Within the lifespan of any medical practice, discussion of increasing revenue and growing the patient base will surface at some point. From the need to fill providers’ schedules to boosting the practice’s profile to appeal to investors, practices find motivation to increase outreach. While exploring solutions, digital marketing is bound to come up. 

 It used to be that healthcare organizations could rely on referrals to keep a steady stream of patient visits, but as consumers gravitated more toward online services, so did their expectations and habits. Patients now lean toward finding a provider on their own through the internet. This allows them to compare providers and weigh which is best for their needs. For medical practices to even be considered by technology-inclined patients, they must invest in digital marketing. 

What Will a Healthcare Digital Marketing Agency Do for My Medical Practice? 

Hiring healthcare digital marketing services is not something to jump into on impulse. To make wise financial decisions, practices should carefully consider their options. It is understandable that most medical practices are curious about what difference a healthcare digital marketing company will really make. Having the foresight to answer this question in the very beginning is the first step toward making the most well-informed investment. 

Medical Digital Marketing Agencies Focus on Winning Business While You Focus on Care Delivery 

Even the most ambitious and talented practice team with the best of intentions can easily be diverted away from marketing tasks. Seasonal spikes in patient visits, billing backlogs, deadlines, and unexpected emergencies are all things that push digital marketing tasks to the periphery.  

Digital marketing is time-consuming. To be truly effective with digital marketing requires a team handling all its many facets. When you pass the responsibility of digital marketing strategy execution to full-time professionals, you don’t have to worry if people on your team have time to do it or if it will end up forgotten during hectic times. 

Full-Time Digital Marketing Teams Possess the Experience and Instinct That Make It Cost-Effective 

It would be a stretch to say that digital marketing is rocket science, but like launching aircraft into orbit, there are systems in place to see that it is all on-target. If the mechanics of digital marketing were more straightforward, more people could do it themselves successfully. But unfortunately, it can be rather complex, and all too often a moving target.  

When you work with a reputable medical digital marketing agency, you can confidently hand off all the guesswork and engineering of online marketing. Before they even begin, expert marketing teams know what works, and what does not, and will make judgments accordingly. 

Signing Up for Services Can Save Money 

If you wish to have a comprehensive digital marketing program, you will need to engage a variety of experts. To hire a medical website designer, content strategist, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist, Pay Per Click (PPC) specialist, social media coordinator, and reputation management specialist could easily cost over $300,000 per year. However, digital marketing services from an agency will cost a fraction of that figure. 

 What If We Are Not Ready to Hire a Digital Marketing Agency? 

Some medical practices may encounter barriers to hiring a digital marketing agency. What can a medical practice do for itself to engage in digital marketing? Here are some best practices to keep in mind: 

• Have a mobile-friendly website that loads quickly – If you want to make your own website, it needs to be easy to use on mobile and not take long to load. 
• Modernize your website – Patients are looking for convenience, so when you add buttons like “online bill pay,” “patient portal,” “telehealth,” and your phone number with “click to call” activated, you communicate to patients that your practice is mindful of the digital patient experience. 
• Maintain a safe website – Everything about your practice is HIPAA-compliant and your website must be as well. Ensure that any transmitted patient data is protected from malicious intrusion. 
• Use keywords in your content – Google needs to know what your site is about to know where to place you in search, so putting terms into your content like your location, and services, plus writing blogs about your expertise helps Google match your website to a patient’s search results. 
• Claim your Google Business Profile – When patients do a search for local providers, they will more than likely see a list of local clinics in their immediate vicinity, so to maximize your chances of appearing in such searches, your profile must be claimed and filled out entirely. 
• Update your listings – Directories such as Healthgrades, Vitals, ZocDoc, Doctorfinder, RateMDs, WebMD, and Doctor.com are still online resources patients use, but don’t assume they have your practice information complete and correct – quality check your listings and update accordingly. 
• Get on Facebook – Having an active social media account on Facebook further reinforces your brand and expands your online presence – some patients may wonder why your practice isn’t active on Facebook. 
• Run Facebook ads – Business services on Facebook are user-friendly for running ad campaigns so try out their ad tools. 

 Why is pay-per-click not listed above? Running Google ads without experience is highly risky, especially considering the hefty investment involved. Those hired to run ads for a digital marketing agency must have the skills and experience needed to craftily and successfully execute PPC campaigns. 

 Does It Matter Which Digital Marketing Agency We Hire? 

Marketing is not just a business expense; it is a true investment. This investment bears some risk because results are not guaranteed. And while we wish we could say that digital marketing has an impeccable reputation as an industry, there are some out there who are quick to take your money with little to show for it. Smart investing begins with knowing exactly what you need from a digital marketing agency and then vetting the selection available. 

Does it Matter If the Digital Marketing Agency Does Not Specialize in Medical Practices? 

Working with a variety of types of business maintains a steady stream of clients for many digital marketing agencies, but there are advantages to going with one that narrows its scope to medical practices. The main reasons to go with a healthcare-focused digital marketing company are: 

• Heightened awareness of patient data security concerns – Not all digital marketing agencies will understand the sensitive nature of patient information protected by government regulations. 
• Knowledge about ad restrictions – A medical practice digital marketing agency will be on the alert for what can and cannot be advertised online, and what kind of language to avoid. 
• Familiarity with medical information – Agencies who design sites and write web content for all kinds of services may not differentiate that from medical content marketing – healthcare topics warrant a professional tone that conveys credibility. 
• Understanding of medical branding – Your website should have a different feel than other local services (such as a lawn care company) and an agency dedicated to healthcare is guided by that nuance. 
• Attuned to the patient experience – Working with medical practices exclusively, digital marketing agencies dedicated to healthcare better understand patient expectations with the digital experience. 

Digital marketing agencies like iHealthSpot that specialize in healthcare understand exactly how medical practice digital marketing is different from other services. Their teams of digital marketing professionals understand healthcare because that is all they do. From that experience, they have the foresight to see how your general-purpose marketing agency is likely to miss crucial details of website design and digital marketing services. 

Summary: Does Your Medical Practice Need a Digital Marketing Agency? 

When discussing the business needs and budget of a medical practice, matters surrounding marketing and outreach inevitably come up in conversation. Why does the medical practice need digital marketing in the first place? Who should do it? What is the most cost-effective way for medical practices to invest in digital marketing? 

Why Does a Medical Practice Need Digital Marketing? 

In today’s app-driven consumer culture, patients expect convenience and personalized experiences. For practices to encourage patient loyalty, they must serve them through digital means. Enhancing the patient experience online is now included in medical practice business goals. 

Can a Medical Practice Office Staff Handle Digital Marketing? 

Effective digital marketing is a complex and multifaceted field that requires expertise and persistent efforts. The reality is that the work of digital marketing is equivalent to multiple full-time jobs and cannot be learned in just a few training sessions. When you delegate your digital marketing responsibilities to a professional agency your staff can continue to focus on what they do best – caring for patients. 

What Does a Digital Marketing Agency Do? 

As patients engage with medical practices online, they will encounter one or more digital touchpoints: web design, search engines, paid ads, social media, directory listings, and online reviews.  

What is the Advantage of Working with a Digital Marketing Agency. 

A full-service medical digital marketing agency manages all of this for your medical practice while also tracking performance to ensure you get the most value for what you spend. This efficient approach allows you to save both money and resources compared to hiring individual professionals for each role.When you work with an agency that specializes in healthcare, the digital marketing teams already know what works best for reaching prospective patients. 

Put Your Practice’s Digital Marketing in the Right Hands 

The more you learn about digital marketing, the more empowered you are to make wise decisions about how to promote your medical practice online. Learn more about the digital patient journey to understand the importance of online engagement. Please reach out with any questions you have about your medical practice growth goals.