Healthcare digital marketing refers to promoting your services online to healthcare aspirants. You can invest in digital marketing for your online healthcare services to make them more profitable. Health information is searched for online by 88% of people, and 70% of people report that the information influences treatment decisions. Staying connected with current and new patients is easy with digital marketing.
Health Care Industry and Digital Marketing
Social Engine Marketing:
Those who employ search engine marketing, along with search engine optimization and ad campaigns, achieve a higher level of visibility than those who do not.
Social Media Marketing:
The use of social media is equivalent to word-of-mouth marketing since people are active on social media. In the healthcare industry, this type of marketing is essential. The more people around you recommend XYZ doctor, the more likely you are to consult that doctor.
Statistics of Digital Marketing in Healthcare
- A recent study by Mediabistro found that over 40% of consumers find health-related information on social media (Mediabistro). Healthcare professionals must create educational content that can be shared on social media to benefit consumers.
- The 18 to 24 years old are more than twice as likely to discuss health-related topics on social media than those of 45 to 54. Social media and new forms of communication are embraced quickly by 18-24-year-olds, which makes it essential for healthcare professionals to be involved in these conversations.
- Ninety percent of respondents aged 18-24 trust medical information shared via social media (Search Engine Watch). Healthcare professionals can connect with millennials on social media in a more authentic and new way by clicking with their network of well-trusted online users.
- A smartphone is used by 19% of smartphone owners to access health apps. Diet, exercise, and weight loss apps are popular (Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group). Based on this figure, healthcare digital marketing should consider launching a speciality-specific app for your organization. Click Here
- It was found that 54% of patients are more comfortable seeking advice from online communities to resolve their problems. Mediabistro conducted this study. In this way, many people perceive the Internet as beneficial for exchanging health-related information.
- 31% of healthcare professionals use social media for professional networking, according to MedTechMedia. Networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook play a vital role in the professional development of healthcare workers through social media.
- Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group found that 41% of people would choose a specific medical facility, hospital, or physician based on social media. Healthcare organizations and individuals must focus on this channel to attract and retain patients.
Types of Marketing in Healthcare
A healthcare marketing campaign can be classified as either traditional or digital. In traditional marketing, media such as print, radio, television, and billboards have been used for a long time. A digital healthcare marketing campaign utilizes the Internet.
Marketers traditionally use the following methods:
- In-person sales
- Direct mail
- Print advertisements
- Telemarketing
- Trade shows
- Word-of-mouth marketing
- Television ads
- Radio ads
Digital forms of marketing include:
- Social media
- Email marketing
- Website
- Search engine optimization
- Search engine marketing
- Pay-per-click ads
- Content marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Video ads
- Internet radio/streaming service ads
A significant advantage of digital marketing over traditional marketing is its ability to track its effectiveness. Digital marketing has the advantage of being able to track the effectiveness of its campaigns. In contrast to conventional marketing, digital marketing tracks key performance indicators like clicks, views, and conversions.
Why Is Healthcare Marketing Important?
The majority of people search for a physician online, according to PatientPop. For providers who want to grow, standing out and having an accessible website are essentials. Patients have endless options. This is where healthcare marketing comes in. Social media, search engine optimization, and ads are all essential to retaining and gaining new patients.
Keeping patients informed about important information can also be achieve through marketing. Hospitals and healthcare facilities used social media and email campaigns to educate their patients about the COVID-19 vaccine when it was first available. The news and information about COVID-19 also appeared on numerous healthcare websites.
This process must comply with federal health marketing laws and regulations. The HIPAA Act, GDPR, and CAN-SPAM Act define some of healthcare marketing’s dos and don’ts:
- The HIPAA law (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): mandates the sharing of health insurance information and electronic billing
- The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Protects the processing of personal data by doctors, hospitals, and marketers
- The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling Unsolicited Pornographic and Marketing Communications Act of 2003): governs emails, specifically their content and how patients can opt-out.
Healthcare marketing Benefits
Healthcare marketing has many benefits from a business perspective and from the standpoint of improving patient-provider relations. Here are some of the top benefits:
- Increasing the reach of a healthcare facility or hospital
- Real-time information and news for patients
- Attracting new patients to a hospital or healthcare facility
- To retain patients, it is essential to keep them engaged.
- Increasing the quality of leads with digital marketing
Healthcare Industry Trends to Watch in 2023
Healthcare is undergoing a visible transformation, presenting marketers with opportunities and challenges.
Two variables drive this transition:
- A healthcare delivery model based on patient satisfaction, quality outcomes, and transparency is shifting from fee-for-service payment to one centered on digitally empowered healthcare consumers.
- The medical industry’s marketing strategies are impacted by the ‘who’ and the ‘how.’ The role of physicians as decision-makers has thus changed.
Every healthcare digital marketer should consider Six key trends:
1. Consumers are now avid researchers
Increasingly, consumers need more than blindly believe what doctors say. Rather than going to the doctor immediately, they prefer doing their homework first. In consequence, medications, hospitals, and treatments are no longer decide by doctors alone. The healthcare industry is more like a collaboration between doctors and consumers, catering to the needs of digital marketing for hospitals.
2. Healthcare marketers to target payers and consumers
Healthcare marketers have different audiences to target. In terms of the product or service being offered, this segment is the primary ‘who.’ Marketing is primarily aimed at doctors, which is not surprising. What’s the harm in that? Doctors’ decision-making is gradually shrinking as payers and consumers take over health care decisions. The emerging trend is that healthcare marketers must increasingly focus on payers and consumers.
3. Digital channels are eclipsing traditional marketing
Digital marketing is infiltrating almost every industry but is particularly prevalent in the healthcare sector. In recent years, digital marketing has dominated healthcare marketing over traditional marketing. In MM&M’s study, digital sales material, mobile apps, and social media are seeing the most significant growth in biotech, medical, diagnostic, and pharmaceutical device marketing budgets. Consumer marketing techniques are increasingly moving to digital ads, social media, and mobile apps, which is why digital channels are becoming more prevalent in healthcare.
4. A look at the ‘Digital Journey to Wellness: Hospital Selection’ by Think with Google
- The majority of patients book appointments using search engines.
- The number of visitors to hospital websites from search is nearly three times that from affiliate/referral sites.
- On a mobile device, 44% of patients schedule an appointment after researching hospitals.
- A digital content-enabled decision-making process is in place.
Before booking an appointment
- 77% of patients use search.
- 26% used reviews generated by consumers.
- 50% used health information sites.
- 54% of the patients used health insurance company sites.
- 83% used hospital sites.
5. The growth rate of the Indian Healthcare Industry
80% of the total Indian healthcare market will be account for by the Indian hospital industry by 2023, according to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation. A growing number of people are adopting digital techniques as a result. This growth trend in India led Google Health Card to offer health services in India. By 2023, the Healthcare Information Technology (IT) market will grow 1.5 times.
6. Launch and Refine Your Patient Portals and Mobile Apps.
You can build an email list using protected health information, but sending emails based on that information is another. People’s options expand considerably once they sign into a portal or mobile app. You can display specific information about a condition or treatment or suggest services or appointments within those interfaces. You can give patients direct access to their medical records and doctors. That is one of the reasons why so many patients use patient portals today. Create patient portals that provide direct access to medical information and customized content resources to personalize the patient experience.
