# Social media for chiropractors

<span class="byline">by John Morabito · April 19, 2026 · 8 min read</span>

**TL;DR**
- Instagram Reels and TikTok are the #1 patient-acquisition channels today.
- Adjustment videos (with consent) are highest-performing organic format.
- Meta Ads work with video creative. Static images underperform.
- YouTube long-form is the education moat and #1 AI Overview citation source.
- Video feeds the GEO citation loop. Social drives branded search downstream.

## Platform-by-platform

**Instagram Reels.** 3-5 per week. Adjustment videos, education, patient outcomes. City + condition in caption.

**TikTok.** Same content. Cross-post with platform-native captions. 74% of Gen Z searches on TikTok.

**YouTube.** The moat. 3-10 min long-form per month with transcript, chapters, schema. #1 AI Overview citation source.

**Facebook.** Community channel for 40+ demographic. Not a posting surface.

**LinkedIn.** B2B referrals to PTs, orthopedists, PCPs. Relationship channel, not volume.

**X.** Skip unless you enjoy it.

## The video-first content system

One weekly recording session produces 7-10 assets:
1. 3-min long-form to YouTube.
2. 3-5 short vertical clips to Reels, TikTok, Shorts.
3. Transcript as blog post outline.
4. YouTube embed in matching condition page.
5. Reupload successful shorts at 90 days with fresh metadata.

Winston runs the recycling with `tiktok-refresh` Skill.

## Paid ads that work vs don't

Work: video testimonials with local ZIP + back-pain interest, adjustment clips with $29 offer overlay, seasonal pain awareness.

Don't: static image ads, before/after, broad interest without local radius.

## Organic community

5-10 local Facebook groups. Answer questions with education, not promotion. Slow but durable. 10-30 new patients per year from 3 groups, compounding.

## The AI citation loop

Video feeds three things:
1. Direct citation in Google AI Overviews (YouTube).
2. Branded search lift.
3. Direct traffic growth (AI Overview traffic shows as "direct").

58% correlation between TikTok views and branded search with 7-day lag (documented in another vertical). Same mechanism applies.