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Just as businesses have competition, so does the healthcare industry. Sure, a hospital may not seem like a business, but it is. Whether you own or represent your own practice, a hospital, a walk-in clinic with multiple locations, or a health system, healthcare businesses are constantly competing by developing innovative business models. However, this innovation doesn’t come easy.

The healthcare industry is indeed very forward-thinking in many ways, but, when you compare it to other consumer-focused industries, it falls behind in the area of creating effective marketing strategies.

But, why?

If you’re a business owner and can successfully figure out how to promote your business, then why is it so difficult for a healthcare business owner to promote their healthcare business? Well, with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability) regulations that must be strictly followed and the FDA limiting marketing efforts, it is difficult for healthcare organizations to keep up with marketing innovations in other industries. Furthermore, in healthcare, patient care comes first, and that truly is what’s important. But it is also important to note that in order for healthcare facilities to provide the care that people need, people need to know where medical help is being provided and where they can turn to with a medical-related query.

A recent study reveals that 77% of patients conduct online research prior to scheduling doctor appointments. Another study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project discovered that 80% of Internet users have searched for a health-related topic online. This is proof that we live in the era of the “informed shopper.” This isn’t a bad thing at all. In fact, it should be even more reason to consider enhancing your healthcare marketing mix.

What Does Healthcare Digital Marketing Entail?

The term "healthcare digital marketing" refers to a subset of marketing that makes use of the internet and other forms of  technology, such as desktop computers, mobile phones, and various other forms of digital media and platforms, to promote healthcare goods and services to people who may be interested in them. With digital marketing, specialists in the healthcare field candemonstrate their level of knowledge, thereby enhancing their professional credibility and expanding their internet reach. And in the era of the informed shopper, having a concrete digital marketing strategy for your healthcare business is essential.

So now, the real question is how can your healthcare business appeal to this new era of healthcare shoppers who are not only incredibly smart and want two-way patient-to-physician communication, but prefer utilizing online services as a means for convenience, speed, and full transparency? Well, you’re going to have to adopt an innovative digital marketing strategy.

At DevDigital, we have the digital healthcare marketing mix to help your healthcare business reach the masses.

1. Take Full Advantage of Search Engine Optimization

Researchers at Google found that organic search results brought in three times as many patients as any other referral source. Additionally, 44% of people who conduct hospital research via mobile devices make an appointment.

Healthcare marketers need to keep search engine optimization (SEO) in mind when planning their digital strategy as a whole because of the prevalence with which customers utilize search engines to locate facilities or obtain health-related information.

Marketers in the healthcare industry can improve the visibility of their blog posts, patient testimonials, and other forms of organic content by employing SEO best practices such as keyword tagging, descriptive page descriptions, and effective HTML titles. Particularly as voice-activated search grows in popularity, it is important for content creators to tailor their efforts to the specific phrasing and structure of these inquiries.

2. Have a Strong Social Media Presence

Believe it or not, social media isn’t just for funny cat videos and watching your friends live out their dreams while on vacation. Platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and more allow     healthcare professionals to engage with patients, provide support for medical professionals, and improve the health outcomes of an entire population. Participating in community debates, building professional connections, and spreading information about population health, can all be effective social media marketing methods for the healthcare industry.

Patients place a higher level of trust in healthcare organizations that participate in online conversations, according to the findings of a recent study, which found that 57 percent of consumers' decisions to receive treatment at a healthcare facility are strongly influenced by the social media presence of that provider.

3. Get Personal With Your Campaigns

The health of a person is a private matter, therefore, marketing for healthcare should be very personalized. A generic, one-size-fits-all approach will not be effective; you must understand that people go to the doctor for a wide range of reasons from wanting to improve their overall health to having a disease or life-threatening condition. That very reason is why marketing centered around healthcare can be very emotional, and marketers must use the same level of caution not to reach the wrong patients as they would reach the right ones.

The first step in making ads and content that will stick is to know whom you are trying to reach. A healthcare customer relationship management (HCRM) platform is one of the best and most important tools for marketers to have. Using the detailed patient data stored in the platform, healthcare marketers can build their campaigns around extremely detailed target personas. Target personas are composed ofkey demographic information such as gender, residency, age, and existing healthcare data.

With this type of data at your fingertips, you will not only be able to create a campaign that makes current, new, and future patients want to receive your services, but your campaign will also show that  their healthcare needs are genuinely your top priority.

Find Out How DevDigital Can Get Your Healthcare Digital Marketing Strategy Started

True enough, when it comes to digital marketing, the healthcare industry does have a few more hurdles to jump through than other industries due to HIPAA regulations, but that does not mean marketing is impossible by any means. Through research and strategy, our SEO experts, analysts, and strategists will work to create the right digital marketing solution to best meet your business needs.

The strategies listed above are just the beginning of how we can digitally transform your healthcare business. To learn more about our digital marketing services, and even check out our software development expertise, feel free to contact us. We’d love to hear from you.