As a medical worker, you might know everything about how to practice medicine and be in private medical practice. But medical school doesn’t teach you about business and marketing. Unfortunately, your skills, quality of care, and expertise will only get you so far when it comes to successfully running a medical practice.
To get people to use your services, you will have to effectively promote your practice. There are a number of different ways you can market your practice. Here are some tried and tested marketing tips that will help you expand your medical practice.
1. Create a Website
The first and easiest step you can take to better market your practice is by creating a website for it. Your website will serve as a landing page for prospective patients who will get all the information they need about your practice in one place. Your website should reflect the values and image of your practice. You can hire a website developer to create a user-friendly and attractive website that prospective patients see, and will be encouraged to find out more about your practice.
Your website should contain everything about your practice, your contact information, goals, and values. You can also run a blog page on it that updates people on the latest medical breakthroughs in your specialty. If you have published research, you can add links to the journals where your work is published. You can also post weekly newsletters and updates. There are countless ways to use digital marketing so get creative and explore your options.
2. Social Media
Nowadays, no matter what sector your business is in, social media can be used to promote it. A social media page for a medical practice may have sounded unconventional a few years ago, but lately, people in the healthcare industry are using social media to strategically promote their practice, brand, or health ideologies.
A dedicated social media page on all major platforms will help you reach a wider audience. You can hire a social media manager to take care of all your pages. It is also a great way to collaborate with other creators. For instance, you can partner with a non-profit and support a major cause via social media. This will show prospective patients that you care about your community. It is also a great way to interact with patients and gain direct feedback.
3. Local Listings
Since your business is a local one, you can claim local listings to promote your medical practice. Cover all major search engines such as Google and Yahoo. When a patient searches for a service that you offer in their locality, they will more than likely come across your practice when it pops up at the top of search results. Local listings are one of the most widely used marketing strategies for medical practices and draw in a lot of patients. You should make sure that the listing has all the correct information mentioned. From photos and working hours to services provided and specialties, everything relevant to your practice should be included.
4. Paid Search Campaigns and PPC ads
Paid search and ads are a great way to draw traffic to your website. If used strategically and carefully targeted, they can have high returns. If you have a website, then advertising your practice on search engines is an efficient way to market your practice.
When you invest in a paid search campaign, your practice will show up at the top as an ad when a patient searches for a service you offer. You can analyze the amount of traffic you bring in by setting metrics like total calls received and online appointments made. PPC ads work in a similar way, but instead of your practice being listed as a result on a search engine, it will advertise on specific websites.
You need to pay for this type of advertising, which is why it is called pay per click. Your ads will be placed by search engines on relevant websites such that they will reach a wider target audience.
5. Patient Referral Program
A traditional promotion method that has been around for ages is good old word-of-mouth marketing. A reputable practice that values its patients highly is bound to receive great feedback and referrals. You can fast-track this process by creating a patient referral program where a patient, who is satisfied with your services, recommends your practice to other leads. You can print out referral cards or send referral emails that patients can give to their family and family.
There are many methods you can implement to market your practice. You can always hire a marketing strategist to make things easier for you. So, keep these tips in mind that’ll help you boost the presence of your practice in the healthcare scene.
