A Marketing Automation and Brand Management Prescription for Healthcare Services

“Maintaining good health should be the primary focus of everyone.” – Sangram Singh

The healthcare industry is projected to hit $10.059 trillion by 2022! With global health-care expenditures expected to grow, institutions will strive to make potential patients smile through compelling digital engagements.

Four out of five Internet users in the United States have searched for information about health online, according to a 2019 study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Increasingly aware of this audience, US healthcare organizations are focused on digital improvements.

The increased usage of digital media is already playing a vital role in clinics’ patient acquisition and retention strategies.

One can easily understand this seismic shift when you consider how central digital media has become in people’s daily lives.

The growing importance of social media for the healthcare industry

In 2013, only 58% of clinics thought social media was important to medical practices.

Today, people are likelier to rely on and believe your Facebook page than your website. You can easily leverage incredible social proof on your page to win them over.

With the passage of time, more healthcare practices are seeing the power of being active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other platforms.

For an industry that has potential customers in every segment of the adult population, there is no better way than social media to promote services and educate the audience.

Promotions through various social media platforms can help you to connect with prospective patients who are looking for whatever services your clinic provides. You can also acquire new patients who are not actively looking but may be interested in the future.

How marketing automation and brand management can help your medical practice

If your business has a “healthy” marketing budget, it becomes much easier to reach prospective patients over multiple channels.

Conventional methods of advertising – such as radio, television, and print media – increase awareness and educate the people in your community.

Offline advertising, however, may not have an immediate positive effect on your healthcare practice’s revenue. You may keep investing to expand your reach but not get the results you want or need.

On the other hand, investment in marketing automation and brand management will yield fast and ongoing results, increasing your brand awareness and attracting new patients.

Marketing automation and brand management reaches where and when required

As compared to conventional, offline advertising, marketing automation and brand management have a much more immediate and wider effect on targeting and ROI.

Consider that when you advertise through TV, radio, or print media, you cannot customize the message to the audience.

On the other hand, when using digital means, you can specifically reach:

• Your current patients
• Patients who have not visited you in a while
• Regular patients of your competitors
• People who are looking for treatment from healthcare professionals

With digital advertising, every member of the audience can receive a customized message. In that way, you can achieve optimal relevance for everyone observing your message.

Targeting with maximum relevance

A well-designed marketing automation and brand management campaign allows you to target a potential, current, or former patient in the best way possible. Not only do you deliver the perfect customized message, but you do it at an ideal time and over the best channel (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram).

Let’s take a quick look at what you can do through some of the most commonly used marketing automation and brand management channels:

• Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on search engines and business directories, to reach customers actively searching for your medical specialty
• Display advertising, to increase awareness about your practices
• Social media, to share general but helpful tips regarding your form of medicine
• Social media and email marketing, to promote your new services and remind patients when checkups are scheduled or due
• Marketing automation tools such as SharpSpring, to generate patient reminder messages.

As marketing automation and brand management give you the ability to target different segments with customized messages, your messages become consistently relevant to the people who see them. This relevance ensures the best possible response rates.

Mastering the art of converting visitors into customers

A strong visual element and messaging are always key components to create differentiation for your post, so it stands apart in your followers’ social media feeds.

Avoid using stock photographs. Wherever possible in static Facebook posts, use original photographs to connect in a more intimate manner.

This certainly helps potential clients better picture the services and atmosphere of your practice.

Seeing a familiar place will leave a positive impact on your existing patients too.

In order to reach the right prospective clients with the best offers on social platforms, it is now necessary to pay for advertising tools such as targeted social ads and boosted posts.

Optimizing for mobile devices

To boost your digital campaign exponentially, the single most important thing to keep in mind is to optimize for mobile devices.

Keeping some of your approach short is no longer an option but a necessity. Virtually all your prospective clients could be accessing by mobile device, where they search and may get directed to your business.

Your website, as well as your user acquisition approach, needs to be optimized to reach them. Here is how design and user acquisition might differ for your mobile site:

• With less screen space, lengthy text is problematic, potentially causing the user to run away before getting started.
• Cell phones are held by a single hand, so there should be a CTA button such as “Call Now” or “Book an Appointment” that they can click easily and immediately. This button will drastically increase your chances of attracting new customers.
• Videos are a must for mobile users. If your website features relevant and engaging video content, then pat your back! You are already on the right path. Video testimonials for medical services, self-shot commentary videos, or other videos are surely going to get more views than sites with just text and images.
• Optimizing your site for easy contact is primary, since mobile users prefer speed. Are you offering same-day appointments? It’s great if your answer is YES! Highlight this feature so that a mobile user can easily schedule same-day service from your landing page.
• Integrate voice search and local keywords in your user acquisition strategy, as upgrading these aspects will drive a positive impact for your campaign.

Conclusion
While the medical industry is making strides in many areas, it is still lagging on modern website standards, social media, and leveraging the power of patient reviews.

Given the fact that the digital state of the healthcare field is in constant flux, it is the right time for practices to advance with modern website standards, effective use of social media and reviews, and white hat techniques for user acquisition. At Epik Solutions, we can help you digitally transform your business with sophisticated marketing automation and brand management plans.

Simply email contact@epikso.com or book an appointment to reach our subject matter experts for an initial analysis.

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