With competition in the medical field intensifying, it is important for medical practices to come up with sophisticated marketing strategies to help reach potential patients. One of the best ways for medical practices to do this is by using content marketing to their advantage. According to Pew Research Center, nearly 72 percent of Internet users look online for healthcare-related information, and 77 percent of these searchers began their last search session using a search engine.
With the emergence of the latest technology, healthcare content marketing is the most recent trending technique. Traditional methods of advertising have displayed quick returns over the years, but with the rise of content as a means to promote and advertise, healthcare marketers are trying to change their ways.
Patients have become more inclined not only toward practices that are visually appealing but also that share worthwhile content. Due to this, many practices are investing in content marketing as they have realized that expensive marketing automation software or PR campaigns will not be of much use if the target audience is not engaged and reached. It may be difficult to generate high-quality content, but an effective content marketing strategy will be worth it in the end.
According to a recent study, websites that provide quality content attract 7.8 times more traffic than websites without informative and relevant content. This means patients like to be more aware of the products or services that are available, and this may become a game changer to healthcare marketers. Content marketing has been helping medical practices succeed as patients continue to rely on their information.
How can content marketing help your practice?
Tailored content can help patients trust your medical practice before they even contact you. According to research, 68 percent of customers prefer custom content because it is tailored to their needs and interests. In addition, 69 percent of customers believe they know more about a practice after reading custom content, and 61 percent of customers feel better about the practice.
Providing potential patients with tailored content allows them to have a better understanding of the services you provide and what they can expect if they schedule an appointment with your practice. It is critical to understand that the content must be written keeping the average person in mind. In order to connect with potential patients, avoid stuffing content with medical jargon that is not easily understood by your patients.
So, what can be done to make content more engaging to your target audience?
Personalization
Have you ever been to Starbucks for a cup of coffee? If yes, then you are familiar with their custom of writing the customer’s name on the cup and calling out the name once their coffee is ready.
Writing a customer’s name on a cup is similar to content marketing because it makes a conscious effort to personalize the experience and be relatable to customers. Some other examples of personalization are:
- Blog posts or testimonials from patients
- Infographics or video content addressing a patient or a group of patients
- In-depth information through pictures
- Behind-the-scenes glimpses of your practice or employees
These mediums give patents confidence that they are valued and not just target customers to whom you are trying to sell your products.
More than 2 million blogs are published every day, and most of them are not read by many people. Unless your content is tailored for a well-defined audience, it is probably invisible to the world. This is why niche practices and websites grow more quickly as compared to generic blogs. If you are still creating generic and thin blog posts, you are adding to the unnecessary noise on the web.
Nearly 56 percent of healthcare marketers believe that personalized content allows for higher engagement rates as it creates a direct line of feedback, which is more valued. Your readers are looking for solutions to specific problems. Content that helps them address those issues is likely to perform better.
Email marketing
Whoever said email marketing is dead must be eating his words right now. Email marketing has never been more crucial for niche healthcare marketers as it gives direct access to your potential patient’s undivided attention. It provides the ability to build patient relationships and cut through all the marketing noise on the Internet.
Studies reveal that an email message is five times more likely to be seen by a patient as compared to Facebook. In addition, for every dollar spent on email marketing, healthcare marketers earn $38 on average. That is an ROI of almost 3800 percent.
In 2017, the importance of email marketing has only increased, which is why it is critical to start building a list and engage your existing and potential patients. It is essential to write emails that help you get closer to your patients, foster a relationship and drive a higher CTR.
Facebook Groups
Facebook Groups are the new weapon of niche healthcare marketers. In fact, this has been used for quite some time now, but the masses have just started to take notice. More than 1 billion people use Facebook Groups, and that number is growing. Facebook has drastically reduced the organic reach of Pages, which means even if you have thousands of followers, your posts will not be visible to most of them unless you spend advertising money to boost your posts. Facebook Groups do not have any such limitations. All your posts will be visible to the group members, and you will have complete control over what gets posted to the group. In addition, since Facebook Groups are closed communities, they have a higher perceived value for your service, which results in active engagement.
Social media advertising
Create informative content, share it on your social media profiles, and let the traffic flow in. This used to be the norm for most content marketers. Unfortunately, it does not work anymore. These days, the organic reach of most Facebook posts is less than three percent. So, you cannot expect to achieve any significant results by sharing your posts on social media. An effective way is to boost your posts to specific and targeted audiences using Facebook Ads. While spending money on advertising might not be your choice, what if every dollar spent on advertising brings back $2 or $3 and enhances your list at the same time? Think about it.
Why should you wait for Google to rank your posts when you can achieve positive ROI by targeting the right audience on Facebook? However, you must try to convert the ad traffic into email subscribers so that you can contact them for free the next time.
Live video
Have you started creating videos for your medical practice? If not, you might already be behind most of your competitors. Video today is what blogging was a few years ago. Those who start sharing video content today will be ahead of their competitors in the next few years. Facebook is forecasting the end of the written word and hinting at becoming a video-only platform shortly. Most of the social media platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat and YouTube, already have live video features, and Instagram just joined them. Adding video to your healthcare content marketing strategy will bring several immediate benefits.
Look at this data:
- Facebook users spend triple the time watching live videos as compared to recorded ones.
- Adding a video to your website or blog post can increase the chance of making it to Google’s first page by 53 times.
- Including a video in your emails can increase the CTR by almost 300 percent.
- Product pages with videos drive 64 percent more sales.
Do you need more figures?
Final thoughts
Over the last few years, healthcare content marketing has been an effective way of attracting new patients and growing your practice. Despite many healthcare marketers being unsure if they should adapt to this, studies prove its effectiveness and that it is worth a try.
Medical content marketing is not a short-term play. It requires a proven and thoughtful approach based on educational and helpful information. However, when done strategically, it is an efficient way to connect patients with your practice and enjoy unique SEO benefits. Whether it is a blog post, eBook or website content, you can create a treasury of free content that tells the story of your practice and the service you offer.
Are you ready to kick-start a content marketing campaign for your medical practice? Contact us today to learn more about how Practice Builders can help with your healthcare marketing challenges. More information on how we can make a difference in your medical practice can be found here.