Marketing’s inherently dynamic nature requires that marketers in every industry stay up-to-date with the ever-growing trends. The healthcare industry isn’t an exception. This brand new year brought significant benefits, unique consumer preferences, and competitive trends that will only heighten healthcare marketing in 2020.
If you’re in the healthcare industry (whether a small company or big corporate), here are top 5 trends that will dominate the industry this year:
#1. Video content boom
Video has now become a staple content of most internet users’ everyday lives; more than 85% of businesses in all sizes use the material for their marketing campaign. As healthcare marketing frequently turns digital, there’ll be more and more video content about health too.
In the healthcare industry, video marketing is mostly used to connect with existing and potential patients and educate them to live a healthy lifestyle.
With video content, your healthcare business can reach patients more accessible than ever before. And since videos are an excellent storytelling medium, you can also build a strong relationship with your patients– making them convinced to convert into your loyal customers.
There are different ways to create video content for your healthcare business. Some of them are:
Explainer videos
Company or product demo videos
Medical practitioner videos
Healthy-living campaign videos
Testimonials videos
Pro tip: Addressing your target patients’ problems from the first few seconds of your video content is a key to grab their attention and entice them to watch it all the way through.
#2. Online reviews become more crucial than ever
In this digital world, patients are more likely to invest their trust in online reviews. That’s why online reviews are one of the most potent marketing tools for any medical practice. At least 70% of patients say that online reputation is a necessity in selecting a healthcare service.
Not to mention that more than 72% of patients use online reviews before they choose a new doctor. In this matter, your credibility online is often a patient’s first impression of you and your service.
By all means, if your healthcare business isn’t making a strong first impression with online reviews, you’ll be missing out on hundreds of new patients this year.
Pro tip: Since your potential patients read an average of six reviews before making a decision, offering incentives to make them write a review is necessary. You can offer them a discount or coupon codes, gift cards, and more.
#3. Millennials continually create shockwaves
Dubbed as the “drive-through” generation, the Millennials have some strong, broader views about what they expect from healthcare providers.
Considering these young adults are tech-savvy and informed, they tend to gather information online before seeing a doctor. Also, they’re twice as likely as any other generation to take actions on the non-urgent health advice they found online– including social networks.
To be preferred by Millennials, you need to stay on your toes to evolve both your care delivery model and the way you interact with your potential patients. Providing them with quick, efficient service is one of the best ways to appeal to those younger patients.
Pro tip: A fundamental approach to attracting millennials to your healthcare services is by making technology a priority. Try to invest in an online scheduling software as well as automated appointment confirmation and reminders.
#4. mHealth makes huge strides
In this era of immediacy, your potential patients are always on mobile. They’re tired of long waits and complicated medical information. In this matter, it’s much more convenient to access health services through their smartphones or other mobile devices (mHealth).
So it comes as no surprise that the healthcare industry has been named as one of the top three fields to play a pivotal role in the rapid growth of mobile devices. At least 59% of all health-insured patients said they’d rather choose a health provider who offered a mobile app over the ones that did not.
mHealth is paving the way for better patient-doctor connection, reduced hospital costs, and even enhanced patients monitoring. That’s why it’s crucial for you to weave mobile capabilities into the core of your business to meet your potential patients’ needs for “anywhere, anytime” healthcare services.
Pro tip: Take into consideration that almost everyone from different generations is already aware of the power associated with digital devices. Ensure you create your mHealth service as seamless and easy to use as possible.
#5. Localized healthcare SEO will rise above the clutter
As healthcare services are more accessible than ever before, the competition in the industry is ramping up. To stay on the game, you need to put some extra efforts on localizing SEO and optimizing your website content.
It’s crucial because 73% of patients turn to search engines when finding a doctor. At the same time, 89% of internet users rely on search engines to help them solve their healthcare queries. Not to mention that “near me” searches for healthcare services have doubled since 2015.
By implementing a strong SEO strategy, you can clinch top positions in Google search results for your healthcare business. It makes it easier for your potential patients to find your service when they local-search healthcare services.
Since optimizing your SEO generates more traffic to your website, make sure you create your healthcare website accessible, interactive, and user-friendly to hold the visitors’ attention and convince them to use your service.
Pro tip: Finding keywords that are related to your service line and resonate with your potential patients is vital. To make it easier, you can use a healthcare digital marketing agency to help you optimize your SEO practices.
Final Thoughts
Just like any other marketing, healthcare marketing has been tremendously influenced by the digital revolution. It allows patients to have more options than ever before, leaving healthcare marketing teams always on their toes when it comes to new ways of reaching new patients and spreading brand awareness.
As a savvy healthcare marketer, you need to ensure that your marketing campaign is up-to-date and relevant to today’s digital world. If you’re not adopting some digital trends for your healthcare business, you’re already trailing behind!