When Should Healthcare Marketing Go Digital?

As technology evolves, leading hospital systems and healthcare vendors are being challenged with making the transition to digital marketing strategies. Here are the top three digital initiatives to consider.

Making the transition to digital marketing can seem like a lofty challenge. It can seem so daunting that leading hospital systems and healthcare vendors are frequently choosing to stick to traditional advertising options. Yet, when you examine patient behavior and preferences, it becomes clear that digital marketing strategies are needed to tap into more patients. In a recent Think with Google study, researchers found that 84% of patients use both online and offline sources for hospital research. And, of those who actively look online before considering a new healthcare provider, 44% of these patients are using a mobile device to do so.

Finding the best avenue to transition to digital marketing will largely depending on the resources that can be dedicated to crafting, implementing, and evaluating the success of various online campaigns. Response Mine Health, a leading healthcare advertising agency, recommends considering these three digital marketing strategies first before investing heavily in a full-blown initiative.

1. Email Marketing

If marketing resources are limited, email marketing can be a great place to start. Creating a series of informational and promotional emails to be sent out to former and current patients is often an effective way to nurture the patient relationship and keep them informed of new events, services, appointment reminders, etc. If you partner with an experienced medical advertising agency, you can also gather important marketing data such as the number of opens, click through rates, and cost per new patient. This information can be invaluable in helping your business expand into other digital marketing areas.

2. Social Media Marketing

Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, having a social media presence is important for every healthcare provider or hospital system. With 42% of patients viewing health information on social media, not tapping into this low-cost digital marketing method could be a big mistake. To get started, it is best to consider your target audience and determine which platform(s) they are most likely to use. Generally, patients in a younger demographic may lend more toward Twitter or Instagram, while older patients will likely favor Facebook. The key to running a successful social media campaign is generating engaging content that patients will want to engage with and share.

3. Video Marketing

For a more robust digital marketing strategy, healthcare marketing agency experts often recommend a hybrid approach of traditional campaigns with videos that can be leveraged on websites, social media pages and on sites like YouTube. In fact, recent search engine analysis suggests that 74% of all online traffic is funneled to video content. By offering branded informational videos on a variety of online platforms, you’re able to position your company in front of prospective patients with video content they will watch.

Finding proven ways to integrate new digital marketing strategies in with your existing marketing campaigns can be challenging. When you partner with an experienced digital healthcare marketing agency, you’ll be able to instantly leverage their tools and expertise to craft the winning combination.

Digital marketing may seem intimidating at first, but it’s well worth the transition. With the help of digital marketing’s many benefits, your healthcare company can grow by leaps and bounds.