How is your online healthcare marketing game? If you create and implement strategies to connect with patients on the Internet so that you attract and retain them long-term, then you’re doing great. If you roll your eyes at the idea of online healthcare marketing, then we have three things to tell you.
- 1. Your customers are online. When customers have to make decisions, especially when it comes to their health and well-being (or the health and well-being of their loved ones), they do their research. Ninety-two percent of patients read online reviews of doctors, even if they’ve been given referrals by friends and family. Establishing a positive online reputation is crucial piece of successful healthcare marketing. If you don’t take charge of your online reputation, someone else will. Be proactive about making sure patients see you the way you want them to see you, not through the eyes of someone who posted something negative about you. Our reputation management tool is one of the best ways you can market your practice online.
- 2. Patients are now consumers. Rising healthcare costs has given patients a lot of power to choose which doctors they’ll see, research their own health conditions and switch providers at any point. When you treat patients as consumers – by arming them with information and making yourself accessible online, i.e. with a good website, patient education materials like a blog and a social media platform that allows you to communicate easily with them, patients are much more likely to choose and stay with you.
- 3. Online healthcare marketing helps you stand out from the competition. Since Americans are required to have health insurance, competition among healthcare providers is fierce. Online marketing strategies allow you to connect with patients on a personal level and show them that your practice is the best choice out there. For example, Anne Arundel’s Medical Center created a Facebook contest that required participants to post their best “stachie,” a selfie with either a real or fake mustache, to raise awareness for men’s health during November. And Tufts Medical Center created Our Circle of Moms, an online community and blog that supports mothers whose children are hospital patients.
Online healthcare marketing gives you a unique opportunity to connect with patients on an individual level quickly, demonstrating that your practice takes outstanding care of every single one of their patients – both inside and outside the practice doors. If you’re not using online healthcare marketing strategies, then you’re stagnating the success of your practice. For help deciding which online healthcare marketing strategy is right for you, contact us at 855-898-2710 or info@practicebuilders.com.