Along with food, health products have been the most sought after and demanded online in recent months. It is also one of the sectors with the highest conversion rate, around 2.38% (including health and beauty), according to data from a recent study. Today, 77% of patients do online research to book an appointment. Another study by Pew Internet and the American Life Project found that 93 million Americans (about 80% of Internet users) searched for health products online. It means that specialized healthcare sectors (medical, insurance companies, independent healthcare professionals, pharmacies, etc.) have an open horizon in the online environment.
It has become apparent that consumers and patients are using online resources for both initial education and ongoing care. Therefore, it is increasingly important for organizations to use digital marketing to improve patient engagement and care outcomes.
Hospitals should primarily promote their services to increase awareness, patient flow, customer loyalty, and retain customers. Marketing is the key to putting your business on the path to success through digital platforms. However, the way we drive forward and choose the right way to promote the service is imperative.
What is Healthcare Digital Marketing?
Healthcare marketing methods have evolved from traditional to digital processes.
Healthcare marketing focused on traditional methods such as printing, television, radio, and direct mail in the past. The sellers launched the campaign to get the best out of real-time adaptation when placing ads.
Today’s health care consumers are very different from the health consumers of the past. Patients live longer, healthier lives and rely less on health organizations. Patients now have access to more research on the internet, which means they can be more accurate about the services they receive. They can also access doctor reviews, ratings, and online forums to connect with other patients who may have a similar condition.
Digital marketing enables service providers to advertise their offerings through networks and attract a growing online community. In today’s fast-paced digital age, digital marketing is an essential investment for suppliers. Digital marketing not only helps the healthcare system stay connected to current and future patients, but it also helps connect and retain patients and physicians online.
Digital marketing plan in the health sector
Health is one of society’s greatest concerns, as can be seen in the volume of searches made on this word (from 10,000 to 100,000 visits per month with the term health alone). And it is that the internet has become the source of consultation for the vast majority, at least, to quickly find an answer to the symptoms we suffer from.
Insurance companies are the ones that have best known how to perceive this need, and that is why many have launched their mobile health applications. They have content on their corporate blog and even have a specific platform, as in the case of Mapfre and its “We take care of you” program (for policyholders), where you can contact a family doctor, pediatrician, or psychologist, free of charge.
Brand visibility and recognition
A digital marketing plan is the most direct and effective way to achieve visibility and brand recognition. Companies that are socially responsible improve their branding, strengthen their positioning and generate engagement with society. It is a way to humanize the brand and make it closer to the problems that concern society and its community.
As in any other sector, it is essential, before launching into action, to be clear about the objectives to be achieved: recognition or strengthening of the brand image. Besides, we must be aware of how to attract new patients; retain patients who already trust the brand.
The next step is to outline a strategy to achieve these objectives:
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Content Strategy.
It helps to attract patients with information of interest. Within this strategy, the actions that can be carried out are the creation of a corporate blog, infographics, explanatory videos, a checklist with tips, applied studies.
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Social Media Strategy.
To reach the public and achieve visibility, we cannot leave aside social networks. 34% of RRSS users use these channels to find out about health-related issues.
During COVID-19, Instagram became the network par excellence for webinars of health specialists (pediatricians, psychologists). Through a digital platform, they provide their vision of the situation and give guidelines to cope with it in the best possible way. An example of the use of social networks with good results is that of pediatrician Dr. Mona Amin (25.3k followers), Dr. Carina Saunders (10.2k followers), and Dr. Justin Smith (4k followers).
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SEO Strategy.
Healthcare marketers should keep search engine optimization (SEO) in mind when looking at digital approaches. Because SEO is essential to achieve visibility and positioning. You have to take into account local SEO (Google My Business), in-site SEO (aspects related to the web: architecture, internal linking, tags, keyword density, title, description, etc.), and technical SEO (speed of the web, cache, structured data, tracking, visibility, etc.).
Healthcare marketers can help search engines identify and position organic content such as blog posts, patient experiences, and informative photos or videos by tagging relevant keywords and writing information about an information page. As with other technologies, market participants need to ensure that they produce content that matches their word and the unique structure of the query.
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Email Marketing Strategy.
Once a user has registered, it is important to follow the email marketing strategies. For example, through a form with an e-book incentive, ‘educate’ the potential client towards conversions in a friendly way. Also, as loyalty tools, send emails with satisfaction surveys, exclusive services to customers, news, etc.). Regarding the periodicity of these emails, as long as valuable content is available, it is easy to send an email once a week. If not, send a newsletter every month. Choose to send it from Tuesday to Thursday, from 10 to 12 hours, because the open rate is usually higher.
6 Most effective tools to leverage in 2022
In summary, the most effective tools for health-related brands are the following:
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Infographic
Infographics help a lot to explain health issues simply and entertainingly. It is a very effective tool to gain visibility since users often share it. The technical language often used in the healthcare field is easier to understand through these graphic elements.
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Forums
Forums are a powerful tool if you have professionals who can answer user queries. The procedure is simple: a topic is launched for users to send their questions. It is a way to humanize the brand and be close to customers.
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Email
As we have already indicated before, we must demonstrate to clients or future clients that we are close to them to provide solutions to their problems. Emails with content that adds value is a good way to demonstrate it. Since users will have different concerns, different email marketing strategies can be defined, with automated emails based on user behavior. In this way, the emails they receive are further personalized.
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Video
In all sectors, video is becoming increasingly important. You have to make it through tutorials, webinars with live consultations, and video calls with experts.
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Blog
The blog is the space par excellence to publish content and related news. And it is the most effective way to attract visitors to the web.
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Social media
Social networks are one more channel of communication and, therefore, we cannot do without them. The reality is that users go directly to social networks to contact brands for the expected convenience and immediate response.
These actions can help you attract customers and position your brand as a benchmark in the sector. And most importantly, to always make the right choice, and empathize with the user. Your potential client will want to find you as you would like to find yourself.
If you want to know more about Digital Marketing in Healthcare, we can help you with the strategy.
Final Thought
Digital marketing has helped the healthcare industry flourish. Using search engines as tools, powerful multimedia content, increasing patient awareness on social media, and campaign analytics increase patient engagement and retention. As a result, healthcare marketers can prove themselves in the C-Suite, driving better patient care.
If you want to enhance your social media presence and build effective digital marketing strategies, feel free to contact us. At our Healthcare Marketing Agency, we strive to deliver fruitful and cost-effective digital marketing services to healthcare sectors. So, count on us to build your online reputation and attract your potential patients.
