It is high time that healthcare providers understand that you can be a marketing fool even though you are an expert in medicine. Hence, it makes sense that you might make a few marketing errors when you advertise your practice and its services. The issue is that marketing for doctors by doctors results in errors and can have serious financial repercussions: You might unintentionally damage your search engine ranking, mislead potential patients with out-of-date information, or even concentrate solely on incorrect marketing strategies. 

  

1. You haven't specified who your target audience is. 

Identifying your target audience, or the group for whom your marketing efforts are intended, is the first step in developing a solid medical marketing strategy. Your decision-making process for your medical marketing strategies and tactics will be aided by this. If you haven't identified your target market, you might be wasting marketing dollars by trying to reach people who aren't interested.  

Each specialty will have a different ideal target market. Consider your current patients as a starting point for defining your target audience. Are they a specific age or gender? Whereabouts in the world do they reside? 

If your target audience is different from your current patient base, consider what you can do to attract them with marketing. For instance, if you work as a sports therapist and want to draw in more Millennial athletes, you might consider advertising on Instagram, where 64 percent of users are between the ages of 18 and 34.  

By examining your practice and the types of patients you hope to draw, start defining your target audience right away. 

Consider the healthcare services you want to expand and the types of people who would be most interested in them in addition to demographic factors.  

2. Your medical website lacks optimization. 

A successful medical website requires more than just an attractive design. Your medical website should be visually appealing, but if it isn't optimized, new patients won't find it. 

An optimized website is one that can be quickly found by search engines like Google and is set up to encourage visitors to make appointment requests. 

Additionally, your healthcare website needs to load quickly, offer relevant, keyword-rich content, and work well on mobile and tablet devices.  

Look over your medical website and think about the following issues: 

What is the loading time for your healthcare website? 

On a mobile device, how does your medical website appear?

Is there a prominent call-to-action (CTA) on each page, such as a phone number or an online scheduling tool? 

Do each of the healthcare services your medical practice provides have its own webpage? Are all of the locations of your medical practices listed? 

 You might use the keyword [fertility specialist chicago] on your home page and about page, for instance, if you're a fertility specialist in Chicago. Additionally, you should make sure that the locations of your medical practices are clearly listed and that you have a page for each of your services. 

3. Your online directories profiles are unclaimed. 

Numerous online directories, including Google and Foursquare, have listings for private medical practices. On websites like RateMDs, physicians may also have profiles. Since anyone can create a profile, it frequently contains inaccurate or out-of-date information. 

It's crucial that you take ownership of and keep your online profiles current on significant online directories. Why? 

These websites are highly regarded by search engines, which use the data they discover on directories to establish your business online.

Search engines frequently don't surface any results when different directories contain disparate information because they are unsure of what information should be presented to users.  

Furthermore, 16% of patients claim to begin their search for doctors on social media platforms like Facebook or medical directories. Two Patients may choose a different doctor if given incorrect information, but they won't find you at all if your profile is missing.

4. You don't request reviews and testimonials from happy clients. 

When it comes to marketing your practice, satisfied patients can be one of your greatest assets. That's because nearly three out of four people (72 percent) start their search for a new doctor by reading online reviews.  

In general, 78 percent of people put more faith in online reviews than in personal recommendations. 

As part of your medical marketing strategy, request reviews from your pleased patients on websites like Google. Gather the email addresses of your patients right away, then launch an email campaign asking them to share their experiences with your clinic. 

You can also start sending patients emails right after their appointments to get their feedback. Consider using a script like this: "We want to know how well we're meeting your needs. On one of these websites, would you be willing to share your experiences?  

Conclusion   

Utilize this knowledge to assess your current medical marketing strategy, then act on the things you can do right away. Consider collaborating with Practice Crown for more practical assistance. 

Doctors can improve their online reputation scores, search engine rankings, and web presence with our assistance. Our built-in and HIPAA-compliant online scheduling tool also assist in streamlining the front office of healthcare providers.