Your Patients Don’t See Diagnoses. They See Themselves.

If you’ve been in practice long enough, it can start to feel like déjà vu. Another plantar fasciitis. Another knee pain consult. Another numb-toes complaint. From a clinical standpoint, that’s exactly where you want to be. Repetition builds expertise. Pattern recognition sharpens judgment. Consistency leads to better outcomes.

But from a marketing standpoint, treating every case as “the same” is one of the biggest missed opportunities clinics make.

Because while the diagnosis may be familiar to you, it is brand new—and deeply personal—to the patient sitting across from you.

The Problem With “Educational” Content

In a recent strategy session, we reviewed how one clinic was creating patient education videos.

The format was always the same:

• Name the diagnosis

• Explain the procedure

• End the video

Clinically accurate. Technically helpful. Completely forgettable. The issue wasn’t the information. It was the framing. Patients don’t emotionally connect with conditions. They connect with people.

Stop Telling Stories About Diagnoses. Start Telling Stories About Lives.

The breakthrough came from a simple shift in perspective.

Instead of thinking: “Plantar fascia surgery case #3,284”

Start thinking: “Who was this person, and what did this problem take away from them?”

Suddenly, the same procedure becomes very different stories:

• A warehouse worker in their 40s who stands on concrete all day and can’t afford to miss work

• A grandparent who just wants to walk the park with their grandkids without limping

• A teenager who had to quit their favorite sport mid-season

Clinically, the treatment may be identical. Emotionally, these are completely different journeys.

When a future patient watches your content, they’re not asking, “Do I also have this diagnosis?”

They’re asking “Is this person like me?”

The Simple Tags That Change Everything

That’s why we coach clinics to add just a few simple layers of context to every patient story or video. You don’t need names. You don’t need faces. You don’t need protected health information.

You just need enough detail for recognition.

Three tags are usually enough:

• Age band (30s, 50s, retired, student)

• General lifestyle or occupation (desk job, on their feet all day, athlete, caregiver)

• Primary goal (back to work, back to sports, pain-free walking, independence)

These small details do the heavy lifting. They allow someone watching to quietly think, “That’s me.”

A Real-World Example That Changed Everything

One physical therapist we studied took this idea further. Instead of generic educational videos, he built a small library of short, plain-language clips, each labeled simply:

• “Construction worker with knee pain”

• “Runner with Achilles issues”

• “Office worker with chronic back stiffness”

When a new patient asked, “Have you worked with someone like me before?”

He didn’t need a long explanation. He just sent a link to one of his videos. At that point, nothing needed to be sold. The patient could see—clearly—that this provider understood their world and had helped someone very similar. That’s trust, built before the first visit.

A Simple Workflow Any Clinic Can Use

This doesn’t require a full marketing department or fancy production.

Here’s a straightforward system you can teach your team:

Pick one relatable case per week. It doesn’t need to be dramatic. Ordinary is often better.

Write a three-line story:

• Who is this person in broad terms?

• What problem brought them in?

• What outcome did they get?

Record a 60–90 second video. Doctor to camera. No script. Just the story.

Tag and organize. Store videos in a simple library using human language: “Active grandparent, heel pain” or “Desk-job parent, numb toes.”

Reuse everywhere. Website, email, social media, waiting room screens. One story, many uses.

Turn Stories Into a Marketing Calendar

This approach pairs naturally with a 12-month marketing plan.

For example:

• Sports season: student athletes and weekend warriors

• Winter months: balance issues, slips, and cold-weather pain

• Back-to-school season: parents and teachers on their feet all day

You’re not inventing campaigns. You’re organizing real patient experiences around moments that matter.

The Best Part: You’re Not Making Anything Up

These stories already exist. They walk into your clinic every day. You already help them. You already know how their lives change. The only shift is telling those stories in a way that lets future patients recognize themselves.

Clinically, it’s perfectly fine that plantar fascia cases feel routine. That’s professionalism.

From a marketing perspective, treating them as interchangeable is fatal. Turn your “same old cases” into a diverse cast of characters—and you’ll be amazed how much easier it becomes for the right patients to find you.