Doctors and dentists can get an unjustified reputation for having bad communication skills. After hearing jokes about illegible written prescriptions to bad beside manners, patients may come in to your practice expecting to get the cold shoulder or to be spoken down to.
Even if that’s not the case at your medical or dental practice, you can take extra steps to ensure that your communications attract patients and give you and your staff a great reputation. Since many potential patients will likely find you on the Internet first, here are some tips on ensuring that your web communications are top-notch:
Use a friendly tone
While you want to be sure that your communications are professional and showcase your healthcare knowledge, it’s also important to use a friendly tone. You can do this by using plain language or interspersing contractions, modern slang or popular sayings throughout your text. You can even try throwing in a joke if the context is clear. The choice is up to you, but the point is to make potential patients reading your text feel familiar and welcome.
Be concise
Try to keep your communications as short as possible. This will ensure that you don’t have people leaving your website because the text is too long, intricate or boring. Plus it will help you stay on message so you can communicate your mission for your practice to your audience clearly and effectively.
Use hashtags
On social media, and especially Twitter, hashtags are a way to connect to a target audience or community and to bring your post and practice to the attention of others. Be sure to use them with purpose so that you can always attract your target audience and keep your communications focused.
Our healthcare marketing consultants can help you develop a communications and healthcare marketing plan that can help you attract the patients you want. For more information, contact us at 800.679.1200 or by email at info@practicebuilders.com.