Overview
Over the years, digital marketing grew exponentially and attracted giant companies to join this wave and promote their business.
The healthcare system is no exception to this rule, as thousands of healthcare providers and other business owners are shifting to digital marketing for growth and self-promotion.
This article will cover the best marketing strategies for a small medical practice and social media’s power in this field.
The Best Marketing Strategies for a Small Medical Practice
- Content Marketing
This step is crucial if you already have a website.
Putting your contact information on a static webpage won’t do the trick anymore. Instead, modernize your website by adding visuals, videos, and audio content for your potential patients. It would help if you also made sure that the interface is easy-to-browse.
Additionally, make it easy for your patients to set an appointment via your website as it’s the preferred way to do anything these days.
The website can also serve as a platform to gather information about your patients to see which age groups, gender, and chief complaints commonly seek your help.
Collecting this information (with your visitors’ consent) will help you optimize your practice to enhance their experience and meet their needs.
- Blogging
Blogging is one of the best ways to attract new patients to your website since the traffic will most likely come from Google searches that patients type. Make sure to write helpful and unique content to bring organic traffic your way.
However, with the increased competition in healthcare, you need to be careful about approaching this field.
Today, several reputable websites have been publishing content for years. Search engines prefer these websites due to various factors, including reputability, credibility, rich content, and a less known factor called backlinks.
When other reputable websites link back to your pages, Google and other search engines will interpret this as a good sign. Consequently, they will rank your blog posts higher on the search pages.
The collection of factors or algorithms that control how high you rank on Google is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It would help if you learned or hire someone with the expertise to promote your content.
Examples of such websites include WebMD, Healthline, and MedicalNewsToday.
Note that websites of formal healthcare organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Society of Hematology, are generally on top of the search page due to their reputation.
The best part about blogging is that it doesn’t cost you anything. Your only outlay is the website’s hosting and domain name, which can cost as little as $10 a month.
The rest is up to you and how hard you work on writing and promoting your content.
- Manage both your business and practitioner listings
Many doctors neglect this step, which makes them lose a substantial number of prospective patients.
You need to claim your Google listings and verify them for your business and practitioner listings. Make sure that both listings are confirmed to avoid having them modified by strangers and scammers.
Completing this task will make it easier for potential patients to find and choose you.
Social media marketing strategies for doctors
If you are not a fan of content writing, you might consider promoting your website and services via social media platforms. such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.
Due to the massive traffic that these websites get daily, you will be digging into a goldmine, facilitating the process of reaching new patients.
According to Pew Research Center, more than 80% of internet users search for health information on social media, with 50% of them looking for information about a specific doctor.
After creating content on social media, do not forget to ask your readers for reviews. Positive reviews on platforms, such as Facebook, show new readers – prospective patients – that you are a reasonable, reputable, and trustworthy doctor.
You can do this externally by asking patients who visit your clinic to review your practice online (on Google and Facebook). For many doctors, this is an embarrassing step. Therefore, you can ask one of your assistants to do it.
Finally, you need to monitor your Facebook page and reply to negative reviews with reasonable clarifications.
Digital marketing tips for doctors
Using inbound marketing for medical practice proved to be an effective way to get new patients and promote yourself as a trusted medical figure.
Depending on your preferences, you can opt for written content, videos, or podcasts.
Here are some general digital marketing tips for doctors:
Be genuine – after becoming a digital influencer, many doctors fall into the trap of recommending products with questionable effectiveness due to lucrative commissions. When you grow online, you will inevitably receive tempting offers from companies that want you to promote their services or products.
If you believe that the company’s offering will truly help your patients, it is all right to promote their products. However, neglecting to research to confirm whether their offer is genuine or not will harm you in the long run.
An excellent way to choose which companies to promote is by asking yourself whether you will use the offered products or services.
Avoid scams – this tip falls into the category of the previous one. It would be best if you avoid any potential scams that might hurt your patients and reputations.
Create a community – the online world is like a real community, which means you need to be regularly present to have conversations with your readers about things related to your field.
Takeaway message
Using digital marketing to grow your practice is a legitimate and lucrative way that gives you a head-start compared to other healthcare professionals who are still doing it the old fashion way.
Hopefully, this article helped shed some light on the importance of using marketing to your advantage, but if you still have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask in the comment section below.
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