PracticalDermatology

You’ve heard that the one constant in life is change, and when it comes to medical practice marketing, this adage really applies. Marketing is always evolving and in 2022 there are a few strategies you should prioritize to ensure that your practice becomes more competitive in your local market.

Your marketing needs to be better aligned with your patients’ expectations, so meet them where they are. You should be leveraging even more authentic communication with your patients and prospects via digital tools, and there is an endless supply of useful applications available today.

While digital marketing continues to be an ever-changing space, medical practice marketing is no different. In 2022, your practice will need to be more flexible than in previous years, come across as more authentic than your competitors, and instill a trustworthiness that those seeking your services will find hard to resist.

So, the question is: How do you go about setting yourself apart in 2022? Let’s reevaluate a few key areas that are sure to have great impact for your practice’s success.

Strengthen your Patient Engagement

Think of all the ways you have engaged with your patients in the past. Email, patient portals, social media, SMS messaging, and surveys. If these worked with some success, it might be time to kick it up a notch with engaging storytelling via drip campaigns and customer journeys. Every search from your site can have an explicit journey that can be served to your audience, and you can imagine how much more loyal your patients will be when they remain engaged all year long. Also, continue using the direct messaging features in each social media app you use, but direct that traffic to specific areas on your website, which could serve as feature-rich content sections to promote other services and products you offer.

Referring Patients are your most valuable marketing asset

When you think about your most valuable patients, what do you imagine they are saying about your practice when they are with their friends and colleagues? If you knew how to direct the messaging, what would you want them to say? Here’s an idea for your practice in 2022. Create a specific take away that you want to be your story—something simple, easy to remember, and quick to convey. Your greatest advocates want to talk about you, they just sometimes don’t know where to begin. Create the story for them, and make it part of your practice’s vernacular. Create a VIP list, share insider information with them, give them access to services or products you are thinking about bringing on, and watch them become your greatest promoters. Create a referral program that will reward your patient each time his/her referral converts. They will continually seek high quality referrals for your practice if it benefits them. Patients who are constantly helping your practice grow are worth their weight in gold.

Make social media content more authentic

This one takes some examining. Everyone talks about authentic social media content, but not many do it as effectively as they should. Authenticity begins when you put your personal stamp of approval on something. You are literally putting yourself and your reputation on the line when you share your authentic self with your patients. Trust me, they will surely notice. Be the first one to showcase a new treatment, a new product, or new service. Revisit older tried and true ones, too! Your clients want to know that you put your whole self behind everything you offer, so don’t be shy. Create digital content about your skincare routine, your selfcare, your health and wellness, whatever you do to stay healthy and vital for your patients. Showcase your staff and all of their favorites too. Your patients are people, and people want to know that they have things in common with you and your staff. Social media is a great place to showcase all of this with stories, pictures, and links to sections of your site. Just make sure you are always keeping it real. No paid influencers, no artificial fans. Just you, your staff, and perhaps other satisfied clients to join in and post about their journey with your practice, too. If reality television taught us anything, it’s that people engage with and crave something real.

Are you on the video bandwagon yet?

It seems like the digital marketing world has been talking about video for years. Well it has, and it is only getting more and more engrained in the online experience. Video doesn’t need to just be a tool that shows up on the home page of your site, or a piece that is posted to your social media channel. The most effective use of video we are seeing these days is when the video segments are intertwined into content in such a way that the user feels compelled to act. Example: Why not use video to answer common questions on a website page? The question can be in text format, and the video can appear when they user clicks to find the answer. The video in this example can be you answering the question directly. Think about how impactful it would be for the patient to hear your voice and see your face as you answer the question they were interested in. For authoritative/expert credentialing alone, this is very powerful. Video can be served up in this way via email, site pages, social media, even direct messaging. Get creative! Don’t just make a video that tells your story, make videos that will effectively help patients tell their own.

Smart forms need to be even smarter

There was a time and a place when webforms only had to collect a few simple pieces of data and serve as a one-way request for information. That place is not in your practice, and that time is not in 2022. It’s time to finally unlock all of the potential that can be found in smart forms. A very well-designed form should react to user input and funnel its questions to the most precise answers. A request for an appointment form should be smart enough to know the difference between a Botox appointment and a full skin examination. It should adjust to specific input criteria accordingly. Also, a smart form should appear as simple and straightforward as possible, and only ask for relevant input based upon user requirements.

Advanced tip: Think of a web form as a conversation. Ask a question, receive input, then use branching logic to create a customized journey and watch your relevant conversion rates go through the roof.

Reflect Value

Remember, the goal is to convey to your prospects and patients just how much you care about them and how much you value them. Digital marketing tools should help bring that to fruition, not create a cumbersome and more disconnected experience. Use effective tools in 2022 to bring your audience even closer to you and your staff, and you will begin building dedicated and loyal clients for life who will continue to help your practice grow for years to come.