Before today’s post on practice marketing…
I got to speak to a group of nearly 100 private practice pediatricians this weekend and at one point in the talk, I was saying how it’s hard as a private practice owner to make progress on big projects.
Honestly, I got distracted by the amount of head nodding that I saw in the audience as I shared how it can be a bit lonely when you’re head down in your small private practice...and that it can be hard to feel that support and accountability that help sustain us to make those big moves we know we need to do.
It often feels like important stuff gets put on the back burner by urgent stuff and you never make the progress on the big momentum-building things you dream of because you’re a stuck in the day-to-day.
Two words: body doubling.
Body doubling is this concept in the ADHD literature where it’s easier to get stuff done when you do it in proximity to others also working.
You’re doing your own thing...running your own race at your own pace...but you’re motivated & held accountable by other people at the table doing their stuff, too.
To that end, I host free private practice body-doubling sessions where you show up and get shit done!
These actually really help ME to get stuff done and I always book a specific project to focus in on.
Come join us if you want some accountability and motivation to work on those big important, momentum-shifting things that keep getting put off.
A pediatrician in a Facebook group asked something I hear all the time:
“I’m on TikTok now. I don’t even use the platform. I’m trying to figure out some funny things that are not boring that will entice people to like us, follow us, come see us as patients.”
That last part is the key. The goal isn’t to make people laugh. It is NOT to become an influencer. It’s to get more patients in the door. So how do you actually do that?
The mistake most practices make
If you follow enough practices online, you start to notice a pattern. The ones that actually move patients from their phone to the exam room are doing something different from the ones that aren’t.
The practices that aren’t growing are posting things like:
“Happy birthday to Molly!”
“Sandy has been with us for 20 years — give her a round of applause!”
These posts get almost no engagement, and there’s a reason for that. It comes down to a principle from a book I keep coming back to: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, originally written in 1936. Carnegie put it simply:
People think about themselves morning, noon, and at night.
That’s not a criticism of people. It’s just true. People are interested in themselves and the things that matter to them, all day long. They do not care that it’s Molly’s birthday. They do not care that Sandy has been in billing for two decades. But they do care deeply about:
Whether they’re introducing solid foods the right way
How much screen time is too much for their teenager
Whether steroids are actually safe for their child’s eczema
What to do when their kid might have ADHD and they don’t want to jump straight to medication
What actually works
When a parent is scrolling and they see a video from a practice that speaks directly to something they’ve been anxious about — that stops the scroll. They watch. They think, they probably know what they’re talking about. They follow. They come back.
And then, when it gets to the point where they actually need someone — when they’re not getting answers, when they’re worried, when they’re ready to find a new provider — they already know who to call. Because you showed up, repeatedly, with information that was relevant to them.
That’s how social media grows a practice. Not through likes. Not through birthday posts. Through consistent, useful, parent-facing content on the topics parents are already thinking about.
How you know it’s working
Start asking new patients: “How did you hear about us?”
The answer you’re looking for sounds like this: “I saw your videos about ADHD on Instagram. I’ve been wanting to get my kid evaluated, but I was worried you’d just jump straight to medications. I booked after I saw what you posted about nutrition, sleep, and screens…that’s why I’m here.”
That’s the whole loop. They found you because you were talking about something that mattered to them. They trusted you because you kept showing up with real information. They booked because when they were ready, you were already the obvious choice.
The simple principle to take away
People think about themselves all day long. Go out and share information that is relevant to them — and watch your practice grow. There’s plenty of bad health information online. You have the expertise to offer something better. Use it.
Questions about growing your practice or creating content that actually converts? Comment below
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