Digital Marketing for Doctors: Do It Yourself and Take Your Practice to the Next Level

Digital Marketing for Doctors: Take Your Practice to the Next Level

The importance of digital marketing is no longer a debate. Most businesses have some kind of online marketing campaign in place to interact with their customers. It is now essential for any kind of business, including restaurants, doctors, and other service providers, to have an online presence for their business to remain relevant.

This article will go over some of the basics of digital marketing and talk about some simple tips that doctors can follow to expand their practice. 

What is digital marketing?

Let’s start with the basics.

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is the practice of promoting a business or product through digital means: online videos, search engine ads, social media posts, etc.

It is estimated that digital marketing practices generate approximately 500 billion rupees in revenue every year.

Types of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing typically refers to advertising that is done online. This can take many forms.

Search Engine Optimisation

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is the process of optimising online content so that it ranks high on search engine results. People often search for things on search engines like Google and Bing. However, most people rarely go past the first page of search results.

For users to be able to find a business online, their content needs to rank highly on search engines. Only then will it show up on the first page or two of search results. Otherwise, businesses risk getting lost in the sea of content online and losing out on opportunities for growth.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a commonly used technique to draw in new customers by regularly sending people emails about things like discounts or new product launches. This method of marketing has been around for a while now and has proven to be effective in expanding the customer base.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is the most popular marketing format and has the highest ROI. In this type of marketing, content like infographic posts or videos are posted on social media sites like Instagram or LinkedIn. This increases brand visibility.

Why is digital marketing necessary for doctors?

Every business today has an online presence, whether through a blog or an Instagram account. This includes doctors, clinics, and hospitals. But why is digital marketing important for doctors?

Firstly, like any other job, doctors need clients to make a living. Without them, their practice will go under. So, it’s necessary to follow digital marketing techniques that enable them to find and retain new clients.

The following is a list of benefits when it comes to digital marketing for doctors:

      •Digital marketing increases the online presence of doctors, making it easier for them to get new patients.

      •Writing informative content helps doctors establish themselves as knowledgeable and trustworthy.

      •Digital marketing provides a platform for patients to post their reviews, increasing the reputation of doctors.

      •Digital marketing for doctors can help them gain an advantage over competitors by standing out from the crowd.

      •Digital marketing also provides an avenue to improve patient experience through better web design and online booking options.

      •It presents an opportunity for doctors to interact with patients.

Tips to attract patients

Doctors can do some digital marketing on their own! This section will list a few tips on how digital marketing for doctors can be used to improve the practice.

Online presence

The first thing to do when it comes to digital marketing for doctors is to build an online presence. This gives people information about your practice. After all, if people can’t find any information about your practice anywhere, how do they know you exist?

As a doctor, you can build an online presence in many ways. This could be through an Instagram account, YouTube videos, or even a blog. Start small; choose a format you’re most comfortable with, whether that’s writing articles or posting informative videos.

Be sure to stay consistent, as this encourages more people to interact with your posts and keeps people engaged. Posting content regularly also helps to build credibility and shows people you know your stuff.

Write a blog

Long-form content, or blogs, consistently rank high on Google searches. This is well-known in marketing circles, and that’s why so many companies choose to maintain a dedicated blog. Blogs are long and information-heavy and provide value to readers and are hence ranked highly on search engines.

You can pick any style for your blog that you like: informative or fun. It gives people an idea of the kind of practice you wish to run and the level of your knowledge. Whatever style you use, be consistent and post content regularly. You can choose an interval, like daily or weekly blog posts.

When people engage with your content, it increases visibility. It also helps you stand out among the many medical service providers in the market.

Follow up with patients

Following up with patients is integral to providing quality care. Be sure to send a message or an email to patients who have visited your clinic to check up on how they’re doing. You can make this automated or add a personalised touch to it.

Sending follow-up emails or messages to patients shows them that you care and actually invest time in building your practice. You can also use this as an opportunity to get feedback for the service they received or suggest follow-up treatments for your patients if appropriate.

Another way of maintaining contact with patients would be to send them after-care tips for their health condition or a procedure they received. This boosts client engagement and retention and is an essential tip when it comes to digital marketing for doctors.

Build an updated website

A website is the face of your business. It gives people an idea of what to expect, and it’s the portal for communicating with your clients. Building a good website is an integral step in digital marketing for doctors. If your website isn’t up-to-date, you risk losing potential clients.

No one’s going to waste time trying to use a glitchy or slow website. Fortunately for you, there are plenty of options to build websites these days.

It is essential that your website design is easy to understand and navigate so your users can find what they’re looking for. Keep your layout simple and put the most important information front and centre. It doesn’t have to be technically complex or follow a new navigation pattern.

Provide online bookings

With everything from food to cars sold online and only a tap away, you should provide online appointment booking options for your practice.

Integrating an appointment scheduling tool on your website reduces the load on your staff and ensures there are no appointment clashes. It also gives your patients the ability to book or cancel appointments at their convenience without having to wait on one end of the phone line.

Encourage reviews

Feedback is important for growth. Anyone serious about improving themselves knows this. The same applies to a doctor’s practice. You should provide a way for your patients to leave their feedback on your website, mobile app, or even a physical form at your clinic.

This gives patients the chance to talk about any discomfort or difficulty they faced while receiving treatment from your clinic. They can also tell you what worked! Feedback like this gives you the opportunity to improve your patient experience.

Positive online reviews also help to build your brand and reputation. It shows people that you care about your patients and take extra care to improve your services. You can have a dedicated section for feedback on your website, or provide a link to an app that does the job for you.

SEO

Digital marketing for doctors cannot be done without search engine optimisation. SEO can improve the visibility of your content and help you get ahead of the competition. With more visibility comes the opportunity to gain more clients. Some simple tips to follow for SEO include:

      •Use clear language to convey your message.

      •Use keywords in your blog titles to help them rank better.

      •Organising your content well, so that users find it easy to read.

      •Including keywords in your content helps search engines index them better.

      •Make your content relevant to the topic.

Email marketing

Email marketing has been around since the 1970s. It still remains one of the most effective digital marketing strategies today. As a doctor with their own practice or someone running a healthcare service, you can increase your client base by tapping into email marketing.

You can start by compiling a list of email addresses from your patients. You can provide incentives for them to sign up, like information on discounts or tips on healthcare. Don’t flood people with emails; select a time of the week or month to send emails instead.

Make sure to use a professional template or a template that suits the image you’re trying to portray for your practice. Be consistent with the format, but add a personalised touch like using names or catering to that particular patient’s needs. Also, be sure to make it easy for patients to unsubscribe if they want to.

Connect with community

Another tip for digital marketing for doctors is building a community online. This fosters a sense of connection and increases trust in your practice. You can create a community on a social media site like Instagram or a simple one on WhatsApp for people to connect.

A community gives people the chance to meet new people, find connections with others who have similar experiences, and exchange valuable information. You can organise meetups for people who have visited your clinic or for those who have similar health conditions. This can be a virtual meeting via an online platform or an in-person meeting at a local park or café.

Traditional advertising

One should also consider traditional marketing practices as a supplement to a doctor’s digital marketing campaign. Traditional advertising like banners and print ads still helps to draw in new clients and spread the word about your practice.

While some of these practices, like TV ads, can be more expensive, you can still do simpler things, like add banners in locations near your clinic. This helps spread the word to locals and increases the opportunities to gain your clients.

Consider hiring an agency

While digital marketing for doctors can be done without the help of an agency, there can be several advantages to choosing an agency.

To start with, agencies have a good understanding about digital marketing for doctors. They know what’s trending and what works. They have dedicated teams for things like SEO and email marketing and can focus on increasing your presence in each of these areas.

Agencies also have the experience of working with multiple brands using various marketing tactics. That means they can get started pretty quickly and don’t have to spend time learning things from scratch.

Hiring an agency also gives you valuable time to pursue other tasks, such as reading up on the latest research publications in your field or getting some much-needed rest. You won’t have to spend time learning how to use another tool.

Conclusion

To conclude, digital marketing for doctors is not rocket science. You can do it too! The article has covered the essentials of digital marketing for doctors, with tips on how to attract more patients, the advantages of hiring an agency, and more.

Check out our blog for more tips on marketing and insights on the latest marketing practices!