This day in age, consumers do not want to be hounded with ads telling them what they should buy. The days of successful traditional marketing have taken a back seat to internet marketing. As consumers are utilizing the internet more often to search for things they need or want, websites have become a prime place for businesses to focus their marketing efforts. What this means for medical practices is that they must maximize their most valuable marketing tool – their website – to be successful. In this three part blog series we are going to talk about the three steps to making an impact through internet marketing. In this week’s blog we will talk about what medical providers can do to get found on the internet – for free! Subsequent blogs will cover how to convert website visitors into leads and leads into patients and then finally, how to maintain practice growth mode.
As stated previously, a website is a medical practices greatest tool for growth when utilized properly. Many businesses create a website and then do nothing to keep the content fresh and up to date. When it comes to a website, content is king. The most important thing a website can have is content that is relevant to their specialty. This means that the website should have user friendly, thought-provoking content that makes both search engines and visitors happy. Once you have created compelling content, it must be optimized to be search engine friendly. Optimization includes plugging relevant, popular search terms (keywords) throughout your content. This helps search engines find your site out of the millions of websites out there.
Search engines like websites that are updated frequently – very frequently. The best way to accomplish this is by writing a company blog. Medical practice blogs have become a very popular way to reach out to potential patients and position the practice as leaders in their specialty. Writing new and interesting blogs on a regular basis can be quite challenging. However, it is necessary for success. I have spoken to many medical providers who started writing a blog only to give up after finding out how time consuming it is. To ease this frustration, the team at MindStream Creative is skilled at researching and writing the blogs for our clients. We become their online voice.
Once a blog is written, it must be published and promoted online. Notify your patients, colleagues, vendors, and circle of friends that you have launched your blog and ask them to read it. Provide social sharing links on your blog so it is easy for readers to share your news with others. If you have a Facebook and Twitter page (which we highly recommend), it is important to post a link to your blog on each. We also recommend publishing your blog on social media forums and article submission sites to help generate interest and drive people to your website.
Social media marketing is an effective way to generate interest and gain website traffic. By actively engaging with people online, you will increase awareness of your services and position your practice as thought leaders. You can converse online by commenting on relevant forums, answering questions on LinkedIn and similar sites and by sharing relevant articles and blogs written by others.
Once you are actively reaching out and engaging people online, you open the doors to gaining new patients by providing relevant, insightful information on their terms. Reaching out to the online community provides your medical practice with the tools needed to drive visitors to your website. Once they are at your website, it is important to keep them there and transition them to leads (and then patients). Next week’s blog will discuss how to accomplish this! If you can’t wait, we would be happy to provide information on how to help your practice grow via a complimentary website analysis. Click here for more details.