The average American cumulatively spends one day a week online. This means smart medical practitioners that are just starting out need to connect with their patients online.
If you’re looking to grow your practice and increase patient volume without spending a fortune, this is the way to go. The internet provides you with the opportunity to do this for relatively cheap.
But to do this properly, you need the right marketing strategies. Apart from top-notch patient treatment, the busiest practices tend to do a lot of aggressive marketing online.
This is particularly common among the dentists, chiropractors and even dermatologists. If you want to grow your practice, you should start implementing the following ideas immediately.
Start with Optimizing for Google Maps
Google My Business allows you to list your business on their directory. When you enter the right information, people around your city will find you when they enter your targeted keywords in the search engines.
To do this well, sign up with Google My Business, enter your name, address and phone number. After this, you’ll get a verification mail. Google does this to ensure that you are who you say you are.
Once verified, you’ll have to optimize your listings for your target keywords so you can start ranking on the SERPs.
It’s a bit more complicated, but getting ranked in the “map pack” allows you to enjoy the benefits of those highly coveted positions. Once you get ranked for high volume and in-demand keywords, you’ll find that your phone will start ringing off the hook.
Get Listed in Local Online Directories
You should get your business listed in the many local medical and business directories. Start with the more popular, highly trafficked ones and then work your way down to the less popular ones.
While this is tedious, the truth is it does pay off in the long run. But, if you don’t want to do it yourself, you can always hire search marketing experts to take care of that for you.
Local directories are great for both Google and your local patients. It tells Google that your practice is relevant for your local area, city or state. And it tells your potential patients where they can easily find you.
Remember, people tend to trust local medical practices more and are usually open to doing business with them.
Mobile Advertising Is Crucial
Do you know that 77 percent of all Americans own smartphones? And that they spend 7 out of every 10 minutes online on their mobile devices? That’s correct. Mobile is where most American internet users spend their time.
What does this mean for you? It’s simple: this is the best platform to connect with these folks. So, start thinking about advertising that’s solely targeted at mobile devices.
Display advertising campaigns can be designed to help you take full advantage of this. And when it’s combined with remarketing techniques, you’re bound to get great results.
Become Active on Social Media
Social media advertising is not only great for improving your practice’s visibility, but it also helps grow your practice faster. People love doctors, dentists or chiropractors who genuinely help.
Of course, you can’t diagnose medical issues over the internet. But still, having a social media presence lends your practice increased credibility. These days, most people check out their intended practices on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at least.
We’re not saying that you have to be on all three—although it’d be great if you could handle that, but pick one that works for you. Many medical practitioners find Facebook and/or Twitter enough.
Offer health tips, preventative measures, and anything that will help improve your patients’ well being. Medical practices with adequate social media presence tend to enjoy a lot of patronages because people trust them.
Invest in Content Marketing
Now more than ever, people are consuming content at a huge rate. More importantly, they tend to do business with practices that are top of mind for them.
By consistently publishing content on your blog, Youtube channel, or anywhere else for that matter, you’ll have an edge over your competition.
In fact, content marketing generates thrice as many appointments as regular outbound marketing for far less. That’s like the holy grail of marketing right there. Cheaper advertising for 300 percent more returns? We’ll take that anytime.
Partner with Medics in Complementary Fields
While this takes time, the reality is that it’s the bedrock of many successful practices. They partner with other specialists who refer patients to them. Of course, it goes without saying that you already have a good reputation.
You can do this by joining local medical associations, becoming more integrated into your local community, and networking with specialists in complementary fields. For instance, if you’re an orthodontist, you’ll want to partner with good dentists.
This way, they can refer patients who need your specialized skillsets, and you can refer patients who need theirs. Symbiotic partnerships are effective in helping you grow your practice.
Are there Other Effective Ways to Grow Your Practice?
Of course, there are other proven strategies that will help you grow your practice. For instance, ask for referrals from satisfied patients. Sometimes, patients will mostly refer others to you without being reminded. but, it’s also good to remind them.
Also, practice follow-ups, and see how your patients are doing after their treatment. This simple tactic is very underestimated, yet it’s capable of providing you with lifelong clients.
Also, make sure your service is top notch. Make your office warm and welcoming. Train your staff to treat each patient well. This is the stuff that keeps them coming back and spreading the word about your practice.
It’s often said that a satisfied patient will tell four others about their experience. And an unsatisfied one, will tell ten others and then some. This is why you must focus on delivering excellent healthcare services.
And, if you’d like some help with implementing some of the aforementioned strategies, get in touch with us at Spark Medical Marketing today.