A Failproof Guide to Driving Healthcare Digital Marketing Success
The healthcare industry continues to be progressive with its reliance on technology and consumer-centric interface, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t lagging behind other industries. With its duty of care, healthcare organizations must follow certain protocols and regulations. This can leave many doctors, practices, and specialists wondering how they can take advantage of digital marketing and how it can help them.
After all, marketing is not a priority when it comes to healthcare. Patient care is, and rightfully so. But with 77% of patients researching online before booking an appointment, doctors, hospitals, and practices need to consider drafting a digital marketing strategy.
Like any other industry, you need to speak with and engage with your patients. Asking them what they think and how you can improve is essential to not only improving your medical practice but showing that you care. Read the below guide.
Healthcare: Traditional to Digital Marketing Methods
In the past, healthcare marketing (much like everything else) relied on traditional methods like print, direct mail, and even radio adverts. There was no way to measure and adapt marketing campaigns, so marketers had to launch a campaign and, effectively, hope for the best. This is very different from today’s marketing tactics.
Everything is online now, and if you are not, you are missing out on reaching more potential patients but also putting a negative reputation on your practice. Why? People trust companies, businesses, and organizations more if they have an online presence. It’s as simple as that, really.
People want to see hospital reviews, doctor ratings, the treatment they will receive, services available, and photos of the doctors and staff. Nowadays, people are more wary of the treatment they will receive, as well as how much it will cost. Back in the day, patients were less proactive with their health and would head to any hospital available to them, but now, we are more health-conscious and want to know where our money is going. Remember, the cost of healthcare is on the rise; we do not want to part with our money unless we really have to, or the procedure is exactly what we want/need.
4 Keys to a Solid Healthcare Digital Marketing Strategy for 2020
Optimize Everything for Search
Search engines are powerful machines. We use them each and every day, from looking up who starred in what movie to which hospitals perform certain surgeries. Typically, we use our mobile devices, so ensuring your healthcare organization’s website is mobile-friendly should be high up on your list.
It doesn’t end there, though. Healthcare marketers can increase their organic reach through content creation and keyword research. Blog posts, video creation, infographics – these are all powerful tools, and if you know how to optimize such content, they’re easy to create.
First, find the keywords you want to target (look at your competitors and use Google to search for common health-related questions relevant to your healthcare organization). Once this is done, create content around relevant questions that your patients will have and search. Make sure it is well-researched, full of relevant and useful information, and easy-to-read.
Upload the content on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Making your content shareable offers better engagement levels.
Video Marketing
Using video on landing pages can increase conversions by up to 80%, and considering healthcare is a personal industry and narrative-rich, video can be a powerful tool. Publish videos that recount patient stories, testimonials, and surgery walk-throughs. Explain how certain diseases occur, how you can counter them, as well as advice on how to live a healthier lifestyle. Your content can touch as many topics as possible, as long as they are relevant to what your healthcare organization specializes in.
Video is a great way to spread your message because of its visual format. People are more likely to watch your video than read a long-form article; remember to add subtitles to your videos, though!
Utilize Highly Personalized Marketing Campaigns
You’ve heard it before regarding marketing campaigns in general, but when it comes to the subject of health, it becomes much more personal. Health impacts us on a deeply personal level, so you need to encapsulate this properly.
The first step is understanding your target audience. Having a healthcare CRM is the best tool to have when creating ultra-focused personas.
Target patient personas are created by compiling the following information:
- Age
- Gender
- Residence
- Marital status
- Income
- Job
- Etc.
As a healthcare organization, you will want to target you ideal patient personas. Download our free marketing guide which includes a patient persona worksheet.
Track Your Performance
Marketing analytics allow you to keep tabs on how well your digital marketing campaign is going; you can see the stats and figures in real-time, meaning you can make quick changes to your strategy if needed.
Healthcare marketers should check on:
- Blog traffic
- Social engagement
- Email open rates
- Conversion metrics
- Click-through rates
Again, a healthcare CRM is a useful tool that can help measure such data.
Remember, though, that you need to ensure that when tracking and collecting data, your healthcare organization and marketers are adhering to HIPAA’s policies. You must respect the regulations in place so that you avoid violations.
The digital age has helped healthcare evolve into what it is today. By utilizing the tools that are available to healthcare marketers, you can continue to provide the best treatment to your patients. Digital landscapes will continue to change, so be sure to keep an eye on the latest digital marketing trends if you are to stay ahead.