Medical Practice Marketing
An effective medical practice marketing strategy can help ensure a consistent flow of new patients and maintain relationships with existing patients in order to support growth and profitability. However, when developing and executing a medical practice marketing strategy, it is important not to overlook regulatory requirements.
Medical practice marketing has come a long way in the past quarter of a century. Twenty-five years ago, larger healthcare organizations dominated medical marketing due to having sizeable marketing teams, large advertising budgets, and significant purchasing power. Since then, the growth of the Internet has levelled the playing field, and now organizations of all sizes have the same marketing opportunities.
Nonetheless, it is not always easy for smaller medical practices to take advantage of the opportunities. Some may have limited resources to dedicate to building a website, maintaining a blog, and promoting the website via social media. Others may have the resources, but not the knowledge to develop and execute an effective medical practice marketing strategy – or measure the performance of the strategy.
When using multiple channels of communication for medical practice marketing, it is also important the messaging remains consistent. This applies whether the marketing strategy is proactive to gain a competitive advantage, reactive to build brand awareness, or a combination of both. Any lack of consistency could damage the reputation of the practice and trust in the services being marketed.
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What Should a Medical Practice Marketing Strategy Consist Of?
There is no one-size-fits-all medical practice marketing strategy because, depending on the medical services being marketed and the target audience, it may not be necessary to utilize every online channel. It may also be appropriate to include “traditional” marketing channels such as print and advertising. However, many effective medical practice marketing strategies include some or all of the following:
A Professional Website
A professional and user-friendly website serves as the foundation for a medical practice marketing strategy. The website should contain detailed information about the location of the practice, the services being provided by the practice, and the qualifications of medical staff. The website should also provide clear contact details and an easy way for potential patients to get in touch or schedule appointments.
A well-designed website not only builds credibility but also ensures that the practice is discoverable through search engines. The website should be mobile-responsive, as many users access the Internet via smartphones, and include a frequently updated blog or resources section with useful health tips. These can help establish the practice as an authority and act as landing destinations for social media activities.
Optimize the Website for Searches
Search Optimization is the practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs) for specific keywords. When potential patients search for medical services in their area, a higher ranking increases the chances they will find and visit the website. To optimize the website for searches, medical practices should focus on including relevant keywords in the website content, titles, and meta descriptions.
“Local” search optimization is also an essential part of a medical practice marketing strategy for smaller medical practices. This involves optimizing the website for location-based searches so potential patients in the area can easily find the practice. Claiming and updating a Google Business Profile is crucial for a search optimized website, as it ensures information about the practice shows up in local search results and maps.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is a powerful tool for engaging with current and prospective patients. Social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn provide a platform on which to share updates about the practice and health tips. These platforms can be used for both proactive and reactive medical practice marketing while allowing for direct communication with patients and potential clients and fostering a sense of community around the practice.
Regularly posting relevant content and engaging with followers can help increase knowledge of the services being offered and brand awareness. Social media also enables medical practices to run targeted marketing campaigns, which can be highly effective in reaching specific demographics or people with particular health needs. Consistency is key when it comes to social media, so maintaining an active presence is important.
Paid Advertising
Paid advertising can be an effective way to quickly increase online visibility for a practice – especially when a practice first publishes a website, and its optimization efforts have not yet been indexed. Google Ads and social media ads are the most popular methods for paid advertising. Google Ads allows medical practices to create targeted campaigns that appear when users search for terms related to specific services.
Social media platforms also offer a range of advertising options, such as sponsored posts and paid search ads. The benefit of paid advertising is that it allows practices to reach a specific audience and increase awareness of the services being offered in a short period of time. However, it is important to regularly monitor and adjust paid advertising campaigns to ensure they are providing the best return on investment.
Email Marketing
Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to communicate directly with existing patients. According to a report conducted by HubSpot, marketing emails sent by medical, dental, and healthcare organizations enjoyed an average open rate of 37.39% and an average click-through rate of 2.40%. (Note: appointment reminders and other direct care email communications are not considered marketing activities).
“Marketing emails sent by medical, dental, and healthcare organizations enjoyed an average open rate of 37.39% and an average click-through rate of 2.40%.” source: HubSpot
Regular email newsletters can provide updates on new services, seasonal health tips, or reminders for check-ups. Personalizing emails with the patient’s name improve engagement – subject to the HIPAA marketing rules and any other limitations on email marketing discussed below. Additionally, medical practice email marketing can be used to nurture relationships by providing valuable health information or special offers.
Online Reviews and Reputation Management
Online reviews are one of the most important factors patients consider when selecting a healthcare provider. According to a recent rater8 report, 84% of patients check online reviews before choosing new healthcare providers and 51% of patients read at least six reviews about a provider before making a decision to change providers. Positive reviews can influence prospective patients to choose a practice over their competitors.
Responding to reviews – both positive and negative – demonstrates a medical practice values patient feedback and is committed to improving the patient experience. Addressing negative reviews professionally can help protect the practice’s reputation and show potential patients it is responsive and caring. Actively requesting online reviews from patients and responding to them is essential for maintaining a positive reputation in the community.
Video Marketing
Video content is becoming increasingly popular in digital marketing and can be a valuable tool in a medical practice marketing strategy. Videos can be created that introduce members of the practice’s workforce, explain what services are provided, and offer health tips to engage and educate patients. Videos can also be used to help carers and family members respond in a medical emergency.
Video content can be shared on social media, or published on the practice’s website or platforms like YouTube to reach a wider audience. Many patients prefer watching videos over reading long articles, so providing visual content can enhance their experience and help build trust. Video marketing also enables a practice to showcase its personality – making it easier for potential patients to feel comfortable about choosing a provider.
Content Marketing
Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable content that educates and informs patients. The content can take the form of online blog posts, articles, infographics, or downloadable guides about medical conditions, treatments, and preventative care. It can also take the form of print media and radio advertising or other PR activities that directs patients to the medical practice’s website for further information.
By addressing common patient concerns, a medical practice can improve its online visibility and reputation. In the context of medical practice marketing, content marketing helps improve search optimization by driving traffic to a website and increasing the likelihood the practice will appear higher in search engine results pages for relevant queries – thus helping a medical practice acquire a reputation as a trusted resource.
Analytics and Performance Monitoring
To understand how effective a medical practice marketing strategy is, it is important to monitor the performance of digital campaigns. Tools such as Google Analytics, social media insights, and email marketing reports can track the performance of websites, ads, and social media activities to provide valuable insights into patient behavior, such as which content or ads attracted the most attention and what actions were taken.
By reviewing this data regularly, medical practices can adjust their marketing strategies and allocate resources to the channels that are performing best. The data can also provide insights into which channels perform best for specific types of marketing activities (proactive, reactive, informative, etc.) in order to better plan future marketing activities, ensure the right channels are used, and make the most efficient use of the marketing budget.
The Regulatory Requirements for Medical Practice Marketing
One of the most important considerations when developing and executing a medical practice marketing strategy is HIPAA compliance. Although HIPAA excludes many types of provider-to-patient communications from its definition of marketing, medical practices still have to be aware of what is considered Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA and how it can be used and disclosed permissibly.
This may mean obtaining a patient’s consent before including them in direct marketing activities (this is also a requirement in many state privacy laws) or obtaining a patient’s authorization before sharing a success story about them. It may also mean ensuring marketing activities are conducted via a HIPAA-compliant service provider with whom a Business Associate Agreement has been entered into to safeguard PHI.
In addition to the HIPAA requirements for medical practice marketing, there are other federal regulations that govern the content of marketing communications. For example, FDA regulations govern the marketing of dietary supplements, foods, drugs, devices, and other health-related products, HHS OIG regulations prohibit kickbacks, and the FTC Act prohibits “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” in marketing communications.
For these reasons, medical practices developing a marketing strategy not only need to consider what their strategy is and how to execute it, but also what regulatory requirements might apply to their marketing activities. Organizations who need help understanding what regulatory requirements apply are advised to speak to a medical practice marketing agency with a track record of successful and compliant medical practice marketing campaigns.
