Marketing a medical start-up doesn’t have to be too different from promoting any other type of business. You can use many of the most popular digital marketing tactics. For example, the most fundamental marketing strategy is to create a well-designed website. In addition, you should be present on social media, as most people go online to search for more information about your business.
However, if no one visits your website and you don’t update your social media, this won’t help you gain more patients. To market your medical start-up and get it noticed by the right people, you need to learn more about healthcare marketing. Different online tools and best practices will make it easier for you to stand out from your competitors.
To help you get started, here are seven digital marketing ideas for medical start-ups:
1. Optimize your website
If you don’t already have a website, you need to consider getting one. You can hire someone to design it or use an easy online tool to create it yourself. If you already have a website, take a moment to see how you could improve it. Is it optimized for mobile devices? Does it take a long time for each page of your website to load? Figure out how to improve your website speed.
You should also make sure the services you offer are clearly identified on your homepage. In addition, make it easy for potential patients to book an appointment.
2. Be more visible thanks to local SEO
Your medical practice website should include keywords that make it easier for potential patients to find you. You should try to harness the power of local SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization.
You need to figure out which keywords people are using when they Google to search for a medical practice similar to yours. You need to include those keywords in the pages of your website, along with the name of your city. This will help your website rank higher in Google’s search results, which will allow you to get seen by more people.
3. Establish a partnership with a local business
Do you know of a local business offering products or services that complement your medical practice? It could be a different type of practice or a company that sells products that could benefit your patients.
It would be a good idea to work towards establishing a partnership with a local business. You could refer each other to your patients or clients, allowing you to enjoy a more extensive patient base.
4. Create and share relevant content
Content marketing will help you catch the eyes of more potential patients, and it will help position you as a leader in your field of practice.
And you don’t have to stick to just one type of content. You could write insightful blog posts or make fun educative videos. Your content could include photos, illustrations, graphs, and infographics. You may also include quizzes, polls, patient FAQs, interviews, and even memes, as long as they are relevant to your practice.
You could also ask your patients to help you create some content: you could share before and after photos or stories of how your services helped a patient.
5. Make the most of social media
Social media is a great platform to publish the content you create and to share relevant content created by other people with your followers. But you need to know how to make the most of social media.
Instead of opening an account on every social media platform, you should focus on the sites where your target audience is most active. When you post content, remember to post regularly and to create a consistent brand image. You should also consider investing in paid ads that will reach your target audience. Make them want to learn more about your practice and your services.
6. Reach out to your patients with an email newsletter
Even though people spend a lot of time on social media, many still spend a lot of time reading their emails each day. This is why an email newsletter is still a powerful marketing tool.
A monthly newsletter is a good place to share content such as pictures, blog posts, and videos. You can also use it to present new treatments to your patients or send them special offers or share interesting news.
7. Ask your patients for honest reviews
Patient reviews help build your credibility online. Great reviews can convince more potential patients to book an appointment with you. In contrast, bad reviews or no reviews at all might make them want to visit your competitor’s website instead.
Therefore, it’s a good marketing strategy to ask your loyal patients for reviews. You can ask them for a review in person, but it’s also possible to integrate a review request tool with the appointment booking tool of your website. This way, satisfied patients will be more likely to leave you an online review, which will help you attract new patients.