6 Free Ways to Attract More Patients
Effective Medical Marketing should always focus on attracting more new patient enquiry.
In this post we summarize six measurable marketing tactics for your practice that are both online and offline.
1 - Improve Your Social Profile
88% of healthcare consumers under the age of 40 say they choose the next healthcare provider based on their strong online presence. This means having a solid social media presence is a great way to reach and connect with potential patients.
Social Media is free, and despite scepticism by doctors, many patients consider social platforms a reliable source of health information.
Boosting popular content using paid methods can sometimes increase this medical marketing option.
2 - Blogging to Answer Patients Questions
There are over 1 billion health searches or health questions typed into Google daily. Helping answer patients' questions is really the main purpose of a Blog.
Blog content should be a simpler way of providing patient information at a glance.
Creating content posted via a blog can be a less formal approach to engaging with new patients. With more formatting freedom. Your content can be text blogs, video, images or other graphics.
Topics can include tips, trends, guides, explainers, news or results. Other topics can address specific niche topics in a long format. When planned and executed well they can materially improve your search engine visibility or online reach.
3 - Get More Patient Reviews
Like it or not, patients are very much influenced by reviews. Quality and volume matter.
While Google has indicated Reviews have some weight in their search engine algorithm, we see it as a critical piece in the social proof and new patient engagement equation.
There are many methods for acquiring patient reviews, but whatever your practice approach, we believe, surveying their experience should be a part of every patient’s journey with your practice.
4 - Personal Recommendations
91% of consumers agree that family and friends are important resources when researching new services.
When a patient is happy with their experience it is a great opportunity to ask for a face-to-face video review, a letter of recommendation or a positive social post.
Simple “Thank You” notes in the post or other gratuities for friends and families may also help in increasing personal referrals or recommendations.
A healthy practice typically gets more than 50% of their new patients through professional or personal referrals. There are always many ways to increase these numbers.
5 - Community Outreach
Aligning your practice with appropriate community groups or associations is also an effective form of marketing.
Whether your practice outreach is for a local community or a national professional body, any participation or achievement can also be leveraged on both your website and social channels.
Patient recognition, confidence and trust can be elevated where patients see you as a thought leader, community minded and charitable service provider.
6 - Plan for Consistency
By planning your Medical Marketing you should select what will work best for you.
While your website and primary practice are pivotal elements in your practice marketing mix, the other offline and online tactics should integrate consistently.
Over time your practice brand (the sum of your kept promises) will increase in value and you will attract more new patient enquiry.
Summary
We are here to help.
We have programs that can assist your practice achieve the above outcomes and much more.
Read more about Medical Marketing for Doctors HERE
