How Digital Marketing Can Transform Your Medical Practice

The healthcare landscape is changing rapidly, and patients are increasingly turning to online resources for information and to find new healthcare providers.

In fact, approximately 90% of young adults (18-24) trust medical information shared on social media by their doctors¹. Additionally, 47.7% of adults aged 30-44 are most likely to use digital channels to connect with medical practices². Moreover, a growing movement is pushing for inclusivity in UX design for older adults aged 65 and above to ensure they can easily use online medical information and services³.

This means that effectively leveraging digital marketing is no longer optional for medical practices—it’s essential. To successfully engage with patients online, practitioners need to utilize SEO, website design, local search, and other digital strategies.

Without a robust strategy, practices risk falling behind in an increasingly competitive medical landscape.

That’s why we listed down the top benefits of digital marketing for medical practices. Here are the key reasons you should invest in it now:

1. Achieve the Lowest Cost Per Conversion and Get Maximum ROAS

Lead generation in digital marketing generally outperforms traditional marketing in several key areas:

Cost Efficiency

Digital marketing is generally more cost effective than traditional marketing. Online ads, email campaigns, and social media marketing often have a lower cost-per-lead compared to traditional methods. 

For instance, while traditional marketing requires purchasing expensive advertising spaces like billboards or TV commercials, digital marketing allows you to target your audience more precisely and at a fraction of the cost.

Targeting and Reach

With digital marketing, you can target specific demographics, interests, and behaviours, leading to higher-quality leads and more effective campaigns. Given that almost everyone is online, the potential reach is significantly larger. 

In contrast, traditional marketing often targets broader audiences, resulting in lower conversion rates.

Engagement and Interaction

Digital marketing enhances engagement through direct interactions on social media, email, and online chat. These platforms allow for immediate feedback and personalized communication.

On the other hand, traditional marketing mediums like TV, billboards, and magazines provide limited opportunities for audience interaction.

2. Optimize Decision-Making with Precise Campaign Tracking & Fast Data Acquisition

Detailed analytics and metrics allow for the real-time performance tracking of campaigns. Digital marketing offers solutions to shed light on your marketing’s effectiveness, which, in turn, can optimize your decision-making process. This includes leveraging the following technologies:

• Website Analytics: Tools like Google Analytics provide a wealth of data on website visitors. It can track where patients come from (social media, specific ad campaigns), what content they engage with, and where they drop off in the appointment booking process. This valuable information helps you understand what resonates with your audience and optimize your website for better conversions.
• Call Tracking: By assigning unique phone numbers to specific marketing campaigns, call tracking allows you to identify which ads drive phone inquiries. When a potential patient calls one of these numbers, you can trace the call back to the specific campaign, helping you measure its effectiveness.
• Form Tracking: Tracking the information patients submit through your website forms can reveal patterns in their interests and behaviours. This information helps you tailor your marketing messages to meet their needs better. 
• Social Media Engagement Tracking: Social media platforms provide valuable insights into how patients interact with your content. By monitoring likes, comments, and shares, you can see what resonates with your audience and sparks conversation, allowing you to refine your social media strategy.

3. Manage Your Online Reputation by Addressing Reviews and Dissatisfaction

A 2023 report says 93% of surveyed patients consider online reviews necessary when evaluating healthcare providers⁴. This indicates that online reputation management can be a valuable tool for your medical practice. Some ways you can manage your medical practice’s online reputation are:

Review Monitoring Tools

Review monitoring tools can scan the web for mentions of your practice across various platforms, such as review sites, social media, and news outlets. These tools provide alerts that help you stay informed about both positive and negative feedback.

• Example: A patient leaves a glowing review on Google, praising your practice for the excellent care and friendly staff they encountered during their visit. Your review monitoring tool alerts you to this positive feedback. You respond by thanking the patient for their kind words and expressing how much their feedback means to the team. You also highlight their review on your social media channels, showcasing the positive experience and encouraging other patients to share their stories.

Social Listening

Social listening tools enable you to actively monitor online conversations about your practice on social media platforms and forums. This helps you gain valuable insights into patient sentiment and identify potential areas for improvement.

• Example: Through your social listening tool, you notice a series of discussions on a local community Facebook group where patients complain about the difficulty of reaching your practice’s customer service during peak hours. Recognizing this issue, you quickly take action by increasing the staff available to handle calls during busy periods and implementing a call-back system to ensure no patient inquiries go unanswered. You then communicate these improvements on your social media channels, thanking the community for their feedback and outlining the steps taken to enhance service accessibility.

With digital marketing, you can respond promptly to positive or negative feedback. Addressing concerns with care and maintaining a positive tone in your responses helps build trust and demonstrate your commitment to patient satisfaction.

Engaging with feedback shows that you value patient opinions and are dedicated to improving their experience, which can enhance your practice’s reputation and foster stronger patient relationships.

4. Enhance Patient Experience with Comprehensive Digital Solutions

Research from Stanford indicates that websites are seen as more credible when they are easy to navigate, provide useful information, and are frequently updated.⁵ This underscores the importance of maintaining current content and adapting website features to suit user preferences, which can be effectively achieved through strategic digital strategies.

Here are a few strategies that digital marketing utilizes for patient experience:

Empowering Patients with Information

• Creating an Informative Website: A thoughtfully designed website serves as a vital resource for patients, offering extensive information about your practice, such as available services, doctor bios, and accepted insurance plans. This empowers patients to make well-informed healthcare choices.
• Providing Educational Content: Creating blog posts, infographics, and videos can address common questions, explain procedures, and offer pre and post-operative care instructions. This approach not only alleviates patient anxiety but also highlights your expertise and dedication to patient education.
• Streamlining Online Appointment Booking: A user-friendly online booking system simplifies the appointment scheduling process, allowing patients to schedule 24/7 at their convenience, saving them time and frustration.

Focusing on Communication

• Appointment Reminders: Automated email or text reminders can significantly reduce appointment no-shows, enhancing patient experience and optimizing your practice’s efficiency.
• Telemedicine Options: Telemedicine can be a game-changer for specific consultations. Virtual appointments for patients facing transportation challenges, busy schedules, or minor acute concerns provide flexibility and convenience, which can also increase patient satisfaction.
• Automated Follow-Up Communications: Automated follow-up emails or app notifications after appointments keep patients engaged and reinforce your commitment to their well-being.

By leveraging digital marketing strategies, healthcare providers can not only attract new patients but also significantly enhance the patient experience.

5. Boost Patient Retention Through Regular Engagement Strategies

Your medical practice can’t achieve long-term stability without patient retention. It not only secures a steady income but also enhances patient trust and loyalty. Digital marketing offers a strategic edge in keeping patients engaged and fostering long-term relationships. Here are a few strategies that digital marketing utilizes to foster patient loyalty:

• Loyalty Program: Implementing a loyalty program that rewards patients for returning for regular checkups or preventive care can incentivize continued engagement and emphasize the importance of ongoing care.
• Personalized Content Marketing: Delivering targeted content that addresses specific patient needs and interests shows your commitment to their well-being and builds trust over time.
• Patient Success Stories: Showcasing success stories through testimonials, case studies, or blog posts featuring satisfied patients provides social proof that builds trust and encourages others to seek care from your practice.
• Interactive Content: Hosting webinars, Q&A sessions, or live chats with your doctors offers an interactive approach that allows patients to engage directly with your team, ask questions, and feel more connected to your practice.

Consistent, personalized communication demonstrates your commitment to your patient’s well-being and encourages them to return for continued care. 

6. Save Time on Common Queries with High-Quality, Informative Content

One hidden advantage of digital marketing is its ability to inform patients and reduce the volume of common queries. This is a win-win: patients easily find the answers they seek, and your practice saves time addressing repetitive questions.

Here’s how informative content bridges the knowledge gap:

• Proactive Education: Developing a library of high-quality content that addresses frequently asked questions, explains procedures, and offers pre- and post-operative care instructions empowers patients to take charge of their healthcare journey and reduces their reliance on contacting your practice for basic information.
• Positioning as a Trusted Authority: By consistently delivering valuable content, you establish your practice as a trusted source of healthcare information. Patients turn to you for reliable answers, fostering trust and loyalty.

Remember: Content is king! With digital marketing, you’ll confidently produce high-quality, informative content that educates and empowers your patients.

7. Gain Insights Into Competitors’ Strategies for Competitive Advantage

Digital marketing offers a powerful lens into what your competitors are doing. You can use this information to fuel your own strategies. Here are some ways you can perform competitor analysis: 

• Use Competitive Analysis Tools: These tools allow you to see what kind of content they’re creating, what social media platforms they’re active on, and what keywords they’re targeting.
• Check Industry Trends: Digital marketing tools can help you identify emerging trends in the healthcare industry. These tools can help you analyze online conversations, social media posts, and industry publications to stay informed about what’s new and what patients are looking for.
• Perform Benchmarking: This is a way to compare your online presence to your competitors. You’ll see how your website ranks, how patients review your services, and how effectively you’re utilizing social media.

With these insights, you can ensure your practice continues to attract new patients while retaining existing ones. You can also devise better strategies to outperform your competitors.

Ready to Invest in Digital Marketing?

At Wisevu, we understand the unique challenges and tremendous potential of digital marketing in healthcare. We’re a one-stop shop equipped with all the tools and expertise your practice needs to navigate the ever-evolving digital landscape and achieve your marketing goals.

Our team of specialists is well-versed in healthcare marketing best practices, including the intricacies of HIPAA regulations. This ensures your message resonates with patients while adhering to all compliance guidelines.

Let Wisevu be your guide on the path to digital marketing success. Contact us today for a free consultation and see how we can help your medical practice grow. 

References

1. Tennant, Bethany, et al. “eHealth Literacy and Web 2.0 Health Information Seeking Behaviors Among Baby Boomers and Older Adults.” JMIR. Journal of Medical Internet Research/Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 17, no. 3, Mar. 2015, p. e70. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3992.

2. Wang, Xun, and Robin A. Cohen. Health Information Technology Use Among Adults: United States, July-December 2022. 31 Oct. 2023, https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:133700.

3. Tremosa, Laia. “Healthcare UX—Design That Saves Lives.” The Interaction Design Foundation, 25 June 2024, www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/healthcare-ux-design-that-saves-lives. 

4. “2023 Patient Survey: Tracking Patient Behavior, Preferences, and Habits.” The Intake, www.tebra.com/theintake/patient-experience/tips-and-trends/patient-survey-questions-preferences-habits. 

5. The Web Credibility Project: Guidelines – Stanford University. credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html#chi99.