In many ways, the healthcare industry remains a conservative field in the service delivery marketplace. However, promotional experts have developed a number of innovative medical marketing strategies and actionable ideas that can help you grow and growing your medical practice in the online realm.
Content marketing for doctors is very peculiar. The delicate topic of health involves silence and privacy. However, you can always market your expertise, educational potential, communication with patients, and unique approach to your work – this will set you apart in the marketplace.
Understanding the algorithms of paid search and social media is another competitive advantage you should utilize.
Analyze the current marketing efforts of your practice and include some of our tips and tricks to your updated strategy to get more traffic and clients. Let’s learn how you can do that.
Create a professional website
You need an aesthetically pleasing and informative website, but that’s not all. The right medical site should be properly optimized – only then it will begin to attract the target audience and new patients.
Ensure that your site follows a logical structure – a convenient scheme of all resource pages, which distributes the path to folders, categories and subcategories.
Technically, navigation on the site is a set of sequentially aligned URLs. Specialists collect the semantic core, and use it to create sketch schemes.
Audiences are interested in services and healthcare professionals that are easy to find. And search engines evaluate the links on the site – the simpler the structure, the faster the pages are indexed.
How to improve own website:
- make it easy for online users to search;
- describe healthcare services fully;
- encourage visitors to stay longer on the website – the content is useful, relevant and regularly updated;
- the site is adapted to mobile devices.
To summarize: the right site is mobile friendly, the owner focuses on the different needs of the ideal audience, categorizes information by topic, provokes interest, and is simple – the fewer clicks to target, the better. A good example is https://skinsocietybar.com/.
Start an educational and informative blog
Organizing a blog is task #2 after organizing the structure. Specialized content is best created by medical professionals themselves. Or, you can hire a professional writer with a medical background to provide expert commentary on material before publication.
A frequently updated blog requires a lot of marketing effort and time, so consider whether you want to do it in-house or outsource. A regularly updated blog is the key to the maintaining a lively interest of healthcare consumers and the loyalty of search engine robots.
Why a medical website needs a blog:
- Confirms the author’s expertise;
- structures the knowledge from medical practice;
- builds a personal brand;
- helps attract traffic to your website;
- educational content for potential patients;
- to attract new patients;
- a way to keep your patients informed about the schedule and nuances of physician practices.
When the medical community goes online and systematically gives people useful, relevant information and takes on an educational mission, the medical marketing strategy takes on the added value of social responsibility.
Consider topics relevant to your business:
- disease information;
- prevention and treatment methods;
- online drug reviews;
- diagnostic healthcare practices;
- health care news;
- Q&A format; consultations;
- interviews with healthcare providers;
- introduction to the team;
- tour of the clinic, office;
- positive feedback from patients and comments.
Use social media
Service businesses today thrive if they are active on social media accounts. The message you put into your marketing strategy should reach your business customers everywhere.
Social media profiles are the easiest way to effectively communicate in an informal way. The healthcare industry has been shown to be in demand on all social media platforms, from YouTube and TikTok to Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
What to include in your digital marketing tactics when you use social media:
- competitor research;
- analyzing the CA – the typical healthcare consumer;
- Developing a plan for posting content on social media;
- Creating content about the healthcare industry and physician practices;
- photography and videography;
- publishing on schedule;
- attention to comments, patient feedback, quick and effective communication.
Social media is the fastest way to connect with your patients. Sometimes social media and messengers are also used to connect with other health care professionals on the team as well.
Social media is also a great advertising tool. Setting up a campaign in ad rooms may seem like the most difficult part of a marketing strategy. However, digital advertising is a cost-effective healthcare marketing tool, so it should be explored and tried.
Conclusion #3 – Engage in social media communication with your patients and properly present the business to your target audience based on their needs.
Register with local directories
Local directories are good for getting backlinks and search engine optimization. You can register your practice for free in most web directories, just take the time to do so.
We recommend sharing your business details in reputable “white” directories without spam, and preferably with moderation. The process should be done manually and gradually, so as not to arouse the suspicion of search engines.
Ideally, you should find your practice on all thematic resources with good traffic, rating and domain trustworthiness. Online directories allow you to post your business name and description, address, contacts and a link to your website. Customers use business listings with mapping services to see your location.
Use this advantage in your medical marketing strategy.
Working on an email campaign
Manage your email database with respect for the recipient. Mailings are mostly spam. Your healthcare advertising should be unobtrusive and helpful.
To get a person to give up data and sign up for the newsletter, try to get them interested:
- a free consultation;
- an invitation to a workshop or open house;
- an e-book, podcast or presentation;
- new research, news about the health care organization;
- a designated patient group.
Talking about health is always a good thing, but you have to aim to hit the target and provide tangible value. Email marketing in healthcare involves a one-way form of communication. It’s not a good idea to share ads often – once a month is optimal.
Remind your patients that feedback is important to you – periodically send out questionnaires that you can use to analyze patient experiences, wishes, interests, and how they rate services.
Create your own ads on Google
Google Ads is a contextual advertising service in which advertisers compete to display short and effective ads. What is Google PPC? It is a “price-per-click” payment model in which advertisers pay only for clicks on a message.
PPC on Google depends on bid competition for the keyword that triggered the ad display.
How Google PPC works in simple terms: A user enters a search query into the search bar and receives advertisements on the same topic along with the search engine results. Sites that are part of the Google ad network also show themed ads.
Why you should try a Google PPC campaign:
- a chance to provide information to an specific audience that already needs the service;
- exact location is taken into account;
- comfortable payment terms;
- flexible settings that solve problems;
- you can track effectiveness and adjust your healthcare marketing strategy.
Use video marketing
Video content is an opportunity for your audience to peek behind the scenes, get information in a visual-friendly way, and be entertained.
Health care marketing seems like a very serious topic, but people’s brains are gradually retooling to clip-based thinking and require short, thoughtful, engaging video content.
Studies have shown that 90% of companies have a chance to influence audience decisions after deciding to make a video.
You can upload and promote videos on:
- YouTube;
- social networks;
- your blog;
- on your website pages;
- Email newsletter.
How do I create a video? If you work with a smartphone, download a video editor, add your footage in the right order, slice and edit it, add effects, subtitles and music if needed. If you’re serious about everything, use dedicated computer software, prepare a content plan and write scripts.
Medical marketing videos are compatible with formats like corporate film, promotional videos, explainer videos, microvideos (Instagram Stories, Reels, TikTok, etc.).
Generate new patient reviews
Local SEO factors affect a site’s search engine ranking. Attracting potential clients is quite easy through the local business information box (Google My Business) that appears based on a search query.
A convenient location on a map, good rankings, and testimonials contribute to the reputation of a medical practice. It is patient reviews that, for many, are the primary factor in choosing a physician.
Reputation management for physicians includes generating reviews, communicating correctly with people, and working off negativity when it is present. Encourage patients to leave reviews: just ask, give a bonus (discount, informational benefit), and always thank them.
Local search results are your main ally. Try promoting your practice on geoservices like Google Maps. Fill out your listings and let people find you by territorial location and fair ranking.
Invest your time in local SEO, and you’ll gain trusted relationships with potential clients and referring physicians will be able to recommend you when needed.
Build your brand
Personalize your practice because you need to differentiate yourself in your target market. We’ve prepared 7 steps on how you can develop your brand:
- Research your target audience and competitors.
- Add some personality to your practice website – real work, pictures of your team and office.
- Come up with a company name.
- Write a slogan.
- Implement branding elements (colors, fonts).
- Design a logo.
- Present the medical specialty out of the box.
Digital marketing experts recommend posting real photos of your employees. Cliched stock photos are not credible. Use live photos, because people want to be treated by people that are familiar – it is good if the image of a highly qualified specialist is associated with a real person.
Retargeting on FB
How else to increase the number of new patients? Try using Facebook Pixel technology. A pixel code is a code that collects information about a site’s users, tracking their actions.
To find the pixel code:
- login to Facebook Ads;
- click on Business Tools;
- select Events Manager;
- view a list of all the pixels in your ad account.
A sound marketing strategy is built on segmenting user audiences and clearly understanding what each segment needs.
