Patients are increasingly relying on digital channels to research and select healthcare providers in today’s world. The patient journey is now mostly digital, from large hospitals to small clinics.
To remain competitive and avoid falling behind, healthcare providers such as hospitals, health device and wellness companies, clinics, and individual practitioners strive to meet these expectations. Many patients today expect a digitally advanced healthcare experience similar to what they experience in other industries. As a result, in order to remain competitive and avoid falling behind, healthcare providers are investing in digital marketing strategies.
In this blog, we will examine the benefits of investing in digital marketing for healthcare and offer guidance as to which strategies to use for the best results. Healthcare providers can improve their online presence, create brand awareness, attract & retain more patients, and ultimately provide better care by leveraging digital marketing tools and techniques.
The Power of Digital Marketing in the Healthcare & Wellness Industry
Even if your current patient volume is satisfactory, digital marketing has become an essential component of the healthcare industry. It is critical to maintain your brand’s recall value among existing customers while also reaching out to potential customers through digital marketing.
Each healthcare and wellness client necessitates a unique digital marketing strategy, but all strategies should prioritize three aspects of the patient’s digital journey: search, mobile, and social. By focusing on these channels, we can learn which digital strategy and channel influences lead a prospective patient to select a hospital, clinic, or physician and overcome any potential barriers to making an appointment.
As patients rely more on digital resources to connect, learn, and make decisions, healthcare companies and marketers must find the most cost-effective ways to reach out to patients.
Google has tracked and analyzed hospital researchers’ online activity and user behavior from the beginning of their research to the point of conversion to better understand what influences hospital selection and the role that digital plays in the journey.
As a digital marketing consultant, I’ve summarized some key points from Google’s research, which was published in Think with Google.
- The patient’s journey relies heavily on search engines.
- Mobile devices are the patient’s constant companion.
- Videos are effective in storytelling and driving conversions through sight, sound, and motion.
- 84% of patients use both online and offline sources when researching hospitals.
- Search engines drive almost three times more visitors to hospital websites compared to non-search sources.
- Patients usually search for symptoms and conditions when they are close to making a decision.
- Out of the patients who conducted hospital research on their mobile devices, 44% ultimately booked an appointment.
HealthCare Branding & Online Reputation Management
Prospective patients place a high value on a healthcare provider’s brand reputation, demonstrating digital marketing’s enormous potential to transform the healthcare industry. As a result, a growing number of healthcare providers are utilising digital marketing strategies to promote their medical, hospital, or wellness branding and online reputation
Prospective patients are comparing the legitimacy and reputation of facilities, as well as whether their health plan is accepted. As a result, having a strong brand reputation is critical for attracting and retaining patients. To establish and improve their brand reputation, healthcare providers can use various digital channels such as social media, search engines, paid advertising and email marketing.
To remain competitive, healthcare providers must embrace digital marketing, which has enormous potential to transform the healthcare industry. In today’s digital age, establishing a strong brand reputation through digital marketing can help attract and retain patients.
Online search is a crucial part of the patient’s decision-making process.
Patients spend a considerable amount of time and effort on search before booking an appointment.
- 48% of patients spend more than two weeks researching before booking an appointment.
- 61% of patients visit two or more hospital websites before making a decision.
- 77% of patients search healthcare providers before booking an appointment.
Unlocking the Power of Search for Healthcare & Wellness Industry
When it comes to health and wellness searches, boomers have been shown to be just as savvy as Gen X and Y. Boomers’ searches are also further along the patient journey, with questions focusing on treatment, medication efficacy, side effects, and risks.
Given that the elderly makes up a sizable portion of the patient population, marketers should not overlook this demographic. As one might expect, seniors aren’t as active online as younger generations, but a surprising number would like to be able to make appointments and interact online.
Search drives more valuable visitors to hospital websites than any other source of traffic as the search engine accounts for 43% of all visits to hospital websites.
Transforming Healthcare & Wellness with Digital Marketing
There are numerous advantages that the healthcare and wellness industry can reap from digital marketing, some of them are listed below:
Predictive Analytics
Digital marketing and AI also allow healthcare providers to use predictive analytics to improve patient outcomes. Predictive analytics uses machine learning algorithms to analyze large datasets and identify patterns that can predict future health outcomes. This information can be used to develop targeted interventions to improve patient outcomes.
For example, healthcare provider, Northwell Health, used predictive analytics to reduce readmissions for heart failure patients. The organization used an AI algorithm to analyze patient data and identify patients who were at high risk of readmission. They then developed a targeted intervention program that included home health visits, medication management, and remote monitoring. The program resulted in a 31% reduction in readmissions for heart failure patients.
Online reputation management:
In a hypercompetitive industry, digital marketing can help healthcare businesses build, establish, and maintain their brand as a reliable healthcare provider. Healthcare providers can differentiate themselves from competitors by improving brand metrics such as brand awareness, brand reputation, and brand perception.
Personalized marketing activity:
Health is a highly personalized topic, and marketers understand that consumers prefer a personalized approach. A person can seek medical care for both general well-being and a life-threatening disease. As a result, a generic approach can be disastrous.
Healthcare providers can use digital marketing to reach out to their patients in a personalized way to meet their specific needs. Digital marketing enables hospitals to target local areas, suburbs, and specific healthcare territories, making it easier to reach out to the target audience.
Video marketing:
Online videos are an essential component of hospital research, with 1 in 8 patients watching them on hospital sites, health insurance information sites, health information sites, and YouTube.
Patients watch videos to obtain information about hospitals and understand complicated treatments and procedures. Video marketing can drive patients to hospital sites, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising:
You can create some great opportunities and help secure quality traffic by using PPC search ads to increase the number of potential leads for your practice or healthcare company. You can get an accurate picture of what works and what doesn’t work for you by measuring the day-to-day performance of your ads on each of the chosen online platforms.
How do prospective patients respond to a pay-per-click (PPC) ad?
The following are the percentages of their actions:
- 35% of them initiate a search to gather more information.
- 29% start the research process.
- 28% visit the website of the advertised facility.
- 21% consider choosing the advertised facility.
- 5% directly contact the facility featured in the ad.
Search Engine Marketing:
Search Engine Optimization and user experience are inextricably linked. Implementing an effective SEO strategy will increase your online visibility, target a specific location, improve user experience, increase brand visibility, and drive more traffic to your website.
Aim to create the most informative and comprehensive health-related content for your patients, relevant to the services you offer. Building trust through quality content that educates and informs can also help keep one’s target audience interested in the long run.
Social Media Marketing:
Social media marketing provides powerful tools for precisely targeting your audiences. An AI chatbot that efficiently answers questions and directs potential patients to your relevant service webpages is one example, as is regularly sharing information about your treatments and medical achievements.
Social media can help you build trust, increase practice transparency, and connect with millennials. Health-care marketers must create high-quality educational content to share on social media to accurately inform prospective patients about health-related issues and dispel misinformation.
Digital Marketing: A Game-Changer for Healthcare & Wellness Providers
As a digital marketing consultant, I can attest to the numerous benefits of a well-thought-out digital marketing strategy. Attracting new patients, expanding the business, building patient trust, strengthening patient loyalty, increasing brand awareness, encouraging patients to use the services, promoting products, and assessing customer satisfaction are some of examples.
It is critical to determine the campaign’s goals or targets before selecting the most effective digital marketing methods or channels. Once these are established, the company can select the appropriate digital media channels and define specific goals and objectives for each. This process entails analyzing competitors, comprehending the target audience, establishing a marketing budget, and executing the marketing campaign.
As a healthcare provider, your primary focus is on patient care, which leaves little time to plan your digital marketing strategy. This is why working with a healthcare marketing agency can be beneficial. Although a extra effort may be required, the investment may be worthwhile in the long run because you will see consistent growth in your bottom line.
Creating a Successful Healthcare & Wellness Strategy with Digital Marketing
Healthcare digital marketing is complex, and experimenting with it as a novice can result in legal repercussions if regulations are not followed correctly. As a result, working with a professional digital marketing agency that specializes in healthcare marketing strategy and is well-versed in HIPAA compliance is critical. This ensures that your digital marketing efforts are not only effective but also legal.
Digital marketing is an essential aspect of the healthcare industry, and its significance should not be overlooked. It is crucial to establish an online presence to foster the growth of your healthcare service by reaching a broader audience that spends time online.
Mastering the art of digital marketing in your healthcare & wellness business can help showcase your services to the digital world and prepare your organization for the future. By leveraging the power of digital marketing, you can position your healthcare business for success and ensure that your services are accessible to those who need them.
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