Public Relations in Podiatry: How Strategic PR Builds Trust, Visibility, and Practice Growth

Public relations is more than publicity—it’s a strategic tool that helps podiatry practices educate patients, strengthen community relationships, and build long-term credibility. Unlike paid advertising, effective PR shapes public perception through earned trust, meaningful engagement, and consistent communication. When done well, it supports both clinical excellence and sustainable practice growth.

Key Takeaways

•  PR Builds Trust Beyond Advertising: Public relations focuses on credibility, education, and relationship-building, often at low or no cost, making it a powerful complement to traditional marketing and advertising.
•  Community Engagement Drives Visibility: Patient education, media outreach, partnerships, and social media presence position podiatrists as trusted local experts while organically expanding referral networks.
•  Measurement Matters: Tracking both PR metrics (media mentions, engagement, referrals) and operational outcomes (new patient rates, satisfaction scores, productivity) is essential to evaluating real-world impact and return on effort.

Public relations (PR) is a strategic communication process that helps podiatry practices build trust, credibility and mutually beneficial relationships with their patients, local physicians, and community. It focuses on shaping public perception through communication rather than paid marketing and advertising.

The Basics    

PR is differentiated from marketing and advertising in that the practice pays for, and largely has control over, the message. It also differs from personal selling in that the message is non-personal and not directed to a particular individual patient. Some say, “we pay for advertising but we pray for public relations.” Public relations is often not controllable but it is often free; while marketing and advertising is not free. 

Here are some practical ways podiatrists can use public relations to benefit their practice:

•    Patient Education Campaigns: Publishing articles, blogs, or videos on foot health, diabetes-related foot care or sports injury prevention. Hosting workshops or webinars to raise awareness about common foot and ankle issues.
•    Community Outreach: Participating in local health fairs or school events to promote foot health. Offering free foot screenings for seniors, athletes or people with diabetes.
•    Media Engagement: Sharing expert commentary with local newspapers or TV stations about seasonal foot problems. Issuing press releases about new podiatric treatments or technologies offered at the clinic.
•    Online Reputation Management: Encouraging satisfied patients to leave positive reviews online. Responding professionally to feedback to build trust and credibility.
•    Partnerships and Referrals: Collaborating with sports teams, gyms, or diabetes clinics to provide specialized foot care. Building referral networks with primary care physicians and orthopedic specialists.
•    Social Media Presence: Sharing foot care tips, patient success stories, and clinic updates on platforms like Pinterest, TikTok, Tumblr, Instagram, or Facebook. Running awareness campaigns during events like National Foot Health Awareness Month.

Key Performance Metrics to Track

• Number of new patients.
• Media mentions and press coverage.
• Social media engagement (likes, shares, and comments).
• Newsletter open rates.
• Referral partnerships established.
• New patient acquisition rates.
• No-show and cancellation rates.
• Patient satisfaction scores.
• Average patient wait times.
• Phone answer rates.
• Provider productivity (patients per day/hour).
• Room utilization rates.
• Clinical staff efficiency.
• Patient cycle time (check-in to check-out).
• Quality metrics and patient outcomes.
• Revenue per patient visit.
• Accounts receivable days.
• Net collection rates.
• Cost per patient acquisition.
• Return on marketing investment.
• Referral rates from existing patients.
• Online review scores and quantity.

Final Thoughts    

In podiatry, public relations is about more than visibility—it’s about educating, engaging, and building trust with patients and the community. In my experience, public relations is integral to the success of a podiatry practice. When executed thoughtfully and ethically it may not only help grow the practice, but also improve patient access to quality foot care. By combining PR with marketing and advertising, podiatry practices can thrive in a competitive environment while staying true to their mission of healing and service.

Do you have a podiatry practice public relations plan, and more importantly, how well do you execute it?  

As a former Professor and Endowed Department Chair in Finance, Economics and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Marcinko was a marketing sales consultant for more than a decade. His textbooks are redacted in the Library of Congress, Library of Medicine and Institutes of Health.

Related Resources

Marcinko, DE and Hetico, HR: The Business of Medical Practice [3rd Edition]. Springer Publishing, New York, 2010.

Marcinko, DE and Hetico, HR: Hospitals & Healthcare Organizations [Management Strategies, Operational Techniques, Tools, Templates and Case Studies].  Productivity Press, New York, 2012.

Marcinko, DE and Hetico, HR: Financial Management Strategies for Hospitals and Healthcare Organizations. Productivity Press, New York, 2013.