Over the course of this year, physicians have sounded the alarm about how concerns over COVID-19 are reducing the time spent on managing other health conditions. Patients are less likely to visit their doctors for routine checkups or to follow up on unusual symptoms. While there has always been a segment of the public with a “wait and see” approach on care, often those concerned about costs, patterns of behavior are transforming in a widespread way.

In a situation like this, medical practices need to work even harder to stay relevant.

Luckily, digital marketing for medical practices offers you plenty of effective options.

Patients Still Want Medical Info, Even If They Aren’t Visiting Medical Practices
In the midst of an unprecedented downturn in foot traffic, medical practices would be wise to redouble their online marketing efforts. Focusing on search engine optimization (SEO) today will position you to reap the benefits tomorrow – when in-person visits will normalize and likely even grow.

After all, people will be looking to “make up” for those missed check-ups and other issues.

Even while staying home from medical practices, people are still going online to check their symptoms and find better ways to pursue wellness. The evidence? Consider how much online traffic WebMD gets.

Research shows that:

• WebMD has been voted the 4th most popular app and website
• It receives approximately 130 million unique visits every month
• Over the last year, estimated traffic for the site is down just 2%

Baby Boomers and women are more likely than other demographics to seek out healthcare information online – not surprising considering they are more likely than younger generations and men, respectively, to visit medical practices on a regular basis. And those patterns continue to hold true now.

Even if your patients have seemingly disappeared without a trace, they are still out there and still want to hear from you. And you don’t have to have a library of thousands of pages or dozens of in-house medical writers. Instead, focus on crafting excellent content that speaks directly to your patients’ needs.

It’s easier than it seems – but you have to start now.

Medical Practices Can Win The “Attention Wars” With These Content Marketing Ideas
Content marketing refers to creating helpful, informative online content that increases search traffic to your website and deepens existing patient relationships. While a blog is any company’s biggest content marketing tool, medical practices in particular need to think creatively to be heard over the noise.

That means going deeper and showing your expertise in relatable, memorable ways.

Let’s look at some of the most powerful examples:

1. eBooks On Health And Wellness Topics
Smaller medical practices, like chiropractors, can get a huge amount of visibility and engagement out of ebooks. Short ebooks are a great incentive to get people to join your mailing list. They allow you to explore a subject in more depth than you would on your blog and demonstrate your brand’s personality.

For example, a dietician might use an ebook to explore recent trends in healthy fasting, like Intermittent Fasting or OMAD. This can open the door for existing patients to get some basic questions answered while setting up an appointment when they need information tailored to their own medical history.

2. Infographics Charting The Latest Health Data
Keeping track of all the latest health data is challenging for an expert, let alone the average person. An infographic combines slick graphic design with rock solid research data. Infographics get shares on social media for their unique ability to help users glide through lots of data and see it in an all-new way.

3. Physician-Led Video Storytelling
Video content is memorable, creates a human connection with the patients you don’t see often, and it has a special bonus: Videos you host on YouTube may show up alongside Google search results, even for the most competitive search queries. The key: Get doctors in front of the camera for true authenticity.

From short “tips and tricks” videos to longer discussions of the latest healthcare news, everything is more meaningful when it comes from a trusted physician. Video is also a terrific way to showcase stories and testimonials of patients who’ve had success reaching their health goals.

4. Email Marketing For Medical Practices
Email marketing is used by businesses of all kinds to stay in touch. All your other content marketing endeavors help make a weekly email newsletter that much easier. To drive appointments, your list should be precisely segmented and automated, delivering pertinent content to every patient every week.

Making The Most Of Medical Practices’ Web Content: Test, Analyze, Improve
More than most any other business, medical practices are positioned to embrace the biggest marketing challenge of the 21st century: Becoming a full-fledged digital publisher. A constant stream of content is the secret to growing your website’s visibility and creating a true lead generation engine.

But how do you know if it’s working?

The best digital marketing is all about science:

• We form a hypothesis based on your patients’ behavior
• We test it by creating content aligned with our theory
• Then we review results and refine output as necessary

Without this process, even the best medical practices are flying blind when it comes to digital marketing. They’re in the same position as a first-time author hoping that their new mystery novel will sell: Lots of effort, but no certainty about outcomes.

At New York Ave, we keep you moving forward.

We coordinate with you to plan, design, and create content that reflects your unique brand.

From blog posts to professionally produced videos, our experts do it all according to the highest industry standards. Then we analyze performance to ensure your content marketing has a real impact.

To find out more or get started, just contact us today.