In recent years, there have been major changes in content creation, such as increasingly involved virtual marketing, but it retains its original objective: to attract new and existing customers. When thinking about content creation most people drift toward something creative, or eye-catching, but who’s to say this can’t be applied to healthcare? The importance of healthcare to our daily lives, especially now in 2022, has led to an upsurge in patients who want to become more knowledgeable due to the uneasiness the pandemic has brought. Marketing for healthcare can be basic, outdated, or too dense. Ditch the basics and make something innovative that draws attention to your brand. Our team can help you to create engaging healthcare content that promotes growth in your brand and engages audiences.
The pandemic has led to a significant increase in virtual healthcare marketing, such as telehealth and video marketing. This caused the need to stay on top of trends and remain relevant to the changing times. Here are a few strategies to keep your content creation relevant and exciting during 2022.
All systems online
With the major shift from in-person to virtual communication, healthcare was no exception to this transition. First, consider your website; realistically speaking, if your brand has a website over five years of age it is almost as if your brand doesn’t exist at all. Maintaining a minimalistic, easy-to-navigate website will help attract customers to your brand. Keeping website information up to date and as accurate as possible comes with its own set of benefits as well, such as making your brand trustworthy and reputable. It’s crucial to update your website with Covid-19 policies and options for virtual appointments. As we navigate new waters in 2022, a lot of people prefer telehealth as a result of the pandemic so offering that choice not only tailors to the needs of patients but also shows your brand’s flexibility and quick response to the changing times.
Blog-buster
Another aspect of virtual marketing would be blogging. Blogs can be added to your website and constantly updated to stay relevant to the times. Here are a set of guidelines to consider when creating blogs for your website:
- Readability: your audience may come from varying backgrounds so maintain the blogs simple but informative, breaking down complex medical terms as necessary and keeping the blog organized and easy to follow
- Accessibility: putting necessary information in one place is highly significant because it allows the patient to find any information they need without straying off-site thus facilitating their search for information and minimizing their time spent
- Tone: a professional tone is highly recommended when writing content for healthcare. This can help the reader feel they can trust the information being presented to them.
- Engagement: healthcare may not be the most exciting thing on the planet, but it is immensely important to a good quality of life. It is important to engage the audience by expressing the importance of what they are reading and how it may apply to their specific case.
Medical blogs are becoming more and more vital overtime as information has become more readily available. It’s important to lend a specific perspective that is unique from your area of expertise and connects to your audience. Articles and blog posts exist all over the web, but having a branded perspective, a unique knowledge base, or the ability to share personal stories will help develop an audience.
Video Magic
Videos can also be weaved into your brand’s website but can also be used to explain certain procedures to patients. It is entirely possible to come across a patient who may not understand certain medical terms to the fullest extent. Being able to show them a short video of an entire procedure would not only inform the patient properly but also make them overall more comfortable. Language barriers, in general, can be tough so considering those barriers could have positive benefits to the brand and patient relations. Videos can also be used to deliver company mission statements, introduce the team, or serve as a virtual tour to your facility.
Audio on the Go
When considering healthcare, audio is probably not the first thing that comes to mind but we are living in an age where audio, such as podcasts, has become vital. In the US alone, approximately 68% of the population listens to digital audio. Healthcare podcasts such as Healthcare Weekly and Medtech Talk, have been majorly successful in intertwining healthcare and technology. They explain the innovations technology has brought to the healthcare system and the effects this will have on the future of healthcare while focusing on keeping people informed and excited for what’s to come. Applying audio to your healthcare marketing makes your content readily available to the general public as it’s something they can listen to on the go. Not everyone has the time to sit and read through information so being able to listen to subjects concerning their health is a step in the right direction in terms of convenience and accessibility for your patients.
Let’s Get Social
A website is a great start to a more up-to-date marketing approach, but social media has also become a common practice among growing brands. Starting or updating a social media account for your brand has more or less the same effect as a well-versed website does: it increases internet presence. It can also lead to growth in health education, healthcare promotion, and patient care. A good example of a healthcare social media page would be the Physicians Committee on Instagram. This account focuses on nutritional dieting and preventative medicines and currently has approximately 110k followers. They consistently post new content that is relevant, organized, and overall nice to look at which is essential for a successful company’s social media. A social media content calendar can be beneficial for organizing information for posts and maintaining a consistent schedule needed for reach and growth for the page. The services your brand offers can be used as content for social media outlets that are readily available to the public. Posts can range from events, procedures, and customer satisfaction reviews but they must be organized and engaging for the viewer. This generation spends more time on social media than anything else so having a brand presence on such platforms increases overall marketing effectiveness and reach.
Why Does Virtual Marketing Matter For Your Brand
Healthcare oftentimes seems to be a static industry that moves along at a steady pace. Since the end of 2020, the healthcare industry has proven that notion wrong- it is quickly advancing, pivoting to consumer needs, and utilizing new mediums to get its message across. In the past doctors would visit patients for in-home appointments due to the limited technology of the time but now it is as easy as sitting down in front of a computer screen. As the world is learning more and more about how to cope with COVID-19, new studies come out, and the healthcare industry pivots to serve the needs of its community. Healthcare has responded across the board to keep up with the needs of the market, and your content strategy should become modern too. Falling behind can be detrimental to your brand so the importance of virtual marketing is crucial for relevancy and growth. Factoring these aspects into your marketing strategy can lead to improved customer relationships, increased internet presence, and overall significant growth. All of which will keep your brand relevant and engaging for 2022.