How To Start Digital Marketing For The Healthcare Industry
Did you know that 77% of patients said they used search engines to find their next doctor? And that 75% of those people visited the doctor’s website before calling? So, if you’re not using the power of the internet to reach your next patient then you’re missing out on three-fourths of your potential patient list.
Don’t worry if you’re confused about digital marketing and how to use it for your health care practice. You’re in the right place because we have everything you need to know about how to use digital marketing to grow your practice. So keep reading to learn how you can grow your business by growing your presence online.
What Is Digital Marketing?
In short, digital marketing is an umbrella term that covers any marketing that happens online. Everyone is online today. So, whether your healthcare practice covers geriatrics to pediatrics and alternative medicine to weight loss or eye care your patients are online.
You need to leverage the various digital mediums to reach your audience. This includes ranking in the search engines to posting on social media. It also entails email marketing, video marketing, and paid advertising.
The amazing capabilities of digital marketing include how specifically you can target your ideal audience. When you run an ad spot on TV you’re hoping that your potential clients will see it and respond. However, with digital marketing, you can tailor your campaigns to reach exactly the demographic you serve.
Additionally, digital marketing is much more affordable than traditional advertising. So, regardless of how large or small your private practice is you can afford to jump into the digital marketing game.
Types of Digital Marketing
There are dozens of different types of digital marketing. For healthcare digital marketers, the main six types of marketing include:
- Creating a responsive website based on SEO best practices
- Creating valuable content for your potential patients
- Nail your local SEO strategy
- Staying social on social media
- Email marketing
- Collaborative marketing and guest posts
When your healthcare practice successfully implements these six important aspects of digital marketing you will create a continual flow of new leads and future patients.
Why Digital Marketing Is Important In Healthcare
As we mentioned the number of people online is growing every day. And people are becoming more inclined to turn to their phones for information about their healthcare rather than asking around for advice or referrals.
And more and more people who utilize healthcare services have attended at least two years of college. They want to work with professionals and your website allows you to show that you’re an authority in your field. When you create valuable content that answers your patients’ most pressing questions you can establish that expertise your patients are looking for.
Additionally, many people are busy these days. It can be hard to remember to schedule their annual eye exam or whether or not they’re taking the best supplements for their health. But you can ensure that your practice stays top of mind when you show up consistently in their inboxes and social media feed.
Overall, the cost to implement digital marketing remains very affordable. When you use location-based, data-driven marketing methods you can slash your overall spending on advertising and marketing. This is why more and more medical practices are realizing the benefits of digital marketing and implementing it successfully.
How Is Digital Marketing Used in Healthcare?
Earlier we briefly touched on the different types of digital marketing. But let’s dive into some specifics so you can see just how you can start to use digital marketing in your health care practice.
Content Marketing
Healthcare digital marketing has surged with more and more people turning to quick Google searches for their healthcare information. This is why your number one priority should be to create a responsive and professional website that you can rank at the top of the search engines.
In addition, content marketing is more than just blog posts and white papers. You can also create video content, infographics, and podcasts.
People are active and busy, they don’t always have time to read a long blog article. However, they can download your podcasts and listen to them on the go. This is a great way to reach more people through audio content marketing.
Regardless of the medium you use, the key to content marketing is to create valuable content that answers your patient’s most pressing questions. Think of the questions you always seem to answer a hundred times every day. These will be the first topics you cover.
Then take the time to research what topics are already being searched for online every day. When you create content that answers these questions you will start to rank in the search engines. And your website will organically bring you new potential patients day in and day out for free.
Local SEO
As you start to do your keyword research for your content marketing you’ll start to see that you’re competing with large national brands. However, as a small local business, you don’t need to worry about competing with these large companies. You’re only interested in target your local audience.
This is where the power of local search engine optimization comes in. You don’t need to worry about finding patients that live multiple states away from you. You need to target the people that live within a certain geographic range near your practice.
And the best way to do that is to optimize your Google My Business profile. So, if you haven’t claimed your business yet this needs to be the first thing you focus on to improve your local search engine optimization strategy. And if you have claimed your business but didn’t enter much more information other than your name, address, and phone number then you still have a lot of work to do.
Did you know that you can create content for your GMB profile as well as your website? Your posts on your GMB profile don’t need to be any longer than around 200-300 words so take short snippets of the content you created for your blog, vlog, or podcast and repurpose them into short posts here.
Additionally, you can add images to your profile. And you can set up text messaging so that when someone is interested in your services they can message directly from their phones. Did you know that mobile “near me” searches have grown over 500% in recent years?
This is why it’s imperative that your practice shows up each time someone searches for a weight loss clinic or eye care specialist near them.
Email Marketing
Too many small business owners have heard the phrase that email marketing is dead. But the truth is that it has only changed. Email marketing still gives business owners the highest ROI when it comes to digital marketing today.
And your health care practice can’t afford to neglect this important aspect of your digital marketing strategy. People might miss your social media posts and they might not have time to download your video or podcast each week. But everyone checks their email multiple times a day.
The key to today’s email marketing success is to remember that the majority are checking their emails on their phones. So keep your emails brief and to the point. Include images and always have a call to action at the end.
These tips are how you can ensure that your email marketing campaigns are in fact not dead. And that you can see the same amazing conversions of successful email marketers.
Social Media Marketing
Never before have business owners had such close and personal access like they do with social media. You can reach your patients right where they are, regardless of where they are or what they’re doing. When the busy soccer mom checks Instagram at her kids’ practice or when the overworked employee mindlessly scrolls Facebook on the train ride home after work, you can reach them right through their phones.
To successfully get your practice in front of your target audience you want to create regular posts that entertain and educate your followers. Don’t constantly post that you’re looking for new patients. Instead, use your social media platforms to provide quick tips about health. And answer short questions about certain health concerns your audience has.
Social media is also a great way to share short videos of you sharing your expertise with your audience. This is a valuable tool to build rapport with your patients and show your authority in your industry. Because social media is so interactive, these platforms give you an amazing opportunity to engage with your audience online.
In addition, with the ability to target specific demographics, locations, and look-a-like audiences your social media advertising can pinpoint exactly who you want to target. And don’t just think about Google Ad Words or Facebook marketing. YouTube marketing offers a plethora of untapped potential along with Instagram and LinkedIn advertising.
Collaborate With Other Medical Professionals
You might wonder why competing medical professionals would like to collaborate with you to find new patients. But the truth is that more and more specialists are also trying to improve their brand online. And they’re willing to work together so you both can grow your digital presence and improve your brand authority.
The key to collaborations is not to talk with your direct competitors. So, as a chiropractor, you won’t pitch a collaboration with other chiropractors. Instead, you want to work with other practitioners with similar patients.
For example, talk with local nutritionists or physical therapists. Get to know various naturopathic doctors in your area or athletic trainers. All of these practitioners will be grateful to expand their reach online as well and will be receptive to working with you.
You can exchange guest blog posts on your websites. Or if one of you has a podcast you can interview the other one. And don’t forget to collaborate on social media as well.
For example, you can have a “resident expert day” on your Facebook feed where a local nutritionist shares dietary tips with your audience. And in return, you can share posts on their Facebook feed sharing your top tips for spine health.
As you can see there are several ways you can work with other local professionals to expand your reach online and grow your patient list.
How Can Healthcare Digital Marketers Maximize Their Strategies?
As you can see there are several ways to grow your business online. But how are you supposed to implement each of these strategies while you’re also running your busy practice?
The key to successfully maximizing these strategies is to work with an expert. You don’t have time to learn the various intricacies of ranking online. And spending all day on Facebook and Instagram isn’t a high ROI activity for you.
However, we’ve also shown that you can’t ignore the importance of digital marketing in today’s digital world. That’s why you should outsource these vital tasks.
And when you work with an expert you know that your digital marketing strategy will be on point and up to date. The key to finding expert digital marketers that can take your marketing strategy to the next level is to work with someone who has experience in healthcare marketing.
When you work with someone who specializes in healthcare digital marketing you can ensure that their strategies will work for your specific practice.
Grow Your Health Care Business With Online Marketing Today
These digital marketing strategies can help you grow your business and increase your reach online. However, knowing the strategies and implementing them can be two very different things.
So, if you find yourself having trouble deciding the best topics to cover on your website. Or you realize that you keep forgetting to post regularly on social media then consider getting help. Your digital marketing campaigns are too important to ignore but they also don’t have to be done by you.
And you can’t afford to hire your teenager to help you with this. You need to work with experts who understand both the digital marketing aspect and the healthcare industry. And that is what we offer our clients every day.
We’ve worked with hundreds of healthcare practitioners just like you. And we can help you grow your business through online marketing today. So, reach out to us to request your free digital marketing strategy session now.
10 Statistics That Empower Digital Marketing for Solar Companies
In 2020, the U.S. solar industry grew 43%. That’s awesome, but that also means more competition for you.
Are you looking for ways to stand out from your competitors? Do you have a strong digital strategy?
Here are ten statistics that can dramatically improve digital marketing for solar companies. Read on to learn how to blow your competitors right out of the water.
1. Online Sales Model Revives Solar Industry
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many industries, including solar, took a big hit. Without the in-person aspect of selling and installing solar, many solar companies suffered losses in sales.
However, the solar industry quickly learned to adapt to an online sales model and built an online presence. This allowed solar panel companies to stay connected with their customers and to continue business from afar.
In 2020, the U.S. solar industry installed a record of 19.2 gigawatts of capacity. This industry grew 43% from the previous year.
2. Video Backgrounds on Website Can Increase Conversion Rates by 138%
Having transitioned online, the solar industry knows that having a website is crucial to expanding business. But you can’t have just any old website. There’s an art to website design.
One of the key features of a website is the home page or landing page. Adding a video background to the hero section of the landing page can increase conversion rates by 138%.
For solar companies, this is gold. This is your chance to show off solar technology in video format. But be sure that the footage does not make a user feel dizzy from staring.
3. 74% Of Users Appreciate Mobile-Optimized Websites
The age of receiving information at your desk is fading into the background.
Nowadays, people want access to information anywhere and everywhere they go. In fact, 74% of users will return to a website if the site is mobile-optimized.
This means that you must optimize your solar company website with a responsive design. In simple terms, your website visitors should be able to access your site from any device.
Be careful though and choose your hosting wisely. Responsive design takes longer to load, but good hosting can solve that problem.
4. Poor Web Design Loses 38% of Site Traffic
Want to know the single thing that makes your visitors run and click out of your solar company’s site?
Having poor web design. This contributes to a loss of 38% of incoming traffic.
This is not discriminatory. Web design is just part of the overall user experience.
You don’t have to have the most beautiful website in the world. If your website is functional and follows these simple rules of web design, your visitors are more likely to stay.
5. Small Businesses That Blog Win
If you’re a renewable resource company with a blog, you’re already ahead of most of the local companies around you. Small businesses that blog see an increase in lead growth.
It’s not just that you’re on the internet. You have a steady supply of content coming from your site that provides value to your customers and keeps your site fresh. Search engines love that and will rank you first.
Blogging is especially important in the solar industry because your customers are doing in-depth research before they decide to purchase. You want to be the resource that provides them relevant answers to their questions.
6. Video Content Beats Written Content
Blogs are important, but the format of the content matters too. Research shows that 43% of people prefer video content over written content.
This should not be so surprising. The brain processes visual images at a speed 6,000x faster than text.
If you are looking to grow your green energy company, consider tapping into video marketing. Here are some tips we’ve collected to help your video marketing efforts soar through the roof.
7. Testimonials Increase Sales Page Conversion Rates by 34%
Social proof is essential to converting visitors to customers. Including testimonials can increase your sales conversion rates by 34%.
Wherever your happy customers have left a testimonial, collect them and publish them on your site. If you don’t have a record of testimonials, this is your sign to start building it.
Even if they’re not buying yet, this helps potential customers who visit your site to know that you are a trusted solar company. When they’re looking to buy, guess who they’ll think of for the job?
You, of course.
8. Spread the Word With Social Sharing Buttons
People share content all the time. In fact, it’s surprising how often some people share content without reading it first.
59% of people will share an article without having engaged with the content. Why do they do it then? Who knows.
Although this means some of your hard work may be overlooked, your blog content would benefit from you adding social sharing buttons. Take advantage of the information spreading pattern on social media.
This bolsters your online presence and drives traffic right back to your site.
9. Email Marketing Has a 4,400% ROI
Have you ever heard the phrase, “email is king”?
It is for one reason: it has the highest return on investments of any marketing campaign strategy. One dollar spent on email marketing results in at least $44 in sales. That’s a steal.
Use your new solar website to capture emails and bring customers into your orbit. Keep leads warm by consistently engaging with customers over email.
You can also use email to promote new blog content and drive customers back to your site.
10. Social Media Usage Averages 2.5 Hours Daily
If you’re not on social media, you’re missing out. A large majority of your customers are lurking on your website for your social media accounts. They spend 2.5 hours on social media daily.
They want to see more of your solar company before they decide who should install their solar panels. Make sure you’re there.
You can even use social media to promote your content and to drive traffic back to your site. However, your content should exist on your site first, social media second because you own your site. You don’t own your social media.
Use the Best Digital Marketing For Solar Companies
Digital marketing for solar companies can be tricky for an industry that has just transitioned online.
Whether you have an existing digital marketing strategy or you need to create a new one, we offer a digital strategy at no cost to you. We also offer a number of services including SEO, paid ad efforts, web development, and more, to help your solar company thrive.
Get in touch with us to get started today!
Video Marketing Strategies for Contractors
The hardest part of marketing is standing out from the competition. In today’s information-saturated world, customers find plenty of choices just by typing into a search engine.
If you’re a contractor who wants to differentiate your brand, one of the best strategies is video marketing. A video enables the capture of a huge range of messages and information in a short, easily absorbed format. No matter what type of online (or offline) presence your business has, good use of videos is going to add value to almost every aspect of your marketing.
Read on to discover what types of video marketing for contractors are out there, as well as details of how to build a video strategy that will work for you and your business. We also consider the advantages that video marketing can bring, laying out the details of the benefits companies enjoy when they decide to make video a part of their brand.
What is Video Content?
At its most basic, video content is the use of moving visual imagery to convey your message. Within this definition, there is an enormous amount of variety. Videos may be anything from a few seconds long through to several minutes. Instructional (how-to) videos may be even longer. Videos may be silent, use speech, or feature background music. You may find black-and-white videos, animated videos, cartoon videos, or abstract imagery.
Ultimately, the style, content, and format of your video content is determined by the message you wish to convey. There’s no need to stick with a single style for all the videos that your company uses – some contractors decide to have a number of videos created, each of which showcases a particular facet of their organization. This allows significant variety, enabling each video to be specifically tailored to meet its unique objectives.
What are the Various Types of Video Content That Contractors use?
There are several different types of videos available. Depending on your video strategy, some of the options that you may wish to utilize include:
- A corporate introduction (for example introducing senior team members and defining the organization’s mission statement).
- Content from users (which works particularly well on social media).
- A “how-to” or instructional video, perhaps showing how your products work.
- An animated product description. This might use animation to detail the unique selling points of your product, show the location of key features, or otherwise demonstrate why what you create is worth having.
- A presentation or video of an event.
- An interview, perhaps with a company representative, or a satisfied customer (who might provide a video testimonial).
- A virtual tour of your company.
- Webinar material.
- A customized video that’s created to your specifications.
One piece of video marketing may cover several different functions. The final format of your video material depends on what you, as a contractor, feel to be the elements of your organization that are most appropriately presented in a video format.
Using a skilled, experienced marketing company to create your videos can also be valuable. Their representative will usually go through the various options with you, providing advice and guidance on what might work well for your business.
What Objectives can Video Marketing Achieve?
There are a number of advantages that are specific to video marketing, and there are also several marketing objectives that a video is best placed to meet. Below are details of five objectives that a well-made video can achieve.
1. Enhance Brand Awareness
There’s been plenty of research to show that people retain visual imagery more easily and reliably than they do the written word. It’s little surprise that some of the most iconic brands are instantly recognizable from their logo or color scheme, with no reference to the written word.
The same is true of a video – watchers will watch only a few seconds of footage, but in that time, your logo and branding could be displayed dozens of times. Research shows that the average person will look at an online advert for somewhere between one to two seconds. Imagine how much more of an impression you’re going to create if your audience is watching a video that lasts fifteen or twenty seconds.
2. Market Your Organization and Your Product Effectively
Videos are a fantastic marketing tool. A video allows you to showcase your products: not only can users see what the product looks like and get a good sense of its size, a short video that can demonstrate its potential is going to enable a fast appreciation of its unique selling points.
It’s possible to pack an enormous amount of information into a video, at the same time making it entertaining and appealing to watch. Note that videos aren’t just matter-of-fact product listings or documentary-style pieces of film. A skilled video creator will use artistry and proven camera techniques to capture the impression you wish to convey.
A well-chosen backdrop or backing track can evoke an emotion in the watcher that copy alone just can’t match.
3. Novelty Value
It’s not just consumers who value something a little different when it comes to gaining fresh knowledge about products and services – business decision-makers also value an approach that’s fresh and different. Every video created is a unique piece of footage, designed to create the type of content your audience wants to see more of.
Advanced technology gives access to a wide range of different visual effects and options to create videos that are compelling viewing. If you want to grab your audience’s attention, video is the perfect solution.
4. Improve Audience Engagement
Research shows that people of all ages prefer visual content to the written word. The aim of any marketing is to make engagement with content as straightforward and effortless as possible. Developing a video strategy that aims to provide the type of content your audience can’t get enough of can be a key driver of marketing success.
5. Educate Your Audience
Whether you want to show how your products work, demonstrate their benefits, tell your audience more about your organization or deliver messages about your ethics and methods of trading, a video is an effective educational tool.
Not only does video enable new visitors to your site to learn more about you and your products, but a series of educational videos also provides an evergreen resource that users will come back to and share repeatedly.
The Benefits of Video Marketing for Contractors
It’s little surprise that videos are a key part of successful marketing strategies. Not only do they require very little maintenance once uploaded, but a well-made video can also stay current and relevant for years.
If you’re still not sure that video marketing is going to be right for you, take a look at six amazing benefits that contractors can enjoy when they opt for video content.
1. Google Favors Video Content
If you’re wanting to rank highly in search returns (and who doesn’t?), video content could help. Google algorithms pick up relevant video content. It can also carry more weight than text alone, helping your site to gain a more prominent profile.
2. Videos Offer Value-for-Money
Unlike written content, which requires frequent updating to retain relevancy, a video can stay current for months or even years. Given the high levels of engagement and potential conversions that video can generate, its ROI is high compared with other content options.
3. Video Works for Mobile Users
The small screen doesn’t adapt well to vast quantities of written data. In comparison, a video is easy to view, like, and share. In a world where the Internet is accessed from cell phones more frequently than desktops or laptops, a video is potentially a profitable option.
4. Videos Build Trust
Trust is an essential part of any sales transaction. If, as a contractor, you can demonstrate your credentials and trustworthiness to your client base, you’re already well on the way to securing a sale.
Videos make a strong visual statement – creators can build in dialogue, body language, associations, backdrops, and sound that all work together to enhance the trustworthy image you need to convey.
5. Accessing Video is Easy
The easier you can make it for your audience to access information about you and your products, the more likely they are to purchase from you. Consumers are busy people: as such, they crave low-effort solutions to the problems they face. A video provides instant gratification, enabling your audience to find the solutions they seek simply by clicking on an icon.
The effortless nature of video viewing is one of the key reasons it’s such a successful marketing medium.
6. Fast, Simple Explanations
One of the major benefits of a video is that it enables complex concepts and lengthy pieces of information to be rapidly conveyed in seconds. This makes it highly versatile – whether you sell heavy plant, legal services, technical manuals, or any other sophisticated product, video allows you to convey what it is and how it can work for users in a rapid, accessible manner.
With so many benefits, it’s clear why a growing number of contractors include videos in their advertising, on their websites, and as part of their social media presence.
Ready to enjoy the added revenue a video can bring? Get in touch for further information?