Healthcare organizations need to market their brand and capabilities in a very unique way if they wish to succeed. Fortunately for those in the healthcare sector, there are more ways than ever for medical practices and healthcare professionals to grow their presence through the web. Healthcare marketing online can be done in several ways during the spring season if you want to bring in more patients.
Social networks are popular amongst all kinds of people, but especially for those that are looking for a word of mouth referral. According to a study performed by Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group, 41% of people said that social media would have an impact on the doctor, medical facility, or hospital that they chose to visit. We try to stress to our healthcare clients that building up a strong social media following is important for those medical providers that want to make sure that positive word is getting out about their services.
To help your practice achieve this kind of following, offer contests to people on your social media pages like Facebook or Twitter. You can also offer a reward for people that like or check-in at your location on social media. Be certain that you engage with your followers and fans on these social networks: the point of social media is to provide a channel for two-way communication, not a way to release one-way advertisement blasts. You can also use social media to show that your organization is keeping up with current events by posting pictures or survey questions about the spring season.
Springtime is an ideal time for you to offer valuable information to help people cope with their health issues like allergies and colds. Helpful blog posts are important for all kinds of companies, but especially for healthcare marketing because of how frequently people are searching for information about medical issues online. According to Pew Research’s Internet Project, four out of five Internet users have looked on the web for information about 15 health topics like treatment for diseases or information about specific ailments.
To make your blogs timely to the season, try offering ways that people can deal with increased pollen levels or other ailments that are common to this time of the year. Some of our healthcare clients also incorporate springtime photographs or graphics in their blog posts. The key to blogging is to do it frequently and to provide information that establishes your practice as a trustworthy resource.
There is never a bad time to work on your search engine marketing, including the springtime. SEO will allow your medical facility to get seen on search engines when people perform certain keyword searches that are relevant to your practice. Many of our medical clients like to use geographic locations in their keywords, such as the state or city that their practice is located in. While not every healthcare professional is familiar with SEO, for quality healthcare marketing it cannot be ignored: Natalie Tornese reports that a study by HealthWorks Collective showed that 64% of Internet users looking for information about medical conditions will use a search engine like Google or Yahoo.
Healthcare marketing on the web is not always easy, but it is extremely valuable. Investing in your marketing will reap great rewards in the long run. As the flowers bloom and the temperatures rise, make sure that you are working on your marketing plan by improving in these three basic areas so that you can keep patients coming in all year.
