how to-leverage-digital-marketing-in-the-healthcare-industry
TRANSCRIPT
DIGITAL MARKETING
HOW TO LEVERAGE
IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
DIGITAL MARKETING
HOW TO LEVERAGE
IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY
The widespread distribution of
digital technology has changed
the nature of marketing.
The widespread distribution of
digital technology has changed
the nature of marketing.
Businesses are now moving away from the distribution of
massive, shotgun-style email campaigns and implementing
targeted efforts aimed at getting in touch with more
focused demographics.
The healthcare industry historically
has not been keeping pace with these
developments. In fact, comparative
research done by MarketingProfs
shows it is about two years behind
other industries. Healthcare marketing
is falling behind in just about every
aspect studied, using far more outdated
techniques than other industries.
Healthcare Content
Marketing Usage
35% of all marketersuse print magazines
47% OF HEALTHCARE MARKETERS
74% of all marketersuse blogs
58% OF HEALTHCARE MARKETERS
63% of all marketersuse YouTube
71% OF HEALTHCARE MARKETERS
On average, 35% of all marketers use print magazines, but 47% of
healthcare marketers use them. 28% of marketers use print newsletters
compared to 43% of healthcare marketers, and 26% of marketers use
print for annual reporting compared to 36% in healthcare. When it comes
to using blogs, 74% of all marketers use blogs compared to only 58% in
the healthcare industry. The situation is similar for social networks, with
an interesting exception – 71% of healthcare marketers make use of
YouTube, more than the average of 63%. This is likely because healthcare
professionals use YouTube to televise procedures and interview doctors.
Healthcare Content
Marketing Usage
ARTICLES ON YOUR WEBSITE
WHITEPAPERS
MOBILE CONTENT
IN-PERSON EVENTS
RESEARCH REPORTS
EBOOKS
ENEWSLETTERS
PRINT MAGAZINES
MOBILE APPS
BLOGS
ANNUAL REPORTS
MICROSITES
VIRTUAL CONFERENCES
86%
52%
31%
31%
31%
75%
45%
24%
78%
47%
58%
36%
40%
21%
81%
48%
64%
43%
23%
75%
46%
25%
53%
32%
36%
9%
SOCIAL MEDIA - OTHER THAN BLOGS
WEBINARS/WEBCASTS
BOOKS
ARTICLES ON OTHER WEBSITES
PRINT NEWSLETTERS
PODCASTS
VIDEOS
BRANDED CONTENT TOOLS
LICENSED/SYNDICATED CONTENT
CASE STUDIES
DIGITAL MAGAZINES
INFOGRAPHICS
GAMES/GAMIFICATION
Barriers to Entry
for Digital Marketing
in Healthcare
O F T H E I T P R O F E S S I O N A L S I N T H E H E A LT H C A R E I N D U S T R Y
There are a number of reasons why healthcare is lagging
behind other industries when it comes to digital marketing.
Healthcare professionals, who deal with matters of life and
death, face unique challenges.
Patient confidentiality is very important, and potentially
hackable electronic systems raise concerns over a possible
loss of privacy. Workers who handle that data are
understandably uneasy about uploading it into distributed
networks. A survey conducted earlier this year through IDC
Canada found that:
And yet another issue is currently being played out in
Colorado where a new computerized registry has been put
in place to keep track of child vaccinations. The problem
is that the new central registry is not compatible with the
systems that most doctors are using in the state, so they
must input data into both systems. Doctors have found
that this is just too much extra work, and are not updating
the state database.
Barriers to Entry
for Digital Marketing
in Healthcare
51%are primarily
concerned with data security when it comes to cloud
technology, a major player in today’s
digital marketing.
36%were worried
about how well the new systems would perform.
31%were worried
about being able to integrate the
new technologies into their
existing systems.
Online Marketing Strategy
for Healthcare
Online Marketing Strategy
for Healthcare
Despite these drawbacks, digital marketing technologies offer the most effective
means for the healthcare industry to modernize. Marketing automation tools
in particular provide ways to organize and streamline marketing tasks, and help
workers feel secure with new systems. Healthcare marketers can update their
operations and join other industries in the digital world by following this five-part
online marketing strategy.
Regardless of how you
gain the information
needed to understand
your market, it
is crucial to have
knowledge of how
your consumers buy
and how they want
to interact with your
business in order to be
successful with digital
marketing.
Times have changed, and few businesses today acquire knowledge about their
customers through traditional methods of outreach. Instead, market research
for many companies is conducted online leveraging social networks to get their
data. Today’s consumers would rather have an actual conversation through online
channels than just be given snippets of information from a faceless business.
In the offline world, healthcare marketers believe that qualitative, in-person
research is the preferred way to get in touch with the needs of customers.
Qualitative research, like comprehensive individual interviews and focus groups, are
the best ways to uncover how people truly feel about healthcare. Interactions like
these reveal more personal and meaningful information than can be gained through
a simple survey online.
Social networks are one avenue
that helps healthcare companies
understand the concerns of their
customers. By creating an online
profile, people can share and
interact with a company as if it
were one of their friends.
People are more likely to open up
and express themselves through
social media, and companies
can collect and analyze that
data to better understand what
their customers expect from a
healthcare service.
1 UNDERSTANDING YOUR MARKET
Optimizing a website can be the difference between an irritated
visitor and a successful conversion. It can also determine whether
or not the site is found in the first place. A search engine
optimization (SEO) program increases a site’s ranking and
visibility in Google and other search engines. It also encourages
easy web browsing.
In most cases, healthcare companies need to hire a medical
optimization service to ensure that SEO procedures are
implemented intelligently. This service should thoroughly
understand medical terminology and the needs of potential
patients. The best SEO services do their own market research
to provide the most effective keywords, metadata, site maps,
and targeted content for a particular company. Continuous
monitoring and modifying of SEO tactics is needed to compete
with other sites and stay on top of the rankings.
CUREILLNESS
TREATMENT
STEM CELL
HOSPITAL
2OPTIMIZING YOUR SITE THROUGH SEO & MOBILE
Mobile optimization generally
consists of resizing and
reformatting a site so that it can
be comfortably used on small
screens. Drop-down menus
and input forms usually need
to be re-thought. In some
cases, a website may need to
be completely redesigned to be
mobile-friendly.
A major part of site optimization today includes being prepared for
mobile access. Gartner has forecast that 2013 will see more people
accessing the web through mobile phones than PCs, so there is
precious time left to become mobile-ready. Companies without
mobile-optimized sites will soon be behind the times, forcing their
customers to struggle with their web content on small mobile screens.
Creating demand in the healthcare
industry doesn’t require more people to
be sick, instead, it means encouraging
those people who are already ill or
injured to seek out the care they need.
It also means positioning yourself to be
the provider of choice when a patient
does become ill.
3 CREATING DEMAND
2 3 41After defining a
priority group,
such as people
with a particular
condition, a
company should
examine the
following aspects
of the way they
deliver healthcare:
HOW AFFORDABLE IS THE TREATMENT?
HOW ACCEPTABLE IS THE QUALITY OF
CARE AND THECOMPANY’S
ATTITUDE TOWARDS PATIENTS?
HOW ACCESSIBLE IS THE FACILITY – CAN ANYONE
COME? IS TRANSPORTATION
PROVIDED?
WHAT IS THE COMPANY DOING
TO SET THEMSELVES APART FROM OTHER
FACILITIES OR PROVIDERS?
In order to create demand, a company must first understand why their target customers are not seeking
healthcare for their symptoms or what their customers look for when choosing a healthcare provider.
Furthermore, research must be done on how patients feel about their condition and what they think of the
available treatments.
Once these questions are answered, a company can go about planning a healthcare delivery strategy that takes
into account the perceptions of potential patients. It can make provisions to help transport patients, make their
care more affordable, or change the way it deals with patients. The final step is to continually monitor how
satisfied patients are with their care and the way they utilize healthcare services.
Social media provides a great way for healthcare
companies to engage their audience with interesting and
meaningful content.
Platforms like Facebook and Twitter let patients have
conversations with real doctors and healthcare workers,
and the ability to share such conversations help spark
interest and get more people involved. People love to
share their opinions and win competitions, and healthcare
companies can take advantage of this by creating surveys
and contests to be deployed through social media.
Amazing staff and amazing
hospital.”“
The best hospital ever.”
“
ENGAGING YOUR AUDIENCE THROUGH SOCIAL CHANNELS4ENGAGING YOUR AUDIENCE THROUGH SOCIAL CHANNELS
Percentage of
Healthcare Marketers
Using Social Media
HEALTHCARE
ALL
75%
71%
70%
56%
23%
22%
7%
7%
6%
3%
4%
3%
3%
2%
82%
63%
78%
74%
39%
22%
19%
12%
9%
8%
9%
12%
5%
7%
YOUTUBE
GOOGLE+
SLIDESHARE
VIMEO
FOURSQUARE
STUMBLEUPON
FLICKR
QUORA
TUMBLER
Percentage of
Healthcare Marketers
Using Social Media
In fact, many healthcare companies are starting to
become more involved in social media. Take a look
at what platforms healthcare marketers are using
most often to distribute content.
The Lexington Medical Center made
great use of the 2012 Pink Glove Dance
Video Competition to attract attention
to itself, engaging practically the entire
state of South Carolina.
They used social media, content
marketing, and YouTube to ramp up
their efforts and get the community
involved. This is also a great example
of a healthcare facility going outside
of the box and having some fun with
their marketing.
Social networks give businesses a place to be innovative.
Take, for example, the fascinating idea of using Twitter
to share live broadcasts of surgical procedures.
The first was a tumor removal operation that took place in 2009 at Henry Ford Hospital
in Detroit, and many have followed. These live broadcasts fascinate audiences and can
showcase the facilities and level of care given by a healthcare facility.
And once you have this great content, whether it is a video or maybe an infographic
that details healthcare statistics, you can not only use it for engagement through social
channels, but you can also leverage it in your email marketing campaigns.
Social networks give
business a place to be
innovative.
5 MEASURING RESULTS THROUGH MARKETING AUTOMATION
Sophisticated analytics programs offered by many marketing
automation platforms are designed to track each step of a digital
marketing campaign, from lead generation to conversions to
customer retention. Only by properly measuring and analyzing the
individual costs and benefits of a campaign can the overall effect
on ROI be determined.
Automated marketing tools provide the easiest way to collect
data and make conclusions. Besides taking most of the hassle
and personal effort out of analytics, marketing automation tools
can also compare the relative successes of different marketing
tactics to help you make adjustments so you can increase the
effectiveness of poorly performing content.
The most difficult aspect of
measuring results in healthcare
is determining a time-frame by
which to judge whether a positive
return has been made. The only
solution to this challenge is a
comprehensive tracking system
that takes into account all
expenses and revenue.
CONCLUSIONCONCLUSION
Through leveraging social media, content
marketing, and marketing automation,
healthcare professionals can engage
consumers on a much deeper level,
positioning themselves to be the provider
of choice.
By following the five-stop process
illustrated in the ebook and continuously
testing and evolving your tactics, you can
fine-tune your marketing campaigns and
be innovators in your industry.
Although healthcare has been
historically behind when it comes
to digital marketing, it is clear
that they are starting to catch up.
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