Healthcare digital marketing this year is going to change completely compared to previous years. Options like SEO, paid ads, and email marketing are still important; however, to stand out in the competition, healthcare providers need more than just a traditional marketing approach.
We at Maximise Media are working with more than 50 healthcare brands, including products and services. Last month, we spent more than 4 million rupees on marketing for our clients and generated 10X revenue. So, we know exactly what is working in healthcare and how the entire industry is shifting from generic digital marketing to more customised digital marketing services.
This content focuses on guiding you through the top 5 essentials of digital marketing in the healthcare industry that you need to focus on in 2024.
Let’s start –
1. Patient-centric Approach:
Personalising healthcare digital marketing has become a necessity rather than a strategy. A study reveals that 80% of patients consume information about their healthcare issues via Google search before visiting their doctor. Healthcare brands that represent themselves as industry leaders on search results build more trust and attract more footfall over competition.
Our digital marketing team at Maximise Media concentrates on providing more answers in content marketing that are pertinent to individual clients. This helps brands distinguish themselves as the pinnacle of healthcare excellence while also enabling patients to find their solution. We use Google Analytics and Google Trends to identify topics to answer in order to obtain additional ideas about what patients are searching for.
By customising patient experiences, healthcare marketers can significantly enhance patient engagement and satisfaction. This involves tailoring communication, services, and interactions to meet the unique needs and preferences of individual patients. Therefore, it is critical for professionals to create digital marketing strategies that not only address patients’ concerns but also motivate them to visit the respective client’s healthcare facility more often.
2. Online Reputation Management:
Online reviews are as powerful as recommending someone. The brand profile on Google My Business and other listing sites acts as online recommendations from existing patients. It helps prospective patients decide whether to visit the hospital or clinic or not. According to a survey, 72% of people trust these online reviews as much as personal recommendations. Additionally, 52% of customers are more likely to use the product or service based on positive reviews.
In the case of healthcare, these reviews become even more important. Since the medical industry includes surgical procedures, medications, and treatments for individuals, a single misjudgement can harm a person severely. This is why people are more careful in healthcare than in other industries. Furthermore, we have noticed that even search engines like Google also push hospitals and medical clinic’s listings on top, which have more ratings and positive reviews from patients.
If you want to improve patient experience and build credibility, you should take reviews more seriously. Create a healthcare digital marketing strategy that encourages more feedback from patients and genuine people while suppressing negative articles, news, and reviews.
3. Focus on More Patient Referrals:
Patient referrals are less expensive and have a greater impact than other methods of increasing the total number of patients walking into a hospital or clinic. According to a survey, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family more than advertising. In our daily lives, we occasionally receive these suggestions as a result of a social media post, an article, or a blog that has helped others and has been referred to us.
Furthermore, to attract more patients to the clinic, the brand and hospital can implement a patient referral programme. It helps other individuals learn about the products and services. Healthcare providers can start with a discount on every referral or offer a free consultation after a certain number of referrals. We also recommend doing a content marketing campaign tailored to reach a larger audience through referrals and social sharing rather than just relying on referral programmes.
Here are few tips to create content that gets more referrals and social sharing –
- Share useful, relevant tips and guides.
- Answer questions people are searching for.
- Share data and myth-busting social stories.
- Healthcare hacks and tricks people can use in regular life.
- Hire a healthcare digital marketing expert for better planning.
4. Captivative Content Creation:
Creating content in the healthcare industry has a unique challenge—it demands a clear and simplified presentation, especially when dealing with specialised medical terms. Industry writers must exhibit a high level of proficiency and ensure data accuracy, catering to audiences with specific medical inquiries.
From a patient’s perspective, finding a reliable doctor or specialist is challenging when it comes to the internet. Top healthcare brands have at least some level of staff to produce content, including a content curator, an editor, and a medical specialist to review the accuracy. This content includes articles, social media graphics, infographics, and videos.
Digital marketers should focus on content gaps and topics that are more relevant to their marketing goals, like lead generation, brand awareness, or conversion. It has been seen that videos get 66% more qualified leads than other forms of content in healthcare. For brand awareness and better readership, content with visuals, images, and charts works well. Because content creation in healthcare requires a significant amount of effort and resources, use search engine optimisation and social media marketing to reach a larger audience and determine its worth.
5. Marketing Automation:
Strategic use of automation tools is worth it in healthcare digital marketing services. As AI and machine learning are integrated into healthcare, they will meet most of the marketing needs. Using software and management tools powered by artificial intelligence, we can effectively eliminate most repetitive tasks or even basic customisation tasks.
For example, chatbots are integrated into hospital websites. A few years ago, there were pre-defined question and answer sets that were used to solve patient problems and answer questions on websites. Now in 2024, tools have gotten integrated with AI and machine learning, allowing them to answer more customised clinical or brand related questions easily, resulting in improved patient experience and more qualified leads.
In fact, according to a survey, 90% of top healthcare organisations have a specific AI and machine learning strategy. Even for marketers, there are tools powered by AI that help in easier collaborations, researching and creating multi-media content, scheduling and publishing content, etc.
Conclusion:
Digital marketing in healthcare has evolved from industry-centric to patient-centric, necessitating a shift in healthcare providers’ strategies. Most brands just focus on conventional approaches like keywords, SEO, paid advertising, and email marketing for sales and conversion. But in 2024, it is an absolute necessity to follow a different approach to override the competitors. Use this guide as a reference to craft your own strategy for digital marketing.
Still need help strategizing your next digital marketing strategy? Maximise Media is a great choice to consult. We’re the top healthcare digital marketing agency in Delhi, NCR, offering services to every corner of the world. Get a free consultation and call +91 92-0509-3242