For the healthcare industry, the new normal has yet to arrive. The industry has changed forever and has been trying to adapt and accelerate digital transformation over the last few years. A shortage of suppliers and healthcare personnel in the post-pandemic era and an economic decline seem inevitable.
So how does this affect the healthcare industry, and how should you change your marketing strategy?
The world of healthcare marketing is constantly evolving as new technologies and methods become available. Healthcare organizations need to leverage the latest trends in marketing to develop dynamic strategies and rise above competitors. In this blog, we’ve listed the top healthcare marketing trends for 2023.
The Changing Face of Marketing Trends
Healthcare marketing refers to the strategies used by healthcare providers, insurers, suppliers, and stakeholders. Various techniques help attract new patients and increase awareness about their healthcare business.
People sometimes ignore quality care, which spells trouble for healthcare businesses. They must keep up with the latest marketing trends to continue attracting patients.
Today, healthcare companies must compete with digital startups targeting lucrative niche audiences far less burdened by bureaucracy and insurance protocols. We regularly come across new, well-funded telemedicine providers. These include addiction, body health, online pharmacies, B2B businesses, nutrition, and others.
It’s time to pay attention to seven healthcare marketing trends to run a successful healthcare business.
7 Healthcare Marketing Trends To Look Out For In 2023
The seven marketing trends listed here for 2023 can help you stay competitive in the ever-changing healthcare marketplace.
1. Consumerization of healthcare-
You need to address your target audience like traditional consumers.
The increased access to healthcare is fueling this trend toward healthcare marketing. Modern patients have access to more treatment options and information than ever before. You can engage patients through marketing and building trust. Consumerization means showing how you add value to patients’ lives and explaining why they should choose you over competitors.
When creating marketing materials, you should prioritize cost transparency and ensure that information is easy to find. Price transparency is one of the main concerns of patients facing rising healthcare costs.
Patients actively compare prices and get multiple quotes before seeking treatment in response to rising costs. If your organization is transparent about this information, you can make your services more attractive to patients.
2. Consumer-first content-
People today are more critical than ever, using the Internet to learn about hospitals, doctors, medications, treatments, and more. The content you share online is essential for running a business successfully. Concentrate on crucial clients to stay competitive:
- Patients- People search everything online, and their searches are becoming more polished. Regular keyword monitoring helps you develop consumer-facing content that satisfies their search. It allows you to answer their questions and builds brand authority and trust. Try to use simple, easy-to-understand language, and motivate your audience with emotions.
- Family members and influencers- In specific industries, such as addiction treatment and assisted living, it is important to tailor content to the affected family members. Showing these people your facility is considered an essential first step.
- Donors and community members- Profit margins are exceptionally low, so providing content that satisfies this audience can significantly support your financial goals.
- Google- This is the virtual platform many healthcare companies forget, but it is critical to success. Google is the gatekeeper, and you have to give it what it wants and play by its rules to get a competitive search engine rank.
3. Integrated marketing campaigns-
You need to ensure your technology and marketing campaigns are connected. Otherwise, you’ll need to spend more money, which won’t get you anywhere. You want to keep things clean. Communicate the same messages across all your channels to ensure you meet your goals.
Remember to cut out unnecessary tools that only clutter your process, and be very specific about your goals. Depending on the nature of the treatment or the field of expertise, the target groups and audiences may differ.
By applying integrated marketing tactics, healthcare marketers work to adapt their communication and creative strategy. This strategy helps to develop a more targeted and effective campaign that can offer a better understanding among the audiences.
4. Telehealth is necessary-
Since the pandemic’s beginning, telehealth use has increased significantly. Even though the world has almost returned to normal, telehealth continues to be a service in demand.
No doubt that telehealth services are affordable, convenient, and accessible. While demand for telehealth services declined slightly in 2022, many patients expect such services to deliver at least some of their care.
When presenting these services in your marketing content, make it clear that there are other options for care. Explain that telehealth is one of several care pathways you offer to meet your patient’s needs. When you phrase it this way, you focus on the quality of patient care while showing transparency about your care model.
5. Video in Healthcare-
There are many ways to use video in healthcare marketing strategies. Videos help you expand your reach to your target audience, which can be one of the best ways to get your message across. Healthcare social media marketing and video content are the top priorities for marketers for the coming year.
In addition to posting videos on your social media pages and website, you must ensure you host them on YouTube. It is the second-largest search engine in the world and belongs to Google. Video optimization includes keyword research and more.
6. Search Engine Optimization-
Patients often seek medical information to self-diagnose before seeing a healthcare provider. For this reason, many patients often use search engines like Google.
Creating pages for frequently asked questions and blog posts that provide patients with valuable information can help you get more visibility. You must also include local, relevant keywords so patients in your area can easily find you. Make sure that your address and contact information is updated.
Voice search has also become an essential part of search engine optimization, and many patients conduct their searches via Google Home, Siri, or similar platforms. You should focus on using conversational language and long-tail keywords in your website content to increase visibility in voice searches.
7. Prioritize website user experience-
The usability of your website should remain at the top of your priority list in 2023. Both Google and your audience want to find information quickly. Similar to your patients and your audience, Google wants excellent user experiences too.
Your website must offer helpful content that answers the questions of your patients or audience. Having well-explained answers means that your content must be current and relevant.
Conclusion
As healthcare slowly but surely embraces digital transformation, 2023 will be about creating an improved patient experience online. When more information is available to make more informed decisions, patients feel empowered, which increases loyalty and decreases reluctance to seek treatment.
Healthcare marketing trends change constantly, and staying updated can be tricky. A social media marketing tool like Practina can assist you better. It handles multiple social media tasks, from creating content consistently to publishing it and gradually enhancing visibility. It does this and more. Practina also helps you run Smart Google Ad campaigns so your healthcare brand reaches the right audiences at the right time.
Practina is more than a social media automation tool that most healthcare businesses already leverage. Sign up with Practina now to grow your healthcare brand in 2023 like never before.