If you’re struggling to come up with healthcare marketing ideas to help elevate your practice, here are some simple strategies to incorporate into your content marketing plan that can help you attract new patients — and delight your loyal customers.
Many medical professionals who are having trouble attracting new patients wonder, “How can I promote my health business?” In today’s day and age, patients are making medical decisions a bit differently than how they did in the past. Consumers in general are looking to engage with brands and businesses that they find credible and trustworthy — and medical practices are no different. When patients are searching for a doctor or a clinic to take care of themselves or their family members, they’re looking for a practice that is valuable.
These five healthcare marketing ideas can help you tailor your content strategy to your growth targets.
1. Maintain a strong social media presence
We know, we know — you have probably heard the “social media is important to your marketing strategy” lecture a million times and more. But it’s true! It’s not enough to just be on the platforms either — it’s crucial to use each platform uniquely and to their full potential to make the most of the opportunities they present.
As of April of this year, there are 4.65 billion social media users worldwide. Even if you are not trying to reach people in China while your practice is in Texas, excluding proper social media practices from your healthcare marketing strategy means you are depriving potential patients of building a relationship with your brand…and that’s what social media is all about: building relationships.
Patients may not be aware that they are in need of your services until disaster strikes. However, if you maintain a strong social media presence that produces informational and entertaining content, potential patients are more likely to remember your brand when they are searching for a clinic or healthcare practice for help.
2. Create SEO-driven blog posts
Back in the olden days, the art of blogging seemed to be reserved for fashionistas reporting on the latest trends, home cooks that loved to over-share about their vacation to Italy (just give me the spaghetti recipe!), and mommy bloggers eager to tell how this new stroller changed her life. Nowadays, blogging is seen as a valuable tool for information sharing for many brands and businesses.
There are many reasons why your healthcare practice should be blogging. First, on-page SEO-driven blogs that utilize intent-based keywords improve the likelihood of search engines like Google making your content visible to users. Second, blogs give the opportunity to set your practice apart from competitors by allowing you to spell out what makes your practice and its offerings unique to the patient experience. Lastly, well-written blog posts establish credibility by providing your patients with a reliable resource that can help them to make an informed decision.
Before you begin cranking out blog content stuffed with high-volume keywords, read over our article about debunking common SEO myths so that you can avoid common mistakes while you implement your content strategy.
3. Take advantage of video marketing
The rise of TikTok and the utilization of YouTube for marketing has launched video marketing to the front of most marketing conversations. Video is a more attention-grabbing form of content that can keep audiences engaged for longer and can be used to attract new patients in an effective and efficient manner. Although video has become the desired medium on all social media platforms, healthcare professionals underutilize video marketing to an alarming degree.
Some people may believe that videos take too much time to create, edit, and post but with more accessible tools like Reels on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube shorts, you can create fun, quick, and informative videos to promote your practice. You can even incorporate videos into blog posts to add a little interaction to an informative piece of content.
Video marketing allows you to incorporate employees or show off positive patient testimonials in a way that can foster trust, familiarity, and credibility with your audience. The more they see you, the more likely they are to engage with you.
4. Cultivate patient reviews
People want to hear from people. Word-of-mouth is one of the strongest vessels for attracting new patients to your practice. Sure, a person may follow you on social media and enjoy your content, but how do they know that your practice is a quality place to find care? Cultivating and sharing patient reviews and sharing them on your platforms is a great way to show your audience what to expect as a patient through the lens of fellow patients’ experiences. Positive reviews portray levels of trust that just can’t be beaten.
If you think about it, reviews on platforms including Google, Facebook, and Yelp feel like free advertising — you don’t have to tell a potential patient how amazing your practice is, your loyal customers can do the heavy lifting for you.
5. Increase the effectiveness of your website
Your website is the foundation of your practice’s marketing efforts. While there are many other moving parts that have unique functions, all of your online efforts should point back to your website as the central structure. This is your practice’s informational hub where potential patients can find any and all important information they will need to know before making any conversion. Whether that’s scheduling an appointment online or searching for your practice’s geographical location, you want to make sure that your website is fully optimized for successful patient interaction. Nothing turns users away faster than slow loading times and a confusing layout!
A good website is one that is designed for conversion, fully reflects your brand, has a compelling yet functional design, and is updated and maintained regularly. Do any of these traits not sound like your current site? If so, this is a sign you need a new website. A well-designed and easy-to-use website can draw people in to engage with your content for longer, building a more foundational relationship with your brand and business.
Baal & Spots can carry out your digital healthcare marketing ideas and more!
Are you unsure where to start implementing strategic and effective healthcare marketing ideas? Healthcare practice, meet Baal & Spots — a full-service digital marketing agency that takes an elevated approach to growing your brand in the digital sphere. Our team leverages results-driven marketing strategy in order to figure out what will work best for your practice and identify the types of patients that you want to attract. We understand that digital marketing can seem a bit daunting to beginners but with the right professional partner by your side, you can see your business grow in ways you never thought were possible.
If you’d like to discuss what healthcare marketing ideas would be beneficial for your medical practice, let’s have a chat!