A Welsh tech entrepreneur is taking the sports injury scene by storm by flexing his digital marketing expertise. And he’s already been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards.
Malcolm Sloan launched SportsInjuryFix.com (SIF), a website and forthcoming app which allows users to search for treatment by who specialises in their sport and/or injury, 18 months ago after growing frustrated during his own rehabilitation journey.
1,900 therapists have signed up to offer their services from around the UK and more than 5,500 people visit the website each month. And because of the interest and level of expertise available, ‘Men’s Running’ magazine now features regular expert commentary from SIF.
Social media allows me to engage and offer value
Malcolm, who is a keen triathlete and has also competed in IRONMAN Wales, runs the business alongside a full-time job and being a father to two young children. And his focus on content marketing and social media to achieve success with SIF ensures as good a work-life balance as possible.
He said: “The sporting community is close-knit and this is evident on social media, which allows me to engage and offer value. For example, we use Facebook advertising to target runners because they have a high injury rate.
“Our activity on Twitter and LinkedIn attracts therapists to sign up. We can communicate with them directly, as well as indirectly by using relevant hashtags to engage in debate, or during and post major exhibitions like National Running Show in Birmingham.
Online bookings and payments give us more time to treat patients
“We’re also proactive at partnering with content creators to ease our workload while still offering our audience insight and expertise. For example, we have had a marathon runner write blog posts for the Sports Injury Fix website. They then share the articles within their networks, further enhancing the reach of our brand.”
SIF has also developed its own booking, customer notes, and payment software that seamlessly integrates with therapists’ individual systems. “The software is a huge difference maker for therapists,” he added.
“There is no admin burden, availability is automatically synced with existing calendars, and it allows bookings to be made, paid for, and synced with existing calendars in real time. It means they avoid duplicate bookings, get paid for no shows, and have more time to treat patients.”
Support from Superfast Business Wales has been incredibly beneficial
Malcolm attended a Superfast Business Wales workshop on making the most of your website, as well as received a 1-2-1 from an advisor, and says the support has been incredibly beneficial.
“Superfast Business Wales takes the mystery out of digital technology and makes things possible. After the workshop, an audit of my website was completed, and the results and recommended changes were discussed through with me in detail,” he said.
“The advisor also suggested that I raise my profile by entering a number of coveted awards that support Welsh entrepreneurs and innovation. And I’ve been quite successful.
“I’ve been shortlisted for Digital Business of the Year at the FSB (Federation of Small Business) Wales awards, Innovation Business of the Year at Cardiff Business Awards, Best Tech Start-Up at the Wales Technology Awards, and Technology Start-Up of the Year at the Wales Start-Up Awards.”
Malcolm is now seeking investment to grow SIF even further. He added, “I want Sports Injury Fix to not only provide me with a full-time role, but to become the go-to place for finding the right advice and treatment, and to reduce the frustration of injury.”