need a massive budget for this; you just need to use the data you already have. This is a key part of how you build a profitable waitlist without spending a cent on ads.
3. Paid Ads: The Fast Track (and How Not to Get Burned)
If you need patients now, Google Ads are the way to go. But be warned: Google is very good at taking your money and giving you nothing in return if you don't know what you're doing.
Most people bid on broad terms like "physiotherapy." That’s too expensive. You want to bid on "physio for sciatica" or "sports physio Brisbane CBD." You want to target people who are looking for exactly what you do, right where you are.
The Cost: Expect to spend at least $30-$50 a day to see real results in Brisbane. If you can't commit to that, don't bother. Anything less is just throwing money into the wind. The Timeline: You should see the phone start ringing within the first week. If it’s been a month and you haven't seen an increase in bookings, something is wrong with your ad or your website.
4. The "Local Hero" Strategy
You are a local business. You don't need to be famous in Sydney; you just need to be the go-to person in your suburb.
We worked with a podiatrist who spent all his time trying to rank for "podiatrist Australia" keywords on his blog. Why? He only sees people within a 10km radius of his clinic in Indooroopilly.
Instead, we got him involved with the local running clubs and netball associations. We made sure his website mentioned the specific Brisbane suburbs he served. This isn't high-tech, but it works because it builds real-world trust.
What’s a Total Waste of Money?
I promised to be honest, so here it is. For 90% of allied health practices, these things are a waste of your hard-earned cash:
1. Fancy Branding Agencies: You don't need a $10,000 logo. You need a logo that looks professional and then you need to spend that $10,000 on getting people to see it. 2. Magazine or Newspaper Ads: Unless your target market is exclusively over 80 years old, these are dead. You can't track them, and they’re expensive. 3. Generic Social Media Management: If someone offers to "post 5 times a week" for you but doesn't talk about bookings or enquiries, fire them. It’s a waste of time. Your patients don't care about your "Monday Motivation" post; they care about whether you can fix their back pain.
How to Start (Without Losing Your Mind)
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don't try to do everything at once. Here is the order I recommend for any Brisbane clinic owner:
1. Fix your Google Business Profile: Get 10 new reviews this month. Ask every happy patient who walks out the door. 2. Check your website on your phone: Try to book an appointment yourself. If it’s annoying or slow, fix it immediately. 3. Email your database: Send a friendly check-in to everyone you haven't seen in 6 months. This is practically free and usually results in immediate bookings. 4. Stop the bleed: Look at your bank statement. If you're paying for "SEO" or "Social Media" and you haven't seen a clear increase in patients, cancel it.
The Reality of Results
Marketing isn't magic. It’s math.
If you spend $1,000 on ads and it brings in 10 new patients who each spend $500 over their lifetime with you, you’ve turned $1,000 into $5,000. That’s a win.
If you’re spending money and you don't know your numbers, you’re just gambling.
I’ve seen Brisbane clinics double their turnover in a year just by stopping the "fluff" and focusing on the basics. It’s not about being the loudest person on the internet; it’s about being the most visible person when someone in your neighbourhood is in pain and needs help.
If you're tired of trying to figure this out on your own and you just want your clinic to be busy, we can help. We don't do fluff, and we don't do jargon. We just get results for local businesses.
Ready to fill your diary? Contact us at Local Marketing Group and let's have a straight-talk conversation about your clinic.