Medical organizations are under immense strain as part of the Coronavirus quarantine. Healthcare professionals are heavily engaged along the front lines of the covid-19 pandemic. Unfortunately, many providers must handle the increased patient load with less back-office support. But whether you are an organizational leader or someone in a marketing role, the quarantine is not the time to throw your hands up in defeat because of home isolation. This is the right time for you to fine tune your SEO and other digital marketing strategies.
Below are some ways to ensure your organization a healthier bounce-back after the covid-19 quarantine ends. By following through on some of these points, your medical practice or entity can emerge from the crisis with greater market engagement than ever before.
Start with a review of each of your primary digital assets, to look at them from a fresh perspective. Try to see through the target market’s eyes, when examining graphic design, content and overall value. What needs improvement? Are you providing enough value for the recipient or reader?
Review all of your company’s digital assets, such as:
Create a to-do list for yourself or the appropriate assignee, whether for immediate work during the covid-19 quarantine or as part of return to business-as-usual after the crisis ends.
Social media has a much higher value during the Coronavirus pandemic. Because we cannot engage in face-to-face conversations and contact, it seems most of the world is sharing information on these platforms, more than ever. Medical practices and other organizations have a lot to communicate now and social media profiles are the perfect medium for provision of information.
To deeply engage with your followers, show empathy and provide guidance for getting through the isolation and viral threat. Digital marketing does not have to be overt in the marketing aspect of messaging. You can avoid being sales-oriented or cold in tone by focusing on facts, inspiration and dialogue engagement. Uplift and engage your audience, such as by asking how they are coping or for shareable ideas for getting through the quarantine.
Few businesses rely more on third-party profiles or directory listings than medical practices, hospitals and healthcare organizations. These listings are a major aspect of your digital marketing and SEO strategies. For example, directories provide the first point of contact for many patients looking for a new healthcare provider. But if these directories and profiles contain outdated information, you lose potential revenue every single day.
Conduct a Google search for your medical organization first, then by individual provider name. Do the profiles and directories that appear on search engine results pages show correct and complete information? Ensure you update the phone numbers, addresses and websites associated with your organization. Whenever possible, “claim” profile administration and expand on basic listings.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most important building blocks of digital marketing. Good SEO helps people find you when they need your medical products or services most. Particularly important today is a strong localized SEO focus.
Check your website’s search position for basic, more advanced, localized and long-tail keywords. Also compare your search position to your competitors. Is your website appearing at the top of search or does Google consider other websites more attractive? With your ranking in mind, develop a plan to achieve higher ranking through proven SEO strategies, such as:
Medical practitioners long turned a blind eye toward marketing, as it was once considered inappropriate to market for patients in many ways. For centuries, the only means of bringing in new patients was through word-of-mouth referrals. But today, you must compete through digital marketing.
One of the most important aspects of online marketing is pay-per-click advertising (PPC). During the covid-19 quarantine and the Coronavirus pandemic overall, PPC costs have significantly dropped. In the past weeks, PPC marketers have noted a six percent drop in competitive ad rates. Use this price reduction to your advantage by amping up your PPC campaigns for immediate and long-term benefits.
Most medical organizations deal with an incredibly fast-paced business environment. For many, this means that blogs and other website content slips to the bottom of the to-do list. But few online marketing methods provide greater benefit than well-developed blog content.
Check your current blog articles and find gaps in information provision that will help you with SEO and in meeting patient needs, at the same time. Make a list of content you need and start writing or assigning these topics to a qualified writer. Schedule the content delivery to get ahead, as returning to the office after the Coronavirus “all-clear” will prove hectic.
It can feel tempting, to use the covid-19 quarantine as a much-needed personal staycation. But this is actually the perfect time to focus more on your medical organization’s digital marketing and SEO strategies that tend to otherwise slip through the cracks. Doing so now can ensure a healthy growth pattern for your practice or organization, as the inconvenience of this current Coronavirus becomes a memory.
Best Edge Medical Marketing is a medical marketing agency that provides marketing, SEO, design, and development services to businesses in the medical industry.
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