Digital marketing – Tips for your practice
By ION
Information and analysis of your practice data is essential to your efforts for marketing and referrals. In a Healthcare Trends Report, it was noted that their survey “revealed that 72 percent of consumers read online ratings and reviews to consider booking with a new healthcare provider.”1 And your Google business profile was just as important as your practice’s website, especially as potential patients looked at reviews before booking appointments.
Healthcare marketing is all about acquiring new patients and maximizing profits. And how does a practice understand how to market to new patients? Practices must understand or depend on the services of a vendor who understands Search Engine Optimization (SEO). SEO helps to maximize your local visibility.
Some tips to consider for your practice:
- Ensure that your contact information (name, address, phone numbers, website URL) are all consistent across many platforms and sites. Example: Your Google Business profile matches Healthgrades, your website, etc.
- Make sure your website is easy to navigate. Sometimes it is helpful to have someone from outside your practice test it as they would a new patient. Does it work as well on a laptop as it does on a smartphone or tablet? And does your site have options to contact someone in the practice who will respond within 24 hours with either an email or a call back?
- Are you using mobile messaging? When a patient provides a cell phone number, can you send a text to remind and confirm appointments? You can even use a text message to remind patients for yearly flu vaccinations.
According to data.ai2, healthcare app downloads saw 50 percent growth between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to the surge in telehealth and COVID. Promoting such medical apps will help your patients take control of their health.
