Healthcare digital marketing is a crucial area that needs special attention. With recent developments in technology, social media and SEO, there are key mistakes healthcare marketers should now avoid.
1. Confusing direct response and brand awareness advertising
Healthcare marketers cannot only care about getting their name out there and must pair up brand awareness campaigns with direct response marketing calling for an action from their target audience – for example, a patient calling a private clinic to book an appointment.
2. Not tracking marketing success (and failures)
Marketing heads must track results of their digital marketing campaigns, in order to draw conclusions from what did and did not work, and must do so in clear-cut, quantifiable terms. Establishing a reliable tracking system is essential to measure RoI.
3. Lacking cohesion between online and offline marketing plans
In such a competitive sector, healthcare marketers cannot afford to stick to one digital tactic only, and must integrate multiple strategies within an overall plan. Make sure the online and offline marketing work together towards the same goals.
4. Failing to convert phone calls to appointments
Successful digital marketing in healthcare will drive conversions such as patients clicking on an ad and calling a practice to schedule a consultation. A well-trained customer service team must be ready to drive the conversion phase on the phone. Call tracking platforms can track the quality of these calls and where efforts should be made.
5. Conducting digital campaigns without a human follow up
Digital marketers in healthcare might conduct outbound marketing regularly, such as running informative and promotional email marketing campaigns – such efforts can go to waste if you don’t follow up clicks and opens with a friendly phone call or email.
6. Planning a marketing campaign for too long
Don’t take unnecessary risks to ‘miss the boat’ and stay away from long decision systems. In a fast-moving digital age, favour near ‘real-time’ decisions, with shorter processes to approve digital campaigns.
7. Writing questionable, un-compelling content
A lot is at stake for marketers through content, as this is the perfect medium to engage with patients and spread awareness. Compelling, emotional stories packed with useful information present a healthcare practice as authority and prompts the audience to reach out for more guidance.
8. Staying behind technology advancements
Be forward-thinking about your digital marketing considering recent technology developments and new consumer & social behaviours. Anticipate trends and therefore adapt your strategy to what the user journey is evolving towards, as search trends are often linked to the invention of new devices or social media.
9. Forgetting mobile optimisation
Healthcare patients, like most consumers, start their online journey on a mobile device. Smartphones have rapidly become the first source of online searches in 2015, while users still turn to other devices later in their journey. Mobile devices – the first touch point – should lead the way of digital efforts in 2016; don’t ignore Google’s Mobile Update and make your practice’s website mobile-friendly to keep good positions in rankings.
POLARIS is a healthcare SEO agency in London. Contact a member of our team for more information on our services.