You are a healthcare provider. The advantage: everyone needs healthcare. The disadvantage: many communities fail to visit healthcare providers until there is an urgent need. This is damaging to the patient and the practice, from its community reputation to its potential bottom line.
Why are certain communities not visiting until there is an urgent need? Some have fears of seeking care, but in many cases, practices are not actively communicating or connecting with potential patients when there is no need to reach out to them.
Social media and larger digital marketing practices are paramount for any healthcare company because they help in building bridges and connecting to communities. From small family practices to a large medical conglomerates, practices that are not meeting their audiences with authentic and creative content, and an understanding of local culture, will not expand their patient base and their retention.
Let’s take a deeper look into the four ways healthcare companies are losing millions of dollars in potential revenue by not utilizing digital marketing as an asset:
No Digital Marketing Plan
Without an inbound marketing plan that consists of social media, content, email, SEO, landing pages, and audience targeting, you will not expand your customer base. Social media and its content is the new word-of-mouth advertising. Healthcare companies must find a way to capitalize on this tool and drive people through the funnel to book an appointment.
Think it’s about the future? It’s not. Your current patient base can get bored, uninspired, become absent, or be lured by other companies if there are no systems in place for sustained engagement and patient retention. With a tweak in strategy, keeping patients can be the same as gaining them.
Lack of Creativity
You want to do what you love. This is why you should hire a firm who knows how to create stories through various mediums that will compel your current and prospective patients to visit your office. It is also important that the creatives you use in your digital marketing reflect the demographics of your current and desired audiences, or you will look out of place with the surrounding community – at the expense of your relevance and brand trust.
No Social Media Advertising
Beyond updating your social media page is an entire world of social media advertising. Some healthcare companies fail to use one of the most effective parts of social media channels: purchasing advertisements directed to particular audiences. This is one of the most successful strategies for gaining leads directly on social media platforms themselves. Targeting, creative, and messaging are crucial for effectiveness.
No Content Marketing
If there is no informational content about your office, your offerings, and/or who you are as a doctor or as an administrator, patients have no way to relate to you or feel relaxed at your office. Remember, going to any healthcare practice drives anxiety for many people. How are you creating content that explains your family environment and comforting, professional service?
But beware, the content you create will need to be demonstrated in real life, or you may lose more patients than you gain.
These four factors are contributing to millions of dollars in lost patient lifetime value. But it is an easy change if you work with a digital marketing and lead generation agency like StreamLined Health. We can help you evaluate your current strategy and future needs, and create a plan to move forward together.