Healthcare is one of the top industries in the U.S. when it comes to ad spending. In 2015 alone, this sector spent $9.7 billion on marketing and advertising.
What does this mean for professionals who own a medical practice? It means competition is fierce.
In order to get your name out there and bring in new patients, it’s important you maintain a healthy digital marketing initiative. The good news is, there are plenty of ways to reach your target audience.
Start 2019 off strong by implementing some new medical marketing tactics and refining your current ones. To help you out, we’re going over 10 healthcare marketing tips you can’t ignore.
1. Up Your SEO Game
A high-quality website is critical to your online presence. However, aside from looking good, it needs to rank well in Google.
It’s imperative you overhaul your search engine optimization (SEO) on a regular basis. This means refining your site’s keywords based on traffic numbers and other analytics.
You should consider initiating a back-linking strategy and revising the content on your site. It’s also a good idea to audit your site to ensure there are no broken links or poor load times. Google doesn’t like these issues and will penalize your site with lower rankings.
2. Blog For Success
Adding a blog to your website is beneficial for a couple of reasons.
First, the fresh content will help you rank higher in search engine result pages. Second, a blog is a great way to connect with your target audience and helps build your brand.
Publishing articles about your practice is great, but you should also provide content your readers will find useful. For example, wellness tips regarding your field of practice and FAQs concerning specific conditions are things people search for anyway.
Putting this kind of content out on your blog helps build trust and shows you’re an authority in your specific field.
3. Take Advantage of Patient Reviews
You should go ahead and assume your potential patients will look for online reviews of your practice before contacting you. In fact, 91% of people read reviews on a regular basis.
You can leverage this by encouraging your patients to leave reviews after you’ve treated them. In addition, it’s crucial you add these to your website and social media profiles. These reviews act as modern word-of-mouth advertising.
4. Start a Referral Program
Along with encouraging patient reviews, engaging in a traditional referral program will also help spread the word about your practice.
An easy way to do this is to have small referral cards printed with a friendly message and give them to your current patients. When you get a referral, make sure to thank them with a nice email or call.
If you own a medical spa, offer a small discount on services in exchange for a referral. You’re bound to bring in new patients.
5. Powerful Content Marketing
We discussed the benefits of adding a blog to your website. However, you can take this much further with other content marketing tactics.
In addition to well-written blog articles, think about adding video to your website. In these videos, discuss relevant health topics, wellness tips, and FAQs. Think of these as visual extensions of your blog content.
6. Proactive Reputation Management
The reviews you ask your patients to write will have a huge impact on your success. However, once you start getting a large number, you’ll need to oversee them.
Reputation management programs help track both positive and negative reviews. If someone had a problem with your service, quick interaction with the patient can help diffuse the situation.
In addition, reputation management can help direct patients to the right platforms. Automating this task takes a lot of the workload off you and helps ensure your online reputation remains in good standing.
7. Take User Experience to the Next Level
In recent years, medical practices have begun to automate many of the administrative tasks associated with delivering service. Not only does this help office staff, but it also makes the process easier for the patient.
Things like online check-in, patient access to medical records, chat functionality, and online payment options have become commonplace. If you don’t start implementing these tools, you’ll start falling behind the competition.
Each time you add one of these features, make sure you start an advertising campaign to promote it.
8. Social Media Marketing
A strong social media presence is essential for any type of business today. It allows for a more intimate connection between you and your client base.
Social media also allows for much more targeted advertising. For example, you can create a Facebook ad that only your specific demographic will see. This is more effective than casting a wide net and hoping the right people will find you.
Marketing your practice through social media allows you to harness the power of sharing. Publish relevant, high-quality content and you can rest assured it will get promoted by the public.
9. Local Optimization
Because your medical practice serves the community around you, it’s important you take advantage of local optimization. This ensures you’ll show up when someone searches for your services in the city where you operate.
Claiming your Google My Business page is critical. This will boost your exposure in search engines and let people know where you are and how to contact you. Listing your practice in medical directories like HealthGrades and ZocDoc is also important.
10. Email Marketing
Another great way to target the right people is through email marketing campaigns. This involves sending out regular newsletters to current and potential patients.
These newsletters can provide healthcare information, promote local wellness events, and advertise your services. This is a great way to stay on people’s mind and show them you care enough to reach out.
Let Medical Marketing Work For You in 2019
If you’re ready to see substantial growth to your medical practice in 2019, get started now by implementing new marketing efforts. This is a necessary step if you want to remain competitive in your field.
Use these medical marketing tips and start working with new patients as soon as possible.
We provide a wide range of digital marketing services for medical practices and healthcare professionals. Contact us today to learn more.