About 65% of businesses claim generating leads and website traffic are among their top marketing challenges. Another 74% say converting leads is a top priority. With a strong digital marketing strategy, you won’t have to struggle alongside them.
Instead, you can attract new patients to your medical practice without stress. With the right digital marketing plan, you can stand apart from competitors to grow your practice.
Read on to learn how to develop your own medical practice digital marketing strategy today.
Define Goals
Before using the rest of these digital marketing tips, take a moment to outline your business and marketing goals. Defining distinct goals will help you choose the most effective business marketing tactics. Otherwise, you might choose marketing channels or strategies that don’t align with your practice’s needs.
For example, you might want to prioritize:
- Gaining online brand visibility
- Building brand awareness into recognition
- Establishing your credibility as a medical professional
- Generating website traffic
- Booking appointments at your practice
- Encouraging referrals
- Building a social media following
- Generating email newsletter subscribers
- Improving your search engine rankings
As you begin defining your goals, write them out so they’re SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Driven, Time-Sensitive). For example, you might want to attract 20% new, unique visitors to your website using blog posts before the end of Q4.
Choose a key performance indicator (KPIs) to track for each SMART goal you outline. KPIs include website visitors, calls, form submissions, email subscribers, and social media followers. Choosing KPIs will help you track your progress along the way.
You’ll have an easier time tracking your success if you break larger goals into smaller ones. Then, set an expected KPI for each benchmark goal.
If you haven’t accomplished your benchmark goals by the deadlines you set, you’ll know it’s time to adjust your marketing strategy.
Research Your Customers
You can also develop more effective digital marketing campaigns by researching your target audience first. It’s likely you’re trying to reach patients that fall under different demographics. For example, you might consider:
- Location (especially if you have multiple practices)
- Age
- Gender
- Salary
- Education
- Career
Research the psychographics relevant to your patients, too. For example, you can consider the pain points and medical problems they’re facing. Look into their interests, hobbies, buying behaviors, and online behaviors as well.
Once you gather demographic and psychographic research, organize your patients into buyer personas. Think of each persona as a real patient who needs your help.
Next, gather keyword research for each persona you’re targeting. Keyword research can help you determine how they find your practice online. You can use Google Keyword Planner, SEMRush, and Google Trends to develop a list of search terms.
Try to focus your attention on longer keywords and phrases. These keywords are more precise, which could make it easier for you to understand the patient’s needs.
For example, searching “doctor” might indicate they’re looking for a local doctor’s office. However, they might also want:
- To learn about different types of doctor
- Information about how to become a doctor
- A doctor’s costume for Halloween
Shorter search terms make it more difficult to determine the search intent. Targeting longer phrases can help you align your content with the reader’s expectations.
Update Your Website
Your medical practice’s website will function as the backbone for the rest of your digital marketing campaigns. Prospective patients can visit your website to learn about your practice, services, and credentials. If they can’t find the information they’re looking for, they’ll leave.
When visitors leave your website without visiting additional pages, your bounce rate can start to rise. A high bounce rate indicates you’re offering visitors a negative user experience.
Your search engine rankings might begin to drop, making it more difficult for prospective patients to find you online.
Before that happens, invest in website design and development services this year. Work with an agency that can improve the user experience on your site.
Otherwise, make sure your website is fast, user-friendly, and mobile-optimized to appeal to all visitors.
Create more than one opportunity for visitors to reach your practice as well. For example, you can create a call-to-click button for mobile visitors. You can also add chatbot functionality, forms, and pop-ups to generate leads.
Add an email subscription lead magnet to your website. You can offer visitors an eBook or helpful tool in exchange for email addresses. Once you grow your email subscription list, you can nurture those leads with a drip email marketing campaign.
Create Helpful Content
Nearly 70% of marketers say content marketing generates demand and leads. Another 72% say content helps educate their audiences. Over 60% say it helps build loyalty with existing clients, too.
However, only 40% of marketers have a documented content marketing strategy, though 82% invest in content marketing. A documented content marketing strategy can help you communicate with your target audience.
Creating fresh content for your website throughout the year can also encourage visitors to come back for more information.
Diversify your content marketing strategy with:
- Blogs/articles
- eBooks
- Polls
- Quizzes
- Videos
- Webinars
- Infographics
Try to create engaging, patient-focused content. Answer the questions your patients are asking to demonstrate your experience and expertise. Communicate EAT (expertise, authority, trustworthiness) to build your credibility, too.
Modern patients want to learn more about diagnosis, treatment, nutrition, and rehabilitation. Use your keyword research to determine what topics to cover.
Then, you can use search engine optimization (SEO) to help people find your medical practice, website, and content.
Optimize for SEO
An effective SEO strategy can help your medical practice’s website rank higher on search engines. There are four main types of SEO: on-page, off-page, local, and technical.
You can optimize your blog posts for on-page SEO by adding a target keyword within the content. Use secondary, related keywords to avoid keyword stuffing.
Off-page SEO involves tactics beyond your website. For example, you can start guest blogging on other sites to generate backlinks. Backlinks will direct readers to your medical practice’s website, allowing you to generate referral traffic.
Backlinks can also boost your domain authority to help you rank higher on search engine result pages (SERPs).
About 46% of Google searches are local. Prospective patients are looking for your practice online. You can create location-based content to appear in front of these patients during their online searches.
As part of your local SEO strategy, claim and optimize your Google Business listing. This listing displays your:
- Practice name
- Location/directions
- Business hours
- Patient reviews
- Latest posts
- Photos/videos
Ask your patients to post their reviews on your listing to boost your brand’s credibility. Post on your listing to inform patients of new services, hours, or other updates. Otherwise, share new photo and video content.
Technical SEO involves the backend of your website. Make sure to improve the user experience. Speed up your page load times and optimize for mobile devices, too.
Create PPC Ads
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising can help you appear in front of prospective patients online as well. You can appear based on demographics like their location or the search terms they’re using.
Use Google and Facebook Ads to develop text and display ads for your medical practice. Use remarketing ads to appear in front of previous website visitors, too.
Consider partnering with an experienced digital marketing agency before creating your first campaign. They’ll make sure you’re making the most of your budget. Otherwise, ineffective tactics could waste your time and money.
PPC will help you generate brand awareness, website traffic, and more leads.
Develop Email Campaigns
Email marketing can help you nurture the leads you generate through your website.
Segment your email subscription list to send personalized emails to your subscribers. You can direct them to new procedures, machinery, blog posts, and more. Keep them up-to-date with information about your practice or the healthcare industry.
Leverage Social Media
You can also promote your medical practice on social media. Determine which platforms your target audience uses most. Then, share your website content on social media to generate website traffic.
Publicize recent case studies or informative health-related literature. Make observations, offer your opinions, and let people know you’re available to help.
Keep track of timely posts like National Nutrition Month to share timely content throughout the year, too.
Track the Data
Once you begin using these digital marketing tips, review the data from your campaigns.
Determine which messages, images, CTAs, or tactics are helping you generate results. Remember to make adjustments based on your goals. Analyzing and optimizing your campaigns can help improve your ROI over time.
Hire an Agency
If you’re still struggling to accomplish your business marketing goals, work with a digital marketing agency this year. You can leverage their experience and expertise to make more informed marketing decisions.
Make sure the services they offer align with your business and marketing goals. Then, watch your ROI rise with a killer marketing strategy.
Boost Your Medical Practice’s Digital Marketing Strategy Today
Get ready to watch your medical practice grow this year. With a strong digital marketing strategy, you can set your business up for success. Go live with your next campaign using these tips today!
Remember, you don’t have to develop your campaign alone. We’re happy to help.
Contact our team today and let’s start something great together.
