We already know that digital marketing is a strong trend in the market. But how can it impact the medical field specifically? We brought this complete guide to digital medical marketing to explain how the sector has evolved along with consumer behavior and new trends. Could you keep reading to learn more about it?
How has digital medical marketing evolved?
Traditional marketing remains strong in the healthcare marketing agency. Many continue to use advertisements in newspapers, magazines, billboards, and other outlets to attract new patients or referrals. We do not mean that these channels are dead. On the contrary, they remain an important way of promoting the brand.
However, digital marketing for doctors deserves even more attention with techniques and channels that keep evolving. The consumer is changing and the ways of communicating too. Those who work with health management must be aware of new technologies and forms of dissemination.
We brought complete information about the new trends in digital marketing for doctors and dentists and how to apply them in your clinic, hospital, or dental clinic.
The new consumer behavior interferes with hospital management
Our reason for saying that digital marketing for doctors is a necessity these days goes beyond “everyone is doing it.” In reality, many businesses still don’t invest as much as they should in such strategies, and that’s a mistake because the consumer won’t wait.
A generation ago, the search for a health service was practically manual. Then, health insurance referrals and telephone directories were the main sources of information that everyone adopted. As a result, today, there are dozens of ways to find a clinic or hospital, starting with a tap on your cell phone screen.
Potential patients begin their journey searching for healthcare services before they even know your business exists. First, they search for symptoms, diseases, and even medicines on Google. Other times they ask for directions in Facebook groups or spend hours looking at posts in hashtags on Instagram.
The big question remains: how will this person find your business if you are not on all of these channels we mentioned? It just won’t or will take much longer to get there.
Advantages of using digital medical marketing for your business
A warning to navigators: digital medical marketing is not an expense or waste. It is an investment. The practice is extremely advantageous in a world where almost everyone has a smartphone and accounts on social networks. Want to know why? We helped. Check it out below.
Digital access is growing
Internet access continues to grow, regardless of the age group we are talking about. In 2019, we reached 134 million people who used the internet, and we guarantee that a good portion of them is affected by digital medical marketing. Internet growth until March 2020 reached 70%.
Therefore, the excuses we used to hear for not using online strategies are not true anymore. Perhaps you have already said this yourself:
- My audience is very local;
- My audience is very old;
- I serve very specific segments.
None of this means your prospective patients aren’t online. On the contrary, the internet is certainly one of the most used communication methods.
New communication channels affect dental and digital marketing for doctors
There were few social networks and communication channels when the internet was still much less popular. Perhaps only Myspace and Orkut for most users, many of them still didn’t even consider the possibility of buying online. However, the digital revolutions have brought more and more novelties.
Today there are dozens of social networks. From Facebook to Instagram, Tiktok and Tumblr, and many other niche networks. Businesses that can identify and reach their audience in the appropriate network can greatly improve their results.
Digital marketing is based on proper and closer communication between companies and consumers. In addition to advertising, you need to allow your customers to have a variety of communication channels available. This improves loyalty and increases your chances of converting prospects into patients by offering a complete user experience.
Medical digital marketing brings more patients through search engines
Almost every shopping journey today starts with a search on search engines. Google is the access champion and is used for just about everything. Whether it’s recipes, products, or tips, your potential customers will surely use it at some point. In addition, it is widely used to find clinics and offices and referrals from healthcare professionals.
How about reaching users who are already interested in your service and choosing the professional they want to visit? Being close to them during the buying journey helps create a relationship and, little by little, bring them closer. That way, when the person decides to visit the doctor, they will remember your clinic or you.
Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach potential customers throughout the buying process.
Attract an audience that is actively interested in the service using digital marketing for doctors
When someone googles “gastroesophageal reflux symptoms,” we know she is not just any customer. It is someone experiencing symptoms that could be the disease or know someone experiencing it. That is, it is a person who will soon need an appointment with a gastroenterologist or will be decisive when indicating one.
This is the reality of digital marketing: when well used, you can reach people interested in your service. Thus, your number of contacts and appointments increases considerably.
Compared to offline marketing, we can see a very clear difference. Billboards and printed materials reach random people who may or may not be your target audience or may not be interested in your service at that time. Although it can be a little more targeted according to the location of the material, it is still not possible to refine the target audience or moment in the purchase journey.
Increased profitability in hospital marketing
After applying the steps, we will explain below, the result of medical marketing will be just one: increased profitability and visibility of any business in the health area. Whether this is an office, a medical or dental clinic, or a hospital, everyone achieves better results through online dissemination.
The digital strategy achieves:
- Increase the number of contacts;
- Improve the number of appointments;
- Bring greater visibility to a clinic or hospital procedures;
- Increase demand for higher added value services;
- Improve the number of referrals.
That is, it is a powerful tool to increase sales. In addition, it greatly improves customer loyalty, bringing them to the clinic or office more frequently. It is a world of advantages to be explored by those who work with health management.
Step by step to start working with digital medical marketing
Do you want to start enjoying digital marketing for your healthcare business? Then it’s time to begin to get new customers and patients through the internet. It all starts by designing a proper digital strategy.
In it, the company must consider some factors before starting any communication:
- The institution’s long-term mission;
- Your current market and target audience;
- Current position in the market (new company, already specialist, traditional, etc.);
- Metrics to assess the success of the strategy.
After this initial survey, it’s time to start with specific digital techniques. Is ready? We have a lot of content about digital to pass on in the next topics!
Website optimization to increase access to digital marketing for doctors
First, your website needs to be prepared for when potential customers start coming to it. It must be responsive and adapt to mobile devices, ensuring a seamless experience wherever the user wants to access it. Charging time also needs to be as short as possible.
When someone tries to access your website, and it takes more than 20s to load, the chances of giving up are high. For this, it is important to work with good hosting and programming of the portal. In many cases, it is necessary to hire digital marketing companies to ensure the site is suitable. Thus, experts can ensure that all factors that affect the user experience are satisfactory.
SEO and strategic marketing for healthcare with local positioning
Some people search for services or businesses according to their location. This generates research, such as “hospital São Paulo,” “orthopedist Rio de Janeiro,” among others. Applying SEO optimization to achieve good local positioning is one of the bases for increasing the number of bookings.
Any organization with a physical location that customers can visit must optimize its website for local search results. For this, it is important to work with the most relevant keywords for the area.
Google wants to provide the best user experience for every search. Thus, it displays first in the business results closest to those who searched. Positioning yourself among this list makes all the difference for your company.
Digital marketing for doctors using a blog
How long has your blog not been updated? Or do you even have a blog space on your website? Perhaps this is a fatal mistake for your digital medical marketing. Working with longer, more complete articles is a great way to build authority and complement the optimization work we mentioned in the previous two topics.
Firstly, blog posts give you more room to work with keywords on the site. They need to be in titles (H1, H2, H3, etc.) and the body of the text in a natural way. It’s a good way to ensure that your site remains well-positioned even if your competition does this optimization work.
In addition, the articles reach your potential customer at various stages of the shopping journey. They can include learning content, which the person will see while they are still figuring out their situation and haven’t even thought about seeing a doctor yet. It is also possible to include posts to ask questions about procedures and treatments or even talk about the specific specialty of the professional.
Content of this type shows that the health professional knows what he is talking about. They build authority and create a kind of “database” that the user can consult whenever he has doubts. For him, it’s much more reliable than finding random information on Google.
Social networks in health marketing actions
In the health industry, social networks are one of the primary ways to build and maintain a company’s reputation. In addition, their reach potential is immense, and thousands of people search and view health-related content daily.
We use social media for many purposes, including:
- Connect with the public;
- Carry out appointments and appointments;
- Drive traffic to the site.
All medical specialties and areas can benefit from these types of networks. Informative, question-answering, or specialty posts are very popular. They simplify information and help users understand. The more certain people are about their needs, the easier the conversion will be.
We recommend working with a variety of content to reach more people. Videos, photos, IGTVs, polls, infographics, and anything your creativity can come up with is welcome.
Paid traffic to increase the number of new contacts
Social networks and search engines can work with paid traffic through ads. For example, when advertising on Google, you can use your budget to keep your results at the top of the search for the most relevant keywords. Another option is advertising on display network sites and portals with content pertinent to your target audience.
Conversion-focused ads increase contacts and bookings faster than SEO-only work. Used on social media, they are also excellent for getting more leads.
Care to apply digital medical marketing
Digital marketing for physicians is one of the most effective methods for promoting business growth in the health industry. However, constant adherence to CFM (Federal Council of Medicine) guidelines must be observed.
When making advertisements, be even more careful. According to CFM rules, disclosing procedures or consultations linked to prices is prohibited. It is also not authorized to earn promotions or discounts of any kind.
Routinely consulting your industry’s board regulations ensures your business is protected and ethical and legal medical digital marketing is practiced.
How to use social media for digital medical marketing?
Does Digital Medical Marketing Need Social Media to Succeed? The short answer is “yes,” but we want to explain a little better before showing which networks are most efficient for this type of marketing.
First, we must understand that much of the public is online on these platforms. From the elderly to small children, thousands of people with profiles on social networks see content related to their area. So why not provide more information to these people to get new patients?
In Brazil alone, there are 150 million users. According to a study released by the Valid Coupon platform, we have the third audience that most uses such media. That is a large potential audience for those who work with great content.
To start, choose the most important networks for doctors and clinics and start using them.
LinkedIn for digital medical marketing
In digital medical marketing, it is important to gain visibility among the final audience (patients, clients, and their families or social circles). Still, networking among medical professionals is also very relevant. Therefore, LinkedIn has grown a lot among those who work in the segment.
In addition to allowing you to publicize your specialization and curriculum and check or share news about your area, it is possible to connect with other professionals. The platform also enables the creation of a page, such as Facebook pages, for the clinic or office.
That way, other professionals who use LinkedIn and are interested in a specialty can learn more about it. In addition, due to its format, the social network allows for longer articles and, consequently, more in-depth information on any subject.
Facebook for group strategies and community building
All specialties get advantages in their promotion with Facebook. Despite its stagnant growth, the network is still the largest worldwide. This means that, in addition to winning over new patients, it is possible to take advantage of a series of tools for companies.
After creating a Facebook page, you can promote your work by creating videos and posts. Then, as patients interact and become interested, you can use Messenger to get in touch.
Another important part of Facebook is its communities created through groups. There are thousands of communities, including local groups and specific audiences such as women, mothers, fathers, teachers, and even doctors. Share your posts with these groups to get even more engagement.
Instagram for personal and clinic marketing
Of course, Instagram would make this list! It remains the fastest growing network and receives updates from Meta, its parent company. As a result, you can connect more closely with your patients and potential customers through photos and videos.
The network strongly focuses on visual content, so it is important to include content with photos and videos from the clinic itself. It’s part of the hum process.
anization that we hear so much about!
As doctors and clinics become more accessible to their audience, the greater the chances of being able to stand out in the field. But, of course, social media also helps to win new appointments.
Pinterest has quickly become popular with marketers, design, architecture, and others who work with visual content. Because it works as a kind of “reference grid,” where it is possible to collect links and photos from other parts of the internet, it is a great place
to save information.
Many still don’t know that doctors and clinics get a lot of benefits from creating Pinterest. Through it, their patients can see the news in the sector that the professional considers relevant in a practical way.
Thus, a channel is created to maintain the patient-doctor relationship even after the consultation, without necessarily having to talk to the other. Did you see an interesting article? Save to Pinterest and let your patients find out more about it.
Why have a website in digital medical marketing?
Medical digital marketing without a website is an incomplete project. As mentioned earlier, social media marketing is great but doesn’t meet a clinic’s needs. Anyone who owns a website can create a content hub for:
- Inform your patients with new blog articles, news, and videos;
- Centralize all data about the clinic, such as specialties, telephone numbers, addresses, insurance plans, and all types of services.
In addition, this portal creates a huge benefit for any clinic, hospital, or healthcare professional: the chance to be found in search engines for search terms related to their field.
Features of the perfect website for digital medical marketing
Through digital medical marketing, it is possible to understand why having a website is much better! Want to get the perks we mentioned earlier? In this case, hiring a digital marketing agency to create it or a specialized professional is recommended. Even so, we recommend paying attention to some prerequisites of a successful website to get the best results.
See below what your website needs to start attracting traffic with high chances of generating leads and bookings.
Ease of use for the user
What happens when someone buys electronic equipment without instructions, and it is difficult to use? Give up and look for a simpler and more intuitive alternative. The same goes for a website. Users are looking for a fast experience to find the information they want in a few seconds. Otherwise, they abandon the URL and look for another option, which may even be your competitor.
To avoid this, all pages on the site must be clear and intuitive. Please start with the language: keep it as simple as possible by keeping sentences and paragraphs short. The “CALL TO ACTION” buttons, the call-to-action, help direct the user to what he should do on each page.
Some clinics opt for one-page sites, simplified versions with only one page and no sub-menus. It is a cost-effective option for those who value clarity and speed.
Authentic and relevant content
In addition to the technical characteristics, it is important to observe the content of your website. It must be authentic first: something the user can find on different web pages discourages browsing. There’s more: search engines like Google tend to punish sites with copied content.
However, it is not enough to have original texts if they are not attractive. It’s important to talk about information that your target audience finds relevant. Fortunately, those who work with medicine have a virtually infinite source of doubts: their patients.
Please take the opportunity to talk about what they want to know. That way, you help thousands of other users and generate more interest in your site.
SEO Optimization
Now we want to talk about SEO or search engine optimization. It is a set of tools and optimizations that, when applied to the website, allowing search engines to position it among the first search results. They include:
- Use keywords in the titles and subtitles of all pages;
- Use keywords throughout the content of articles;
- URL optimization to make navigation simpler;
- Improve website loading speed;
- Others.
The goal is to be recognized as a quality suggestion by Google and related tools. Thus, you increase organic traffic and your results in digital medical marketing.
For more articles click here
