Medical practices have become more accessible than ever. A quick Google search will turn out hundreds of nearby medical practices in your area. It also comes with patient reviews, where you can learn about the overall reputation of a medical practice.
Putting together a medical marketing strategy is a huge endeavor, especially for medical professionals. The marketing world can be a little tricky, considering the endless marketing strategies and advertising options. So if you want to find the best marketing strategy, it should be effective enough to enhance your personal brand.
If you want to expand your medical practice through marketing, here are a few strategies you can do. Follow these tips to keep those patients coming.
1. Optimize Your Website
Your marketing efforts begin at your website. Like any other service provider, a medical practice needs a “home base” to publish content and accommodate current and potential patients. You don’t need to be a website wiz to build a website. The Internet offers plenty of website builders to get you started.
In building a website, make sure that you consider the following factors: page speed, customized features, mobile-responsive, and a user-friendly interface. Google prioritizes websites that care about user experience.
Keep in mind that your website is at the forefront of your medical practice. Improving the patient experience can make a difference in increasing potential leads and retention.
2. Work on Your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Working on your SEO means improving the likelihood of your website to show up on the first few pages of a search result. An excellent online presence on search engines (i.e., Google and Yahoo) can help drive potential leads, such as patients and referring doctors.
For example, a patient wants to know about herbalist doctors. By entering the search keyword “what is a herbalist doctor,” the search results will yield hundreds of websites that explain what a herbalist doctor does. The websites that land at the top results are often the ones with a strong SEO strategy.
There are several ways to build an effective SEO strategy. You can start with localization by adding your medical practice on local listings. Creating health-care-related content also helps with linking your pages to other websites.
3. Publish a Blog
A website will not be complete without engaging content. A sound content marketing strategy can increase website traffic, enhance brand awareness, and boost organic search. Content formats are available in different types, from newsletters, guides, webinars, polls, and podcasts.
Blogging is a popular type of content marketing strategy to establish your credibility as a thought leader in your medical specialty. Publishing blogs related to your medical practice offers plenty of opportunities to capture the attention of your audience.
Your topics can vary from healthcare news, medical trends, patient stories, treatments, and other informative pieces. As the website owner, you have the full freedom to post content related to your practice. However, make sure your content is interesting, educational, and timely.
4. Invest in Social Media Marketing
Social media is an integral part of every online marketing strategy. It plays an essential role in driving traffic to your practice website and reaching target leads. By creating a substantial online presence, your followers can share your content within the online community.
According to Statista, there are around 2.8 billion active users of Facebook worldwide. Any marketer will take advantage of these figures to reach as many audiences as possible. Setting up a Facebook page for your practice can help reach your current and potential patients. You can post noteworthy items, such as medical news, healthcare tips, and links to your website content.
5. Use Email Marketing
Sending emails is another way to reach new patients and keep them interested in your practice. By using email marketing, you can drive website traffic and brand awareness. A great place to start is to collect an email list from your existing patients, referrals, and social media followers.
If you plan to use email marketing, make sure to send emails to your contacts regularly. Look for ways you can grow your patient email list through your content. The content of your email should vary, from new promotions, updates, newsletters, links to your blog posts and news about your medical practice.
A successful email marketing strategy can help increase your referrals and additional appointment requests.
These marketing strategies can help grow your medical practice only if you follow them in a sustained manner. Instead of using one strategy, why not employ a mixture of these campaigns for better results? The beauty of these marketing tactics is that they can dramatically contribute to growing your patient base.