The competition in the healthcare industry will be as fierce as ever in 2023. Are your digital marketing strategies fit for the battle? This article shares three healthcare digital marketing trends you can implement today.
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3 Medical Digital Marketing to Use Now and Prepare for 2023
The healthcare industry attracts more players trying to grab a piece of the pie. Although there is plenty of room for competition, it pays to be the leader in your niche. Or, at the very least, keep yourself competitive to thrive.
How do you do it? Update yourself with the most useful digital healthcare marketing trends. And also, Below are three of them.
1. Human-First Marketing
The recent search engine updates point to one obvious message: human needs come first.
The year 2023 will be about keeping your audience at the heart of your digital marketing plans.
- Google has already begun rolling out the helpful content update. By next year, most of the sites will see an impact on their page rankings. It is more likely that the search engine will introduce similar or related updates next year.
- The search engine also plans to implement the beta version of Privacy Sandbox for Android to improve user privacy. It means developers must enroll to continue using its ads-related APIs, such as attribution reporting.
- And also, In one industry study, almost all respondents said they want to self-serve a significant or entire customer journey.
So how can you leverage this trend now to make patients front and center in your marketing plan? Consider these ideas:
- Make your targeted leads part of the marketing process. Marina Turea of Digital Authority Partners (DAP) recommends asking your patients what content they want. Use social media, mailing lists, and even in-office survey forms to gather data.
- Track online marketing to identify what is working and what is not. Doing this helps you make data-driven decisions and improve your patient-centered online marketing plan. For example, when faced with a limited budget, which campaigns can generate more leads?
- Break down large market segments. Grouping large customer segments in terms of age, gender, geography, and other categories provides you with valuable data. You can tailor your campaigns based on each group’s data.
- Protect patient privacy. Take all the necessary steps to protect your patients’ data. And also, Follow HIPAA marketing guidelines and use two-factor authentication on your website.
- Enhance content accessibility. Match the content tone and language with the intended readers. For instance, you might need to strip a blog with jargon if your market is non-medical individuals.
- Create a seamless patient-first approach from online to offline. Patients should find it easy to access your services whether they are in your clinic or website. Simplify the appointment process and create an omnichannel experience.
- Optimize search engine optimization (SEO) for your audience. Digital marketing agencies can help improve your SEO strategies to ensure your targeted leads can access quality content anytime, anywhere.
2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Healthcare Marketing
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and neural language frameworks to build applications or platforms that streamline data, processes, and analytics.
In other words, you already have the tools that can:
- Increase your productivity and efficiency
- Manage your budget and resources more effectively
- Speed up the process of getting new products and services to market
- Build more accurate audience personas and identify ideal customers
- And also, Optimize campaigns that match your patient’s needs
The goal now is to learn how to integrate these platforms into your medical practice. Consider these points:
- Create an AI-powered chatbot. A friendly, conversational AI-driven chatbot can answer questions faster than humans. It can also help you gather valuable data about patient preferences and needs.
- Use machine learning algorithms to improve patient segmentation. In healthcare, segmenting patients is essential for successful marketing campaigns. Machine learning algorithms can quickly and accurately analyze data. And also, This way, you can improve segmentation processes by determining the most meaningful characteristics.
- Explore predictive analytics for patient care. Predictive analytics lets you understand your patients better. What are their medical risks and needs, for example? In turn, you can forecast demand and develop appropriate services.
- Automate repetitive or routine tasks. Automation is the key to freeing up valuable time for healthcare providers. for healthcare providers. You can automate mundane tasks, such as scheduling appointments.
- Simplify and automate email marketing workflows. Managing a huge mailing list is daunting. Automating it ensures you can engage your patients anytime and give them the content they want. Further, the platform usually captures email marketing data. You can then use the information to get insights on improving campaigns.
- Use pattern analysis to improve social media engagement. AI-driven pattern analysis analyzes social media posts. Then it determines the most relevant content for reaching target audiences. And also, It also suggests new ways of engaging with patients. These include content, influencers, or other campaigns.
3. Strengthen Your E-A-T (Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness)
With more content providers parroting similar information, how do you ensure yours remains unique and stands out? The answer lies in following Google’s E-A-T guidelines.
E-A-T stands for Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. Google classifies life-changing content, such as yours, as “your money, your life” (YMYL) pages. Ergo, what you put out there can impact a person’s life choices.
Google knows that millions access its search engine daily. And also, It wants to ensure only the best and safest content is available.
In 2023, Google could be more relentless in its E-A-T campaigns for many reasons, including:
- Micro-influencer marketing will grow by over 30%, which could also increase the risk of exposure to misleading or false health information.
- The metaverse boom is coming. In a 2022 PwC survey, at least 80% of CEOs want to incorporate it into their business activities within three years. Building trust is paramount to maintaining or encouraging patient engagement in this space.
And also, Your job now is to meet these three main criteria. Try these approaches:
- Update old content. Google has already stressed you cannot change the article date without a significant update. While repurposing content is in, ensure you go beyond inserting random keywords. Remove old data and add new ones.
- Vet your sources. Sharing links can improve your content’s credibility and even your SEO strategies. But it is also just as important to check your sources. Are they from credible experts? Can you find any conflict of interest or bias? Is it cherry-picking data to share?
- Ensure an expert has made the content. This is especially true if you publish scientific articles, such as journals or studies. Tap doctors, scientists, and researchers to make yours. Let certified providers with a proven track record review the content before publishing.
- Encourage user-generated content (UGC) to show authenticity. If you have a healthy online community, let your users generate content. And also, These include videos, photos, and online reviews. Keep in mind, though, that you are still subject to HIPAA rules. You must de-identify any patient data before publishing.
Summing Up
Now is the best time to prep your healthcare marketing plan for 2023. These three ideas should help you make the most of upcoming trends.
Do you need more help? And also, Digital marketing agencies always stay informed. They can assist you in creating a strategy that works best for your practice in 2022 and beyond.