Tips for Using the Internet to Bring More Patients to Your Office
When you’re part of a large medical practice or healthcare system, you don’t have the sole responsibility for generating new business. Such places typically have an in-house marketing department or work with an outside agency that helps bring in new patients. But when you open your own practice, or you’re part of a small group of medical professionals, you may have to wear the marketing hat, too. Not to worry, though—you can compete with many of the larger medical practices, but you’ll need to take a hands-on approach to your digital marketing. Here are some recommendations for effective ways to build your patient base online:
- Post a blog on another professional’s website—Be a guest blogger on someone else’s website or social media platform. It doesn’t have to be a medical website, but that can be beneficial. You might write something for a legal website or an insurance company. When your blog appears on someone else’s site, it gives you immediate credibility. It allows you to get new business without a direct referral, as potential patients who see your blog can contact you directly.
- Post content that engages people—One of the primary goals of your content should be to keep the web visitor on your page. The longer someone stays on your site, the more investment they feel and the more likely they are to contact you. A checklist, a mini-quiz, or a set of FAQ can offer an interactive experience. A free consultation can also help create an initial bond with a potential patient.
- Make your website easy to navigate—It’s critical that your web visitors can get where they want to go when they come to your site. You want the layout to be intuitive, and you want to offer multiple opportunities for them to contact you, either by email or phone. If visitors find it frustrating or difficult to get answers to basic questions, they’re likely to hit the back button and look for a site that’s easier to navigate.
- Take advantage of your Google Business Profile—It’s free and can put a link to your website in the top right-hand corner of the first search engine results page. You have to do more, however, than simply complete the profile and post it. You need to update it regularly with fresh, relevant, and accurate content.
- Attract potential patients with informative and compelling videos—Study after study shows that video is the medium of choice on the internet. Your videos don’t need to be highly produced, but they should answer some basic questions. Appear in the video yourself, so that potential patients can put a face and voice to your name. An additional benefit is that videos, and excerpted scenes from videos, can be used over and over, on different web pages or on social media platforms.
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To learn more about how we can improve the digital marketing for your medical practice, contact us online or call our offices today at 866-952-7045.
