Technology has changed the way doctors and medical organizations provide treatment, interact with patients, and keep people educated with regard to their health. It’s also changed the marketing landscape in the medical industry.
The medical field is extremely competitive. In order to maintain current and future success, doctors and medical facilities must stay up-to-date on the latest digital marketing strategies.
Fortunately, there are many ways to reach your target audience. It’s no longer necessary to rely solely on print, email, and other traditional marketing initiatives.
If you’re ready to give your medical practice the boost it needs, keep reading. We’re breaking down some effective tactics for better medical practice marketing.
A Social Media Campaign
Sites like Facebook and Twitter provide an environment where people can find and share medical information, physician ads, and medical resources. As a healthcare provider, tapping into these platforms is a great marketing strategy.
Your office should have a detailed social media page for Facebook. Through this page, you can post news about your practice, articles, ads, and patient reviews.
Not only does a social media presence expose you to more people, but it also boosts your ranking in Google. Make sure you include all contact information, office hours, and a link to your website.
Social media also allow you to engage with potential patients. You can answer commonly-asked healthcare questions and provide resources pertaining to the healthcare industry.
This helps improve your online reputation and makes you memorable in the eyes of your audience.
PPC Campaigns
Getting that top spot in Google is hard to come by. It may benefit you to invest in sponsored ads that show up when someone searches for a specific medical service.
This technique is called pay-per-click (PPC). It provides targeted advertising for particular search queries.
A huge benefit of PPC is that you don’t have to wait for results. Because you’re paying for the spots, you control when and where they show up.
The great thing about PPC is you don’t pay unless someone clicks on your ad. In addition, you can take advantage of paid ads on Facebook and LinkedIn.
An effective PPC campaign requires a little keyword research. This is similar to the keywords you’d integrate into the content of your site to help it rank higher. With PPC, however, when someone searches the keyword phrase you bought an ad for, you’re site will show up near the top of the page.
Boost Your Reputation with Client Reviews
Your online reputation is critical to your success. Patient reviews play a huge part in shaping this reputation.
It’s commonplace for people to look at customer reviews and ratings before purchasing products and services. This applies to doctors as well.
Make sure you have a presence on sites like Yelp and Angie’s List. These sites allow patients to leave reviews after you’ve provided care.
You should also include a testimonials page on your website and add them to Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. This allows visitors to see what kind of experience you’re providing. Information like this instills trust and peace of mind in potential patients.
In addition to boosting the number of online reviews you have, it’s important to manage them. Responding to negative reviews shows you’re committed to improving your patient experience.
Custom Content
Today, the quality of your online content matters more than ever before. This means you need to ensure everything on your website and social media pages is custom-written and relevant.
You also need to expand the channels through with you deliver content. A blog offers the opportunity to inform the public while climbing higher in search engine results pages. It also shows you’re an authority in your particular area of practice.
You should also consider investing in high-quality video content. These videos can inform the public on current health issues and help advertise your practice.
Remember, any new content you create is perfect material for your social media sites. If it’s high-quality, there’s a better chance it will get shared.
Quality Search Engine Optimization
If you want to compete in your geographic area, you have to get found by people searching for health services online. This requires strong search engine optimization (SEO) performed on your website, blog, social media, and other online materials.
A strong SEO campaign involves a number of moving parts. You’ll first need to implement the right keywords into the content of your site. This requires research to uncover what people enter as search queries in Google when looking for the services your offer.
Your website must also load quickly. If it doesn’t, you risk losing visitors and potential patients. Google also penalizes websites with slow load times.
In addition, strong backlinks coming from relevant, authoritative sites help boost your search engine rankings. This requires a thought-out linking strategy.
Quality SEO is a complicated thing to achieve.
A Mobile-Friendly Approach
Providing a high-quality mobile experience is essential for any business today. With people engaging in online search more frequently on their mobile devices than PCs, you can’t neglect this component.
First, your website needs to employ responsive design. This means it displays and functions well on smartphones and tablets. But you need to go further than that.
Many private practices and hospitals offer mobile check-in functionality. This streamlines the appointment process for the patients and office.
In addition, offering mobile access to patients’ medical information is becoming more common. This puts the control in the hands of the patients and empowers them to take a proactive approach to their healthcare.
If your online presence isn’t mobile-friendly, talk to a professional developer about making the transition.
Get Results with These Medical Practice Marketing Tips
If you feel like your practice is getting eaten alive by the competition, it’s time to up your online marketing game. There are many ways you can reach your target audience and start attracting new patients in need of care.
Use the medical practice marketing tips discussed above and start seeing results in no time.
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