As with every other industry, medical professionals need to employ the Internet in order to remain competitive and to engage consumers of medical services.
Before the web became so popular, patients often knew little about their doctor prior to their first visit. They depended upon referrals, whether or not a medical professional was part of their provider network. The modern patient is Internet savvy, which means that you must utilize modern, medical marketing strategies to gain their attention and to educate them about your practice.
Whether you are a medical practitioner or an office manager in a medical setting, learning how to incorporate medical marketing strategies into your online presence will increase the number of patients who contact your practice.
Additionally, with excellent service, patient retention will increase due to a heightened online reputation for the practice. Other professionals in your field are likely using these strategies already.
You need to add these Three tools to your marketing arsenal in order to remain competitive.
1. Use a Website
A well-designed website is an essential tool for gaining public trust and awareness. A professional web designer, or team of designers like those at MyAdvice, can create an aesthetically pleasing site that is easy for visitors to navigate.
Your website should contain updated photos of the various people involved in the practice and others in the office. Depending upon the type of services your medical practice offers, additional pictures may be advisable. For instance, if you utilize state-of-the-art machinery, by all means showcase it on your site! These pictures shape the perception of your office and are meant to exhibit an inviting and professional atmosphere for potential patients.
2. Set Up a Blog
An excellent blog can instill patient confidence and raise your profile across the web. Often, your website designer can assist you with this as a part of the service. Once the blog is established, you need to add content two to five times each month.
Regularly scheduled posts work best because visitors will learn to anticipate when a new blog post will arrive, and go to the site to see what is new. A few things to remember about your blog posts:
- Utilize keywords, but avoid overuse.
- Hire a professional to write and edit posts to ensure that the content adheres to good search engine optimization practices.
- Make certain content is interesting and relevant to your practice.
And avoid these content marketing mistakes.
3. Develop a Social Media Presence
Even if you do not use social media in your personal life, the vast majority of consumers today participate in it.
While it is not necessary to have a presence on every social media site, use of a few key ones can do wonders to raise your popularity and provide you with additional business. You can hire someone to manage theses accounts for you if needed.
You can use social media for the following:
- Announce special offers
- Educate patients
- Showcase new medical equipment
- Welcome new staff members
Make certain that your social media and medical marketing strategies include at least one professional site, such as LinkedIn. For these, it is best that you manage your presence personally to maintain a highly professional interaction with others in your field. We also recommend that every doctor in your office create and maintain a LinkedIn Profile.
Including these four strategies into your medical marketing efforts will greatly increase your community profile. Remember to link them all together, and to have them professionally maintained and updated for patient engagement and retention.
