'How do I stand out as a clinician?' you wonder.

'Make content!' is what social media agencies will say.

'But it's all the same,' you reply.

'Do it anyway!' It's all about the algorithm!'

Don't get me wrong, I personally create content and I think it's important. But I don't think pumping out content for the sake of it is where you stand out now with the oversupply of information.

Because although content creation does get you some traffic...

That in itself causes problems because we have volumes of content where clinicians are just regurgitating each other's content, which they've read from a paper anyway.

What we're left with is many people who need help who've already absorbed everything AI and 90% of social media puts out.

Calf injury? Try these calf exercises, monitor load, gradual return.

Lower back pain? Train your hips, make sure you learn how to lift weights, gradual return.

Under these conditions - what ends up sticking out to people is not 'what's available' but rather, what is unique. 

There are many ways to appeal but the most powerful one is the ability to niche.

The better you niche, the more you'll stand out to people.

For example, you could have a special interest in hamstring strains.

Sure, so do 10,000 other clinicians.

Niche: You have a special interest in hamstring strains for 100M sprinters. 

Niche: You Have a special interest in hamstring strains for badminton players.

Niche: You have a special interest in hamstring strains for Taekwondo athletes.

But did you know you can niche into personality types too?

I saw a marketing advertisement that was labelled this:

'How to Create Social Media Content For Introverts'. It had over 1000 comments, 10k+ likes and what seemed to be great social proof.

Genius.

But that's not where it stops - you can niche however you want. The key is you actually have developed insight in that subgroup of people. 

 And insight is where you're going to stand out - because insight has depth.

And depth is much harder to replicate, both by AI and other clinicians.

Clinicians are stressed about AI taking over their jobs because they think of the first 5 things that come to mind when a patient asks a question.

The problem is - this is usually what the AI responds with too.

But the depth comes from the next 5 or 10 things.

Why?

Because if you're a patient in this day and age, you probably already tried the first 5 things that AI suggested and...

It didn't work. 

That's why you need to spend time sitting with the problem. And if you can go even deeper (which is nicheing), you'll offer insight that nobody else can.

What is it about hamstring strains in taekwondo athletes that is distinctly different than sprinters? How would your treatment change? What kicks and movements do you need them to be acquainted with that sprinters don't?

Well for one, sprinters don't throw head kicks, side kicks or tornado kicks right? Not only is that different, but Taekwondo athletes take a side stance and they hop in and out of range when they engage with their opponents. 

Sprinters also don't have to react to anything except the start gun. Taekwondo athletes are constantly responding to their opponents movements and this also changes how they move. 

Can you see how by understanding DEEPLY the demands of Taekwondo, you'll see that a hamstring strain suffered in this clientele is very, VERY different to what a sprinter would? 

Insight Is Developed Off the Background Of Understanding Demands

Insight isn't formed by learning the 'latest treatment techniques.' 

It's formed by completely and obsessively breaking down the demands of the niche you serve.

Let me switch example now to badminton versus a sprinter.

Both have hamstring strains. Let's look at the demands.

Most sprinters hurt their hamstrings right at transition between foot contact and leg drive.

Badminton players hurt their hamstrings as they lunge forward to reach for a shot. Their trunk is leaned over their knee and they are breaking their acceleration from the lunge.

Completely different mechanisms.

A sprinter's race is over in under 12 seconds.

A badminton player's match lasts at least 60 minutes or even more. 

A sprinter doesn't hold a racquet or change direction.

A badminton player changes direction, he jumps, leans over both left and right side.

A sprinter trains mainly high intensity bursts 3-4x/week, supplementing with gym work.

A badminton player trains skills sessions 2-3x/week and MAYBE supplements with gym work.

Can you see how different the rehab approaches need to be?

With a sprinter, you might only need to address one direction of movement - linear.

With a badminton player, you need to address every direction AND endurance aspects.

Neither is more complex than the other, but they are certainly not the same.

You can even develop greater insight with just badminton players alone. If you have a baseline player who relies on jumping a lot, or you have a net player who relies on darting back and forth from the net - their playing styles become areas of insight you can develop.

The good news is I've shown how you can immediately differentiate yourself from AI.

The bad news? This is not easy. You need to put in the time. You NEED to sit down and think about it.

But what if I don't have depth at the moment?

The Antidote To Lack of Insight is An Underserviced Niche 

The antidote to this is to find a niche that you're interested in, that is underserviced and spend time analysing why rehab has been unsuccessful for these people.

Because the niche is underserviced - that means no ones offering depth in that area anyway. And if you do your due diligence, research properly and apply your current knowledge base, you automatically position yourself as the go-to person in this space.

For example, in my own sport of Olympic Weightlifting, most coaches are marketing the strength and successes of their younger athletes. These are the athletes who become state, national and international representatives.

But there's another market - the 'Masters' athletes (35+) who take up weightlifting and their attention is minimal, despite there being high needs.

A 50 year old woman doing Olympic Weightlifting for the first time should not be on the same program as a beginner who is 20. 

Why? Because 50 year old women are dealing with asymptomatic structural issues that 20 year olds simply don't have.

These women are dealing with loss of bone mass, probable partial or full rotator cuff tears, degenerative discs and worn knee cartilage. 

To this day, I still don't think there's many coaches and clinicians out there who specifically make their expertise dedicated to Masters athletes. And if they did, they'd immediately jump toward the top of the clinical tree.

Many clinicians are uncomfortable with this strategy because they say 'well I'm not actually an expert then, I'm just tapping into marketing.' 

Yes - you aren't. And you don't have to call yourself an expert. You can just say you have a 'special interest' in this area of people AND put out content specifically targetted towards these people.

And guess what? If this segment of people are underserviced, then they need the information you're putting out for them. So make a choice - help people or let your 'imposter syndrome' get in the way.

The Future Is Returning Back To Depth

Now that we have AI everywhere and every 2nd creator competes on hooks and video editting, the world will move back toward depth. 

If you have something original to say, something that is uniquely your own viewpoint and you have the treatment methods to back it up, you will stand out.

You don't need a PhD to become an expert on a topic, because I doubt there are any PhDs who are willing to put 10,000 hours into investigating why Taekwondo athletes struggle with hamstring injuries that don't heal with traditional rehabilitation methods.

I'm sure there aren't PhDs out there who put 10,000 hours into understanding how a 50 year old's slightly torn supraspinatus tendon can adapt to overhead movements if given enough time and the right program.

We don't need more experts who've read research.

We need more clinicians who get in the niches and develop depth with insight that we can't find anywhere else except through obsessive and genuine interest.