The healthcare industry has done a great job of using data to hyper-target patients. However, many practices and hospitals are behind when it comes to two of 2018’s strongest marketing trends – Creative Content and Video.
Good news – getting up to speed is not hard, and will generate an ROI quickly.   Here are the How’s and Why’s to jump on these two trends.

Creative Content:

Patients are looking for healthcare information online simply because they can’t always get to their physician immediately or within their health insurance guidelines. Having content that answers their questions enables them to engage with a practice fast, and often generates an appointment. In addition, Google sees new and relevant content as helpful content, thus will rank your site better in search results. Remember, Google wants to show the content that best answers the users question. Be the one that delivers.

Blog:

• Today’s web platforms allow for a user-friendly blog writing that can be updated by almost anyone.
• Determine the goal for your content. Do you need to drive volume to a specific service? Are you trying to raise awareness? Make a list of the most frequently asked questions, then organize a blog content calendar.
• Get the conversion. Do you want to get the patient to call for an appointment or make an appointment online? Include appropriate links and landing pages to get the conversion.

Start by posting once a month. Physicians may need to review content before it’s posted or to write it themselves. This can be challenging due to the constraints on their schedules, but it will prove well worth it in patient growth and rapport building.
Keep it brief – 200-300 words or less. Long isn’t always better, attention spans are getting shorter and remember, you want to get the visit!

Video:

People are visual by nature.
According to Cisco, video traffic will be 82% of all consumer Internet traffic by 2021, up from 73% in 2016. 82%! If you don’t have video on your website, you don’t have a high functioning website.
What kind of videos?

• Informational – About the practice/hospital/company, about the physicians
• Educational – about specific treatments, services, conditions, clinical trials, unique treatments offered
• Emotional – patient testimonials, physician endorsements, success stories

• Look for the highest traffic pages of a site. Think about most frequently asked questions, or high profile services. Start by converting those text pages into videos and watch engagement and patient visits soar.
• Be careful with quality. A poorly shot video with bad lighting or sound can hurt more than help. First impressions matter. In most cases, an iPhone won’t cut it. Find a professional video production company that can help with scripting, organizing a succinct and informative video, and produce it to make a strong impression and remain in line with your brand.
• What to do with video:
  • Post to website
  • Share on social media
  • Post on Youtube – optimize to show in search
  • Create podcasts
  • Create a channel to show a smart TV