Medical Marketing is no longer a luxury for the boutique practice but a necessity nowadays for all medical practices. Having the right medical marketing can spell success just as not having one can mean a plummeting downward spiral for a practice. Not only will the right medical marketing strategy increase growth and drive traffic to your online and offline sites but by doing so, will increase the bottom line.
3 Strategies
There are three simple techniques that you can incorporate into your medical marketing for successfully growing your practice.
- Medical Marketing Online
For many this is synonymous with content marketing. It is a way to be found and ranked highly by search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo. Content may consist of blogs, videos, and article marketing. (information that is relevant, educational and engaging to those searching for your services). You needn’t restrict your blogs to your own website. Instead, you can either publish guest blogs on well-trafficked sites or comment on other sites to blogs that have been published by other, thereby getting you more eyeballs and brand recognition of your own.
The more relevant and engaging content that you provide, the higher your search engine ranking becomes which gets you more exp0ssure when patients and prospective patients are searching online for services that you provide. You don’t want to over saturate your market though and 2 per week is often all that is needed for your viewers. Placing your keywords in various locations on your blog enables Google and other search engines to understand what you represent, who you are and what services you provide. Places of value in your blog would be the title, the first line, the last line and 2-3 places within the body of content. Long-tail keywords are phrases of 3 or 4 words together that better describe what you are all about. It is also fundamental that you do not do keyword stuffing which would incur heavy penalties, (like no longer being ranked by search engines). Keyword stuffing involves putting your keywords into your blog post so many times in the hope that it gets noticed, that the effect becomes an article that no longer makes sense and can not be read with any comprehension. Your message will be rendered useless.
Have a well-written website which allows visitors to get fresh information, ease of navigation and great visibility for contact information on each page of the site.
2. Online and Offline Exposure
A great marketing device which many professionals fail to avail themselves of, is the online profile. Every social site allows you to mention yourself in a profile which enables prospective patients to know who you are, what you do and what services you provide. Instead of spouting off all your accolades however, using the profile to be about your prospective patient (like I help patients by performing the following …) will garner more attention and drive a substantial more traffic to you as well as strengthening your brand.
Take advantage of Google Places, FourSquare, and other sites which enable you to add your medical practice to the local directory and their maps. Complete your profile on the sites including services that you provide, images of the practice and staff, and videos representing your techniques or what makes you distinct from your competitors. Add 5 patient reviews (or testimonials) which puts you in a good light.
Consider participating in local community activities like health fairs and become active in the local Chamber of Commerce so that you get name recognition and greater exposure within your community. Volunteer to give a talk at the local library or Civic Center. Interested individuals will be sure to flock to your office to get more of your services when you present as an authority in your field. Get the word out about your event through social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Ask the Chamber of Commerce or venue site to promote your event as well. Add the event to your newsletter that you send out to your patients on a regular basis so that they may attend.
3. Establish a Referral Network
Sure, you are known at the hospital and you think that you may have an adequate referral network but… do you actually ever ask professionals in your area to refer their patients to you? Have you introduced yourself and let them know what insurance plans you accept? Often times it is merely a question of asking for the business and developing professional relationships. An electronic referral system will enable you to keep track of the referrals you get from your colleagues. Don’t forget to send them follow up information along with a thank you for sending these patients. You can also use the online referral management application to swap referrals with other specialists to develop a network system.
Consistency
One of the keys to success is to provide information on a regular basis rather than starting and stopping the flow of posts haphazardly. If you feel that you can’t commit your time to doing so, it is better to outsource it and then not worry about it! Contact Barbara Hales, M.D. at 561-325-9664 and you could have your system in place!
