Give your medical practice’s web presence a boost with medical marketing videos. The web 2.0 experience is all about interacting with site visitors, and videos help you grab their attention and connect with them on a more personal level. The most successful medical websites include video. Videos can be used to introduce a practice to visitors, play patient testimonials, provide valuable information about treatments you offer, etc. Videos engage visitors and help to build your credibility. Today, videos form an integral part of medical marketing campaigns.
Videos enable your prospects to better understand the treatments and services you offer. Furthermore, videos allow your prospects to see what you, your staff, and your practice look like, which helps to build trust. Video is a highly effective promotional tool, and prospects are more likely to view your marketing message if you use video. On the other hand, if you rely solely on the written word, you are less likely to reach the majority of your target audience. In this day and age, a lot more than just text is required to capture and retain people’s attention.
Video engages the senses more than the written word. You can create videos about your practice using sound, music, and compelling visuals. And thanks to advancements in technology, your prospects can easily view your videos on their laptops, iPods, cell phones, and other electronic devices. Video is far more accessible than it once was. As a result, it is also much easier to promote video. You can post videos to your website, blog, and video sharing sites, such as YouTube. You can post links back to your videos on social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook in order to spread the word.
When you consistently create high quality videos, people start to consider you an expert in your field. If you’re having trouble coming up with fresh content for videos, simply repurpose your written content and make a video version. You can appeal to a different type of audience if you create video content because there are people who don’t enjoy reading content and would rather watch it on video. There is also no need to worry about the duplicate content penalty when you repurpose content for video.
The more professional your videos look, the better. In order to create visually appealing videos that look highly professional, consider hiring a medical marketing firm with experience in video production. A qualified medical marketing firm with video production expertise can help you create videos that form an integral part of your medical marketing campaign. It is ideal to work with a medical marketing firm who can spearhead your entire campaign in addition to producing your videos to ensure that your marketing message and branding image remain consistent across all types of media.
Of course you can also opt to purchase an HD cam and produce your own videos, but let’s face it; most doctors don’t have time to meddle in video production. When you hire an experienced medical marketing firm to create videos for you, you can leave the logistics to the experts. The result is professional, quality videos created in a timely manner that will blow your competitors away and position you as an authority in your field.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Medical Marketing Tips – How to Use a Blog to Promote Your Medical Practice
If you are a doctor and you’re not blogging, the question is: why not? Blogging is a powerful method of medical marketing that helps you get your name out there, connect with potential patients, and generate more business. You might be wondering why on earth you would take time out of your busy schedule as a physician to write for free. Well, here’s why.
For one, if you’re far too busy to blog yourself, you can always hire a ghostwriter to write your blog posts for you, and then review each blog post to ensure that you approve of its content and request changes if necessary. Secondly, blog posts aren’t difficult to write. Even if you just take 30 minutes out of your day, you can write a pretty decent blog post. Blog posts tend to be shorter than other kinds of online articles, and they are written in a casual tone.
Surely, you already have a website for your medical practice. If not, you absolutely need to get one. In this day and age, in order to attract new patients, it’s essential for a portion of your medical marketing campaign to be conducted online. The majority of adults search for health information online and when they need to go to the doctor, they do a quick online search to find doctors in their area. You need to make sure that you have a search engine-optimized website that people can find when they search online. People are more likely to trust you and choose you as their doctor if you have a presence online. Blogs help you expand that presence and give your practice more credibility.
The main purpose of having a blog is to connect with your patients and potential patients. Now, clearly, you wouldn’t use a blog to talk about what happens in your practice or how your day was. However, you could use a blog to discuss the latest treatments in your field, recent medical breakthroughs, and other general information. When people browse online for medical information and find your site, they are likely to trust you as a good source of information since you are a doctor. This helps you build authority within your medical field as well as online.
Another important benefit of blogging is that you can connect with your readers on a personal level. Your blog readers will comment on blog posts you write that they find interesting, and you can then respond to their comments. As a result of blogging, you can connect with your patients and potential patients. People will think of you as a friendly, approachable doctor rather than one who is too busy to give them the time of day. This personal connection is important because it helps you attract more patients to your practice.
Blogging is also beneficial because it gives your online presence a major boost. People aren’t the only ones who love blogs; search engines do too. Blogs are constantly updated and the search engines like content-rich sites that are fresh and frequently updated. Furthermore, a blog connected to your main website makes it easier for search engine robots to crawl and index your site. And most importantly, content is considered king online. Both people and search engines love great content. Great content attracts links on other relevant sites and blogs, which then leads to a higher search engine ranking. Search engines judge the popularity and relevance of your site based on the number of links back to your site that accumulate on other websites.
Blogging also makes it easier for you to participate in social media because you have something that you can immediately share and use to attract attention to yourself and your practice. By joining a site like Twitter, you can post updates, or “tweets,” each time you write a new blog post. If the blog posts are good, other Twitter users will “re-tweet” them and spread them across the twitterverse. Social media marketing is like word-of-mouth on steroids, and when used properly, it can catapult you to both online and offline fame.
So, what are you waiting for? If your medical marketing plan doesn’t include blogging, consider adding a blog to your current website. The more you update the blog, the better, but you can even update it as little as once or twice per week if you are too busy to dedicate any more time to it than that. There are a number of doctors and hospitals that have used blogging and social media to generate publicity and attract new patients, and you can do the same. Start a blog today if you want to increase awareness about your practice and generate publicity both online and offline.
For one, if you’re far too busy to blog yourself, you can always hire a ghostwriter to write your blog posts for you, and then review each blog post to ensure that you approve of its content and request changes if necessary. Secondly, blog posts aren’t difficult to write. Even if you just take 30 minutes out of your day, you can write a pretty decent blog post. Blog posts tend to be shorter than other kinds of online articles, and they are written in a casual tone.
Surely, you already have a website for your medical practice. If not, you absolutely need to get one. In this day and age, in order to attract new patients, it’s essential for a portion of your medical marketing campaign to be conducted online. The majority of adults search for health information online and when they need to go to the doctor, they do a quick online search to find doctors in their area. You need to make sure that you have a search engine-optimized website that people can find when they search online. People are more likely to trust you and choose you as their doctor if you have a presence online. Blogs help you expand that presence and give your practice more credibility.
The main purpose of having a blog is to connect with your patients and potential patients. Now, clearly, you wouldn’t use a blog to talk about what happens in your practice or how your day was. However, you could use a blog to discuss the latest treatments in your field, recent medical breakthroughs, and other general information. When people browse online for medical information and find your site, they are likely to trust you as a good source of information since you are a doctor. This helps you build authority within your medical field as well as online.
Another important benefit of blogging is that you can connect with your readers on a personal level. Your blog readers will comment on blog posts you write that they find interesting, and you can then respond to their comments. As a result of blogging, you can connect with your patients and potential patients. People will think of you as a friendly, approachable doctor rather than one who is too busy to give them the time of day. This personal connection is important because it helps you attract more patients to your practice.
Blogging is also beneficial because it gives your online presence a major boost. People aren’t the only ones who love blogs; search engines do too. Blogs are constantly updated and the search engines like content-rich sites that are fresh and frequently updated. Furthermore, a blog connected to your main website makes it easier for search engine robots to crawl and index your site. And most importantly, content is considered king online. Both people and search engines love great content. Great content attracts links on other relevant sites and blogs, which then leads to a higher search engine ranking. Search engines judge the popularity and relevance of your site based on the number of links back to your site that accumulate on other websites.
Blogging also makes it easier for you to participate in social media because you have something that you can immediately share and use to attract attention to yourself and your practice. By joining a site like Twitter, you can post updates, or “tweets,” each time you write a new blog post. If the blog posts are good, other Twitter users will “re-tweet” them and spread them across the twitterverse. Social media marketing is like word-of-mouth on steroids, and when used properly, it can catapult you to both online and offline fame.
So, what are you waiting for? If your medical marketing plan doesn’t include blogging, consider adding a blog to your current website. The more you update the blog, the better, but you can even update it as little as once or twice per week if you are too busy to dedicate any more time to it than that. There are a number of doctors and hospitals that have used blogging and social media to generate publicity and attract new patients, and you can do the same. Start a blog today if you want to increase awareness about your practice and generate publicity both online and offline.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
10 Surefire Steps to Medical Marketing Success
Do you want to be considered an expert in your medical field and attract new patients to your practice? If so, you need to devise a strong medical marketing campaign. After spending years studying medicine and earning your credentials, you’ve undoubtedly learned that finding new patients takes more than just being a good doctor. You need to develop a sound medical marketing campaign in order to compete with other doctors for patients. Whether you are just getting started or you have been in business for years, the following 10 steps to medical marketing success will enable you to develop a strong brand for your practice, attract tons of new patients, and become an authority in your medical field.
1. Create a unified brand image and message
Don’t hire one person to design your logo, another to write the copy on your site, and a company to design your website. Hire a medical marketing firm with vast experience building successful campaigns for doctors and hospitals to take care of every aspect of your medical marketing campaign and promotional efforts. You don’t want your medical marketing efforts to look DIY and hodgepodge. Make sure that your logo, website, business cards, letterheads, brochures and all other marketing materials have a consistent brand image and message.
2. Write a mission statement
Spend some time thinking about what kind of image and message you would like for your practice to portray. Write a mission statement that outlines your goals as a practice and what you hope to achieve through your medical marketing campaign.
3. Promote a specific procedure or procedures on your website
In order to be considered an expert in your medical field, you must focus on the specific procedure or procedures you are most noted for on your website. What procedure do you perform most frequently? Try focusing on that procedure as your specialty. As a result, you may be asked to speak at conventions and be quoted in the media as an expert. This will help you attract more patients and become an authority in your specific field.
4. Organize your medical marketing campaign and set a budget
Not only must you develop effective messaging for your medical marketing efforts, you must also develop a plan that will help you achieve your marketing goals. Organize your campaign by setting milestones and a budget.
5. Develop strategic partnerships with other practices
In order to take advantage of referrals, try to develop strategic partnerships with other practices. Not only is relying on referrals an economical way to market your practice, it is also highly effective. Before approaching practices to discuss the development of a partnership with them, make sure that it would be a win-win situation for both of you.
6. Make sure that your waiting room is memorable and patient-friendly
If you have many patients with small children, create a small kids corner with toys in your waiting room. Leave free pens that feature your logo, brochures about the procedures you offer, and other promotional materials in your waiting room that people can take home with them or look at while they wait.
7. Optimize your website for the search engines
Make it easier for your patients and potential patients to find you online by optimizing your practice’s website for the search engines. Hire a medical marketing firm that also has search engine optimization (SEO) expertise so they can help you get your website on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and other major search engines. However, if you plan on relying primarily on referrals to attract new patients to your practice, SEO will probably be less of a priority for your site.
8. Determine which marketing strategies you will use
In addition to building a website for your practice, determine what marketing strategies you will primarily use to attract new patients to your practice. For example, if you are targeting companies or patients directly, you can use direct mail, yellow pages advertising, local newspaper advertising, and coupon mailing. If you are targeting referring physicians, you may instead need to focus on scheduling one-on-one meetings or sending marketing materials in the mail. No matter which marketing strategies you decide to use, at the very least, you’ll need a website, brochure, and appointment cards of the highest quality you can afford.
9. Hire a copywriter to author your marketing materials
To get your marketing message across clearly and ensure that you can build trust with patients and referring physicians, hire a professional copywriter to author your marketing materials. Poorly written marketing materials will reflect negatively on your practice and make it difficult for your potential patients to get the information they need. Hire a medical marketing firm with a professional copywriter on staff who can help to differentiate you from your competitors and capture what your practice is about. The more concise the copy, the better it will be because most people don’t have the time or patience to spend a long time reading about your practice.
10. Build a team of courteous, qualified staff
You and your staff members are the most important components of your brand. As a doctor, you probably strive to deliver the highest quality of medical care and service. Additionally, your staff members must offer excellent customer service and billing support. Your staff must act in a way that aligns with your practice’s mission statement and brand image in order for your medical marketing campaign to be successful.
1. Create a unified brand image and message
Don’t hire one person to design your logo, another to write the copy on your site, and a company to design your website. Hire a medical marketing firm with vast experience building successful campaigns for doctors and hospitals to take care of every aspect of your medical marketing campaign and promotional efforts. You don’t want your medical marketing efforts to look DIY and hodgepodge. Make sure that your logo, website, business cards, letterheads, brochures and all other marketing materials have a consistent brand image and message.
2. Write a mission statement
Spend some time thinking about what kind of image and message you would like for your practice to portray. Write a mission statement that outlines your goals as a practice and what you hope to achieve through your medical marketing campaign.
3. Promote a specific procedure or procedures on your website
In order to be considered an expert in your medical field, you must focus on the specific procedure or procedures you are most noted for on your website. What procedure do you perform most frequently? Try focusing on that procedure as your specialty. As a result, you may be asked to speak at conventions and be quoted in the media as an expert. This will help you attract more patients and become an authority in your specific field.
4. Organize your medical marketing campaign and set a budget
Not only must you develop effective messaging for your medical marketing efforts, you must also develop a plan that will help you achieve your marketing goals. Organize your campaign by setting milestones and a budget.
5. Develop strategic partnerships with other practices
In order to take advantage of referrals, try to develop strategic partnerships with other practices. Not only is relying on referrals an economical way to market your practice, it is also highly effective. Before approaching practices to discuss the development of a partnership with them, make sure that it would be a win-win situation for both of you.
6. Make sure that your waiting room is memorable and patient-friendly
If you have many patients with small children, create a small kids corner with toys in your waiting room. Leave free pens that feature your logo, brochures about the procedures you offer, and other promotional materials in your waiting room that people can take home with them or look at while they wait.
7. Optimize your website for the search engines
Make it easier for your patients and potential patients to find you online by optimizing your practice’s website for the search engines. Hire a medical marketing firm that also has search engine optimization (SEO) expertise so they can help you get your website on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and other major search engines. However, if you plan on relying primarily on referrals to attract new patients to your practice, SEO will probably be less of a priority for your site.
8. Determine which marketing strategies you will use
In addition to building a website for your practice, determine what marketing strategies you will primarily use to attract new patients to your practice. For example, if you are targeting companies or patients directly, you can use direct mail, yellow pages advertising, local newspaper advertising, and coupon mailing. If you are targeting referring physicians, you may instead need to focus on scheduling one-on-one meetings or sending marketing materials in the mail. No matter which marketing strategies you decide to use, at the very least, you’ll need a website, brochure, and appointment cards of the highest quality you can afford.
9. Hire a copywriter to author your marketing materials
To get your marketing message across clearly and ensure that you can build trust with patients and referring physicians, hire a professional copywriter to author your marketing materials. Poorly written marketing materials will reflect negatively on your practice and make it difficult for your potential patients to get the information they need. Hire a medical marketing firm with a professional copywriter on staff who can help to differentiate you from your competitors and capture what your practice is about. The more concise the copy, the better it will be because most people don’t have the time or patience to spend a long time reading about your practice.
10. Build a team of courteous, qualified staff
You and your staff members are the most important components of your brand. As a doctor, you probably strive to deliver the highest quality of medical care and service. Additionally, your staff members must offer excellent customer service and billing support. Your staff must act in a way that aligns with your practice’s mission statement and brand image in order for your medical marketing campaign to be successful.
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