Digital marketing for doctors and health professionals
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2024 9:48 am
According to Google, 1 in 20 searches is health-related. This means that approximately 70,000 people perform medical and health-related searches on the search engine every minute. With so many people constantly searching for information, doctors who don't think digitally are falling through the cracks.
Why consider digital marketing for doctors?
Today, hospitals and institutes in the healthcare industry are promoting themselves through extensive blogs and engaging social media profiles. However, most doctors and healthcare professionals do not have their own online medium where they can interact with people on a one-to-one basis. In fact, a study by Patient Gain claims that only 4.3% of doctors use digital marketing strategies for their promotion. Given that there are so many medical professionals, this number is surprisingly low.
Is digital marketing for doctors a necessity? The answer is yes. Some people in the healthcare industry work in multiple locations. In such cases, having a dedicated online presence can help people identify their areas of expertise, the hospitals they work at, and their consulting hours. This also helps doctors gain the trust of their patients because a clear, well-written online profile appears more legitimate than a single-page description on a hospital website.
Since many doctors practice in the same department, digital marketing can help them distinguish themselves from other healthcare professionals, as well as add value by showing themselves as veterans in their specialty.
Some limitations of the digital world for the medical industry
With stricter advertising policies, it is difficult to promote or directly advertise certain topics on platforms like Google and Facebook . This means that doctors need to be cautious and put in extra efforts before executing their digital marketing strategies. However, there are plenty of other options that doctors and healthcare professionals can consider to improve their online reputation.
Below are some strategies through which Doctors can enhance their profiles using Digital Marketing techniques.
→ Download now: Free eBook “How to implement an Inbound Marketing strategy in your company or brand.”
Digital marketing strategy for doctors and healthcare professionals
Gone are the days when people used newspapers and yellow pages to search for doctors to consult. Google is now the most popular search engine, people now turn to it to search for health information and also medical professionals. According to a report by Google itself, 77% of patients search for their doctors on Google before scheduling an appointment or consultation. Therefore, it is necessary for people in the medical and healthcare industries to have a strong presence on Google for better reach and ranking. Here are some tactics to consider that will help in this direction:
Create a user-friendly website with a blog
Interacting with people and offering quality medical information is vital. One way to showcase your expertise in the relevant medical specialty is through a website with blog functionality. Make it easy to use and navigate. Blogging consistently will help you with search engine optimization (SEO) , ranking as high as possible in search results. A good blog will also make more people approach you for inquiries and want to come to your office.
If you are a doctor and want to start blogging , identify the questions your patients may have and try to answer them through your articles. The more questions you can answer, the more gambling data russia patients will start connecting with you. The goal is to convert readers into patients or referrals from other people who have read your articles. You can also embed videos in your blog, as Google's algorithm prioritizes blogs with videos over blogs without videos in ranking.
Try Google My Business
Google My Business is a free tool that ranks businesses based on user search intent and the company's geographic location. For doctors and healthcare professionals who want to use digital marketing, Google My Business is a great way to get started.
Having a complete and verified Google My Business profile can help you get listed in Google search results and Google Maps when people search for you as a professional or your medical specialty. The process of creating a Google My Business account is simple and only takes a couple of minutes. Google My Business also has a review feature, where patients can write reviews about their doctors after their consultation and rate them on a scale of 0 to 5. This is particularly important because any medical service has a very high recommendation component among people.
Don't forget to include yourself in directory listings
When you perform a search based on a person's name, you will most likely find that person's name in a directory, in this case, a doctor's directory. These websites list the person's profile and contact information. This is what we call a directory listing. In this regard, it is advisable to make sure that you appear in the directories of all the health sites where you work.
Directory listing websites have a high SEO value . This means that patients searching for you, based on proximity, have a high chance of seeing your profile over doctors whose profiles are not listed anywhere in the directory. Therefore, having your profile listed on multiple directories is going to result in better digital visibility and better reach.
Connect through social media
As a doctor, you certainly don't have much time to spend behind a social media platform. But how necessary is it to have a social media profile ? Honestly, it's very necessary. According to Demi & Cooper Advertising and Interactive Group, 41% of people said that information on social media had helped them choose their doctor.
Clearly, what this shows is that the current generation of potential patients are not only digital, but also use some form of social media.
Can doctors interact on social media? The short answer is yes. For example, as a doctor you can now conduct live webinars, interacting with people and then sharing this on social platforms. Why is this important? When you address health-related issues, people can instantly resonate with you. This way your audience will immediately think of people they know who are going through the same health issue you are addressing. Consequently, they will share your work with their acquaintances, which expands the chances of reaching more people.
As a doctor, you don’t have much free time. You may need a minimal team of people to help you develop your Digital Marketing strategy through Social Media. This can include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Business or YouTube accounts. And honestly, social media involves a recurring process of creating quality content, which you can hardly do alone, at least not on all platforms at the same time. While you can regularly post health-related stories, other medical updates and health awareness messages from a mobile phone, something more professional surely requires help.
Now it's your turn
Carrying out a digital marketing strategy for doctors and seeking positioning will help you increase your visibility on the Internet. For example, if “Doctor Pedro” is only in an online Directory Listing and “Doctor Carolina” has a Blog, a Google My Business account, a Directory Listing and a profile on social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, “Doctor Carolina” will rank much higher than “Doctor Pedro”. Beyond this, the important thing is to start looking at digital marketing to attract more people, especially in a more digital and health-conscious world.
Why consider digital marketing for doctors?
Today, hospitals and institutes in the healthcare industry are promoting themselves through extensive blogs and engaging social media profiles. However, most doctors and healthcare professionals do not have their own online medium where they can interact with people on a one-to-one basis. In fact, a study by Patient Gain claims that only 4.3% of doctors use digital marketing strategies for their promotion. Given that there are so many medical professionals, this number is surprisingly low.
Is digital marketing for doctors a necessity? The answer is yes. Some people in the healthcare industry work in multiple locations. In such cases, having a dedicated online presence can help people identify their areas of expertise, the hospitals they work at, and their consulting hours. This also helps doctors gain the trust of their patients because a clear, well-written online profile appears more legitimate than a single-page description on a hospital website.
Since many doctors practice in the same department, digital marketing can help them distinguish themselves from other healthcare professionals, as well as add value by showing themselves as veterans in their specialty.
Some limitations of the digital world for the medical industry
With stricter advertising policies, it is difficult to promote or directly advertise certain topics on platforms like Google and Facebook . This means that doctors need to be cautious and put in extra efforts before executing their digital marketing strategies. However, there are plenty of other options that doctors and healthcare professionals can consider to improve their online reputation.
Below are some strategies through which Doctors can enhance their profiles using Digital Marketing techniques.
→ Download now: Free eBook “How to implement an Inbound Marketing strategy in your company or brand.”
Digital marketing strategy for doctors and healthcare professionals
Gone are the days when people used newspapers and yellow pages to search for doctors to consult. Google is now the most popular search engine, people now turn to it to search for health information and also medical professionals. According to a report by Google itself, 77% of patients search for their doctors on Google before scheduling an appointment or consultation. Therefore, it is necessary for people in the medical and healthcare industries to have a strong presence on Google for better reach and ranking. Here are some tactics to consider that will help in this direction:
Create a user-friendly website with a blog
Interacting with people and offering quality medical information is vital. One way to showcase your expertise in the relevant medical specialty is through a website with blog functionality. Make it easy to use and navigate. Blogging consistently will help you with search engine optimization (SEO) , ranking as high as possible in search results. A good blog will also make more people approach you for inquiries and want to come to your office.
If you are a doctor and want to start blogging , identify the questions your patients may have and try to answer them through your articles. The more questions you can answer, the more gambling data russia patients will start connecting with you. The goal is to convert readers into patients or referrals from other people who have read your articles. You can also embed videos in your blog, as Google's algorithm prioritizes blogs with videos over blogs without videos in ranking.
Try Google My Business
Google My Business is a free tool that ranks businesses based on user search intent and the company's geographic location. For doctors and healthcare professionals who want to use digital marketing, Google My Business is a great way to get started.
Having a complete and verified Google My Business profile can help you get listed in Google search results and Google Maps when people search for you as a professional or your medical specialty. The process of creating a Google My Business account is simple and only takes a couple of minutes. Google My Business also has a review feature, where patients can write reviews about their doctors after their consultation and rate them on a scale of 0 to 5. This is particularly important because any medical service has a very high recommendation component among people.
Don't forget to include yourself in directory listings
When you perform a search based on a person's name, you will most likely find that person's name in a directory, in this case, a doctor's directory. These websites list the person's profile and contact information. This is what we call a directory listing. In this regard, it is advisable to make sure that you appear in the directories of all the health sites where you work.
Directory listing websites have a high SEO value . This means that patients searching for you, based on proximity, have a high chance of seeing your profile over doctors whose profiles are not listed anywhere in the directory. Therefore, having your profile listed on multiple directories is going to result in better digital visibility and better reach.
Connect through social media
As a doctor, you certainly don't have much time to spend behind a social media platform. But how necessary is it to have a social media profile ? Honestly, it's very necessary. According to Demi & Cooper Advertising and Interactive Group, 41% of people said that information on social media had helped them choose their doctor.
Clearly, what this shows is that the current generation of potential patients are not only digital, but also use some form of social media.
Can doctors interact on social media? The short answer is yes. For example, as a doctor you can now conduct live webinars, interacting with people and then sharing this on social platforms. Why is this important? When you address health-related issues, people can instantly resonate with you. This way your audience will immediately think of people they know who are going through the same health issue you are addressing. Consequently, they will share your work with their acquaintances, which expands the chances of reaching more people.
As a doctor, you don’t have much free time. You may need a minimal team of people to help you develop your Digital Marketing strategy through Social Media. This can include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp Business or YouTube accounts. And honestly, social media involves a recurring process of creating quality content, which you can hardly do alone, at least not on all platforms at the same time. While you can regularly post health-related stories, other medical updates and health awareness messages from a mobile phone, something more professional surely requires help.
Now it's your turn
Carrying out a digital marketing strategy for doctors and seeking positioning will help you increase your visibility on the Internet. For example, if “Doctor Pedro” is only in an online Directory Listing and “Doctor Carolina” has a Blog, a Google My Business account, a Directory Listing and a profile on social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram, “Doctor Carolina” will rank much higher than “Doctor Pedro”. Beyond this, the important thing is to start looking at digital marketing to attract more people, especially in a more digital and health-conscious world.