Malaysia has always been one of the most preferred tourist spots of South East Asia. Now, the country is becoming increasingly popular for another kind of tourism – medical tourism. Every year several thousands of medical travelers come to the state-of-the-art hospitals of Malaysia to be treated for various ailments, and recuperate in calm, scenic natural surroundings including beaches.
The hospitals of Malaysia are highly advanced and boast of the latest technological of the excellence of treatment that they will receive. Moreover, the medical professionals of Malaysia are highly qualified and have extensive international exposure and qualifications. Since the doctors and other healthcare professionals are well versed in English, communication is also not a problem. While the treatment, usage of diagnostic equipment and the cost of facilities and hospital care are quite reasonable as compared to western countries, the standard of medical expertise of Malaysian professionals is ranked among the best in the world.
The country is able to offer excellent medical facilities at such discounted prices mainly because of the government’s involvement in promoting it as a medical tourism destination and of course due to other geographical advantages.
Traveling to Malaysia for Medical Care – The Process
The patient must initiate the process with comprehensive research on the medical facilities and the doctors who are experienced in the medical treatment that they seek. The internet is a treasure trove of information for this level of research; there are tour and travel operators as well as hospitals that have a well established online presence.
Once a hospital and a doctor are finalized, the patients can consult the doctor with his medical history and reports. The doctor will chart out a detailed treatment plan that the patient will have to follow. This is the time for extensive discussions on the treatment suggested, other available options, recovery period, possible complications etc. Once the patient is completely satisfied with the answers given by the doctor as well as the facilities available at the location, he can prepare for travel.
For Second Home Residents
Malaysia is a popular second home for many people who are middle to old aged. These people have a definite advantage over their counterparts in the domestic country on the affordable but high quality medical facilities that are available in Malaysia. Medical conditions that are common in these age groups – such as obesity, knee or hip replacement, ophthalmologic or dental conditions etc. are practiced as specializations by highly qualified doctors in the country.
Treatments such as weight loss may be offered as a package where education on nutrition, therapy for change in behavior, and medical care are provided with or without surgical/drug treatment. If a person is seriously overweight, a clinical program is advisable. For those who live in Malaysia, this may actually be a very effective option because they are under no pressure to travel back at the stipulated time.
Support by the Government
The Malaysian government takes a very active role in promoting medical tourism in the country. It is treated as a strategic industry in the healthcare field. There are several incentives and guidelines that are provided by the government to encourage new and existing entrants and to standardize the facilities. Patient safety is top priority and the government insists on strict compliance to international standards of healthcare.
Malaysia is a safe and affordable alternative to those patients who face problems in getting the right medical treatment due to inordinate delays in the waiting lists or inflated costs back home.
For more log on to medical practice marketing
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
A Comprehensive Guide to Medical Marketing
You might be an established physician with years of practice behind you. Perhaps you are also completely aware of all the latest developments in your field. But experience and expertise alone simply do not cut it anymore, in the modern world. Marketing and branding of your practice is absolutely important to beat the competition in this day and age.
A good medical marketing campaign can not only help retain your patients, it can also help grow your practice and inspire your staff as well.
Identify Your Goal
The first step towards medical marketing is to identify your goal or mission. You might feel the need to project a certain image to your patients and fellow physicians. The goal of your medical marketing plan is to assist you in achieving this. You must have a long tem goal which is flexible enough to accommodate short term goals as and when needed.
Highlight Strengths and Improve on Weaknesses
Take stock of your strengths and specialties. There must be something that sets you apart from your competitors. Also take the opportunity to survey your competitors. Check out the ones whom you believe to be threats for you. Maybe they are in the same locality or offer similar services. So step up your plan and begin with offering something unique.
Solicit your patients’ help and consider their views about your practice. They will tell you what they find most trustworthy and attractive about you, your clinic and your staff. Also ask them where they would like to see an improvement. If there is any confusion or misinterpretation, clear it pronto. Take adequate steps to address any complaints that your patients may have.
Keep an Eye on the Competition
See how your competitors are marketing their services. Keep a check on yellow pages, TV and radio commercials, newspaper ads and even websites of your competitors. Make the most of what you can afford. Internet marketing is inexpensive and far reaching compared to other forms of marketing, but don’t adopt it as the only marketing medium. Usually a combination of online and offline marketing efforts work best.
Budget and Allocate Resources
Give a thought to your budget, not only in terms of money, but also human capital and the time that you are willing to invest in your marketing campaign. Then you can devise strategies for the campaign. You can first try a promotional activity to educate people about your clinic and its specialties, and then move on to more elaborate activities.
Choose the Right Medium and the Right Team
There are many mediums available for medical marketing and each comes with its own rules and regulations. Each has its own advantages and drawbacks. Evaluate them carefully before you select the medium to showcase your practice. Choose the right mix of print, television and internet exposure.
When your plan is in place, make sure you have a good team which understands you completely and is qualified and efficient enough to carry out your plans successfully.
Go Ahead and Launch
Once you launch your campaign, there are bound to be comparisons with your competitors. Create a unique branding strategy. You can have your letterhead, business card, prescription pad and envelopes specially designed. Go a step further and give similarly designed folders to your patients to store their medical records. These are small things that go a long way in creating a brand.
A good medical marketing campaign can not only help retain your patients, it can also help grow your practice and inspire your staff as well.
Identify Your Goal
The first step towards medical marketing is to identify your goal or mission. You might feel the need to project a certain image to your patients and fellow physicians. The goal of your medical marketing plan is to assist you in achieving this. You must have a long tem goal which is flexible enough to accommodate short term goals as and when needed.
Highlight Strengths and Improve on Weaknesses
Take stock of your strengths and specialties. There must be something that sets you apart from your competitors. Also take the opportunity to survey your competitors. Check out the ones whom you believe to be threats for you. Maybe they are in the same locality or offer similar services. So step up your plan and begin with offering something unique.
Solicit your patients’ help and consider their views about your practice. They will tell you what they find most trustworthy and attractive about you, your clinic and your staff. Also ask them where they would like to see an improvement. If there is any confusion or misinterpretation, clear it pronto. Take adequate steps to address any complaints that your patients may have.
Keep an Eye on the Competition
See how your competitors are marketing their services. Keep a check on yellow pages, TV and radio commercials, newspaper ads and even websites of your competitors. Make the most of what you can afford. Internet marketing is inexpensive and far reaching compared to other forms of marketing, but don’t adopt it as the only marketing medium. Usually a combination of online and offline marketing efforts work best.
Budget and Allocate Resources
Give a thought to your budget, not only in terms of money, but also human capital and the time that you are willing to invest in your marketing campaign. Then you can devise strategies for the campaign. You can first try a promotional activity to educate people about your clinic and its specialties, and then move on to more elaborate activities.
Choose the Right Medium and the Right Team
There are many mediums available for medical marketing and each comes with its own rules and regulations. Each has its own advantages and drawbacks. Evaluate them carefully before you select the medium to showcase your practice. Choose the right mix of print, television and internet exposure.
When your plan is in place, make sure you have a good team which understands you completely and is qualified and efficient enough to carry out your plans successfully.
Go Ahead and Launch
Once you launch your campaign, there are bound to be comparisons with your competitors. Create a unique branding strategy. You can have your letterhead, business card, prescription pad and envelopes specially designed. Go a step further and give similarly designed folders to your patients to store their medical records. These are small things that go a long way in creating a brand.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Medical Marketing Basics
In the competitive world of today, it may not be wise to depend only on word of mouth to keep your medical practice a step ahead of your competitors. You need to promote your clinic or hospital actively to ensure that there is a steady incoming stream of patients. As in any other profession, advertising and marketing have come to play an important role in the success of medical profession as well.
Medical marketing helps boost your visibility, and ensures that competition cannot take your loyal patients away from you. Newer patients are also brought in regularly. It makes for smooth practice and also provides scope for expansion.
You must make sure that the unique offers and exclusive services that you offer are known to patients. Only when people become aware of these services will they approach you for it. With a careful marketing plan, you can get good public exposure - which means more patients, more income and also better reputation.
There are various methods of medical marketing, some of which are expensive while some others are time consuming. You cannot depend on a single marketing method though, a balanced strategy is what is preferable.
First identify your preferred group of patients and then set about making your mark in that niche.
Keep in Touch With Current Patients
It is a good idea to pay more attention to public relations than advertising to build your trust quotient and this needs to be done at a personal level. You should stay in touch with your current patients who will refer you to the people they know. You can maintain a database containing contact information of your patients and intimate them about any specialties you add to the hospital, upcoming events like free checkups or gifts at your clinic.
Build On Your Image
You could also be part of a local charity or fundraising events to add to your image. You should be open to feedback from your patients and be quick to take remedial measures if they find any service or product unsatisfactory; for example they may complain that your billing process is slow or there is not enough room in the waiting area. Little touches like reminding patients of their appointments may go a long way in creating a professional and caring image.
Reach Out to Potential Patients
Consistent efforts are needed to attract new patients. For this there are conventional methods like distributing leaflets and brochures, television, radio and newspaper advertising or the modern internet marketing.
You can circulate brochures containing information about treatments and services that you provide. This is not very expensive but the visibility is usually limited to a certain geographical area. You can even organize a promotional event in your locality where you conduct free examination and provide tips on healthcare. You can promote your product or service at this platform. Your personal interaction will add to the promotion, but the drawback here is again limited visibility.
Television and radio advertising have a wider audience but may be too expensive for a clinic. Having an interview on the local television channel is also a good idea.
Comparatively, internet marketing is cheaper and has a bigger impact. You can get listed on online directories and websites as well as have a website of your own. That is just for starters. Many companies offer internet marketing services for physicians and doctors, within any budget. If you are a doctor, a clinic or a hospital that is looking to get out there and be more visible, you might want to get in touch with a professional medical marketing firm.
Medical marketing helps boost your visibility, and ensures that competition cannot take your loyal patients away from you. Newer patients are also brought in regularly. It makes for smooth practice and also provides scope for expansion.
You must make sure that the unique offers and exclusive services that you offer are known to patients. Only when people become aware of these services will they approach you for it. With a careful marketing plan, you can get good public exposure - which means more patients, more income and also better reputation.
There are various methods of medical marketing, some of which are expensive while some others are time consuming. You cannot depend on a single marketing method though, a balanced strategy is what is preferable.
First identify your preferred group of patients and then set about making your mark in that niche.
Keep in Touch With Current Patients
It is a good idea to pay more attention to public relations than advertising to build your trust quotient and this needs to be done at a personal level. You should stay in touch with your current patients who will refer you to the people they know. You can maintain a database containing contact information of your patients and intimate them about any specialties you add to the hospital, upcoming events like free checkups or gifts at your clinic.
Build On Your Image
You could also be part of a local charity or fundraising events to add to your image. You should be open to feedback from your patients and be quick to take remedial measures if they find any service or product unsatisfactory; for example they may complain that your billing process is slow or there is not enough room in the waiting area. Little touches like reminding patients of their appointments may go a long way in creating a professional and caring image.
Reach Out to Potential Patients
Consistent efforts are needed to attract new patients. For this there are conventional methods like distributing leaflets and brochures, television, radio and newspaper advertising or the modern internet marketing.
You can circulate brochures containing information about treatments and services that you provide. This is not very expensive but the visibility is usually limited to a certain geographical area. You can even organize a promotional event in your locality where you conduct free examination and provide tips on healthcare. You can promote your product or service at this platform. Your personal interaction will add to the promotion, but the drawback here is again limited visibility.
Television and radio advertising have a wider audience but may be too expensive for a clinic. Having an interview on the local television channel is also a good idea.
Comparatively, internet marketing is cheaper and has a bigger impact. You can get listed on online directories and websites as well as have a website of your own. That is just for starters. Many companies offer internet marketing services for physicians and doctors, within any budget. If you are a doctor, a clinic or a hospital that is looking to get out there and be more visible, you might want to get in touch with a professional medical marketing firm.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
India – A Preferred Medical Tourism Destination
More people around the world are opting to come to India for various healthcare needs, making India one of the most preferred medical tourism destinations in the world. Patients seek medical, surgical as well as dental care in India. Medical tourism in India is a great combination of world class amenities, fast service and a beautiful country with a rich and diverse culture to explore. It makes sense to enjoy a holiday along with health care as India has some of the most beautiful tourist spots in the world.
Indian hospitals provide world class healthcare which comes at a much lesser price than countries like U.S.A. or U.K. These hospitals have the best equipments; they work with the most advanced technologies and have excellent infrastructural facilities. The low cost of surgical treatments does not mean that the quality of health care is below par in any way. In fact, most Indian medical professionals have been educated in some of the best medical institutions in the world and they carry years of experience working in reputed hospitals.
Among the well known hospitals of India, Wockhardt, Apollo, Escorts and All India Institute of Medical Sciences are popular for experienced and trained doctors; these specialists have been providing exceptional healthcare services for many years. The waiting time for critical cases in these hospitals is minimal which makes it all the more worthwhile for overseas patients to chose India.
Specialized dental treatments like dental implants, root canal treatments, porcelain metal bridges and crowns, whitening and even smile designing are available at affordable costs and the quality is at par with international standards.
Orthopedic surgeries like hip surgery have also become India’s specialty. In fact, hip resurfacing procedure carried out here is unique and the trauma caused is less compared to traditional hip replacement surgery. Single hip replacement or even bilateral hip replacement surgery is quite inexpensive in India and the recovery period is enough to ensure that the patients get to do some sight seeing before their visa expires and they need to head home.
Most of the Indians are able to understand and speak English well; this makes it easier for overseas patients to interact with their surgeons and doctors. Affordable living costs also ensure that the patient’s family can stay in a nearby resort or a lodging facility while having a taste of the local culture.
Apart from India, Singapore is also coming up as a favorite medical tourism destination for affordable treatment available at many of the Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals. Malaysia also boasts of a largely English speaking population and has well maintained hospitals. Thailand provides excellent plastic surgery services.
Whether it is cardiac surgery or dental care, organ transplant or cosmetic surgery, gynecology or cancer treatments, ophthalmology or hip replacement surgery, India has secured its place as one of the best medical tourism destinations. There are websites dedicated to finding the best treatment option available for every problem. They inform about cost, treatment procedures, accommodation facilities and airfares all combined together as a single package.
For your next big medical procedure, why not consider India? For more related information, visit, medical marketing
Indian hospitals provide world class healthcare which comes at a much lesser price than countries like U.S.A. or U.K. These hospitals have the best equipments; they work with the most advanced technologies and have excellent infrastructural facilities. The low cost of surgical treatments does not mean that the quality of health care is below par in any way. In fact, most Indian medical professionals have been educated in some of the best medical institutions in the world and they carry years of experience working in reputed hospitals.
Among the well known hospitals of India, Wockhardt, Apollo, Escorts and All India Institute of Medical Sciences are popular for experienced and trained doctors; these specialists have been providing exceptional healthcare services for many years. The waiting time for critical cases in these hospitals is minimal which makes it all the more worthwhile for overseas patients to chose India.
Specialized dental treatments like dental implants, root canal treatments, porcelain metal bridges and crowns, whitening and even smile designing are available at affordable costs and the quality is at par with international standards.
Orthopedic surgeries like hip surgery have also become India’s specialty. In fact, hip resurfacing procedure carried out here is unique and the trauma caused is less compared to traditional hip replacement surgery. Single hip replacement or even bilateral hip replacement surgery is quite inexpensive in India and the recovery period is enough to ensure that the patients get to do some sight seeing before their visa expires and they need to head home.
Most of the Indians are able to understand and speak English well; this makes it easier for overseas patients to interact with their surgeons and doctors. Affordable living costs also ensure that the patient’s family can stay in a nearby resort or a lodging facility while having a taste of the local culture.
Apart from India, Singapore is also coming up as a favorite medical tourism destination for affordable treatment available at many of the Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals. Malaysia also boasts of a largely English speaking population and has well maintained hospitals. Thailand provides excellent plastic surgery services.
Whether it is cardiac surgery or dental care, organ transplant or cosmetic surgery, gynecology or cancer treatments, ophthalmology or hip replacement surgery, India has secured its place as one of the best medical tourism destinations. There are websites dedicated to finding the best treatment option available for every problem. They inform about cost, treatment procedures, accommodation facilities and airfares all combined together as a single package.
For your next big medical procedure, why not consider India? For more related information, visit, medical marketing
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Enhance Your Practice’s Website with Medical Marketing Videos
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
SEO Tips for Medical Marketing Campaigns
Even if a medical practice has a great website, it’s pointless if no one can find it. To ensure that your medical website has great search engine visibility, it’s essential to plan a medical marketing campaign that includes an effective SEO strategy. SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, consists of optimizing websites through link building, content creation, and on-site optimization techniques so they rank better on the search engines.
According to statistics, approximately 8 million Americans search for medical information online each day. To ensure that even a small portion of those 8 million people make it to your medical website, you need to increase your site’s search engine visibility with SEO. In order to develop an effective search engine optimization strategy for your medical marketing campaign, work with an internet marketing firm that specializes in the healthcare field. Medical SEO poses unique requirements that only a specialist marketing firm can fulfill.
Keyword Research
SEO primarily starts with keyword research. To start, medical practices can list relevant keywords related to their specialization, treatments, services, geographical area, and diseases and conditions treated. After brainstorming a broad range of relevant terms, you can use web-based keyword research tools to determine specifically what relevant words and phrases your potential patients are actually searching for online. You can target as many keywords as pages that your website has. In general, it’s effective to optimize each page for one to two primary keywords. You can also use several other related terms on each page.
Link building
Another important and effective way to bring traffic to your website is through linkbuilding. Search engines judge the importance, authority, and relevancy of your website based on the number of other websites that link to your site. The more relevant the websites are that link to you, the stronger those links are considered. In the early days of medical SEO, it was not uncommon for SEO companies to buy links and submit websites to various directories in order to generate links. However, as search engines continue to evolve, they increasingly devalue directory links. They have gone as far as to blacklist websites that pay for links.
In order to generate legitimate links for your website, your best bet is to focus on a content marketing strategy. People are attracted to great content, so if you build great content throughout your site and on your blog, you’re bound to attract links eventually. However, content marketing is not a “build it and they will come” strategy. You have to write great content and then market it like crazy in order to spread the word. One great way to build links organically is through social media marketing. So, once you create a blog and website content, you can market your content via social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Another way to accumulate links is through contacting other websites in your field and asking them if they would post your link. You can ask big bloggers and webmasters in your field for links politely by telling them how much your content would benefit their readers. You can also ask bloggers to exchange links with you, but this practice is generally frowned upon in the blogosphere. Another way to get good links is by researching your competitors’ backlinks and finding out if you can get backlinks from the same sites.
It’s important to update your website regularly in order to attract links and traffic. Furthermore, search engines tend to value websites that are updated frequently. Keyword research should also be something that you make a constant effort to do to ensure that your site is optimized for the latest keywords in your niche. Keywords may also change depending on the season, so make sure you create content with seasonal trends in mind.
On-Site Optimization
To ensure that search engines can crawl and index your site properly, you have to use on-site optimization techniques. Some basics of on-site optimization include create a site map, alt tags, header tags, and internal anchor text links that contain target keywords. Another important aspect of on-site optimization is content creation. Your site must be content-rich in order to rank better on search engines. Hire a qualified search engine optimization company to help you optimize your medical practice’s website for target terms. Furthermore, make sure that your site is designed with SEO in mind. For example, avoid creating a site purely with Flash because Flash websites are very difficult to optimize.
An effective medical SEO strategy requires constant care and effort. Hire an experienced medical marketing firm to help you achieve and retain high search engine rankings. Search engine algorithms are constantly shifting, so it’s more important than ever to invest in an ongoing SEO strategy.
According to statistics, approximately 8 million Americans search for medical information online each day. To ensure that even a small portion of those 8 million people make it to your medical website, you need to increase your site’s search engine visibility with SEO. In order to develop an effective search engine optimization strategy for your medical marketing campaign, work with an internet marketing firm that specializes in the healthcare field. Medical SEO poses unique requirements that only a specialist marketing firm can fulfill.
Keyword Research
SEO primarily starts with keyword research. To start, medical practices can list relevant keywords related to their specialization, treatments, services, geographical area, and diseases and conditions treated. After brainstorming a broad range of relevant terms, you can use web-based keyword research tools to determine specifically what relevant words and phrases your potential patients are actually searching for online. You can target as many keywords as pages that your website has. In general, it’s effective to optimize each page for one to two primary keywords. You can also use several other related terms on each page.
Link building
Another important and effective way to bring traffic to your website is through linkbuilding. Search engines judge the importance, authority, and relevancy of your website based on the number of other websites that link to your site. The more relevant the websites are that link to you, the stronger those links are considered. In the early days of medical SEO, it was not uncommon for SEO companies to buy links and submit websites to various directories in order to generate links. However, as search engines continue to evolve, they increasingly devalue directory links. They have gone as far as to blacklist websites that pay for links.
In order to generate legitimate links for your website, your best bet is to focus on a content marketing strategy. People are attracted to great content, so if you build great content throughout your site and on your blog, you’re bound to attract links eventually. However, content marketing is not a “build it and they will come” strategy. You have to write great content and then market it like crazy in order to spread the word. One great way to build links organically is through social media marketing. So, once you create a blog and website content, you can market your content via social media networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Another way to accumulate links is through contacting other websites in your field and asking them if they would post your link. You can ask big bloggers and webmasters in your field for links politely by telling them how much your content would benefit their readers. You can also ask bloggers to exchange links with you, but this practice is generally frowned upon in the blogosphere. Another way to get good links is by researching your competitors’ backlinks and finding out if you can get backlinks from the same sites.
It’s important to update your website regularly in order to attract links and traffic. Furthermore, search engines tend to value websites that are updated frequently. Keyword research should also be something that you make a constant effort to do to ensure that your site is optimized for the latest keywords in your niche. Keywords may also change depending on the season, so make sure you create content with seasonal trends in mind.
On-Site Optimization
To ensure that search engines can crawl and index your site properly, you have to use on-site optimization techniques. Some basics of on-site optimization include create a site map, alt tags, header tags, and internal anchor text links that contain target keywords. Another important aspect of on-site optimization is content creation. Your site must be content-rich in order to rank better on search engines. Hire a qualified search engine optimization company to help you optimize your medical practice’s website for target terms. Furthermore, make sure that your site is designed with SEO in mind. For example, avoid creating a site purely with Flash because Flash websites are very difficult to optimize.
An effective medical SEO strategy requires constant care and effort. Hire an experienced medical marketing firm to help you achieve and retain high search engine rankings. Search engine algorithms are constantly shifting, so it’s more important than ever to invest in an ongoing SEO strategy.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
10 Essential Components of a Medical Marketing Campaign
In order to get the word out about your practice and differentiate it from the practices of competing physicians, you need a medical marketing strategy. In this day and age, a lot more than just word of mouth is required if you want to attract new patients and build a strong medical practice. Although many doctors are reluctant to advertise and market their practices, they must do so if they want to survive in today’s marketplace. Here are 10 essential components of an effective medical marketing campaign.
1. Professionally-printed appointment cards
Professionally-printed appointment cards serve as a reminder of appointments for your patients. Make sure that your practice’s appointment cards are branded and consistent with the image of your other marketing materials.
2. Business cards
Business cards should reflect the essence of your entire practice. As such, they must be printed on quality paper and be designed by a professional. Business cards represent your practice and will make a lasting impression on people. Hand them to your patients so they can pass them along to their friends and relatives.
3. Coupons
Branded coupons offering potential customers discounts and specials serve as a great way to attract new patients to your practice. You can feature coupons with advertisements in magazine and brochures or mail them directly to your target market.
4. A logo
A logo is not an absolute necessity, but it is recommended to have one designed for your practice in order to set it apart from those of competitors. Logos form an integral part of a memorable branding campaign. Patients and potential patients are more likely to keep your practice at the forefront of their minds if you use a professional logo to market your practice.
5. Posters
Posters non-intrusively advertise the services you offer to patients in the waiting room of your practice. A well-designed poster in a frame will tell your patients about the range of services you offer so they are aware of them. Many patients end up moving onto a new practice simply because they didn’t realize that their old practice offered the services they sought. To ensure that your patients are fully aware of the broad range of treatments and services you offer, decorate your practice with posters that tastefully advertise your practice’s offerings.
6. Website
A professionally-designed website with professionally-written copy is essential to your success in this day and age. The majority of adults search for medical information online. Furthermore, when people need to go to the doctor, they search online to find a doctor in their area. With a well-designed website coming up in the local search results to represent your practice, you will be far ahead of your competitors.
7. Promotional items
Promotional items that feature your practice’s logo are very effective in spreading the word about your practice. Anytime you attend a community event or trade show, give promotional items away freely to promote your practice. Furthermore, give your patients promotional items so they keep the name of your practice in mind. Encourage your patients to take several promotional items home so they can hand them out to their friends and relatives. Promotional items assist you in promoting your medical practice effortlessly.
8. Postcards
Sending out direct mail postcards to potential patients is a highly effective medical marketing method. Direct mail postcards are often more effective than TV or newspaper ads because they reach a targeted group of recipients. For example, you can select mailing lists for your postcards based on disease, age, and geographical area to ensure that the postcards reach your target audience.
9. Brochures
Use brochures that feature images and graphics to promote your practice and describe the treatments and procedures you offer at your practice to current and potential patients. Brochures help to convince potential patients of the benefits of choosing you over one of your competitors. Brochures provide enough space for you to explain the benefits of the procedures you offer in depth as well as showcase new treatments and equipments you offer.
10. Blog
Static websites that always display the same information won’t help your practice garner much attention online. The most successful medical websites online are constantly updated and provide useful, interesting information to users. If you want to take your web presence to the next level, consider establishing a blog for your medical practice. You can use your blog to discuss industry news, share the latest news about your practice, and provide information about the treatments you offer. If you don’t have time to update a blog on a regular basis, consider hiring a ghostwriter. A blog is a very effective way to attract attention to your practice because it increases your site’s search engine visibility and drives more traffic to your website.
1. Professionally-printed appointment cards
Professionally-printed appointment cards serve as a reminder of appointments for your patients. Make sure that your practice’s appointment cards are branded and consistent with the image of your other marketing materials.
2. Business cards
Business cards should reflect the essence of your entire practice. As such, they must be printed on quality paper and be designed by a professional. Business cards represent your practice and will make a lasting impression on people. Hand them to your patients so they can pass them along to their friends and relatives.
3. Coupons
Branded coupons offering potential customers discounts and specials serve as a great way to attract new patients to your practice. You can feature coupons with advertisements in magazine and brochures or mail them directly to your target market.
4. A logo
A logo is not an absolute necessity, but it is recommended to have one designed for your practice in order to set it apart from those of competitors. Logos form an integral part of a memorable branding campaign. Patients and potential patients are more likely to keep your practice at the forefront of their minds if you use a professional logo to market your practice.
5. Posters
Posters non-intrusively advertise the services you offer to patients in the waiting room of your practice. A well-designed poster in a frame will tell your patients about the range of services you offer so they are aware of them. Many patients end up moving onto a new practice simply because they didn’t realize that their old practice offered the services they sought. To ensure that your patients are fully aware of the broad range of treatments and services you offer, decorate your practice with posters that tastefully advertise your practice’s offerings.
6. Website
A professionally-designed website with professionally-written copy is essential to your success in this day and age. The majority of adults search for medical information online. Furthermore, when people need to go to the doctor, they search online to find a doctor in their area. With a well-designed website coming up in the local search results to represent your practice, you will be far ahead of your competitors.
7. Promotional items
Promotional items that feature your practice’s logo are very effective in spreading the word about your practice. Anytime you attend a community event or trade show, give promotional items away freely to promote your practice. Furthermore, give your patients promotional items so they keep the name of your practice in mind. Encourage your patients to take several promotional items home so they can hand them out to their friends and relatives. Promotional items assist you in promoting your medical practice effortlessly.
8. Postcards
Sending out direct mail postcards to potential patients is a highly effective medical marketing method. Direct mail postcards are often more effective than TV or newspaper ads because they reach a targeted group of recipients. For example, you can select mailing lists for your postcards based on disease, age, and geographical area to ensure that the postcards reach your target audience.
9. Brochures
Use brochures that feature images and graphics to promote your practice and describe the treatments and procedures you offer at your practice to current and potential patients. Brochures help to convince potential patients of the benefits of choosing you over one of your competitors. Brochures provide enough space for you to explain the benefits of the procedures you offer in depth as well as showcase new treatments and equipments you offer.
10. Blog
Static websites that always display the same information won’t help your practice garner much attention online. The most successful medical websites online are constantly updated and provide useful, interesting information to users. If you want to take your web presence to the next level, consider establishing a blog for your medical practice. You can use your blog to discuss industry news, share the latest news about your practice, and provide information about the treatments you offer. If you don’t have time to update a blog on a regular basis, consider hiring a ghostwriter. A blog is a very effective way to attract attention to your practice because it increases your site’s search engine visibility and drives more traffic to your website.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Enhance Your Practice’s Website with Medical Marketing Videos
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
How to Incorporate Social Media into Your Medical Marketing Campaign
Social media is the way that word-of-mouth happens in the 21st century, and it is growing at record rate. For example, the popular social networking site, Facebook, has over 200 million active users. Chances are that your employees and patients are already using Facebook, among other social media websites. Rather than letting your patients and prospects have conversations about your practice, ensure that they can have conversations with your medical practice via social media. Social media isn’t going away anytime soon, and most likely, it is going to continue to grow exponentially over the next several years. Rather than waiting until the last minute to incorporate social media into your medical marketing campaign, it’s better to learn how to use social media now and become fluent in social media marketing.
When determining whether or not it would make sense for your medical practice to join the social media revolution, you must first determine what it is you hope to accomplish and if those goals are realistic. If your patients are very happy with your practice, it is a good idea to jump on the social media bandwagon because you can amplify all of the positive conversations about your practice that are taking place in order to promote your medical practice. However, if you are having problems with employees or your patients are unhappy with something, it would be best for you to resolve those issues first before attempting to build your social media presence. Otherwise, you could end up being sucked into a reputation management nightmare.
Getting Started
In order to get started with social media marketing for medical marketing purposes, join free social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. You will find plenty of relevant communities already established on those sites. After tinkering around on these sites for a while, you can determine whether or not it would be worthwhile to establish your own community.
Rather than relying so heavily on a strategy that’s set in stone when launching a social media campaign for medical marketing, use different methods of low-cost experimentation to determine what works and what doesn’t. Time spent planning and theorizing could be spent learning through doing. Just outline your goals and do your best to meet those goals based on the tools and resources you have available.
Proving ROI
Many traditional PR and marketing folks have difficulty embracing social media marketing because they can’t see a clear ROI. In medical marketing or any field for that matter, the ROI of social media marketing is infinite because the cost using social media is so low. Social media marketing can easily be integrated into various marketing and communications efforts in a medical marketing campaign. It isn’t very hard to demonstrate the ROI of running a social media campaign because the overhead costs are miniscule. For example, publishing a blog that allows comments is a very cost-effective way to reach out to patients, potential patients, and media looking for newsworthy stories to cover. You can install an analytics program to determine how many people visit your blog, what they click on, etc., to improve your blog as well as the ROI of your campaign.
Hiring a Consultant
If you’re new to social media and would like to incorporate it into your overall medical marketing campaign, your best bet is to start small and train your current employees that are already working on marketing and communication tasks to integrate social media marketing strategies into their work. Your best bet is to hire a social media marketing consultant to train your employees. If you ever launch a major project and don’t have sufficient internal resources to pull it off, you can always partner up with a social media marketing agency.
Major Social Media Networks
Some major social media websites that anyone interested in medical marketing should be a part of include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and SlideShare.net. SlideShare.net allows you to share your ideas in the form of Power Point presentations. You can easily embed the slide presentations in your blog to engage your blog readers in your presentations.
On Facebook, medical practices can create fan pages, enabling their patients and potential patients to become “fans.” Anyone who becomes your fan on Facebook will be notified of all of the updates you post. Furthermore, the fact that a user is your fan will be visible to all of their Facebook friends.
Twitter allows you to connect with like-minded people and broaden the scope of your interactions. Two hastags on Twitter that are related to medical marketing include #hcsm and #hcsmktg. Do a search for these hashtags to find out who else in the Twitterverse is talking about medical marketing. You can also find out what kind of conversations are taking place about your medical practice by searching for the name of your medical practice on Twitter. Twitter is a great brand monitoring and reputation management tool. Some companies have gone as far as to use Twitter to address customer service issues.
So there you have it. There’s no better time than now to dive into the world of social media. The effectiveness of your medical marketing campaign can increase significantly with the promotional and networking power of social media. Rather than waiting until you develop an intricate strategy, dive into it now so you can learn the ropes and start connecting with patients and potential patients immediately.
When determining whether or not it would make sense for your medical practice to join the social media revolution, you must first determine what it is you hope to accomplish and if those goals are realistic. If your patients are very happy with your practice, it is a good idea to jump on the social media bandwagon because you can amplify all of the positive conversations about your practice that are taking place in order to promote your medical practice. However, if you are having problems with employees or your patients are unhappy with something, it would be best for you to resolve those issues first before attempting to build your social media presence. Otherwise, you could end up being sucked into a reputation management nightmare.
Getting Started
In order to get started with social media marketing for medical marketing purposes, join free social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. You will find plenty of relevant communities already established on those sites. After tinkering around on these sites for a while, you can determine whether or not it would be worthwhile to establish your own community.
Rather than relying so heavily on a strategy that’s set in stone when launching a social media campaign for medical marketing, use different methods of low-cost experimentation to determine what works and what doesn’t. Time spent planning and theorizing could be spent learning through doing. Just outline your goals and do your best to meet those goals based on the tools and resources you have available.
Proving ROI
Many traditional PR and marketing folks have difficulty embracing social media marketing because they can’t see a clear ROI. In medical marketing or any field for that matter, the ROI of social media marketing is infinite because the cost using social media is so low. Social media marketing can easily be integrated into various marketing and communications efforts in a medical marketing campaign. It isn’t very hard to demonstrate the ROI of running a social media campaign because the overhead costs are miniscule. For example, publishing a blog that allows comments is a very cost-effective way to reach out to patients, potential patients, and media looking for newsworthy stories to cover. You can install an analytics program to determine how many people visit your blog, what they click on, etc., to improve your blog as well as the ROI of your campaign.
Hiring a Consultant
If you’re new to social media and would like to incorporate it into your overall medical marketing campaign, your best bet is to start small and train your current employees that are already working on marketing and communication tasks to integrate social media marketing strategies into their work. Your best bet is to hire a social media marketing consultant to train your employees. If you ever launch a major project and don’t have sufficient internal resources to pull it off, you can always partner up with a social media marketing agency.
Major Social Media Networks
Some major social media websites that anyone interested in medical marketing should be a part of include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and SlideShare.net. SlideShare.net allows you to share your ideas in the form of Power Point presentations. You can easily embed the slide presentations in your blog to engage your blog readers in your presentations.
On Facebook, medical practices can create fan pages, enabling their patients and potential patients to become “fans.” Anyone who becomes your fan on Facebook will be notified of all of the updates you post. Furthermore, the fact that a user is your fan will be visible to all of their Facebook friends.
Twitter allows you to connect with like-minded people and broaden the scope of your interactions. Two hastags on Twitter that are related to medical marketing include #hcsm and #hcsmktg. Do a search for these hashtags to find out who else in the Twitterverse is talking about medical marketing. You can also find out what kind of conversations are taking place about your medical practice by searching for the name of your medical practice on Twitter. Twitter is a great brand monitoring and reputation management tool. Some companies have gone as far as to use Twitter to address customer service issues.
So there you have it. There’s no better time than now to dive into the world of social media. The effectiveness of your medical marketing campaign can increase significantly with the promotional and networking power of social media. Rather than waiting until you develop an intricate strategy, dive into it now so you can learn the ropes and start connecting with patients and potential patients immediately.
Friday, November 20, 2009
The 7 Biggest Medical Marketing Mistakes You Can Make
Contrary to what it was like 50 years ago, providing great medical care and customer service is simply not enough if you want your medical practice to survive and thrive today. In order for medical practices to prosper, doctors must learn important medical marketing tactics and apply them consistently. It’s particularly important to have a strong marketing plan when the economy is in a slump, as it is now. The following are the 7 biggest medical marketing mistakes that you should avoid when promoting your medical practice.
1. Only putting an ad in the yellow pages and local newspaper
For many doctors, the extent of their medical marketing plans is to put an ad in the yellow pages and in the local newspaper. Not only is this the least cost effective of all marketing/advertising solutions, it is not nearly as effective as it used to be. Doctors need to update their marketing strategies, such as through leveraging the power of social media. By learning to market their practices on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, doctors can reach more people and build a stronger reputation.
2. Cutting down the marketing budget during a slow economy
Many medical practices cut down their marketing budget when the economy is slow. Although it may seem logical to spend less when money is harder to come by, cutting down on marketing costs during a slow economy can be detrimental to the prosperity of your medical practice. Your practice will shrink and by the time the economy picks up again, you won’t be in the financial position to take advantage of the economy’s improvement.
3. Focusing on just one marketing action
In order to achieve success in medical marketing, you cannot focus on just one marketing action and expect it to bring you prosperity. Your best bet is to develop an effective marketing strategy that consists of a combination of different marketing actions. You will only end up overworked and in financial trouble if you pin all of your hopes on one strategy alone. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when planning your medical marketing campaign.
4. Not hiring a consultant or company to oversee your marketing campaign
It is critical to hire a consultant or company to oversee all of your marketing activities to ensure that your campaign is headed in the right direction and that all of your staff members are a part of the campaign. A consultant can implement an ongoing training program so your staff can understand the fundamentals of medical marketing. Furthermore, a consultant or medical marketing company can be in charge of developing your campaign, enabling you and your employees to focus on other priorities, such as patient care. When hiring a marketing company or consultant to oversee your campaign, make sure they have plenty of relevant experience, credentials, and a track record for success to back them up.
5. Implementing a medical marketing strategy that only consists of putting out a newsletter
While newsletters can be an effective part of a larger medical marketing campaign, putting out a newsletter alone is simply not sufficient as a marketing strategy. Marketing requires daily activities on your part to ensure success. Most of your patients and prospects will throw newsletters out without even reading them. The key to success is building a marketing campaign that enables you to develop a stronger connection and communication with your patients and prospects.
6. Not getting involved in the community
It’s a good idea for any doctor to get involved in the local community in order to generate some free PR and credibility. Learn about what is going on in your community and how you can help. Contribute time or funds into helping the community in order to generate positive PR. This kind of publicity can go a lot further than advertising. Not only will your visibility in the community increase, you will earn people’s respect and they will look up to you and recommend you to potential patients.
7. Marketing without a strategy
Before launching your medical marketing campaign, it’s essential to set objectives, goals, and strategies for achieving those goals. You can’t jump into marketing blindly in hopes that everything will work itself out. Make sure you have a clear cut roadmap that will lead you to achieving your goals. If you need assistance building a plan, hire a medical marketing consultant to help you determine what your goals are, whether or not they are realistic, and how you can achieve your goals. If you work through trial and error, it can take you a lot longer to learn what works and what doesn’t. Save yourself time and money by hiring a medical marketing company or consultant to spearhead your campaign.
1. Only putting an ad in the yellow pages and local newspaper
For many doctors, the extent of their medical marketing plans is to put an ad in the yellow pages and in the local newspaper. Not only is this the least cost effective of all marketing/advertising solutions, it is not nearly as effective as it used to be. Doctors need to update their marketing strategies, such as through leveraging the power of social media. By learning to market their practices on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, doctors can reach more people and build a stronger reputation.
2. Cutting down the marketing budget during a slow economy
Many medical practices cut down their marketing budget when the economy is slow. Although it may seem logical to spend less when money is harder to come by, cutting down on marketing costs during a slow economy can be detrimental to the prosperity of your medical practice. Your practice will shrink and by the time the economy picks up again, you won’t be in the financial position to take advantage of the economy’s improvement.
3. Focusing on just one marketing action
In order to achieve success in medical marketing, you cannot focus on just one marketing action and expect it to bring you prosperity. Your best bet is to develop an effective marketing strategy that consists of a combination of different marketing actions. You will only end up overworked and in financial trouble if you pin all of your hopes on one strategy alone. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket when planning your medical marketing campaign.
4. Not hiring a consultant or company to oversee your marketing campaign
It is critical to hire a consultant or company to oversee all of your marketing activities to ensure that your campaign is headed in the right direction and that all of your staff members are a part of the campaign. A consultant can implement an ongoing training program so your staff can understand the fundamentals of medical marketing. Furthermore, a consultant or medical marketing company can be in charge of developing your campaign, enabling you and your employees to focus on other priorities, such as patient care. When hiring a marketing company or consultant to oversee your campaign, make sure they have plenty of relevant experience, credentials, and a track record for success to back them up.
5. Implementing a medical marketing strategy that only consists of putting out a newsletter
While newsletters can be an effective part of a larger medical marketing campaign, putting out a newsletter alone is simply not sufficient as a marketing strategy. Marketing requires daily activities on your part to ensure success. Most of your patients and prospects will throw newsletters out without even reading them. The key to success is building a marketing campaign that enables you to develop a stronger connection and communication with your patients and prospects.
6. Not getting involved in the community
It’s a good idea for any doctor to get involved in the local community in order to generate some free PR and credibility. Learn about what is going on in your community and how you can help. Contribute time or funds into helping the community in order to generate positive PR. This kind of publicity can go a lot further than advertising. Not only will your visibility in the community increase, you will earn people’s respect and they will look up to you and recommend you to potential patients.
7. Marketing without a strategy
Before launching your medical marketing campaign, it’s essential to set objectives, goals, and strategies for achieving those goals. You can’t jump into marketing blindly in hopes that everything will work itself out. Make sure you have a clear cut roadmap that will lead you to achieving your goals. If you need assistance building a plan, hire a medical marketing consultant to help you determine what your goals are, whether or not they are realistic, and how you can achieve your goals. If you work through trial and error, it can take you a lot longer to learn what works and what doesn’t. Save yourself time and money by hiring a medical marketing company or consultant to spearhead your campaign.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
The Role of Social Media in Medical Marketing
In most industries, overcoming objections to social media can be a daunting task. Not only is social media marketing difficult to measure, it is relatively new and many people are still not so sure how it works. Social media also plays an important role in medical marketing, but physicians face a number of challenges when it comes to making the case for social media in the promotion of their practice.
Physicians have to deal with numerous obstacles, including privacy regulations, staff shortages, and an increasing amount of demand for their services, thanks to the Baby Boomers who are hitting retirement age. Although social media medical marketing does not require a significant financial investment, it does require an investment of time, something which most doctors have very little of.
Although, social media has taken a while to catch on in the medical marketing arena, physicians and hospitals are slowly but surely jumping onto the social media bandwagon. The following are a few reasons why investing time and resources into social media is well worth it for medical professionals.
The Movement is Growing… and Succeeding
Although doctors have been slow to adopt social media marketing, there are an increasing number of medical professionals and hospitals that are using social media to promote themselves and connect with patients and potential patients. According to a recent survey, 367 US hospitals are using social media outlets, including Twitter. For example, the Henry Ford Hospital performed a live brain surgery on Twitter while taking questions from other users. Other hospitals use Twitter to answer patient questions as well as provide customer service. There are also community websites dedicated specifically to the discussion of healthcare, disease, and other relevant topics, for both patients and doctors.
According to a March 2009 Nielsen Report, 67% of the global population uses social media. That percentage is likely to continue growing. Clearly, many patients and potential patients are using social media. Doctors and hospitals can promote themselves on social media sites by answering questions about illnesses and healthcare or providing general medical information.
Many patients use social media sites to get information about different doctors and hospitals in order to comparison shop. By building a presence on social media sites and connecting with patients and potential patients, doctors and hospitals can build a stronger reputation online and attract more patients to their practice. Social media gives doctors greater visibility. Even if you are an amazing doctor, no one will think to go to your practice if they have never heard of you. If a potential patient has seen you on social media, it is often enough to sway his decision to your advantage when he has to choose between your practice and that of a competing doctor with no social media presence.
Patients aren’t the only ones using social media. Doctors are too. According to statistics from Manhattan Research, 89% of physicians rely on the internet and use it in their professional practice. 41% of all research that physicians do takes place online. Around 64% of doctors use smartphones. Simply put, doctors are already online so it only makes sense for them to plunge into the social media world, given the many benefits it can provide doctors with in promoting their practices. When doctors allow their employees to share information via social media networks with other medical professionals, it helps to create an exchange of information about best practices and more. Furthermore, when a doctor’s employees are involved in social networks, it can make recruiting new employees easier because it gives you access to a network of people in the same field.
Not only is social media usage for medical marketing a highly efficient promotional method, it is also very cost-effective. Social media medical marketing does not require a significant investment. Since budget cuts are very common in healthcare these days, it certainly is beneficial to have access to a low cost method for marketing and advertising.
If you want to determine whether it is worthwhile for your hospital or medical practice to pursue social media medical marketing, it’s essential to clarify exactly what it is you would like to accomplish and if the goals you have set forth are realistic. Your medical organization must also be comfortable with the idea of openness and transparency, both of which are inevitable in social media involvement.
If your patients are happy with the services you provide and your employees are content with working for your organization, launching a social media campaign would probably help to further your achievements. However, if you are having problems with current employees or your patients are dissatisfied for whatever reason, it’s advisable to address these issues prior to launching a social media campaign. Whether you build a social media presence or not, your patients will be talking about you online, but if you want to ensure that your social media campaign promotes positive talk rather than criticism, you’ll want to sort out any issues prior to a campaign launch.
Physicians have to deal with numerous obstacles, including privacy regulations, staff shortages, and an increasing amount of demand for their services, thanks to the Baby Boomers who are hitting retirement age. Although social media medical marketing does not require a significant financial investment, it does require an investment of time, something which most doctors have very little of.
Although, social media has taken a while to catch on in the medical marketing arena, physicians and hospitals are slowly but surely jumping onto the social media bandwagon. The following are a few reasons why investing time and resources into social media is well worth it for medical professionals.
The Movement is Growing… and Succeeding
Although doctors have been slow to adopt social media marketing, there are an increasing number of medical professionals and hospitals that are using social media to promote themselves and connect with patients and potential patients. According to a recent survey, 367 US hospitals are using social media outlets, including Twitter. For example, the Henry Ford Hospital performed a live brain surgery on Twitter while taking questions from other users. Other hospitals use Twitter to answer patient questions as well as provide customer service. There are also community websites dedicated specifically to the discussion of healthcare, disease, and other relevant topics, for both patients and doctors.
According to a March 2009 Nielsen Report, 67% of the global population uses social media. That percentage is likely to continue growing. Clearly, many patients and potential patients are using social media. Doctors and hospitals can promote themselves on social media sites by answering questions about illnesses and healthcare or providing general medical information.
Many patients use social media sites to get information about different doctors and hospitals in order to comparison shop. By building a presence on social media sites and connecting with patients and potential patients, doctors and hospitals can build a stronger reputation online and attract more patients to their practice. Social media gives doctors greater visibility. Even if you are an amazing doctor, no one will think to go to your practice if they have never heard of you. If a potential patient has seen you on social media, it is often enough to sway his decision to your advantage when he has to choose between your practice and that of a competing doctor with no social media presence.
Patients aren’t the only ones using social media. Doctors are too. According to statistics from Manhattan Research, 89% of physicians rely on the internet and use it in their professional practice. 41% of all research that physicians do takes place online. Around 64% of doctors use smartphones. Simply put, doctors are already online so it only makes sense for them to plunge into the social media world, given the many benefits it can provide doctors with in promoting their practices. When doctors allow their employees to share information via social media networks with other medical professionals, it helps to create an exchange of information about best practices and more. Furthermore, when a doctor’s employees are involved in social networks, it can make recruiting new employees easier because it gives you access to a network of people in the same field.
Not only is social media usage for medical marketing a highly efficient promotional method, it is also very cost-effective. Social media medical marketing does not require a significant investment. Since budget cuts are very common in healthcare these days, it certainly is beneficial to have access to a low cost method for marketing and advertising.
If you want to determine whether it is worthwhile for your hospital or medical practice to pursue social media medical marketing, it’s essential to clarify exactly what it is you would like to accomplish and if the goals you have set forth are realistic. Your medical organization must also be comfortable with the idea of openness and transparency, both of which are inevitable in social media involvement.
If your patients are happy with the services you provide and your employees are content with working for your organization, launching a social media campaign would probably help to further your achievements. However, if you are having problems with current employees or your patients are dissatisfied for whatever reason, it’s advisable to address these issues prior to launching a social media campaign. Whether you build a social media presence or not, your patients will be talking about you online, but if you want to ensure that your social media campaign promotes positive talk rather than criticism, you’ll want to sort out any issues prior to a campaign launch.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Tips for Using Facebook in Your Medical Marketing Campaign
Social media is a hot topic right now in the medical marketing world. And when it comes to social media networking, Facebook is certainly one of the big players that come to mind. Although Facebook is frequently recommended as a way to promote a medical practice, actually understanding how to use it as a medical marketing tool can be a daunting task. Once you can figure out how to take advantage of Facebook’s powerful social networking abilities, however, you will be able to experience several benefits.
The Challenge of Medical Marketing via Social Media
Social media is still new territory for most medical professionals. The methods of effectively using Facebook and other social media sites as a promotional tool are vague at best since social media was not conceived for the purpose of commercial marketing. Since there are no universally accepted best practices established for marketing via social media and measuring the results, skeptics and traditionalists claim that there are no effective ways to use social media for marketing purposes, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Currently, 59 percent of brand marketing professionals are using social media in some way. However, a large percentage of marketing professionals are reluctant to use social media because they are unsure of how to do it effectively. Other marketers don’t use social media marketing at all because there are no clear-cut methods for measuring the results of social media marketing campaigns.
Facebook as a Social Media Marketing Tool for Medical Professionals
Twitter, although it has substantially fewer users than Facebook, is more popular as a marketing tool. This probably stems from the fact that most people’s Twitter profiles and updates are public whereas the vast majority of Facebook users have private profiles, making it more difficult to interact and connect on a personal level. However, Facebook has unique tools such as fan pages and groups, which enable businesses to promote themselves and build a following.
The first step in developing a medical marketing strategy on Facebook should be to create a Facebook fan page, which has a custom URL. Fan pages are free and easy to set up, enabling you to create a custom “home page” of sorts on Facebook. There are multimedia components and social networking tools on Facebook fan pages that make it easier for you to connect with others and build a branded presence. For example, you can add videos and images, fans can comment on photos, and you can announce events and let people RSVP on the site. Any Facebook users can join/subscribe to your fan page.
A sustainable, effective medical marketing strategy must be diversified. Direct returns on investment are typically minimal when it comes to social media marketing. This explains why most doctors and hospitals are hesitant to embark on a social media medical marketing campaign. However, medical marketing through social media outlets should not be viewed as one-way channel for spreading marketing messages. This is where many businesses fail. A social media network like Facebook is supposed to help you engage with your customers and interact with them on a personal level. Facebook can also be used to generated leads, build your brand, and drive traffic to your main website. Ultimately the aim is to increase conversions on your main website.
You can also connect your content across different social networks. For example, if you have a Twitter account and post updates on it, you can add the #fb hashtag to your updates to automatically connect your Twitter account to your Facebook fan page. Your Facebook fans that don’t use Twitter can still keep up with and respond to your messages.
In many medical practices, browsing Facebook and other social media networks is against their policies. It is seen as wasting time and being counter-productive. However, medical practices may want to consider altering their policies and allowing the use of social media networks in order to reach out to prospects and patients. Your Facebook page can be as basic as simply posting your address, phone number, and operating hours or it can go deeper by sharing photos, patient stories, videos, podcasts, press releases, and much more.
Tips for Increasing Facebook Fans
You probably won’t be able to accumulate a ton of Facebook fans overnight but don’t fret – your efforts will eventually pay off. After all, it’s more valuable to have just a few fans who you engage with regular basis rather than fans you never connect with at all. In order to increase your Facebook fans, include a link to your Facebook fan page in your email signature so your patients will see it. Make the URL to your Facebook fan page easy to remember and put the URL on magnets, business cards, and other marketing materials. You can also use Facebook ads to advertise your Facebook fan page on Facebook itself. Only three ads are shown at a time on Facebook and you can target the ads to the desired audience. You only have to pay per click or impression so it’s a very cost-effective way to advertise.
Although your website is the nucleus of your online marketing efforts, your Facebook fan page, group, and presence on other social media networks will help you maintain and expand the dissemination and sharing of information about your medical practice. Once you establish a social media medical marketing strategy and determine some practical marketing methods, your network will expand and your messages will become viral, enabling your medical practice to fully experience the benefits of social media marketing.
The Challenge of Medical Marketing via Social Media
Social media is still new territory for most medical professionals. The methods of effectively using Facebook and other social media sites as a promotional tool are vague at best since social media was not conceived for the purpose of commercial marketing. Since there are no universally accepted best practices established for marketing via social media and measuring the results, skeptics and traditionalists claim that there are no effective ways to use social media for marketing purposes, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Currently, 59 percent of brand marketing professionals are using social media in some way. However, a large percentage of marketing professionals are reluctant to use social media because they are unsure of how to do it effectively. Other marketers don’t use social media marketing at all because there are no clear-cut methods for measuring the results of social media marketing campaigns.
Facebook as a Social Media Marketing Tool for Medical Professionals
Twitter, although it has substantially fewer users than Facebook, is more popular as a marketing tool. This probably stems from the fact that most people’s Twitter profiles and updates are public whereas the vast majority of Facebook users have private profiles, making it more difficult to interact and connect on a personal level. However, Facebook has unique tools such as fan pages and groups, which enable businesses to promote themselves and build a following.
The first step in developing a medical marketing strategy on Facebook should be to create a Facebook fan page, which has a custom URL. Fan pages are free and easy to set up, enabling you to create a custom “home page” of sorts on Facebook. There are multimedia components and social networking tools on Facebook fan pages that make it easier for you to connect with others and build a branded presence. For example, you can add videos and images, fans can comment on photos, and you can announce events and let people RSVP on the site. Any Facebook users can join/subscribe to your fan page.
A sustainable, effective medical marketing strategy must be diversified. Direct returns on investment are typically minimal when it comes to social media marketing. This explains why most doctors and hospitals are hesitant to embark on a social media medical marketing campaign. However, medical marketing through social media outlets should not be viewed as one-way channel for spreading marketing messages. This is where many businesses fail. A social media network like Facebook is supposed to help you engage with your customers and interact with them on a personal level. Facebook can also be used to generated leads, build your brand, and drive traffic to your main website. Ultimately the aim is to increase conversions on your main website.
You can also connect your content across different social networks. For example, if you have a Twitter account and post updates on it, you can add the #fb hashtag to your updates to automatically connect your Twitter account to your Facebook fan page. Your Facebook fans that don’t use Twitter can still keep up with and respond to your messages.
In many medical practices, browsing Facebook and other social media networks is against their policies. It is seen as wasting time and being counter-productive. However, medical practices may want to consider altering their policies and allowing the use of social media networks in order to reach out to prospects and patients. Your Facebook page can be as basic as simply posting your address, phone number, and operating hours or it can go deeper by sharing photos, patient stories, videos, podcasts, press releases, and much more.
Tips for Increasing Facebook Fans
You probably won’t be able to accumulate a ton of Facebook fans overnight but don’t fret – your efforts will eventually pay off. After all, it’s more valuable to have just a few fans who you engage with regular basis rather than fans you never connect with at all. In order to increase your Facebook fans, include a link to your Facebook fan page in your email signature so your patients will see it. Make the URL to your Facebook fan page easy to remember and put the URL on magnets, business cards, and other marketing materials. You can also use Facebook ads to advertise your Facebook fan page on Facebook itself. Only three ads are shown at a time on Facebook and you can target the ads to the desired audience. You only have to pay per click or impression so it’s a very cost-effective way to advertise.
Although your website is the nucleus of your online marketing efforts, your Facebook fan page, group, and presence on other social media networks will help you maintain and expand the dissemination and sharing of information about your medical practice. Once you establish a social media medical marketing strategy and determine some practical marketing methods, your network will expand and your messages will become viral, enabling your medical practice to fully experience the benefits of social media marketing.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
How to Use Twitter to Market Your Medical Practice
The use of Twitter as a medical marketing tool is becoming increasingly common. Twitter is a micro-blogging service that allows you to post updates of 140 characters. Twitter can be a very useful tool for physicians to market their practice because it enables them to expand your web presence, connect with patients, network with other physicians, and much more. However, according to a study conducted by the Nielson Co., only 40% of Twitter users remain active after one month of creating an account. The doctors who stick around on Twitter must recognize the incredible value that Twitter has in medical marketing.
How to Get Started
If you want to get started using Twitter for medical marketing but don’t know how to go about it, make a personal account first. By doing so, you can observe the community and learn how Twitter works. You won’t have to worry about making mistakes and tarnishing your brand if you create an anonymous account in the beginning. Once you get the drift, you can create an account to market your practice. You may choose to use your full name or the name of your practice as your Twitter name. If you choose to use a name besides your full name, consider registering a Twitter account with your full name any way to protect your personal brand identity. You can redirect users to the Twitter account you actually use in case they come upon the account you made with your full name.
As you accumulate followers on Twitter, keep in mind that it is usually looked down upon if you follow many people but have few followers in comparison. You can also be considered a Twitter snob if you have many followers and do not reciprocate. If you’re ultimately trying to promote your business on Twitter, you can’t really afford to not reciprocate when someone follows you.
Be Authentic
Unlike other marketing tools, Twitter is not a one-way conversation. Twitter allows you to build relationships and facilitate dialogue. Authenticity is valued on Twitter so make sure to let your personality shine through your Tweets. Although your Twitter account may have been created to represent your business, forging personal connections and building relationships is an important aspect of succeeding in social media marketing.
Avoid Being Sales
Avoid blatant self-promotion. It is an unwritten rule on Twitter that it is taboo to promote yourself and market your goods unless you have already established a place in the community. You must provide value without expecting anything in return.
Protect Your Brand Image
Keep in mind that Google indexes Tweets. So never tweet anything that you wouldn’t want to reveal to the general public. Upon searching for your brand on Google, people may come across your individual Tweets, even years after they were posted.
Use Hashtags
There are an increasing number of healthcare-related communities popping up on Twitter. These communities are formed around hashtags. When using Twitter, you can add a hashtag such as #healthcare or #medical to your Tweets and they will be visible anytime someone searches for those particular hashtags. Searching for hashtags is also a good way to find influential people in the healthcare community to follow on Twitter. Furthermore, you can use hashtags to monitor what is being said about your practice or field.
Extend the Reach of Your Marketing Messages
The real power of Twitter lies in the fact that you can reach thousands of people in one place. Many people will choose a physician simply because they have noticed their presence on Twitter. Some physicians have even used Twitter to post a play-by-play of surgery live. Doing so is an inexpensive way to attract media attention as well as connect with patients and prospects. After tweeting about surgeries, medical practices may find that they can double or even triple their following on Twitter. Furthermore, they are likely to attract new patients who found out about their services via Twitter.
Using Twitter is also an effective way for doctors to communicate with their patients and prospects. However, most doctors probably have few patients who are actually using Twitter so at this point Twitter is more useful when it comes to connecting with anyone in the general population who is seeking healthcare information. Twitter is an excellent tool for physicians to use to educate the masses and help them make healthier lifestyle choices.
Twitter has also proven to be an effective tool for disseminating information during public health scares, such as the one that took place with H1N1 flu. There was lots of hysteria and misinformation floating around on Twitter. The CDC and other health organizations used Twitter to educate people about the H1N1 flu and spread information.
Physicians can also use Twitter to connect with other physicians. It is hard to facilitate much dialogue in tweets of 140 characters, but you can share links to articles of interest and valuable resources. Rather than treating their Twitter presence as an authoritative presence, many doctors use Twitter to connect with other doctors on a personal level.
If you decide to create an account on Twitter, keep in mind that you will need to dedicate time and resources to maintain your account. Building a Twitter presence for medical marketing purposes requires an ongoing investment so you must be sure that you can indeed keep up with the commitment
How to Get Started
If you want to get started using Twitter for medical marketing but don’t know how to go about it, make a personal account first. By doing so, you can observe the community and learn how Twitter works. You won’t have to worry about making mistakes and tarnishing your brand if you create an anonymous account in the beginning. Once you get the drift, you can create an account to market your practice. You may choose to use your full name or the name of your practice as your Twitter name. If you choose to use a name besides your full name, consider registering a Twitter account with your full name any way to protect your personal brand identity. You can redirect users to the Twitter account you actually use in case they come upon the account you made with your full name.
As you accumulate followers on Twitter, keep in mind that it is usually looked down upon if you follow many people but have few followers in comparison. You can also be considered a Twitter snob if you have many followers and do not reciprocate. If you’re ultimately trying to promote your business on Twitter, you can’t really afford to not reciprocate when someone follows you.
Be Authentic
Unlike other marketing tools, Twitter is not a one-way conversation. Twitter allows you to build relationships and facilitate dialogue. Authenticity is valued on Twitter so make sure to let your personality shine through your Tweets. Although your Twitter account may have been created to represent your business, forging personal connections and building relationships is an important aspect of succeeding in social media marketing.
Avoid Being Sales
Avoid blatant self-promotion. It is an unwritten rule on Twitter that it is taboo to promote yourself and market your goods unless you have already established a place in the community. You must provide value without expecting anything in return.
Protect Your Brand Image
Keep in mind that Google indexes Tweets. So never tweet anything that you wouldn’t want to reveal to the general public. Upon searching for your brand on Google, people may come across your individual Tweets, even years after they were posted.
Use Hashtags
There are an increasing number of healthcare-related communities popping up on Twitter. These communities are formed around hashtags. When using Twitter, you can add a hashtag such as #healthcare or #medical to your Tweets and they will be visible anytime someone searches for those particular hashtags. Searching for hashtags is also a good way to find influential people in the healthcare community to follow on Twitter. Furthermore, you can use hashtags to monitor what is being said about your practice or field.
Extend the Reach of Your Marketing Messages
The real power of Twitter lies in the fact that you can reach thousands of people in one place. Many people will choose a physician simply because they have noticed their presence on Twitter. Some physicians have even used Twitter to post a play-by-play of surgery live. Doing so is an inexpensive way to attract media attention as well as connect with patients and prospects. After tweeting about surgeries, medical practices may find that they can double or even triple their following on Twitter. Furthermore, they are likely to attract new patients who found out about their services via Twitter.
Using Twitter is also an effective way for doctors to communicate with their patients and prospects. However, most doctors probably have few patients who are actually using Twitter so at this point Twitter is more useful when it comes to connecting with anyone in the general population who is seeking healthcare information. Twitter is an excellent tool for physicians to use to educate the masses and help them make healthier lifestyle choices.
Twitter has also proven to be an effective tool for disseminating information during public health scares, such as the one that took place with H1N1 flu. There was lots of hysteria and misinformation floating around on Twitter. The CDC and other health organizations used Twitter to educate people about the H1N1 flu and spread information.
Physicians can also use Twitter to connect with other physicians. It is hard to facilitate much dialogue in tweets of 140 characters, but you can share links to articles of interest and valuable resources. Rather than treating their Twitter presence as an authoritative presence, many doctors use Twitter to connect with other doctors on a personal level.
If you decide to create an account on Twitter, keep in mind that you will need to dedicate time and resources to maintain your account. Building a Twitter presence for medical marketing purposes requires an ongoing investment so you must be sure that you can indeed keep up with the commitment
Monday, September 21, 2009
How to Position Yourself as an Expert in Your Field with Medical Marketing
Do you want to position yourself as an expert in your medical field? If so, medical marketing can help you accomplish that feat. In your medical marketing strategy, you must focus on your medical specialty, launch a website with your goals in mind, promote your website, and much more. Here are essential steps to take if you want to use medical marketing to come to be considered an authority in your field of expertise.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Friday, September 18, 2009
How to Position Yourself as an Expert in Your Field with Medical Marketing
Do you want to position yourself as an expert in your medical field? If so, medical marketing can help you accomplish that feat. In your medical marketing strategy, you must focus on your medical specialty, launch a website with your goals in mind, promote your website, and much more. Here are essential steps to take if you want to use medical marketing to come to be considered an authority in your field of expertise.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Launch a Website
In this day and age, a web presence is vital to the success of most doctors. Approximately 50% of adults search the internet for medical information. In fact, searching for health information is one of the most popular online activities after using email and researching products to buy.
If you don’t have a website, the fact is that many potential patients will not even consider you since they will have no idea that your practice exists. One of your medical marketing priorities should be to create a high quality website that contains details about your medical expertise and training, research, publications, testimonials from patients, and contact information. If you don’t already have a website, your first priority should be to get one as soon as possible.
Focus on Your Medical Specialty
When you build a website and create other marketing materials, make sure that you focus on your medical specialty. People will come to associate you with your specialty and look to you for information about it. On your website, narrow your focus to the procedures you offer that set you apart from other physicians in your field.
Outline Your Website Goals
Don’t create a medical website without outlining your goals first. A medical marketing plan with no goals is bound to fail. A doctor’s website is the face of his/her practice. If it is consists of an old, outdated template, what kind of message does it send to potential patients? Make sure your website design enhances and complements your brand, expertise, and image. If your website looks outdated, get it redesigned and revamped so it meets up to the medical marketing challenge.
Promote Your Website
So you’ve had a killer website designed and added some excellent content. Now what? If nobody sees your website, you may as well not have one. Your ultimate goal should be to attract tons of traffic. Website traffic is life in the online world. Find a company that can help you use search engine optimization, social media optimization, and pay per click advertising to bring droves of traffic to your new website.
Publish Articles Featuring Your Research and Findings Both Online and Offline
As a doctor, your aim should be to frequently publish information and research about your area of expertise both online and offline. Webmasters, editors, and other professionals search online and beyond for informative articles about disease diagnosis, research, and medical advancements. If they find your articles and refer to them in their articles, reports, or websites, it brings you further exposure and potential media attention. Furthermore, when you teach people about your area of expertise, you become a recognized authority in your field and your services become more in demand.
Participate in Public Speaking Engagements
When you write informative articles about your area of expertise, and they get published, you will find yourself receiving an increasing number of invitations to participate in public speaking engagements. Speaking in public gives you instant credibility and establishes you as an expert in your field. The majority of people feel highly uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups comfortably. If you can manage to speak in public confidently and articulately, you are bound to boost your reputation dramatically.
Focus on the Patient, Not Your Practice
When creating a website for your practice online, your aim should be to focus on your prospects rather than your practice. Although it’s important to provide details about your educational background, training, and level of expertise, you don’t want that to overpower your entire site. Your prospects need to know what’s in it for them when they visit your website. Hire a competent copywriter to write your website copy so that it really speaks to your potential patients. You want your prospects to feel that there are several reasons why they should choose you over your competitors, and that you will be able to solve their medical issues.
To add depth to your website, make sure to include plenty of testimonials from your current patients. Website visitors love to read patient testimonials because it gives them a better idea of the kind of services you offer.
Start a Blog
Blogging is an essential part of medical marketing because it helps you position yourself as an expert in your medical field and allows you to provide useful information to your patients and prospects on a regular basis. Your blog must be updated regularly with excellent content in order to be optimally effective. When people search online for information in your area of expertise, they may come across your blog, which will further improve your positioning in your field. Blogs are also beneficial to your website’s search engine ranking because search engines love regularly updated content, which blogs provide.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The 5 Ps of Medical Marketing
Nowadays, people choose medical practitioners based on their perceptions rather than relying on endorsements from local authorities and so on. It has become increasingly important for doctors to market their medical practices in order to build their brand, reach out to new patients, and increase business from current patients.
No matter how great of a doctor you are, your skills will mean little if no one knows you are out there. Some doctors are reluctant to embrace marketing strategy because they think that being a great doctor is all you need to do in order to find new patients and keep your current ones. However, the truth is that visibility is incredibly important in this competitive marketplace. The only way to achieve visibility is through launching a medical marketing campaign. Here are the 5 Ps of medical marketing.
1. Product
The product of a medical practice is the service you are offering your patients. For example, if you are a cosmetic surgeon, your product is the cosmetic operations and treatments you offer. The atmosphere of your practice is also important. It is crucial to make a very good first impression so when patients come to your practice, you must ensure that the atmosphere of your practice is relaxing, comforting, and friendly. Make sure that your practice is clean, well-maintained, and well-lit. The colors of your décor and the lighting can make a massive difference in the way patients perceive your practice. Although the most important aspect of your product is providing excellent cosmetic operations and treatments, you have to give the overall impression that your practice is ideal for your target market.
2. Price
The price of your products is not only what you charge for your services – it is also defined by the perceived value of your services. The expectations of your customers will depend on the price you charge. For example, if you go to a five-star restaurant, you expect to receive top level service and food. If you service you receive at the five-star restaurant is comparable to the service you would receive at a fast food restaurant, and the food is mediocre at best, you will be disappointed and feel that you did not receive the perceived value of the product. This will probably lead you to tell everyone you know to avoid the restaurant. Likewise, people will spread the word that your practice should be avoided if you do not live up to the perceived value of your product. On the other hand, when your service matches its price, you will get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. This provides you with free viral marketing benefits for your practice.
3. Place
The place of your medical practice is where it is located. The location of your practice is essential to your success. Factors such as its visibility and whether or not there is public transport that takes patients there will make a big difference in how many new patients you can attract on a consistent basis. If there are any logistical challenges that get in the way of patients arriving at your practice, try to eliminate them if possible. If your practice is far away and hard to get to for the majority of your target market, you may want to consider relocating, unless you offer such highly specialized services that people would be willing to travel far to receive them.
4. Position
Your position in your market is defined by the competitive advantages you offer. What makes your practice unique and stand out from the rest? You must define your unique position in your market in order to develop an effective marketing plan. Your perception of your practice may be very different from how your patients perceive it. Determine how your patients perceive your medical practice in comparison to competing medical practices by doing surveys and providing them with feedback cards.
5. Promotion
Although many people mistakenly believe that medical marketing is solely about promotion, the truth is that promotion should be the very last step in your marketing campaign. In order to promote your practice successfully, you have to plan extensively. The first 4 Ps are very important and must come first because they help you determine your competitive advantage and which areas of your practice you need to change or improve. Promotion of your medical practice involves a combination of PR, advertising, and direct marketing. Promotion requires a lot of resources so it is very important to plan carefully in order to ensure that you get a high ROI on your medical marketing campaign.
Once you define what the 5 Ps of your medical practice are, you need to find a professional medical marketing firm that can help you put your plan into action and build a highly successful medical marketing campaign. There are several medical marketing firms to choose from so your best bet is to narrow down your choices and compare them based on the results of their previous campaigns. Results must be measurable so you can be sure that the firm will be able to live up to their promises.
No matter how great of a doctor you are, your skills will mean little if no one knows you are out there. Some doctors are reluctant to embrace marketing strategy because they think that being a great doctor is all you need to do in order to find new patients and keep your current ones. However, the truth is that visibility is incredibly important in this competitive marketplace. The only way to achieve visibility is through launching a medical marketing campaign. Here are the 5 Ps of medical marketing.
1. Product
The product of a medical practice is the service you are offering your patients. For example, if you are a cosmetic surgeon, your product is the cosmetic operations and treatments you offer. The atmosphere of your practice is also important. It is crucial to make a very good first impression so when patients come to your practice, you must ensure that the atmosphere of your practice is relaxing, comforting, and friendly. Make sure that your practice is clean, well-maintained, and well-lit. The colors of your décor and the lighting can make a massive difference in the way patients perceive your practice. Although the most important aspect of your product is providing excellent cosmetic operations and treatments, you have to give the overall impression that your practice is ideal for your target market.
2. Price
The price of your products is not only what you charge for your services – it is also defined by the perceived value of your services. The expectations of your customers will depend on the price you charge. For example, if you go to a five-star restaurant, you expect to receive top level service and food. If you service you receive at the five-star restaurant is comparable to the service you would receive at a fast food restaurant, and the food is mediocre at best, you will be disappointed and feel that you did not receive the perceived value of the product. This will probably lead you to tell everyone you know to avoid the restaurant. Likewise, people will spread the word that your practice should be avoided if you do not live up to the perceived value of your product. On the other hand, when your service matches its price, you will get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. This provides you with free viral marketing benefits for your practice.
3. Place
The place of your medical practice is where it is located. The location of your practice is essential to your success. Factors such as its visibility and whether or not there is public transport that takes patients there will make a big difference in how many new patients you can attract on a consistent basis. If there are any logistical challenges that get in the way of patients arriving at your practice, try to eliminate them if possible. If your practice is far away and hard to get to for the majority of your target market, you may want to consider relocating, unless you offer such highly specialized services that people would be willing to travel far to receive them.
4. Position
Your position in your market is defined by the competitive advantages you offer. What makes your practice unique and stand out from the rest? You must define your unique position in your market in order to develop an effective marketing plan. Your perception of your practice may be very different from how your patients perceive it. Determine how your patients perceive your medical practice in comparison to competing medical practices by doing surveys and providing them with feedback cards.
5. Promotion
Although many people mistakenly believe that medical marketing is solely about promotion, the truth is that promotion should be the very last step in your marketing campaign. In order to promote your practice successfully, you have to plan extensively. The first 4 Ps are very important and must come first because they help you determine your competitive advantage and which areas of your practice you need to change or improve. Promotion of your medical practice involves a combination of PR, advertising, and direct marketing. Promotion requires a lot of resources so it is very important to plan carefully in order to ensure that you get a high ROI on your medical marketing campaign.
Once you define what the 5 Ps of your medical practice are, you need to find a professional medical marketing firm that can help you put your plan into action and build a highly successful medical marketing campaign. There are several medical marketing firms to choose from so your best bet is to narrow down your choices and compare them based on the results of their previous campaigns. Results must be measurable so you can be sure that the firm will be able to live up to their promises.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Essential Elements of an Online Medical Marketing Plan
There are several different ways that the internet can be used for medical marketing purposes. The internet can serve as an advertising medium, a direct marketing channel, an information resource, a customer service center, and much more.
In order to succeed in online medical marketing, you must first assess internal factors such as your strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. Then you need to size up your competition and lastly, come up with a game plan.
While planning for traditional marketing could take anywhere from six months to a year, planning for online medical marketing is much faster. What used to take weeks to implement offline only takes days online. Give yourself three to six months max to plan your online marketing strategy. This is enough time to integrate online marketing tactics into your overall marketing strategy. When getting started, your best bet is to leverage the internet through your existing marketing plan.
The ten major areas that need to be assessed for you to build an effective online medical marketing plan are the following, in no particular order:
• Goal – Determine what it is you want to accomplish with your online marketing plan. Are you providing health information? Are you building brand awareness? Are you conducting public relations activities? Are you trying to improve customer service?
• Objective – Now you must define objectives that address the goals you set for your online medical marketing plan. You can have several objectives for each goal you set. Objectives are measurable and thus allow you to determine the success of your campaign. If your goal is to generate leads for a new program, your objective can be to do so by encouraging them to visit your website and sign up for a giveaway. Set the objective of generating a specific number of leads in a specific time frame so you can measure the results of your campaign later.
• Target Audience – You need to specify who you are targeting in your online medical marketing efforts. The audience may be the same as the one you target in your traditional marketing campaign or it may be different.
• Marketing Integration – Outline which elements of your traditional marketing campaign you will be integrating into your online marketing program.
• Strategy – Outline your strategy for working towards your goals, objectives, and integration efforts. Determine what offers you will be using online, and if they will be graphically similar to your offline marketing and advertising materials or not.
• Tactics – Specify exactly what types of content you are going to develop and how you are going to deliver it, whether by email, web, download, or newsletter.
• Logistics – Determine what the technical requirements are of implementing and executing the tactics you have defined. You also need to be sure that you have the database capabilities, staffing, and competencies to go through with your marketing plan. If not, determine how you will address your shortcomings and where you can outsource. If you are running an online campaign and expect to receive emails, assign someone to answer all of those emails.
• Metrics – Measuring the success of online marketing campaigns is far easier than with other types of marketing campaigns. Determine what information you want to track, implement a tracking tool, and then collect and analyze the results. Figure out what criteria you will use to measure the success of your campaign.
• Budget – Create an overview of all the different costs associated with developing your online marketing campaign. This includes the costs of developing online content, reworking broadcast materials, and paying programmers, consultants, developers, etc.
• Timeline – When planning a timeline for your online marketing efforts, the shorter the timeline, the better. Set specific dates in your timeline for content creation, beta testing, campaign launch, etc. as milestones.
Some medical marketing campaigns focus on maximizing the potential of the current patient base whereas others focus on recruiting new patients. When you are attempting to recruit new patients, applying the fundamental marketing principle of product differentiation is useful. You must focus on the aspects of your practice that make it different from the competition. Examples of aspects of your practice that may stand out include low cost services, superior customer service, and offering services that competing practices in the area do not offer. However, given the nature of healthcare, it is not as easy for medical practices to focus on these aspects as it is for other types of businesses.
For example, Southwest Airlines may be able to cut drinks and peanuts out from their flight service in order to offer lower cost tickets. On the other hand, doctors cannot give off the impression that they would compromise operational efficiency in order to offer lower cost services. Crafting the right marketing message is very important in the medical marketing arena.
In order to succeed in online medical marketing, you must first assess internal factors such as your strengths, weaknesses, and capabilities. Then you need to size up your competition and lastly, come up with a game plan.
While planning for traditional marketing could take anywhere from six months to a year, planning for online medical marketing is much faster. What used to take weeks to implement offline only takes days online. Give yourself three to six months max to plan your online marketing strategy. This is enough time to integrate online marketing tactics into your overall marketing strategy. When getting started, your best bet is to leverage the internet through your existing marketing plan.
The ten major areas that need to be assessed for you to build an effective online medical marketing plan are the following, in no particular order:
• Goal – Determine what it is you want to accomplish with your online marketing plan. Are you providing health information? Are you building brand awareness? Are you conducting public relations activities? Are you trying to improve customer service?
• Objective – Now you must define objectives that address the goals you set for your online medical marketing plan. You can have several objectives for each goal you set. Objectives are measurable and thus allow you to determine the success of your campaign. If your goal is to generate leads for a new program, your objective can be to do so by encouraging them to visit your website and sign up for a giveaway. Set the objective of generating a specific number of leads in a specific time frame so you can measure the results of your campaign later.
• Target Audience – You need to specify who you are targeting in your online medical marketing efforts. The audience may be the same as the one you target in your traditional marketing campaign or it may be different.
• Marketing Integration – Outline which elements of your traditional marketing campaign you will be integrating into your online marketing program.
• Strategy – Outline your strategy for working towards your goals, objectives, and integration efforts. Determine what offers you will be using online, and if they will be graphically similar to your offline marketing and advertising materials or not.
• Tactics – Specify exactly what types of content you are going to develop and how you are going to deliver it, whether by email, web, download, or newsletter.
• Logistics – Determine what the technical requirements are of implementing and executing the tactics you have defined. You also need to be sure that you have the database capabilities, staffing, and competencies to go through with your marketing plan. If not, determine how you will address your shortcomings and where you can outsource. If you are running an online campaign and expect to receive emails, assign someone to answer all of those emails.
• Metrics – Measuring the success of online marketing campaigns is far easier than with other types of marketing campaigns. Determine what information you want to track, implement a tracking tool, and then collect and analyze the results. Figure out what criteria you will use to measure the success of your campaign.
• Budget – Create an overview of all the different costs associated with developing your online marketing campaign. This includes the costs of developing online content, reworking broadcast materials, and paying programmers, consultants, developers, etc.
• Timeline – When planning a timeline for your online marketing efforts, the shorter the timeline, the better. Set specific dates in your timeline for content creation, beta testing, campaign launch, etc. as milestones.
Some medical marketing campaigns focus on maximizing the potential of the current patient base whereas others focus on recruiting new patients. When you are attempting to recruit new patients, applying the fundamental marketing principle of product differentiation is useful. You must focus on the aspects of your practice that make it different from the competition. Examples of aspects of your practice that may stand out include low cost services, superior customer service, and offering services that competing practices in the area do not offer. However, given the nature of healthcare, it is not as easy for medical practices to focus on these aspects as it is for other types of businesses.
For example, Southwest Airlines may be able to cut drinks and peanuts out from their flight service in order to offer lower cost tickets. On the other hand, doctors cannot give off the impression that they would compromise operational efficiency in order to offer lower cost services. Crafting the right marketing message is very important in the medical marketing arena.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Medical Marketing Advice – Tips for Designing an Effective Medical Website
The main purpose of your medical website is to make you money and in this day and age, there is no excuse for you not to have an online presence. Websites are one of the most important medical marketing tools out there since so many people search online when they need information about medical conditions or when they need to look for a doctor in their area. Make sure your online presence is powerful by investing in an excellent website.
In the past, the yellow pages were important in medical marketing. However, they are no longer a valid option because they are costly, and produce very little results. In fact, the majority of people today rely on the internet to research medical services and procedures. Online, they can view videos, testimonials, and photos, and make instant contact. Just imagine… even if you spend just half of the money it would cost you to get an ad on the yellow pages to market yourself online, you will still get far more patients out of your efforts. If you get a full page ad in the yellow pages, it will just sit amongst hundreds of other similar ads and be seen by far fewer people.
A good medical website will create a positive cash flow for you. If you are a doctor, however, it probably means that your web developing/designing skills are limited. Furthermore, you’re probably too busy to bother with the details of building an effective website and promoting it. That’s why it’s important to hire an internet marketing company with experience in medical marketing to build your website for you and run its search engine optimization campaign.
If you hire a quality company to take care of all of your medical marketing needs, there won’t be much to do on your part besides monitor the results of the campaign. However, there are a few tips you should follow that will minimize hassle and allow you to make the most out of your campaign.
Prior to hiring an internet marketing company to lead your medical marketing campaign, purchase your own domain name. It is important that you are the owner of your domain because you never know what could happen in the future. For example, if you hire an internet marketing company, and they buy your domain and build your website for you, if you ever have any problems with them and would like to switch to another company, they may not transfer the domain to your name unless you pay them a fee. To avoid these kinds of problems, make sure you own the domain of your medical website prior to signing any contracts.
Find a company who can both build your website and take care of SEO. A common mistake that many doctors make is that they hire a web design company with no clue about SEO to design their website and then hire an SEO company to optimize their website for the search engines. The SEO company ends up having to make a lot of changes to what the web design company did in order to make the website SEO-friendly. As a result, you end up paying more for a website that is less effective. For optimal results, search engine optimization must be built into your website rather than added as an afterthought.
When looking for a company that can provide you with both search engine optimization and web design/development services, ask to see examples of their previous work and ask them to show you verifiable results of the success of their previous campaigns. Most companies will have a long and convincing sales pitch but you should prepare plenty of questions to ask to ensure that you don’t get lost in their sales message.
When interviewing companies, find out whether or not they charge for updating your content and website. Some internet marketing companies charge each time you request to have new content added or information changed. These charges can add up and end up being a substantial amount of money. Furthermore, when such charges are tacked onto your bill, it may make you reluctant about updating your website. This is bad since a constantly updated website is essential to your online success. Find out what the company’s SEO and web development package includes. Ideally, updates will be included in your monthly fee.
In order to research the background of a company and determine whether or not they are reliable, search for the company name on Google. It should be relatively easy for you to find the names of some of their clients that way. You can contact their clients to get feedback about their services. This is more effective than asking the company directly for references since they will obviously give you the names of clients that they know will only say good things about them. To get real information and answers, do your homework.
In the past, the yellow pages were important in medical marketing. However, they are no longer a valid option because they are costly, and produce very little results. In fact, the majority of people today rely on the internet to research medical services and procedures. Online, they can view videos, testimonials, and photos, and make instant contact. Just imagine… even if you spend just half of the money it would cost you to get an ad on the yellow pages to market yourself online, you will still get far more patients out of your efforts. If you get a full page ad in the yellow pages, it will just sit amongst hundreds of other similar ads and be seen by far fewer people.
A good medical website will create a positive cash flow for you. If you are a doctor, however, it probably means that your web developing/designing skills are limited. Furthermore, you’re probably too busy to bother with the details of building an effective website and promoting it. That’s why it’s important to hire an internet marketing company with experience in medical marketing to build your website for you and run its search engine optimization campaign.
If you hire a quality company to take care of all of your medical marketing needs, there won’t be much to do on your part besides monitor the results of the campaign. However, there are a few tips you should follow that will minimize hassle and allow you to make the most out of your campaign.
Prior to hiring an internet marketing company to lead your medical marketing campaign, purchase your own domain name. It is important that you are the owner of your domain because you never know what could happen in the future. For example, if you hire an internet marketing company, and they buy your domain and build your website for you, if you ever have any problems with them and would like to switch to another company, they may not transfer the domain to your name unless you pay them a fee. To avoid these kinds of problems, make sure you own the domain of your medical website prior to signing any contracts.
Find a company who can both build your website and take care of SEO. A common mistake that many doctors make is that they hire a web design company with no clue about SEO to design their website and then hire an SEO company to optimize their website for the search engines. The SEO company ends up having to make a lot of changes to what the web design company did in order to make the website SEO-friendly. As a result, you end up paying more for a website that is less effective. For optimal results, search engine optimization must be built into your website rather than added as an afterthought.
When looking for a company that can provide you with both search engine optimization and web design/development services, ask to see examples of their previous work and ask them to show you verifiable results of the success of their previous campaigns. Most companies will have a long and convincing sales pitch but you should prepare plenty of questions to ask to ensure that you don’t get lost in their sales message.
When interviewing companies, find out whether or not they charge for updating your content and website. Some internet marketing companies charge each time you request to have new content added or information changed. These charges can add up and end up being a substantial amount of money. Furthermore, when such charges are tacked onto your bill, it may make you reluctant about updating your website. This is bad since a constantly updated website is essential to your online success. Find out what the company’s SEO and web development package includes. Ideally, updates will be included in your monthly fee.
In order to research the background of a company and determine whether or not they are reliable, search for the company name on Google. It should be relatively easy for you to find the names of some of their clients that way. You can contact their clients to get feedback about their services. This is more effective than asking the company directly for references since they will obviously give you the names of clients that they know will only say good things about them. To get real information and answers, do your homework.
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