Leverage the power of digital marketing in healthcare

There are approximately one million healthcare companies in the United States, making this industry a competitive market in which consumers have an advantage. Most important to healthcare consumers is accessibility, convenience and an increased patient experience.

Digital marketing can help healthcare companies and their providers stay ahead of the competition, engage, educate, and influence consumers through the use of effective strategies that target a core audience through digital platforms such as social media channels, user-friendly apps, and a company website. Digital marketing can have a significant impact on primary care physicians’ practices, as a strong online presence can engage existing patients and attract new patients.

It also allows healthcare providers to interact with patients on a more personal level. They can access information about their health conditions and treatment options from anywhere at any time using their smartphone or computer. This increased accessibility leads to better patient engagement and satisfaction and has been shown to improve patient outcomes.

By targeting specific groups of patients, healthcare companies can tailor their marketing messages and services to better meet their needs. They can increase their revenue by getting more patients interested in their services, which leads to increased profitability and growth. Compared to traditional forms of advertising, such as billboards or television ads that require large investments, digital marketing is relatively inexpensive but highly effective.

The pandemic has driven the need for digital marketing, highlighting healthcare accessibility, with more consumers turning to digital platforms to get their medical information, schedule appointments, learn about clinic service line offerings, and even receive virtual care. It is similar to consumers who buy goods online. They want their transactions to be fast, knowledgeable, and easy to use – that’s what patients look for in healthcare providers.

As competition in healthcare increases and more consumers turn to digital platforms for their medical information, whether online or user-friendly apps, it is more important than ever that healthcare leaders consider how digital healthcare strategies can help them. in achieving their business objectives.

Here, we’ll break down those forms of digital marketing that can help healthcare providers engage and target potential patients and how to use those specific tools.

Forms of digital marketing in healthcare

Given that 80% of consumers have used the Internet for healthcare-related research and that 63% of respondents would choose a service provider because of a strong online presence, online visibility is critical for healthcare organizations to attract potential patients.

The good news is that with a few simple, focused tactics, you can make a huge difference in your digital marketing efforts:

Targeted ads

Targeted advertising can be very effective, but providers need to consider marketing compliance with the 1996 Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This means that you can share general information about a practice, line of service offerings, products, etc. However, you may only mention a patient by name or disclose identifying information in your marketing materials only if they have signed HIPAA approval documents.

Simple but important measures should also be taken when developing marketing materials that highlight a practice. For example, be aware of the photos you take of your office. Are there patients visible in the pictures? Can you read the name on the vial the doctor is holding? Any patient information that is used and not first approved by the patient means that you are not complying with HIPAA regulations.

The best thing you can do to protect your practice and your patients is to retain a HIPAA-compliant digital marketing partner who can help guide you. The US Department of Health and Human Services provides excellent information on the HIPAA privacy rule and marketing.

While these rules can discourage a healthcare organization from using target marketing, when done correctly, they allow for focused marketing efforts on the groups of people most likely to need specific services or products. This can help avoid wasted marketing resources to individuals who are unlikely to seek help with advertised health care services.

Social media marketing

Social media marketing has emerged as a powerful tool for reaching and engaging with potential patients. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram provide ample opportunities for healthcare providers to share their experiences and educate people about various health issues.

For example, a dermatologist can share tips on skin care procedures, recommend their favorite sunburn precautions, and encourage people to visit their office for a skin exam. By sharing relevant and engaging content – such as seasonal health messages or the latest innovations and studies – healthcare providers can establish themselves as thought leaders and build trust with current and potential patients.

Furthermore, social media marketing allows healthcare providers to use targeted advertising to reach specific patient demographics. For example, a fertility clinic could target its ads to women between the ages of 24 and 35 who are trying to conceive. This helps ensure that your content reaches the people who are most likely to benefit from these services.

Whether through educational videos, blog posts, or interactive social media campaigns, healthcare providers who maximize their social media presence can build a strong online presence that attracts new patients and helps retain existing patients.

Email and SMS marketing

Email marketing has emerged as a powerful tool for informing patients of their appointments and new services offered by the clinic. Text messaging has also become a preferred method of communication for reminders, scheduling, and follow-up surveys. By sending personalized emails or even text messages, healthcare providers can improve the patient care experience and maintain patients’ loyalty to the practice or organization.

For example, a pediatrician could use text messaging to send parents reminders of their child’s upcoming appointments and ask about their caregiver’s chances of improving their next visit.

Similarly, at the hospital level, an organization can use email marketing to inform patients about new procedures, technologies, or treatments they are offering. Since these updates are usually less frequent, regular contacts for timely health or service line information, such as advice on kid-friendly lunch ideas for back to school, or fun developmental activities by age. With additional customization by audience, for example by age group, emails can be tailored to specific patient needs to increase patient engagement.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an effective digital marketing strategy for healthcare providers to increase their online visibility and attract potential patients. By optimizing their website with keywords related to their areas of expertise, healthcare providers can improve their search engine rankings and appear higher on search engine results pages.

For example, an orthopedic surgeon might optimize his website for the keyword “knee replacement surgery,” so that it appears at the top of search engine results for that keyword. This means that when someone searches for “knee replacement surgery,” the orthopedic surgeon’s website is more likely to appear at the top of the search engine, making it easier for potential patients to find them.

Other SEO tactics include backlinking strategies to get other websites to link to your practice website. This improves the health care facility’s authority and credibility, which ultimately helps improve the search engine ranking of its website.

SEO not only improves the visibility of a healthcare provider online, but also helps attract patients who are specifically looking for the services they provide. This ensures healthcare providers can attract highly targeted website traffic, which is more likely to convert to new patients.

Moreover, SEO is a long-term digital marketing strategy that pays off over a longer period. By constantly improving their website, healthcare providers can maintain their high rankings in search engine results, stay ahead of their competitors and attract more patients over time.

Pay-per-click advertising

Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, where advertisers pay search engine platforms like Google or Bing to display their ads on top of search results pages, is an inorganic method of improving your SEO that can yield significant profits.

For medical facilities, PPC advertising can be an effective way to increase site visitors by targeting people searching for keywords related to the facility’s services. This marketing tactic can yield immediate results as PPC campaigns generate traffic as soon as they are launched.

For example, if a facility offers treatment for anxiety and depression, it can create a PPC campaign targeting people who are looking for “anxiety treatment near me” or “depression treatment.” By doing so, the facility can show personalized ads that focus on their expertise in treating anxiety and depression.

Conclusion

Digital marketing has become an essential tool for healthcare providers. Its primary goal is to improve patient engagement and increase visibility, which ultimately leads to an increased revenue stream. To achieve this, healthcare providers can use multiple strategies and combine different digital marketing techniques to enhance overall performance measures across the board.

Summer Craig, MA, is Founder and President of The Craig Group, a technology-driven sales and marketing consulting firm specializing in revenue growth for middle-market private equity-backed portfolio companies. They bring a revenue-focused perspective to marketing, with leading expertise in marketing and digital operations teams responsible for media investments in excess of $100 million. Prior to founding the Craig Group, she held senior positions at GSD&M, Zenith Optimedia, Travelocity, HomeAway.com, and Gulf States Toyota.