5 Simple Ways Physicians Can Boost Their Online Presence
With the internet having over 4.6 billion active users globally and more people starting their search for a doctor online, it’s necessary that you have a strong and established online presence as a physician. Having a rich online presence makes it easier to interact with your patients and helps them connect with you through the helpful information on your website. As online users search for information related to their conditions, treatments, and medical providers they are likely to come across your online health library and use your contact information to schedule potential appointments.
1. Get Your Website In Shape
Whether you are a solo physician or own a medical firm, your website is a great marketing tool for your business because, for many patients, their first impression of your firm will come from your website. It’s a lot easier to find something when there’s a lot of it so focus on consistently publishing relevant blogs and articles on your website that resonate with your target patient audience and demonstrate your areas of expertise. You can add value to your website by creating content on high-demand keyword subjects.
Another way to drive traffic to your website is by enhancing the SEO value of your content by building links with high-authority medical sites and credible medical bloggers. If these terms seem a bit unfamiliar and you would like to refresh your knowledge of online marketing terminology, you can visit resources like the Skai Digital Marketing glossary page to learn the definitions of various digital marketing terms. As you regularly post about healthcare tips, solve queries of random online audiences, and collaborate with your peers to add value for your audience, you build a loyal fanbase with a high potential for scheduling appointments.
2. Optimize Your Website for Mobile and Take Advantage of Email Marketing
Having a website that is optimized for mobile grants it preferential treatment by Google because it means that users can access your website’s content not only on computers but also on tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices. To see if your website is properly optimized, you can take a free digital assessment of your website from a platform that exclusively helps medical practitioners refine their online presence.
By sending regular newsletters to your patients, you can share updates about your practice and promote your services. Consistent Email marketing can also help you stay at the top of your patients’ minds raising the odds that they will book an appointment with you for their medical needs. Just ensure that you don’t bombard your patients with excessive marketing emails that they may find a nuisance; instead, you can opt to send at least one email a week that contains valuable health information.
3. Showcase Your Business on Online Directories
You need to list your business on directories that list information about healthcare organizations by region and specialty like Google My Business to increase your business’s visibility online. Other online directories that you can publish your business information on include:
- Healthgrades
- Zocdoc
- WebMD
- Vitals
Putting your practice on the map can help you attract new patients searching for healthcare services in your area. You can optimize your Google My Business profile by adding a photo album of your business, a description of your practice, and your contact details. The great thing about listing your business on Google My Business is that it is free and you even edit your opening and closing hours on your profile as needed to effectively communicate your business’ operational hours to your potential patients.
4. Utilize Social Media
The most important thing to consider when thinking up your social media content is to make it fun and relevant so that you can grow and maintain an engaged following. A great tip for marketing your medical business on social media is to utilize all of the major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Google+, TikTok, and WhatsApp to post unique content to each individual platform thus increasing your exposure and online reach. For example, you could post happy creative pictures of your staff on Instagram, an educative video on YouTube, and a fun goofy video with your colleagues on your TikTok page to cater to a broad audience and draw in quality traffic to your website.
5. Establish Your Presence on Doctor Review Websites
By demonstrating your commitment to patient satisfaction, addressing your patients’ concerns on your online platforms, and taking the necessary steps to resolve any issues promptly you can improve your online reputation. It’s important that you encourage your patients to leave you reviews on your website or platforms like Yelp to boost your online reputation.
More positive reviews can help you stand out from other physicians in your area and build your brand with high positive praise that can mitigate any potential negative reviews you may have. You can also improve your patient flow by implementing digital software on your websites to help your patients save time and effort when scheduling appointments and help you manage your patient records efficiently.
Endnote
A robust online presence can help you reach remarkable milestones in your medical career by exhibiting your prowess in your field and maintaining your availability to patients. Your website should have helpful information, your contacts, the location of your practice as well as the reviews you’ve received from your patients.
