As more and more people are relying on the internet for medical information, healthcare content marketing has become a new trend for new patient acquisition.
To build your online visibility, you need to show your potential patients that your healthcare brand is the best choice for their needs. Establishing your authority in the healthcare industry is the first step to defining a solid medical digital marketing strategy.
According to the Transparency ROI Study conducted by Label Insight, about 94% of all consumers are more likely to show loyalty to a brand that provides straightforward information. In addition, 73% of these consumers are willing to pay more for a service that offers complete transparency.
Being transparent with the healthcare information you provide online is the best way to build trust and acquire new patients.
The Role of Healthcare Content Marketing in Patient Acquisition
The process of patient acquisition has been the center of healthcare content marketing strategy for quite some time now. It is currently the biggest revenue factor that defines any medical practice with an online presence.
For you to magnify the impact of your healthcare content marketing strategy, you have to understand the crucial role it plays in retaining and acquiring new patients.
A study by Pew Research Center has identified that about 47% of internet users rely on information online about healthcare professionals and doctors. When people get sick, their first remedy is to go online to find out what might be the health issue.
Searching for symptoms and trying to figure out the best solution includes consulting a doctor or visiting a healthcare facility. To acquire more patients, your medical content creation strategy must be helpful to the readers and must offer straightforward answers to health queries.
Your healthcare content marketing strategy must include useful information on specific health concerns along with preventive and treatment measures. Take note, though, that your medical content strategy needs to go beyond blogs. The content you share to your patients can take many forms including:
- Educational videos
- Smart medical apps and tools
- Patient-to-doctor forums and other communication channels
Although healthcare content marketing may be the best option for your medical practice to gain new patients, you also have to closely monitor your marketing strategy and watch out for oversights that can affect your medical credibility in the long run.
Biggest Healthcare Content Marketing Strategy Execution Mistakes to Avoid
The information gap between healthcare providers and patients has been the primary reason for medical practitioners to market their brand online. Most online marketers fail to understand the biggest mistakes when it comes to strategy execution in an attempt to create an effective content marketing in healthcare.
Understanding the biggest healthcare content marketing execution mistakes is crucial in providing your patients with the best healthcare practice they can trust.
Ignoring Patient Concerns
Always remember that most patients have little to no tolerance for medical practices that prioritize self-promotion. Some medical facilities view their strategy only as a promotional vehicle to advertise the medical achievements of its facilities as well as its healthcare practitioners.
The number one priority should always be the health of your patients and this is fairly achievable by providing reliable medical information about health issues.
Violating Your Patient’s Privacy
The main foundation of a doctor-patient relationship should always be built on confidentiality. Everyone needs to be assured that they can trust their medical information not to be released either intentionally or accidentally.
To ensure that no confidential patient information goes public, you need to have someone on your healthcare content marketing team who will be dedicated to ensuring compliance with medical privacy rules.
A Facebook page could easily reveal the names of HIV patients; a single blog post could easily name a child without consent from their parents. It’s easier to violate patient privacy if your medical practice isn’t careful enough.
Pretending to Understand Your Healthcare Marketing Metrics
Doctors are sometimes kept in the dark when it comes to the marketing programs of their medical facility. To help improve your healthcare content marketing strategy, make sure that you are aware of the key performance indicators that matter for your medical practice.
Tracking the wrong metrics will make you think you’re doing it all wrong, so it’s integral to go back to the drawing board and set your marketing metrics on the goals you have for your healthcare practice.
Neglecting Search Engine Optimization for Your Website
Organic search is made up of 23% of all your website visits. If you are not paying attention to your website to optimize it for search, you are losing a big chunk of your website traffic—and the loss of patient acquisition comes along with it.
Ranking your medical website on the first page of search engine results pages (SERPs) is also important to increase your online visibility. Among online users, 77% of patients rely on search engines before even booking an appointment with a healthcare facility.
Miscalculating the Power of Social Media
In a survey conducted by ZocDoc, it was found that about 53% of medical doctors in the US have an official Facebook page for their healthcare practice. There are also at least 967 hospitals with an official Twitter account and around 3,000 hospitals have an existing LinkedIn company page.
There’s a slim chance that your medical practice will have an increased patient base if you are nowhere to be found on social media. Your healthcare content marketing should not only focus on sharing relevant content on your website but also through social media platforms that can expand your healthcare reach.
Underestimating the Impact of Patient Reviews
A single bad online review about your medical practice can have long term effects on your patient acquisition strategy and your healthcare marketing as a whole.
While these healthcare content marketing mistakes are manageable, there’s a huge chance that your marketing team will miss the little details that matter.
Online Reputation Management as a Growing Healthcare Content Marketing Priority
With reviews storming everything on the internet and affecting online businesses, healthcare practices should pay close attention to online reputation management (ORM). A report by PWC has stated that 42% of online users looking for health information on social media platforms consider health-related reviews before making a decision.
Google, along with social media networks, is already an integral part of how your potential patients find health solutions online. Most people who are selecting a medical practice scour the internet to read online customer reviews and seek referrals for recommendations of the best healthcare facility to give them the best care.
When establishing an effective healthcare content marketing strategy, never forget the importance of online reviews for your medical practice. Patients rely heavily on the reviews they read online and one bad review can send a negative signal that your medical practice isn’t the right choice for medical concerns.
Your patient acquisition will run swiftly with a proven strategy that can take your medical practice to new heights. When you hire a team to implement the plan, make sure that you are equipped with the right medical marketing mindset for a quick jumpstart to your healthcare content marketing strategy.
What We Can Do for You
At WebServ, we have the know-how to take your healthcare content marketing strategy to the next level. For more information, give us a call!