Longevity logo

10 Marketing Strategies for Healthcare Practices

What are the best ways to market your healthcare practice

By Lynda ArbonPublished 2 years ago 6 min read
Like
10 Marketing Strategies for Healthcare Practices
Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash

Today, healthcare marketing can seem more challenging than ever. In an online environment that includes hospitals and large healthcare organizations, there are several healthcare marketing strategies that can help your practice stand out from the crowd and compete regardless of its size. Despite the challenges, connecting with prospective patients and promoting your practice doesn’t have to be a costly or complicated proposition.

Recent healthcare marketing trends closely mirror the trends in other industries. By following those trends, your healthcare marketing can distill what works in other digital marketing spaces and apply them in ways that can benefit your practice.

This article explores 10 healthcare marketing ideas that will help you get beyond traditional healthcare advertising and reach greater numbers of new patients and referring physicians. By implementing these strategies, you can grow your practice and ensure your success in this highly competitive field.

1. Know your competition and marketing trends

You can gain valuable insights by researching competitive health practitioners online to see how they make their practices stand out. The contact information for your practice should come up easily and consistently in search and should be listed in all directories including Yelp, Yahoo and Google. Include healthcare-specific sites like Vitals or Healthgrades.

Know what kinds of digital tools your competitors are offering patients. These can include practice health apps and telemedicine, which are currently trending as part of the digital healthcare revolution. By using these tools, you can signal to patients and referring physicians that you are an industry leader.

2. Create informative, relevant content for patients and physicians

People use the Internet to stay informed about their health and wellness. Leverage their interest by creating content that addresses health issues that potential new patients might be interested in or concerned about. Keep in mind that some of the most effective healthcare content doesn’t always require hiring a healthcare content marketing agency. That includes:

Blogs: These articles should feature educational content on your website. You can also look for opportunities to guest blog or have your blog featured on other digital publications. Guest blogging frames you as an expert in your field and can bring your practice to the attention of a fresh audience of patients and other physicians. Getting featured on another site also promotes valuable backlinks to your webpage, which improves search engine optimization.

Videos: Video has become the king of social media, and video healthcare marketing is no exception. Video content drives better rankings on Google while it elevates your social media profiles and drives engagement on YouTube and Facebook. Creating short, easily digestible videos doesn’t have to be rocket science. You can do it yourself using only a smartphone.

3. Smart healthcare marketers are keeping it local

Focus mainly on your local market. Most patients prefer to avoid travel outside their own communities for check-ups and medical procedures, which makes localized SEO critical to your marketing success. Give your practice a clear advantage by focusing on digital marketing to your local community and geography where you are more likely to find new patients. Your goal is to appear at the top of local search results.

4. Encourage reviews and cultivate social media responsiveness

Very few things drive positive first impressions quite like the real details of your patient’s experience written in online reviews. Patient experience reveals how your practice manages patient issues and financial details such as billing and supports open communication.

You can solicit patient feedback via satisfaction surveys and request online reviews directly during patient visits. And don’t forget about your social media presence. The goal is to stay connected with patients by being present in online spaces that are considered extensions of the patients’ community.

5. Develop your own digital marketing assets

Digital marketing assets should include consistent, relevant, high-quality messaging and content that conveys your expertise. Remember that online users only know what your marketing messages communicate. Make sure you are communicating professionally about topics that will interest your target audience.

6. Leverage relationships with current and former patients

Many medical practices focus mainly on attracting new patients. However, your current and former patients can also be a goldmine. You can retarget this group by promoting your newest services and procedures to them. Simply rewarding those patients for their loyalty can lead to increased satisfaction. Remember that previous patients can be your best source for referrals, so make outreach to this group a focus of your healthcare marketing strategies.

7. Attract your local patient community with an open house

Both virtual and in-person open houses can help increase the visibility of your practice and attract new patients to your community. You can foster a more successful event by offering incentives such as free food, fun activities for families, and discounted services. Think about leveraging your relationships with community leaders to encourage greater participation.

8. Optimize your website for a better patient/prospect experience

Visitors to your website are probably just trying to find certain information quickly. By creating a good user experience on your website, you can show that you’re a provider who cares about patient support and customer service. Think of your website as the lobby or reception area of your practice. Does it reflect how you’d like patients to be greeted and give them the information you want them to have? When evaluating the user experience on your website, ask yourself the following questions:

Does your website look good and function properly on mobile devices?

Your website should adjust automatically to accommodate different browsers, devices, and screen sizes, especially on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Use type fonts in your content that are easy to scan in sizes that don’t need to be adjusted for mobile viewing. Make sure you have the same functionality on mobile devices as you have on desktops and laptops.

How are users finding your website?

It all depends on your ranking in Google and which search terms or keywords are driving your results. You might learn that prospects are not finding your website from your main page. Perform an audit to learn how users are finding you online and which page(s) they are landing on when they arrive at your website.

Does your website load quickly?

Large images and other assets that haven’t been optimized can lead to long loading times for your site. Long loading times on your website have the same effect as long waiting times at your practice. If prospects or patients have to wait too long, they will leave and go elsewhere.

9. Hire a referring physician liaison

Physician liaisons specialize in creating and implementing referral programs and helping your healthcare practice make the right connections with potential referring physicians in your community. If you don’t have the budget to hire a professional practice liaison, identify someone from your staff to work on forging relationships with area physicians and building your referral program part-time. Even a little extra focus can pay big dividends in growing your patient base.

10. Effective communication is still your best healthcare marketing strategy

Make sure that every member of your team is communicating effectively and consistently with your patients. Staff interactions can dramatically improve the patient experience as well as your healthcare outcomes. Don’t forget that communication errors cause nearly a third of medical malpractice lawsuits, according to a 2016 study from CRICO Strategies.

Leverage technology to provide better two-way consultations, implement team huddles, standardize patient communication, and promote collaboration. Do everything possible to improve your internal practice communication.

how to
Like

About the Creator

Lynda Arbon

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.