Digital marketing is no longer optional; rather, it is a compulsion. Was digital marketing not a part of your curriculum?

Still, you must have a strong online presence to connect with your patients and gain their trust.  There is no loss if you can get extra eyeballs to your clinic from web searches.

I feel doctors are a boon to society. Very few niches command respect.

Doctors and healthcare experts are in the top few. Primarily because of the expertise they bring to the table. With high trust, patients are ready to pay a premium.

If you are a doctor, you can leverage digital marketing to scale your practice. We created a research on dental websites that covers important issues found on doctor websites and if our suggestions are implemented, it can increase site conversion by 3X!

Let us go through the important digital marketing strategies for doctors.

1. Powerful website design

Remain available 24*7 for your patients through your website and to make it powerful, maintain professionalism in website building just like you do in your job.

Look for the web design firm who has experience in healthcare online marketing and web designing. Work closely with them, share your ideas and let them know your website requirements.

You are the only one who can give strong medical marketing ideas to the developer for your website.

I recommend having an ongoing discussion with the web development team about your vision.

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Above is the screenshot of a dental website named Clove Dental with its headquarter in New Delhi.

Let’s know some of the plus points of the above website (shown in screenshot)

  • You can see the ‘book an appointment’ option right in the banner
  • Right below the banner you can see the list of happy patients, successful cases, number of clinics, google reviews etc. This builds a bond of trust among visitors.

You must ensure that your website home page should reflect your services or achievements  and ‘Book appointment’ option right at the beginning. This will educate patients about your clinic right at the first glance.

2. SEO-focused website content

A survey from Doctors.com has revealed that around three out of five, i.e. 63% of patients, choose one doctor over another because of its strong online presence.

Here SEO focused content implies properly optimized content which contains relevant keywords. You can also focus on local SEO, as patients usually prefer doctors present nearby their area.

For better understanding go through the best website content strategy.

There are various location-based keywords, for instance, ‘best dentist in Pune’ or ‘best cardiologist in Tampa’. If used properly, these long-tail keywords can improve your local search results.

 

Above are the top three results for dentists in Pune listed in local search results. Your website can be one of them if optimized properly.

Through local search your patients can check the Google Map to know the exact location of your clinic. Google local search display will be based on the patient’s location from your clinic.

The local listing is followed by organic search results. There is a  strong chance for your clinic to be featured in top 3 map pack listings

3. Actively collect patient reviews

Checking online reviews is a patient’s first step before contacting any doctor. Other patients’ personalized reviews build trust.

According to Globe Newswire, 70% of customers check online reviews before considering any doctor. Hence you must proactively tell your patients to review your services, as it will strengthen your online reputation.

Here I would like to share my colleagues  personal experience with a dermatologist whom she contacted for acne issues.

In her words,

“The first thing I checked before contacting any dermatologist is its online reputation and reviews which other patients have mentioned from their past experience.

Here along with positive reviews, it is equally important to focus on the negative reviews and read their comments.

As the screenshot shown below, I typed the dermatologist near me in the search bar and checked the address of the clinic which is near me. I read all the reviews of the doctor along with their ratings.  All such factors matter a lot while making any decision. It builds a bond of trust when you check the reviews of patients and their experience with the doctor.”

 

4. Display case studies

A case study is all about talking about your success in treating previous patients. In this section, you can talk about complex cases you resolved successfully.

I want to draw your attention to a case study on the website of ‘Crown Clinic’, a leading hospital in London known for quality hair transplants.

This clinic did a successful hair transplant for Jack P Shepherd, a renowned British actor. They mentioned his experience on their website as a case study.

Write such case studies on your social media channels  to win patients’ trust, as people tend to believe more in the real experience of other patients.

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5. Active Google Business Profile (GBP) Account for online reputation

In recent years, Google has worked a lot on Google’s business profile and thus made it easy for customers to fetch information about any local services. Below are some advantages of a Google business account for your healthcare services.

#1 Give useful information about your clinic to your patients

Google will ask you for some useful information about your clinic, which is also incredibly useful to your patients. GBP lets patients know about your clinic’s busiest hours, opening time, service options and other safety protocols.

 

#2 Your patients can ask queries directly through Google Business Profile

Give a chance to your patients to post their questions before visiting your clinic. You should be prompt in answering those queries to convert those patients into your customers.

 

#3 Let your patients know your clinic’s direction through Google Maps

Along with knowing your email address and contact number, your patients can know how to reach your clinic through GMB. They can visit your clinic directly; the credit goes to the ‘directions’ feature. Through Google Maps, they can plan their journey easily from your location.

 

6. Write industry-relevant blogs

Blogs are still important, and writing informative blogs can generate more traffic on your website. But this is not the only benefit; let’s know more about the importance of blogs in the healthcare sector.

#1 Educate patients on critical health information

Very few of your patients will be aware of the health issues, and educating them through your blogs will make them aware of diseases and build a bond of trust.

For instance, if you are a dentist, educate your patients about different teeth issues, their symptoms and critical conditions. This way, they can know about the situation when they need to consult you.

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#2 Attract new patients

Let your patients know about your new equipment and technologies in the clinic. Write case studies, newsletters, blogs, and FAQs to resolve a maximum number of patient queries.

Such a knowledgebase gives patients the necessary knowledge and increases their chances of contacting you for treatment.

#3 Retain current customers

You can also give some offers to your patients through blogs. For instance, if you are a dermatologist, you can educate your patients about sun safety and give them a chance to win a free sun care kit. Likewise you can provide such offers in any medical field.

Below is the screenshot of the UCO Medical clinic in Florida. The clinic is offering pap smear and other tests including ultrasound at a discounted rate for a particular month.

Such offers help a lot in retaining your current patients. As these patients already know your line of treatment and if they are happy with it, they can again contact you to avail the offers.

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7. Promote Free Training Videos on the Website for Trust building

Make your website more informative and creative through videos. It will give the desired personalization to the website, which you could miss out on.

#1 Engage through videos

Videos on your website will showcase your personality to the patients, increasing engagement. Keep your videos informative, keeping the viewers stuck with them, and they may go for an appointment with you.

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#2 Spread information through videos.

Although your website will inform the patients about your services, some viewers may still love watching videos because it gives them a personal touch.

Let them know about your treatment techniques, show them your clinic pictures through a small walkthrough, or add some happy patient videos who love to talk about your treatment and their experience. All such factors matter a lot in branding and building trust.

Here I would like to add an example of a Memorial Health System, a clinic in Florida.

They have added some testimonials of the patients telling about their problems and how they got relief from it with the help of doctors. Such powerful videos are a great medium to convince patients about the doctor’s line of treatment.

 

 

8. Social Media for personal branding

Brands are built on social. What are you waiting for? Lets see how social media channels can build your presence faster than you could imagine.

#1 Leverage Youtube Shorts

YouTube has a greater audience than any other app. Hence becoming a part of such a large network will give your clinic more exposure and conversion. You must rely on some skilled YouTube creators to showcase your treatment techniques effectively, and can give a never-ending ripple of brand lift.

You can engage the audience through creative videos and get more views than your counterparts. Hence through such videos, you can get a hooked audience, rather than the viewers, who will scroll down after the first few seconds of watching.

Let’s take an example here:

Dr. Mike is a popular Doctor-cum-YouTuber who regularly shares evidence-based medical information. He rejects baseless misconceptions and calls out illogical videos available online. He regularly reviews medical dramas. He has over 10 million subscribers, and his videos get millions of views.

Check here to check his profile.

 

 

#2 Instagram posts/reels about your clinic weekly

Sadly, various diseases-related information is available on the internet, but not all information is correct.

Hence it is a golden opportunity for you to combat this problem by sharing educational content on Instagram to guide your patients and build your brand. You must do regular posting on Instagram to gain followers.

Let’s take an example here:

Here I would like to draw your attention to the Instagram profile of Dr. Rashmi Shetty. She is a renowned dermatologist and has around 235k followers on instagram. Check out her instagram account here.

Below is the screenshot of her instagram account which contains various informative reels.

 

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Conclusion

Online marketing for doctors is the biggest weapon through which you can do branding of your hospital or clinic to grab maximum audience attention. Use YouTube shorts, Instagram Reels or other social media platforms to educate your patients and let them know about various diseases related to your profile. You can gain their trust and compel them to visit your clinic.

You must also know about what to look when hiring a website design agency to get the job done in the best possible manner. An experienced agency can create a digital marketing strategy that can  help you get patients on autopilot month-on-month.

 

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