The healthcare market has gotten increasingly more competitive, especially in the area of dermatology. It has become more and more challenging to grab your potential patient's attention. That's why it's important to have a digital marketing strategy. Here are some quick digital marketing tips that will help you get results and grow your practice.
1) User-Friendly Website
The first step to a digital presence is a website for your practice. Increasingly, potential patients are researching online before they even pick up the phone. Having a website is mandatory. It doesn't have to be super fancy, but it does have to be user-friendly and intuitive. It needs informative content about your services, photos and videos of your practice, and be designed for viewing on different devices (laptop, mobile phones, tablets).
2) SEO Optimized Content
This goes hand-in-hand with your website design. It's so much easier if you get it right now, rather than having to make fixes later. This means optimizing your website's page headings and titles with keywords and location. Some are obvious, such as dermatology or dermatologist. Others may surprise you. And of course, make sure your page content includes keywords and an optimized H1 tag and H2 tags.
3) Social Media Marketing
It's not uncommon for dermatology practices to wonder why they should worry about social media. One simple reason is so that people know you really exist. Your social media presence highly influences your search engine ranking. It's like a virtual loudspeaker for your practice. Some of the popular social networking sites are Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube, and Twitter. They are free and only require an investment of time. Post regularly, but not too often. Always monitor them and reply promptly to messages and comments.
4) Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising
Pay per click can yield great results, if it's done properly. Consider hiring an expert for this, do-it-yourself PPC usually ends up with you spending a fortune for disappointing results. Success with Google AdWords requires optimal and precise targeting. In addition, it often requires managing of budget and expenditure in real-time. Your best bet in this instance is hiring a reputable digital marketing agency.
5) Reviews from Satisfied Patients
A good digital reputation is worth its weight in gold. One way to achieve that is to make sure your satisfied patients tell the world about their results. You need to have positive reviews on your social media sites, review sites such as Yelp, and on blog sites. The next time a patient tells you they are happy with their results, ask them to write a review on Yelp, Yellow Pages, or one of your social networking sites.
Acknowledge their actions by commenting back. And don't shy away from negative reviews or complaints. They should also be answered with an effort to resolve the issue.
6) Email Marketing
Email marketing is one of the oldest, and still one of the most effective types of digital marketing. But blasting a bulk email campaign won't get the job done. Just like your website, your email should be easily read on different devices. This is especially important, as many people check their email on their mobile phones or tablets. Create a catchy subject that speaks to your audience and makes them want to open the email.
If applicable, segment your audience and personalize your emails. And always remove anyone who requests to be unsubscribed. If you're doing email right, these will be few and far between.
7) Online Store
If you also sell skin care products at your practice, then try to get your products on e-commerce sites or in online stores. Not only will this increase your profits, it can also grow your client base. When selling your products online, make sure that the product pricing is in line with your target audience. Choose well-known, reputable sites that get high traffic volume. If you have a lot of products, put them all online.
8) Join Online Health Forums
Join a few online health forums where you can interact with your current and potential patients. Medical News, Opinion, Health Information, Journal and Conference Briefings, Industry Alerts on Doctors Lounge (http://DoctorsLounge.com) and HealthBoards Message Boards (http://healthboards.com) are two well-known forums for healthcare professionals. When people post questions and concerns, you can answer them. This will position you as an expert and give you more online exposure.
In addition to marketing your dermatology practice to new patients, an online marketing strategy can help retain and engage existing patients. It can strengthen your relationship with your patients and make sure they are aware of new services you may be offering.
Cutera does offer marketing materials to help dermatologists and other medical professionals improve their business.