Healthcare Marketing: 3 Resolutions

06 Jan Healthcare Marketing: 3 Resolutions

With the start of the New Year, you may be wondering how you can use this fresh start to your healthcare marketing plan’s advantage. You’re definitely in the right mindset; with a new year comes plenty of opportunity to give your plan the push it needs to accomplish your goals this year. But where can you begin?

We’ve compiled a list of three healthcare marketing resolutions to keep in 2015. They encompass some of the biggest trends in healthcare marketing forecasted for the coming year, and leave plenty of room for personalization — so, read on, take a note, and consider how you’re going to make this year your best one yet!

Healthcare Marketing Resolution #1: Get your brand in shape.

This is especially important if you’ve recently changed any part of your brand’s name, logo, or website. Part of highly effective brand recognition is presenting a consistent, unified image across all forms of media — in both print and online. So, get your brand in shape by checking up on the following areas:

• Online: Is your website mobile- and tablet-friendly? Patients in 2015 are going to seek their information online more than ever before — and with new and burgeoning technology, that is going to be easier and even more widespread in the coming year. Keep in step with the times by making sure your online material — patient forms, homepage, blog — is accessible and user-friendly across multiple platforms. Are buttons clickable? Is necessary information clearly displayed? Is your practice’s healthcare marketing brand still visible on every page?
• Print: Are you giving patients pamphlets, business cards, and/or flyers with your practice’s name on them? If so, double check to make sure that your logo, tagline, and colors are presented to your liking; additionally, now is a good time to ensure that your contact information is accurate on all mediums, especially things like business cards and appointment reminders.
• Multimedia: If you’ve pursued other forms of healthcare marketing, like radio advertisements or print ads in local papers, consider starting the new year with a fresh face; a new radio spot or print ad can be enough to cause new and prospective patients to take notice, especially if they’ve grown use to flipping past your old healthcare marketing

Healthcare Marketing Resolution #2: Listen to your patients.

 This might seem obvious, but a huge element of successful healthcare marketing is being able to listen to the comments, thoughts, and concerns of your patients. Why? Well, it not only gives you a direct line to the needs of your clientele (which can supplement blog articles about frequently asked questions, and other social media posts), but giving patients a sense of positive affirmation can spell the difference between one-time visitors and clients for life.

If you’ve received a comment or noted a patient’s concern and have changed something in your practice’s approach to accommodate it, let people know. Celebrate the change! For example, if people have commented on their difficulties finding your practice’s location, post an announcement on your social media profiles and/or newsletter informing patients of your practice’s plans to install a better banner, roadside billboard, or other improved form of signage.

Healthcare Marketing Resolution #3: Post more frequently on social media.

If you finished last year with an inactive Twitter or Facebook account for your practice, now is the time to build a stronger social media plan for 2015. Look at where your original social media plans failed; did you try to post too often? Not often enough? Did you run out of things to say? These are all important realizations to have and note, especially because they can inform the way you approach your practice’s social media accounts moving forward.

Healthcare marketing in the digital age relies on relevant and consistent activity on social media accounts, but your posts should feel genuine, too. Start with a social media plan that makes sense for you and your practice; something as simple as one tweet and one Facebook post during the week can begin to build your social media muscles, and allow you to explore the benefits of connecting with clients online.

For more information about healthcare marketing for 2015, contact the Healthcare Marketing Group today!