10 medical marketing strategies to introduce in 2022

Now more than ever, patients are researching healthcare online. Whether you’re an experienced healthcare provider or just entering the industry, strengthening your online presence is important for growing and maintaining a successful medical practice. We have put together a list of the best healthcare digital marketing strategies for you to introduce this year to help you build a strong online presence for your practice.

Build a fully optimised website

The healthcare industry is competitive, so building a professional website and marketing your practice online should be at the top of your to-do list. 

Having a fully optimised website will allow current and prospective patients to find you in the digital world. It is the most efficient way to grow your medical practice, helping you to get ahead of your competition and attract more patients.

Nowadays, there’s a vast choice of content management systems and website building tools that make launching a website as effortless as possible. Wix, Squarespace and WordPress are easy to use, even without experience. Check out our guide for more information on how to choose the right website builder.

To make it even easier, we recommend working with a freelance professional, agency or consultant experienced in building websites to ensure yours is technically sound, visually appealing and user-friendly.

Start an educational and informative blog

Many medical practices miss out on having a regularly updated blog in their medical marketing strategy, but it is something to consider. It can quickly become one of your most powerful healthcare digital marketing techniques.

Why blogging is key to your medical marketing strategy:

• A blog is an effective way to keep your patients updated about your practice. Think about it as a direct communication channel to talk about your services, new treatments or the latest improvements to your care.
• Blogging helps to drive traffic to your website. Make sure your content is full of the keywords and phrases that you want your medical practice to rank highly for in internet searches.
• Creating valuable educational content boosts your credibility and increases your patient trust and loyalty.
• Blogs are perfect for sharing on social media to reach new patients looking for the right specialist.
• A frequently updated blog containing well-written and relevant articles improves your SEO. It gives you the opportunity to have other websites link back to your posts, letting search engines know how helpful your website is. 

Top five practical blog writing tips for medical marketing:

1. Focus on writing about things that your patients will find helpful. Think about what they are researching and how you can reach them with your specialised content. For example, if you’re a nutritionist, you may want to write about the four ways vitamin C can keep you healthy or the top 10 foods to introduce to your diet that are full of fibre. 
2. Use your blog to answer the most common patient questions. Share case studies, treatment trends, the latest research and scientific developments. Also share news about your practice and staff to humanise your business and make it more friendly and approachable.
3. Avoid jargon. Most people are unfamiliar with medical terms, so use simple English. For example, instead of writing cholecalciferol, say vitamin D3.
4. Ensure your blog posts are easy to read. Use sub-headers to allow your readers to find the exact information they need. Readable content is essential if you want your site to perform well in the search results. 
5. Using relevant keywords in your posts will help you perform well in search engines. Utilise the keywords in your blog by placing them in your title, meta descriptions and on-page copy.

Share your content on social media

Take advantage of popular social media channels to share your content and important updates. Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and even TikTok are there for you to use. Choose the social networks that your prospective patients are most likely to be on. For example, if you are a dentist, choose more visual channels like Instagram or TikTok to show your audience how to brush your teeth properly. You may want to get inspired by Dr Rafif Tayara’s fantastic Instagram page.

Five ways to make engaging social media posts to boost your medical marketing:

1. Focus on delivering value. Use your social media to educate, inform and inspire your patients. This will encourage people to engage with your posts.
2. Create a series of “how to” posts such as ‘how to reduce inflammation after an injury’ or ‘how to decrease bloating’. These can be a great way of building credibility by showing your expertise. Plus, if someone finds your tips helpful, they are likely to keep you in mind for when they next need to schedule an appointment.
3. The internet is full of fake news and misinformation. Use your platform to debunk common myths related to your speciality and become the source of truth. People love learning, so this is a great way to boost your engagement!
4. Be consistent with your content. If you want to reach more people, post at least three times a week. Make sure to reply to all your comments and messages to keep your profile active.
5. Consider posting images of your medical practice and your friendly staff to build trust and transparency.

Collect and use patient reviews

One of the best marketing strategies for medical practices is collecting and sharing patient feedback online. This enables more people to find your fantastic care and choose your services confidently.

In the last seven years, the number of people using online healthcare reviews to find health and social care providers has grown to 69%. 

People researching healthcare online are now five times more likely to click on a profile with verified feedback than one without. Also, 94% of healthcare patients use online reviews to evaluate providers. Gathering and publishing your feedback online should become your priority.

At Doctify, we help providers automate their feedback collection, making it easier for them to collect feedback without the administrative and environmental burden. Your star rating and reviews can then be published in Google and across your websites.

Patient feedback also makes for excellent social media posts. At Doctify, we have ready-made templates for you to use, so you don’t have to worry about creating additional graphics. Read our guide on how to make the most of our share-to-social feature.

Related: 7 ways to get more patient reviews in 2022.

Create an email newsletter

One of the best marketing ideas for doctors offices is the production of regular email newsletters. These can help to drive traffic to your website, blog and social media channels. 

Take the time to write and design a newsletter that will educate and engage your current and prospective patients. 

How to put together an engaging newsletter to strengthen your medical marketing strategy:

1. Survey patients to find out what content that they would like to read in your newsletter. 
2. Talk about any updates or changes to your practice that would interest your patients.  
3. Answer the most frequently asked questions your staff hear.
4. Share tips on staying healthy. For example, if you’re a neurologist, you can share suggestions on improving memory.

Top tip: your newsletters should be 90% educational and 10% sales related. 

Become a trusted source for the media

Consider connecting with journalists to provide them with commentary, quotes, expertise and insight. This will allow you to gain exposure, helping to strengthen your online presence. 

Top tip: Ask journalists to link back to your website to boost your SEO and reach more patients.

Also think about becoming a contributor to industry publications. Medical journals like to hear from healthcare providers about their experiences and expertise. Doing so will help to boost your profile and reputation amongst your colleagues and fellow doctors, which could lead to valuable referrals. 

Find out five ways to engage with PR as a medical practice here.

Know your SEO

Search engine optimisation (SEO) helps people researching healthcare online to find your medical practice. Let’s say you are a neurologist in Dubai, and someone is Google searching for one. You want your profile to appear first in the search results to encourage them to click on your website, read your verified reviews and eventually book an appointment at your practice.

How to use SEO to attract more patients:

1. Claim and optimise your Google My Business (GMB) listing
2. Optimise your website for the key terms and phrases your patients are searching for
3. Get involved in PR and giving expert comments to the press
4. Optimise your website. Make sure it’s loading fast, it’s responsive and user-friendly

For more information on how to optimise your content for SEO, please read our latest healthcare SEO blog which looks at how to choose the right keywords and produce the right copy to increase your visibility in search results.

Introduce video content

Video marketing is on the rise. The best part about videos nowadays is that you don’t need professional equipment or editing software to create and share valuable content. You can take advantage of popular apps like TikTok or Instagram to produce short videos with quick health-related tips. 

Video content ideas to boost your medical marketing:

1. Answer questions that your patients frequently ask.
2. Introduce healthcare providers working at your medical practice.
3. Explain the common conditions in your area of speciality, along with the best treatments available at your practice.
4. Familiarise your patients with the procedures you provide so they know what to expect when they visit your office. For example, if you are an acupuncturist, explain how and where acupuncture needles are placed.
5. Organise live webinars for your patients with Q&A sessions. This will help to attract new patients looking for the right specialist for their conditions.

Explore PPC (pay-per-click)

PPC, alongside SEO, is one of the most valuable marketing tools that can boost your website traffic. It is an excellent marketing method for instant results.

In practice, if a patient searches for “hearing aids” or “dental implants”, PPC allows you to position your medical practice at the very top of the search results, where you can’t be missed.

Related: SEO or PPC: Which is better for my private practice?

Learn from your analytics and tracking

Introducing all these marketing strategies can bring fantastic results. It’s important to keep track of your performance to learn the methods that are most valuable as well as areas to improve on. 

Nowadays, most marketing tools and software provides its users with detailed and easy-to-digest analytics to help you better understand the results of your marketing efforts.

For example, you can use Google Analytics to track your website traffic and gain insights into how patients engage with your pages. This information can give you the opportunity to understand what is performing well along with the content that you should amend or adjust.

The better your online presence, the more likely people will find you, trust you and visit your practice. Find out how Doctify can help you to strengthen your online presence and get five times more patient enquiries by collecting and showcasing your patient feedback.

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