Change is the only constant in the world of Digital Marketing. It’s a field that’s always evolving and growing, there’s always a new algorithm or a faster software. Trends change the way you’d expect seasons to, and it affects all businesses, but especially healthcare marketing.

This year welcomes new competitive trends, consumer priorities, and acquisitions. Everyone involved in the healthcare industry will have to reset and step-up their marketing strategies to keep up with both competitors and patient needs.

It’s time to invest in trendy, top-quality technology and resources to better fit your marketing strategy. This is the year you take your brand to the top by keeping your patients engaged and invested.

We’ve listed a few of the top healthcare marketing trends that will grow your client list this year:

Healthcare Marketing Trends – Interactive Content

“A majority (91%) of buyers prefer visual and interactive content rather than traditional formats.”
– Demandgenreport

Consumers are always craving new experiences, something that can keep them entertained and engaged. Buyers now try to look for brands that can stimulate and generate greater interactivity. Some of the reasons are :

There are many ways you can include interactive content in your healthcare marketing strategy. You can try including these in your content or website:

• Interactive Quizzes.
• Interactive Infographics.
• Surveys and Polls.
• Interactive Calculators.
• Assessments.
• Infographics

Eric Sui made a YouTube video sharing 5 steps you can do to increase your conversion rates with interactive content.

Healthcare Marketing Trends – Personalized Content

Traditional means of advertising is dying, it’s time to say goodbye to ads that aren’t targeted to your specific market.

Today’s buyers like feeling important and connected, that’s why this year is all about personalized marketing.

Consumers nowadays are quick to skip, ignore, or tune out in generic ads they have no interest in or connection to.

Moreover, 79% of consumers say they are only likely to engage with brand offers that are personalized. This especially goes for healthcare consumers, having personalized content will make your patients and potential patients feel appreciated and cared for. These kinds of actions will show consumers how you can really care for your patients.

You can try incorporating personalized content through your email lists. Segmented personalized emails have been shown to perform better than generic emails sent to an entire list. Give your patients a personalized experience to connect with them in a meaningful way.

Healthcare Marketing Trends – E-A-T Algorithm

Google’s E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) algorithm was a concept published way back in 2014. It was featured in their Search Quality Guidelines.

The guideline is used during Google’s search quality evaluations, thousands of quality reviewers will manually review a set of webpages and submit feedback about the quality of those pages to Google.

The feedback will be used by Google to improve it’s algorithms. Therefore, E-A-T serves as Google’s criteria to measure how trustworthy and credible the content of the website is.

Many healthcare websites were affected when this update initially launched because they failed to pass Google’s E-A-T algorithm. Years have gone by since the launch, and the E-A-T algorithm is only getting stronger.

As hard and complicated as it sounds, the best thing you can do to improve your healthcare marketing strategy this year is to step-up your content. Publish content that can provide value to your consumers. Post only relevant content and make sure to check the credibility of each content. This way you’ll give your audience a better user experience.

We have another blog that digs deeper into the concept of the EAT Algorithm that you should also check out! Alternatively, if you want to talk to us about any of these healthcare marketing trends, please feel free to reach out – we’d love to chat through any questions you might have!

Healthcare Marketing Trends – Video Content Marketing

Content is still, and will forever be, KING. However, one particular kind of content will be explosive this 2021 – and it’s none other than video marketing.

High-quality video content is in demand. Consumers now appreciate videos more than written content because it’s more engaging and easier to digest.

Videos are a great way for you to show your expertise in the healthcare department. You’ll be able to communicate and engage with your patients from a place of authority.

“72% of consumers prefer learning about a product or service through a video.”
– Social Media Today

The statistic above shows how well consumers respond to visual content, making it an important marketing tool for years to come. A few video marketing ideas you can incorporate into your content marketing are:

• Video testimonials – Video testimonials are more trustworthy than written ones. Videos will be able to convey the story of your previous patients, making it easier for prospects to connect with their message.
• Video Walkthrough – Another video idea you can do is to shoot a step-by-step process of how they can acquire your services. Make sure you highlight the value of what they get when they do.
• Q&A – I’m pretty sure you have a list of FAQs you’re tired of answering. Shoot a video of you or of a guest answering questions your viewers have. You can even do it live!
• Before & After – Take a before and after video of your previous patients to highlight how your healthcare business has affected their lives for the better.
• Tell Stories – Use emotions to appeal to potential patients. Post videos that tell stories that many may be able to relate to.

You can read more about video marketing trends in this article written by cyberclick.

Healthcare Marketing Trends – SERP Position Zero

The best spot anyone could get on search results ranking is no longer No. 1. Position zero has taken over that spot.  The picture above is an example of what position zero looks like. It’s a featured snippet of text appearing above the search results.

It usually shows up to provide information when users have search queries. Most of the time users will only view the page featured on position zero. It’s a highly coveted spot you should aim for.

You can achieve this by:

• Identifying Opportunities – Look for keyword phrases that have a featured snippet. You can also try for keywords your already rank for.
• In Depth Content – Produce high-quality content. Try to publish content that’s at least 2,000 words long, focuses on relevant but timeless content topics, really dives deep into your topic and explains, and create content that will comprise the featured snippet.
• On-Site SEO – Optimize all of your pages. This means each page needs to have page titles and meta-descriptions that focus on your keywords, proper usage of H1-H5 tags and Alt tags, and include internal links.

Healthcare Marketing Trends – Conversational Marketing

Conversational marketing, alongside Artificial Intelligence, is becoming one of the most anticipated innovations in marketing.

It’s a new form of marketing technology that enables interactions between companies and consumers that mimic human dialogue at a scale.

See how this healthcare company incorporates this marketing strategy:

Source.

HealthTap has made healthcare more accessible to consumers by creating a HealthTap chatbot on Facebook Messenger. The installed bot will prompt users with health-related questions that the bot analyzes and shows popular answers to questions that are similar.

This demonstrates how it is possible for companies to respond to consumer queries in real time.

Drift further explains the benefits of conversational marketing and how you can implement this to your marketing strategy.

We have another blog about how to give your content personality that you can check out as well!

Cater To Millennials

Millennials are your new market, and they aren’t the easiest crowd to please. This emerging market insists on convenience, waiting has become but another concept for them. If you want to please them, try to offer services that provide a higher level of convenience.

You can start by implementing small changes to your entire process, like allowing setting up appointments online, offer text updates and reminders, access to their healthcare records, etc.

Another way you can help your previous patients and please the millennial market, is by incorporating telemedicine. Aside from convenience, you will be able to help patients with limited mobility.

Telemedicine is the practice of caring for patients who can’t be physically present. It gives doctors the chance to consult with patients by using HIPAA compliant video-conferencing tools.

Telemedicine will allow you to provide fast access to prescription refills to patients that may not have the time or ability to go to your clinic.

Online Reviews

“72% of customers won’t take action until they read reviews”
– Hosting Tribunal

Online reviews are turning into a top priority for search engines. That’s why it’s extremely important for you to encourage your patients to leave their reviews, especially since it’s the first thing people look for when searching for a new doctor.

Good reviews will immediately boost your healthcare marketing.
Including reviews on your website will help with brand credibility and authority.

Consumers trust reviews nearly as much as a recommendation from a friend. If you want to avoid any negative reviews, try using a reputation management program.

Conclusion

Remember that only the healthcare businesses who are willing to adapt and evolve will have the most to gain.

Is your healthcare marketing strategy ready for change? Let’s talk about how we can be apart of your growth process.

Comment down below any tips you’ll be using and we’ll make sure to reply. Check out our blog for more posts like these.