Healthcare marketing refers to devising a strategy to attract, engage, and build long-term relationships with healthcare consumers. It involves utilizing various marketing channels, both traditional and digital. However, healthcare consumers favor digital channels.
Recently, Healthcare Marketing Agency – Techmagnate published a report on healthcare-related searches to understand how healthcare consumers are behaving on search engines & digital channels. It discovered that the overall search volume of the healthcare industry is at an all-time high – it grew by 39.30% in 2021-22, marked by the pandemic era. In 2022-23, the search volume was further increased by 5.83%.
All the major categories, like procedures, lab tests, specialists, and doctor profiles, under the industry saw a significant jump in the search volume. The hospital category saw a decline of 9%, but it also saw the highest growth of 75% in the preceding year.
To stay in line with the interests of healthcare consumers, healthcare organizations need to take calculated measures to excel, and it has to begin with getting on with the latest trends and strategies that are in line with what the healthcare consumers are looking for.
Get On With The Latest Trends In Healthcare Marketing
Strike a Balance Between Image and Service Marketing –
Image marketing focuses on building a positive brand image among healthcare consumers, while service marketing promotes healthcare services. Both are crucial aspects of healthcare marketing, as they collectively contribute to the overall success of a healthcare organization.
However, a balance must be struck between the two. A positive brand image proves pivotal in improving the perception of the hospital among patients and healthcare consumers. It is, however, equally important to promote healthcare services.
Shift from Mass Marketing to a Personalized Approach –
The healthcare industry is undergoing a significant transformation from a mass marketing model to a personalized one. There are many reasons for this transformation. Primarily, it has gained momentum due to the nature of the journeys of healthcare consumers, which is, as mentioned above, digital.
In fact, that is the case with nearly all industries. A study by Epsilon found that 80% of consumers are more likely to do business with companies that offer personalized experiences (source: Epsilon).
Building Long-lasting Relationships with Patients –
Similarly, building long-lasting relationships with patients has become the norm. Hospitals must determine what contributes to building such a relationship.
For that, many healthcare organizations are scrambling to invest in content marketing aimed at engaging with healthcare consumers at distinct touchpoints in their digital journey.
Hospitals must also adopt organic healthcare consumer acquisition strategies that include optimizing search visibility, building trust through patient reviews, fostering patient loyalty by creating a patient-centered environment, and much more.
Accepting That Healthcare Marketing Is Strategic
Digital marketing for hospitals is a strategic endeavor. It involves making the appointment booking experience easy, learning how digital technologies shape patient perceptions, exploring avenues for new patient acquisition, and building long-term partnerships so healthcare consumers keep coming back.
Select the Most Effective Digital Channels to Acquire New Patients
There are a number of digital channels that healthcare brands can leverage, but the selection of the right channels is crucial to get the coveted results and ensure the marketing budget is being used effectively. Techmagnate conducted a poll on LinkedIn inviting marketers to ask which channel has driven more quality leads in the long term.
79% of the audience voted for Healthcare SEO, and rightfully so, Techmagnate’s specialization Enterprise SEO Services have been playing a significant role in helping healthcare organizations dominate organic search and acquire healthcare consumers organically.
For instance, Techmagnate increased the Top 10 Share of Voice of a pathology lab by 135%. This helped the lab attract people interested in getting diagnostic tests and health check-ups to their website organically.
So success stories like these showcase the true power of SEO. However, that is not to say that pay-per-click advertising is not ideal for healthcare organizations. Through pay-per-click advertising, Techmagnate delivered a growth of 187% in leads for a hospital, translating to attracting more people interested in getting a high-ticket procedure (oncology, cardiology, etc.).
Ultimately, for optimal results, a combination of SEO and PPC advertising is essential. While Enterprise SEO is great for sustainable and long-term results, PPC advertising drives immediate results.
Embracing Content Marketing:
Whether it is about creating a personalized experience or building a long-lasting relationship, content is the one thing that drives it. However, healthcare content marketing differs from the website’s foundational content.
Foundational content focuses on providing information about healthcare services, hospital or clinic locations, patient policies, and other practical aspects of healthcare. Content marketing, on the other hand, targets the patient journey beyond decision-making moments, and aims to nurture long-term relationships.
It aims to educate, entertain, or inspire the audience, fostering engagement and building trust over time. Effective content marketing aims to answer the questions that users are actively searching for, making the content relevant and valuable to the target audience.
The aforementioned were a few measures that leading healthcare players have taken to excel. Others need to implement these measures to stay relevant. Healthcare players need to prepare a strategy beforehand for implementing these measures in the correct manner.
A trusted healthcare marketing partner can simplify this part and help them reach overarching business benefits. Healthcare players need to tie up with a trusted partner with a good track record, portfolio, and end-to-end capabilities to create an impact.
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