Four Keys to Inbound Marketing in Healthcare

As a marketer, you know there is a target audience out there searching for what your healthcare client has to offer. Statistics and marketing experts may have pushed you to jump on the inbound marketing bandwagon.

But do you know how to reach your target audience? Do you have a content marketing plan that will turn the readers of your healthcare blog into leads?

Is it Time for Healthcare to Jump Into Inbound Marketing?

The healthcare industry is usually one of the last industries to adopt new marketing methods. Compliance with HIPAA rules on correctly handling patient information and the strict FDA oversight on marketing products creates roadblocks to adopting the latest marketing methods.

The compliance of any medical marketing material that is brought onto a new market should be considered on many different levels. Is the type of material appropriate? What is it allowed to state? What information needs to be included? Are all the claims 100% accurate? This is all before you even consider the style.

This is no easy feat, but medical-writing expertise in all applicable markets, together with exceptional copywriters, will help ensure your advertising hits the target.

- Joanna Laurson-Doube — Medical Marketing & Media

The healthcare industry must learn to effectively use content and digital marketing strategies. The rapid adoption of new technology by both doctors and patients means it has no choice.

Studies Show Technology Adoption is Increasing in Healthcare

• A study of the healthcare industry in 2013, showed 86% of healthcare providers used smartphones in their practice and 53% of providers used tablets in 2013, an astonishing increase of 34% from 2012.
• According to the Wolters Kluwer Health 2013 Physician Outlook Survey, 80% of physicians use Internet browsers such as Google’s Chrome to access the latest diagnosis and treatment information.
• Google’s research found that 44% of patients who research hospitals on a mobile device go on to schedule an appointment. Every marketer with hospital clients should pay attention to that statistic!

What are the most important actions to focus on to take advantage of these healthcare marketing trends?

4 Keys to a Successful Healthcare Inbound Marketing Campaign

1. Create A Responsive Website

Mobile usage is soaring in the healthcare workforce. 9 out of 10 clinicians will be using mobile devices in 2014 at work.

It is imperative your website display nicely on all device types to make them easy to view and use for both doctors and patients.

Until recently, websites were built for desktop and laptop computers. Now, the elements of a website need to adapt and display logically on all screen sizes.

Example of mobile responsive website design

A Responsive website, adapts to the screen size of the device it is being accessed on. This allows users to consume information on mobile devices with ease, reducing the need to resize, scroll, zoom in and out, etc.

A single responsive website removes the need for a separate mobile site. With a mobile responsive site, healthcare organizations can improve their brand’s cohesiveness and reach while reducing effort in maintaining multiple platforms.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

3 times as many healthcare website visitors come from search than from other methods. That is huge and, it underlines the importance of getting SEO right.

Is your client’s website optimized for Search Engines? What kind of increase in patient numbers could your client see if they optimized their website?

If your website is not SEO optimized you are losing patients to your competitor.

How can you optimize your website for SEO?

The first and most important step is to research keywords patients, healthcare providers, and other related professionals are using to search for the organization’s services. There are keyword tools designed for this purpose. Then, create quality content that is helpful to your target audience to move your website up the Google rankings for those keywords.

3. Content Marketing

Content marketing is using content in the form of articles, blog posts, eBooks, webinars, videos, etc. to bring in new leads and customers.

I like to refer to content as the fuel that powers the engine of inbound marketing. Your content should deliver value and help your audience, which in turn will entice them to want more.

Compelling content:

• Improves search engine rankings
• Brings in new traffic to your website
• Answers the questions people are asking

Good content gives your customer value, builds trust and moves this traffic successfully along the sales funnel resulting in more patients or customers taking a desired action like calling your healthcare organization, buying a product or service, or becoming a patient at your practice.

4. Marketing Automation

The ultimate goal of marketing is to get more people to buy your product or service.

The ultimate goal of marketing automation is to make this process even more efficient and sell even more products or services.

Marketing automation is simply software that automates your marketing for you, saving you time and effort. It allows you to not only streamline and automate marketing tasks but also to get feedback on what’s working and what’s not.

You can segment your prospects into different groups to target them more effectively. Let’s say you have a client that sells a product to three types of physicians: family physicians, radiologists, and ER physicians.

Because each specialty requires this product in a different context, you would tailor your communications accordingly. Before automation, it was done manually but with software, you can send specific emails to specific segments of your list.

Also, marketing automation software can send emails to your segmented prospects based on the actions they take. Your prospect feels like you are talking to them and are more likely to engage with you and convert into a sale.

While this is a simple example, automation software can handle more complicated segmentation. It can consider factors like:

• Location
• Language spoken
• Whether your prospect has opened your emails
• Sections of your website prospects referred to.

With marketing automation, you have the tools to guide your prospects down the path towards eventually buying from you, saving you time and effort in the process.

Ready to Get Started?

It is 2014, and healthcare organizations cannot waste anymore time adapting to new healthcare marketing trends. It is not just a case of being up to par but also of the potential for massive growth and profits when these methods are executed properly.

These are only 4 ways to get inbound marketing right, but there are many more that your company can use to put itself in a good place going forward. Interested?

Trent Dyrsmid writes at BrightIdeas.co, where he shares proven marketing strategies you can use to attract more traffic, increase conversions, and maximize profits. For bright ideas on how leverage content marketing and marketing automation, join his free newsletter.