Importance of Digital Marketing in the Healthcare Industry

Healthcare is a highly competitive and cluttered sector. 

With the advent of technology, competition has further skyrocketed in this digital age.

So, in this blog, we will be finding the answer to the question of ‘Why Digital Marketing is Important in Healthcare?’

From 2022 to 2030, the worldwide market for smart healthcare is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 13.3% from its 2021 valuation of US $153.6 Billion.

As a result, medical centres must raise awareness of their premium-quality health-related services and excellent care to attract new patients.

Several studies have found that more than 40% of Americans go to the internet or mobile applications for advice about their health and the majority of patients prefer to phone ahead or conduct internet research before visiting any healthcare centre. 

Since Covid-19, health systems have observed a massive change resulting in ballooning patient numbers, staff fatigue and labour shortages, supply chain disruptions and equipment scarcity, ageing buildings, and healthcare delivery models under increasing strain.

These particular issues have compelled providers and patients to fast migrate to virtual care and rely on new technologies. 

Consisting of cloud computing, 5G telecommunications, artificial intelligence (AI), and interoperable data and analytics to handle present difficulties and rethink the future of health by offering digital perspectives.

Thus, a huge void has been created to capture this huge market based on health consciousness. 

Resulting in health professionals, hospitals, and various other medical centres opting for a result-oriented digital marketing agency for doctors. 

Digital marketing for healthcare industry provides much-needed exposure to your clinic resulting in a positive brand image that may assist in retaining current patients while recruiting new ones. 

The internet is also a fantastic tool for disseminating information to potential patients, so healthcare practitioners should take advantage of it.

And the ideal approach to accomplish this is to produce helpful blogs that actually assist users and bring value to their expertise.

For example, a user is looking for ways to boost his/her immunity and makes the search on a search engine.

If a doctor’s website or any healthcare clinic has a wonderfully written end-to-end blog on such topic which reads, “Check Out! Important Health Tips to Boost Immunity” it would compel the concerned user to click on the blog and give it a thorough read.

Such blog strategies not only prove useful for the user but also aid in service promotion and act as a validation to avail of the service offered by the doctor or any other medical centre.

However, marketing research has also found a definite correlation between a website’s blog activity and a 97% increase in the number of backlinks to their site leading to higher ranking opportunities on the search engine result pages.

Another potential benefit of digital marketing for doctors’ services is through social proofing in the form of testimonials and reviews.

As a patient’s experience is critical in the healthcare sector. 

Those who have a pleasant experience are more likely to promote your services to their friends and relatives. 

This is made feasible through digital healthcare marketing, allowing you to reach more individuals with fewer resources.

Why Digital Marketing is Important in Healthcare?

If you’re wondering if you should invest in digital marketing, keep reading to learn about the numerous benefits of digital marketing for doctors and healthcare centres.

Increases Digital Recognition

Digital marketing provides an unimaginable reach in the digital world where everyone with an online presence becomes a potential business customer.

For doctors to build their service awareness, recognition, and reputation it is essential to have a highly engaging digital presence that can be established through their website with a complete guide of their services.

Furthermore, the importance of digital marketing in healthcare extends well beyond the patient-facing element. 

The digital presence of a hospital is nothing but a brand extension that never sleeps. 

As prospective patients may obtain any medical-related information or search for any prescription they require in a couple of seconds.

Their online reach through digital marketing helps them to attract more potential patients. 

In a nutshell, the importance of digital marketing in healthcare makes it more accessible and practical for the user seeking any sort of medical assistance.

Maintains Your Reputation

Digital marketing is critical in sustaining a healthcare clinic’s reputation. 

It may aid with online reputation management by monitoring and managing online reviews and ratings, boosting good comments, and promptly responding to bad input. 

The clinic may create and market its brand online by building a solid online presence, enhancing visibility and credibility through search engine optimization services (SEO) and tactics, and educating patients about various health conditions and treatments. 

The strategy for digital marketing for healthcare industry also enables patient interaction by delivering relevant information like appointment reminders and health suggestions, which helps to develop a personal connection and fosters long-term loyalty. 

In the event of a negative occurrence or crisis, digital marketing may be utilised to successfully manage the situation by conveying the clinic’s response and resolving the issue. 

Therefore, the benefits of digital marketing for doctors aid in the maintenance and enhancement of a healthcare clinic’s reputation. 

This is also significant because if a patient encounters incorrect information, it can spread like a viral meme, harming the medical centre’s image as well as broader public health.

Unlocking Communication Doors 

Digital marketing creates communication channels for a healthcare clinic by making two-way contact between the clinic and its patients simple and convenient. 

Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram provide direct channels of connection for answering queries, offering updates, and sharing health recommendations. 

Email marketing enables targeted and individualised communication, such as the distribution of appointment reminders, health bulletins, and promotional offers. 

Patients can leave comments, ask questions, and make ideas using patient feedback forms on the clinic’s website. 

The website’s live chat option allows patients to communicate with a representative in real-time, giving rapid assistance and opening up a direct channel of communication. 

Thus, digital marketing for healthcare industry enables the medical clinic to improve communication, develop trust, and raise patient happiness.

Drive More Traffic and lead to Higher ROI

Digital marketing provides businesses with a robust search engine optimization (SEO) strategy which is directly linked to the inbound traffic on their websites.

The sudden rise in healthcare services has made doctors and medical centres build their websites, but mere website creation doesn’t solve their purposes.

SEO helps to improve the concerned website’s content strategy and aids in the process of link building.

Leading the websites to generate high organic traffic and ROI.

It further improves their page rank and makes it easy for users to find them at the top of specific search queries and choose them for their desired treatment.

Maximising Local Visibility

“Doctors Near Me”, “Best Hospitals in Los Angeles”! You must have used these phrases while looking for healthcare centres. And, often witnessed the Google local 3 pack which must have shown you top 3 names of the doctors available near you.

In this digital world which is constantly changing and expanding, the healthcare industry is no exception. 

Healthcare digital marketing services are critical for the success of any organisation, whether it is a tiny local clinic or a vast hospital. 

Therefore, digital marketing for healthcare industry becomes critical for enhancing local SEO and generating website traffic for healthcare clinics. 

Local listings on directories such as Google My Business and Bing Places aid in improving visibility in local search results. 

The clinic’s website is keyword optimised for important local keywords, making it simpler for potential patients to reach the clinic in local search results. 

To rank higher on Google maps, content marketing, such as the publication of relevant and useful blog articles and infographics, can be extremely crucial and also aid in increasing website traffic to the clinic. 

Creating high-quality local connections to the clinic’s website can boost its authority and relevance in local search results, resulting in more website visitors. 

By implementing these techniques, a healthcare clinic may increase its local awareness and attract more people to its services.

The more individuals you attract, the more exposure you have. If you want to increase your profits, digital marketing is a great approach to reaching out to your consumers.

Cost-effective Strategy

For Doctors who have just begun their practice and started their clinic. 

It becomes difficult for them to invest large chunks of money in traditional methods of advertising to build their reach and reputation among the masses.

Let’s assume a healthcare clinic wishes to offer its services to 2000 potential patients in a local region. 

Traditional marketing strategies, such as print ads in local newspapers, radio advertising, and billboards, may easily cost more than $100,000. 

On the other hand, the same reach might be accomplished with a considerably cheaper investment of roughly $1000 to $10,000 with digital marketing.

This stark difference is enough to mention the reach and benefits of digital marketing for doctors who are yet to decide on their marketing strategy.

Finding your Target Patients

Aside from being a low-cost approach to promoting your services, digital marketing for healthcare industry allows such firms to target specific groups. 

Healthcare clinics have a unique chance to locate and interact with their targeted target audience through digital marketing. 

Clinics can reach out to certain groups of people based on demographic targeting criteria such as:

• Age
• Gender
• Location
• Household Income
• Parental Status
• Past Medical History 

Various professional PPC services include data and analyticswhen it comes to behavioural targeting to analyse the behaviour of potential patients, allowing for targeted ads based on their online activity. 

Remarketing advertising may be used to display adverts to those who have previously visited the clinic’s website, enhancing conversion rates. 

Moreover, social media targeting makes advantage of the interests, activities, and demographics of social media users to reach a specific audience. 

Using these tactics, healthcare clinics may discover their potential patients and interact with them through targeted and individualised messaging.

Promote your Service with the Hint of Uniqueness

Digital marketing has become an essential tool for increasing brand awareness and recognition for healthcare clinics. 

With over 4.76 billion people using social media worldwide, clinics can reach a massive audience through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Optimizing their website for search engines, such as Google, can increase the clinic’s visibility and attract new patients. 

The production of immersive audio-visual material and broadcasting on social media using tools like Google Lens and Street View can be extremely helpful.

Video marketing has recently become a popular tool, with more than 80% of businesses using video as a marketing tool and over 90% reporting increased website traffic and lead generation. 

Influencer marketing is another growing trend, with more than 70% of marketers reporting that it has been an effective strategy for them. 

By utilizing these tactics and the benefits of digital marketing for doctors, medical clinics can establish a strong online presence and connect with their target audience in a meaningful way.

The usage of digital marketing for healthcare industry is increasing as it further expands. 

As a result, staying ahead of the healthcare business requires an investment in digital marketing. 

It has the potential to improve patient happiness while also lowering the cost of patient acquisition. 

Similarly, the importance of healthcare marketing boosts organic search engine ranks while decreasing patient costs.

Uvisible’s digital marketing for doctors can make your brand more visible to the audience by improving communication between the brand and the consumer, which will enhance loyalty and customer satisfaction.

Is Digital Marketing for Healthcare Industry Necessary?

In the aforementioned part, we have discussed in detail why digital marketing is important in healthcare.

Now it’s vital to know more about how necessary is digital marketing for healthcare industry. 

With the increased use of technology and the internet, prospective patients are turning to online platforms to obtain health and wellness information as well as healthcare providers. 

Healthcare clinics may reach their target audience, gain trust and credibility, and position themselves as the top provider in their sector by having a robust digital presence.

Furthermore, the benefits of digital marketing for doctors may assist medical clinics in achieving a variety of specialised goals, including growing brand exposure, recruiting new patients, enhancing patient engagement and happiness, and expediting patient communication. 

Healthcare clinics may remain ahead of the competition and develop their business by employing efficient digital marketing methods.

Thus, digital marketing is an essential component of the healthcare industry since it allows clinics to reach out to and connect with patients, build reputation and competence, and ensure growth.

Conclusion

Profession in medicine is considered the noblest profession, it’s often regarded as wrong to see it from the lens of profitability or money-making.

However, when it comes to marketing strategy it doesn’t need to always be about money, sometimes it’s all about building a genuine customer base, which in this case is about the patients.

Digital marketing for healthcare industry further strengthens and aids medical professionals to keep a record of their patients and generate much-needed follow-up through health-related suggestions which is beneficial for their health.

Thus, you’ll be able to reach a larger audience and enhance your conversion rate by employing the aforementioned benefits of digital marketing for doctors and healthcare clinics.

At Uvisible, we understand how critical it is to use digital marketing in healthcare. 

If you are a doctor, a hospital, or even a fitness professional and want to establish your online reach and presence, do reach out to Uvisible for a quick chat and we might be able to help you out.