2020 brought about a vast number of incredible changes to daily life for all Americans. For the first time in many individuals’ lives, it became necessary to reevaluate their health and safety and reassess the way in which daily tasks were carried out. For healthcare professionals, the pre-pandemic business model no longer made sense for attracting potential new patients. With these changes and new “normal” following us into 2021, our New Year’s resolutions and preparations may look different this year. Let’s explore five ways healthcare marketing will look different in 2021 and what DoctorLogic can do to help you stand out from your competition.
- Telehealth is a must. While patients are taking precautions against exposing themselves and others to COVID-19, telehealth has never been more popular or important. When a potential patient is in search of care and in need of a provider, the ability to be seen in the comfort of their home just might be a game-changer. During the first quarter of 2020, the CDC reported that the number of telehealth visits increased by 50%, compared with the same period in 2019, with a 154% increase in visits noted in surveillance week 13 in 2020, compared with the same period in 2019. As you can note from the Google Trends graph below, searches for “telehealth” reached an all-time high in March 2020, and though they have significantly declined since then, we are still observing search volume trends at more than double the pace we saw in 2019, suggesting that the demand for telehealth visits will likely continue through 2021.
- Ease of access is everything. Being easily accessible to patients and ensuring they have the information they need to make informed decisions is essential to your practice’s success. Some helpful ways to make your practice more accessible to patients include increasing the ways prospective patients communicate with your office (phone, email, text, LiveChat, etc.), prominently displaying the procedures your practice offers and availability, and ensuring you have a mobile-friendly site.
- Transparency matters. As more and more practices grow their digital patient acquisition channels, it has become exceedingly important for them to understand the impact of their efforts. Proper record-keeping, reporting, and regular insights into the performance of your marketing spend are paramount, especially if you are investing more in digital marketing. There are many free and/or inexpensive tools, such as Google Analytics and SEMRush, that can help you observe the success of your marketing, but make sure your digital marketing provider is equipped to offer real-time results about the current state of your website’s successes or failures.
- SEO is imperative. In an increasingly technological world, Google and search results can determine whether or not your website receives traffic. Your content should be crafted using an SEO-focused content strategy that is customized to your specific needs. Did you know that 15% of Google Searches each day have never been searched before? This is a trend that’s actually continued for several years, but it just reiterates the importance of having a strong, optimized web presence to help attract patients from a wide net of search terms and keywords.
- Marketing is a make or break. In 2021, digital marketing is more imperative to practice success than ever before. As this report from Broadband Search shows, social media consumption continues to grow year after year. With potential patients all over the world relying on social media, reviews, and search results to determine how to move forward with their healthcare, it has never been more important to partner with a marketing company that truly gets it.
At DoctorLogic, we love to assist providers in securing virtual consultations and appointments to better serve patients in uncertain times. Our platforms are easy to navigate, informative, and simplify the process of securing virtual or in-person consultations and appointments. Our account managers keep you informed about your website’s visits, views, and analytics on a monthly basis, advising you on how to better engage with potential patients. As a DoctorLogic customer, you will work with an SEO-trained content strategist who will ensure that your site content is relevant, unique, and optimized for success! So if you need help growing your practice, use DoctorLogic; an all-in-one, best-in-class digital marketing platform that is prepared to help your practice succeed.
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