Whether you run a multilocation healthcare organization, hospital, or health system, understanding the distinction between search engine optimization (SEO) vs. search engine marketing (SEM)—and how each distinctly helps your business—is important for several reasons. This knowledge helps you: In this blog, we’ll cover the unique roles of SEO and SEM in healthcare marketing and how […]
Have your products, services, or target audience evolved to the point where they no longer align with your brand? Has your health brand become lost in a sea of sameness? Do your marketing assets feel stale and out of touch with your audience? Did your business neglect to establish proper healthcare branding from the beginning? […]
Do you want to compete in each of your local markets? Do you want to position your healthcare products and services where your target audience actively seeks them? If so, you need a custom digital marketing strategy and budget for each location. We like to call this budget the “minimum daily requirement.” Why is this […]
People often confuse marketing and public relations (PR), but they are not synonymous. They do, however, work best together. In fact, we often include healthcare PR services in our marketing plans along with other key strategies, including branding, digital marketing, traditional advertising, internal marketing, and professional referral building. So, What Exactly Is PR? Public relations […]
Organic Social Media When social media exploded onto the scene nearly two decades ago, marketers and healthcare professionals were a little too excited about its potential for healthcare marketing. Who could blame them? The fantasy was great. ‘All I have to do is figure out how to create a free Facebook business page, and then […]
The healthcare marketplace is crowded. As patient expectations continue to evolve, the need for thoughtful environmental designs that prioritize peace, tranquility, and healing cannot be overstated—they play a vital role in patient experiences and the perception of overall quality of care. Studies have shown many positive effects of healthcare environmental design on medical outcomes. In […]
What do you consider the most important pages on your healthcare website? After the homepage, many might say it’s their products or services pages. However, the About Us page is among the most important and highly trafficked web pages. In many cases, it's also a critical part of the consumer's buying journey. Fifty-two percent of […]
Online reviews play a significant role in the success of any healthcare organization. In fact, patient reviews of doctors come in third as the most influential driver in consumers’ decisions1 (after insurance acceptance and location). Today, virtually everyone should use reputation management software (RMS) to solicit, manage, and respond to reviews. Hospitals and multilocation practices […]
Is your website easy to use? Is it intuitive? Is it pleasant to interact with while also effectively delivering the information your consumers need? A successful website employs key UI/UX principles beyond beautiful pages. UI/UX ensures your website is In this post, I’ll cover 10 UI/UX design basics that can positively impact your healthcare business. […]
Paid search (aka pay-per-click or PPC) often yields the highest ROI of any digital advertising medium. Our agency, therefore, manages Google Ads for dozens of our clients. Google Ads (and its much smaller competitor Microsoft) work so well because they target people actively searching for healthcare solutions. Moreover, paid search delivers tremendous advantages and provides […]
We recently received an inquiry from the Marketing Director for a 40-location, single-specialty medical practice in the Midwest. Even though it was after hours, I was available so I took the call. Michelle (not her real name) and I hit it off immediately. She told me about her demanding job and how she felt her […]
Best-in-class healthcare marketers are already planning for next year. They’re researching key trends that will attract new high-intent audiences, increase engagement, drive revenue, and reinforce patient loyalty in 2023. If you’ve been revamping the same marketing plan for a few years, now is the perfect time to reevaluate everything through the lens of market innovations […]
What if you could advertise to patients while they are sitting in your competitor’s waiting room? What if you could promote your OBGYN practice to those Bridal Expo attendees down the street? How about offering Indy 500 ticket holders a free consultation at your Low T clinic? Or, providing your specialty services directly to those […]
Learn our best practices for healthcare marketing to seniors, including how to create on-target messaging and choose the right distribution channels
I have been fascinated with vanity phone numbers for a long time. Early in my career, I came up with 1-800-WORKOUT and 1-800-FITNESS at J. Walter Thompson for our client Health & Tennis Corporation (later Bally Total Fitness). At that time, they owned multiple brands in dozens of markets and required $500,000 a year to […]
Programmatic advertising has transformed the way people buy and sell online ads. In 2021, U.S. advertisers spent 41.2% more on programmatic display ads than in 2020—and it’s easy to understand why. Leveraging automated software and artificial intelligence (AI) to collect real-time data gives key stakeholders complete visibility over where their ads appear. It also highlights […]
If you want to dominate organic, paid, and local search results, you've got to study your business from several angles. Building a deep understanding of your competitors' strengths and weaknesses and what makes your shared audience click improves branding, SEO, paid search, social media, and other general marketing strategies. However, understanding which marketing tactics you […]
While many businesses long for a return to pre-COVID normal, savvy healthcare organizations and health systems embrace virtual and digital services that champion a patient engagement future that exceeds expectations in our new reality. Has your business embraced virtual and digital patient experience trends, or are you still waiting for things to “get back to […]
Google Ads are about to change more than they have in years—are you ready? The days of creating a set of stand-alone ads, setting your daily advertising budget, and periodically checking your analytics are long gone. Even as I write this, the very idea seems archaic, and I suppose it is when you consider how […]
How much of your marketing budget is allocated to paid social media advertising? Are you wondering if it’s worth investing in healthcare Facebook ads? If it’s not something you’re taking seriously in 2022, you’re missing out on a massive opportunity to attract new audiences, increase awareness, drive conversions, and improve your bottom line. With approximately […]
Business leaders in every industry understand that morale starts at the top. When the C-suite is aligned and shares a unified, consistent message throughout the entire organization, it instills loyalty, trust, and confidence in your brand, mission, and goals. Ideally, marketing relays this message to your consumers. But since marketing happens in many channels, or […]
The digital advertising industry is constantly evolving. One major evolution is in the way people buy ads in the first place. The traditional method was a manual, complicated process. But recent technological advancements – such as programmatic advertising – have improved and automated the way people buy and sell online ads. Programmatic digital advertising is […]
Social media is an indisputable knowledge hub for every type of consumer, including the healthcare consumer. In the United States alone, eight in 10 internet users search for health information online and 74% of these people use social media. Consumers are returning to their favorite social media platforms time and again to get the information […]
Targeted advertising is powerful and effective. It relies on data about who your audience is and what they are looking for. Up until recently, advertisers had easy access to valuable third-party data and targeting options from giants like Google and Apple. These companies gathered this data through cookies, hence the name, third-party cookies. But things […]
Are you ignoring Generation X in your healthcare marketing strategy? You shouldn't be, and here's why: Gen Xers have the highest rate of brand loyalty, period. They are partial to the brands they trust and are willing to pay a premium for their products and services. Not only that, the 65 million Gen Xers are […]
The pendulum has swung dramatically from traditional to digital media marketing in the healthcare marketing industry over recent years. Digital ad spending surpassed traditional media spending in 2019 and is expected to exceed two-thirds of total media spending by 2023. Healthcare audiences live and communicate in a digital world. Understandably, healthcare organizations and the agencies […]
Healthcare consumerism isn’t just “coming.” It’s already here. What’s more, healthcare consumerism means big changes for healthcare organizations and officially ushers in a new era of the patient experience. Are you modernizing your business to meet your patients' changing needs and expectations? If not, you’re already falling behind. In today’s blog post, I share some […]
As 2021 comes to a close, we have a gift for you -- a roundup of the best advice on our blog from this past year. It’s been a pleasure working with and interviewing so many experienced marketing professionals. Whether colleagues or team members, these experts are the people who bring this blog to life […]
As a leader of a healthcare organization, you’re focused on achieving your business goals. So how does content fit in? Ideally, it should support your primary goals. Today’s best content marketing is aligned with business goals and drives profitable action. What’s more, marketing teams can demonstrate how content contributes to business goals. If the business […]
While branding can be difficult for virtually any type of organization, it’s often especially challenging for multilocation healthcare providers. We know this from experience. You see, most of our clients are multilocation healthcare businesses. We have worked with health systems, hospitals, practices, retail locations, urgent cares, ASCs, addiction treatment centers, and long-term care facilities. When […]
How does a healthcare brand stay relevant in the digital age? How do you expand your reach and increase engagement on social media? And, how do you remain relevant to new generations of customers -- all while staying true to your brand identity? Spoiler: You don’t do it by compromising who you are. The only […]
A strong content marketing strategy includes a plan for picking the right assets for the job. While you might have worked hard to develop a brand message, the medium you tell that story through is just as important. But how do you know if you should create a blog post or a web page? Do […]
Live events can be a core part of the marketing strategy for healthcare systems, hospitals and multilocation practices. But, as we all know, the last few years have challenged how we market and serve our clients -- especially when it comes to live events. I was recently invited to co-lead a webinar about events with […]
When done correctly, healthcare content can build trust and turn people into lifelong supporters of your brand. At the same time, creating superior health or wellness content can be challenging. It should always be engaging, informative, technically accurate, and compliant. The difficulty only increases when you want to produce amazing content regularly and within budget. […]
Read the summary of our latest podcast, featuring Johnny A. Smith Jr. of Encompass Health and Stewart Gandolf of Healthcare Success.
Our paid search experts share the seven most common PPC mistakes in healthcare and how to avoid them. Read now.
Discover six key healthcare trends emerging from the pandemic, according to a podcast interview with Darwin Research Group.
In this guide, learn best practices for digital marketing to physicians, including tips on capturing the attention of today’s busy HCPs.
In part one of the CEO’s Guide to Hospital Marketing Strategies, learn seven wins to expect from your investment, including a positive ROI.
Discover five ways to build a strong hospital brand for the modern healthcare consumer and reach your target audience.
Learn about the May 2021 Google Page experience update to prepare your site with Core Web Vitals metrics.
Learn Google’s high standards for content, including how to demonstrate Google E-A-T for healthcare content.
Discover 7 of the most common technical SEO issues found in healthcare websites in order of importance.
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Hassan Tetteh, a US navy captain, associate professor of surgery of the uniformed services at the University of Health Sciences and adjunct faculty of Howard University College of Medicine. He was also a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellow from 2012 to 2013 and a visiting […]
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to bring the world's economies, healthcare systems, and communities to their knees, the Pharma industry appears to be the shining hope to help us return to a new normal. Could the industry's response to this global public health crisis be the Rx for its tarnished reputation? The Pharma industry has […]
I (Stewart) love what I do in large part because of the smart people I continually get to meet and befriend. Jay Geer is another case in point. Perhaps ten years ago, his (then) assistant James Chisum reached out to me and said, “You have to meet Jay Geer. He is THE hospital PR guy, […]
Connected TV, also called over-the-top media streaming, describes a new frontier for ad targeting and marketing campaigns. These terms are relatively new for businesses of all sizes, and healthcare organizations in particular have been slow to act on its opportunities. That’s why it’s a better time than ever for healthcare marketers to consider OTT marketing […]
What’s the best way to choose a healthcare marketing agency? While I (Stewart) have plenty of ideas about the process of picking the best healthcare marketing agency for your hospital, medical practice, or healthcare network, I thought it would be valuable to ask my friend and venerable colleague, Ed Bennett, to share his opinions during our […]
COVID-19 has been a life-changing event for us all. It's the kind of event that has lasting effects on people that we can't even truly see just yet. We've thrust an entire population into a cycle of grief that is ubiquitous but unique to every person. How will the healthcare consumer, patient, and caregivers' needs, […]
A “new normal” is emerging in healthcare for both providers and patients. Healthcare industry leaders and medical marketing professionals constantly struggle to keep pace with changes. We all have the challenge of adjusting to pandemic demands and shifting consumer attitudes. Some questions are emerging: What do healthcare patients want and expect in a post-pandemic world? […]
