Today, the marketing spotlight often shines on Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen X due to their vast numbers, combined influence, and economic power. However, marketing to Baby Boomers remains vitally important. At approximately 68.6 million strong, Baby Boomers remain a formidable and highly-valuable consumer segment. Unfortunately, when building their marketing strategies, many marketers fail to […]
Today, healthcare brands have more photography and videography options than ever. For many situations, hiring professionals, such as a professional photographer, a production company, or a videographer, will be best. In other instances, you and your team can utilize a high-quality smartphone camera, affordable software programs, and inexpensive starter equipment to quickly, cheaply, and easily […]
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.
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 […]
The following webinar was sponsored by the American Osteopathic Association and took place Thursday, May 7. Almost every osteopathic practice has experienced financial loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and many are reeling. Fortunately, there are many marketing and communications strategies you and your team can implement to help protect your practice now and prepare […]
Marketing Strategies to Implement Now For Your Vein Practice A Webinar Sponsored by the American Vein and Lymphatic Society COVID-19 has caused massive economic disruption to virtually every kind of business, including vein practices. Which marketing strategies should you begin now, and which should you implement in the coming months as the crisis slowly subsides? […]
Is your Healthcare Social Media too self-serving? Social media is a hot topic for healthcare marketers, though navigating the various channels isn’t always easy. Most people have experience sharing on social media, so it may seem that posting for your healthcare organization would be simple enough. However, this leads a lot of companies to have […]
Over the years, we’ve alerted our Healthcare clients and industry colleagues to a few major updates that could affect their healthcare SEO (search engine optimization) rankings. Google makes updates to its search algorithms all the time—but only a few stand out as having the potential for a major impact on your presence in the search […]
With 3.5 billion Google searches made every day, there’s no question that businesses need some sort of presence on the world’s most popular search engine to succeed online. And the most efficient way to ensure you have a presence on the search engines is with paid advertising. Advertising healthcare on Google, however, comes with its […]
In the past few years, healthcare organizations have finally embraced social media as an important part of their marketing strategies. But while many doctors, hospitals, and organizations use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to advertise and to keep in touch, Snapchat is a new frontier for most of us. Is Snapchat the right fit […]
We often tell our healthcare marketing clients that “set it and forget it” is an awful policy when it comes to paid digital advertising. It’s so important to continue to track your ads, reallocate your budget, and test to find out what works and what doesn’t. When you advertise with Google, you have access to reporting […]
There are more choices in healthcare than ever before. Since the introduction of Obamacare, a lot more people have access to a wider range of insurance options. From there, there are even more decisions for a patient to make: urgent care or primary care? Direct primary care or concierge medicine? Generic or prescription medicine? Is […]
Would a doctor prescribe medicine without knowing it works? Of course not. So why continue your marketing campaigns without any data to back up their value? If you're doing any marketing at all, it’s vital that you have a system for measuring marketing effectiveness. Data-driven marketing helps to fine-tune your efforts for the best ROI—so […]
Today, any successful hospital or practice should maintain a website so patients can find your location and learn a little bit about your services. You might think that a great looking site is just a bonus...but from a website marketing perspective, this is far from the truth. You cannot expect to simply put up a […]
[INSTALLMENT - A Continuing Series] Every physician and medical administrator that we know is intimately—often, intensely—aware of HIPAA’s privacy and security rules. There isn’t a policy, procedure or process that isn’t carefully scrutinized as HIPAA compliant. This isn't legal advice, but healthcare professionals know that protected health information (PHI) and electronic protected health information (ePHI) […]
What if you ran an ad for your private practice or hospital online only to find it was running alongside a hate site? Could patients be associating your brand with offensive, divisive content? Unfortunately, there’s no organized “neighborhood watch” in the digital landscape. We all know the internet can be a place where people feel […]
Here’s a powerful secret sauce that social media pros use to make a mega-splash. Social influencers magnify and extend the typical reach. A hospital, health system or a premier doctor group, isn’t going to dominate the market by doing what everyone else does. Successful providers and organizations have an in-house leader, marketing person or team […]
Successful medical practices recognize that their online reputation is a source of new business—almost like a referring doctor’s office. Here’s how the best of practices influence this resource and manage their reputation, to produce the greatest number of new patient calls and appointments. Every doctor has two professional reputations to constantly manage: The “CV version” […]
Marketing-savvy doctors, medical practices and hospitals actively embrace video tools in their social media mix. It’s one of the fastest growing marketing tools, and Facebook video is one of the most useful showcases. The Social Media world first experienced video messages on Facebook (FB) ten years ago. The platform—allowing user uploads of recorded videos—has been […]
More than at any time in the past, the Internet is the primary pathway to hospitals and healthcare providers for today’s informed consumer. There isn’t a hospital or healthcare marketing professional who hasn’t heard the stat that “over 70 percent of Internet users looked online for health information.” Pew Research confirms that the percent of […]
The curious thing about medical groups and hospitals that want to be the “best in class” is that, often, they are already the leaders in the marketplace. Think about that for a minute. The top of the line wants to beat itself and set a new, higher standard. They know that they are good at […]
[Healthcare Success Industry Leadership Podcast] Our distinguished guests today are Rob Klein, founder and CEO of Klein & Partners, and Toni Klein, co-founder and Digital Practice Lead at the respected healthcare marketing research firm. They are talking with Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success about the State of Digital Healthcare Marketing study by Klein & Partners […]
The name of the (nearly) new player is FACEBOOK LOCAL, which is blending the lines between social media and online local search. The introduction of Facebook Local Search could become a battle for digital turf —between search engine giant Google and social media giant Facebook—and it may morph into an important new trend. In time, […]
[Part One in a Series] Right up front, it’s fair to say that there are some exceptions to this overview lesson about digital marketing. In fact, a full-service, integrated healthcare agency brings marketing and advertising savvy and experience to direct a comprehensive, digital-driven plan that attracts and retains new patients. That said, digital is (almost) […]
For several consecutive years, all of us have heard the same prediction: “This is the year of the video!” We don’t know the exact moment of launch, but compelling video is now a powerful marketing tool for hospitals, medical groups and professional practitioners. And the performance stats and results are stronger each year. Let’s credit […]
[Community Manager Series Installment] The care and feeding of all social media issues fall squarely in the lap of the community manager. All the good, the bad and the “everything else” from online physician reviews and feedback demands constant attention. The trouble is, nobody enjoys handling a hot potato, negative physician review or feedback. Related: […]
It’s tough attracting new patients. And just when you thought you only had to worry about ransomware, phishing scams, phony charities and the desperate email from a Nigerian prince…along comes a big-time advertiser swindle. “Zombie websites” amount to a rapid-fire digital fraud that has picked the pockets of some of the nation’s biggest brands. Hershey’s, […]
As the Internet-age-old saying goes: The best place to hide a dead body is Page 2 of Google Search Results. This rule of thumb came to mind recently when someone questioned the purpose and value of Search Engine Optimization. Admittedly, SEO is challenging to understand, and even more difficult to do consistently…but as a starting […]
Communications professionals know the name Ivy Lee, considered the father of modern public relations. Few people appreciate that he also invented—and wrote—the first press release. That was a hundred years ago (1906). It traveled by regular mail and the common name “press release” probably came later. Many things about this time-honored publicity channel are still […]
If you haven’t visited the Coca-Cola website, take a quick look sometime. Your hospital or medical practice does not have to be a global business icon for you to recognize why Coke’s website produces measurable results…and your website does not. Stick with me on this. There’s an insightful backstory to the comparison challenge, so I’ll […]
There’s a good chance that you navigated your way to this article with the help of our newsletter, Healthcare Success INSIGHT. For nearly a decade, our free marketing newsletter and blog have helped subscribers learn how to boost their marketing effectiveness. We thought this was a good opportunity to share some of how this works, […]
File this under “If You’re Happy and You Know It” power tactics. This is a handful of highly effective little ideas anyone can put to work on short notice—at little or no cost—for greater mileage. #1: Publish, publish and republish. Consumer comments on review sites, as well as the direct testimonials of patients, are highly […]
Who needs Dr. Leonard McCoy’s classic (but fictional) Medical Tricorder when iPhone health is already in your pocket? (Some of it anyway.) There are various configurations of the Tricorder on the Star Trek TV show. By today’s standards, the devices were bulky, but they enabled: Instant diagnosis ailments/disease Track general metrics/vital signs Monitor ongoing health […]
[Community Manager Series Installment] The successful implementation of social media is the responsibility — and the credit — of your community manager. Every healthcare marketing situation requires a custom plan that artfully blends each of many strategies and tactics. There is no one-size-fits-all list of how-to steps. Successfully achieving the goals and objectives in marketing […]
[SHSMD17 Speaker Podcast Series] In this segment of our 2017 continuing series, Stewart Gandolf, CEO of Healthcare Success talks with Brent Westra, Marketing Segment Manager, and Andrew Tofilon, Marketing Segment Manager at Mayo Medical Laboratories. The topic of this podcast is Brent and Andrew’s presentation at the SHSMD marketing conference on their topic titled: Designing […]
[Community Manager Series Installment] Job titles and position descriptions will vary—social media manager, community manager, social media master or the like. But for social media (SM) to be effective, the first consideration is that someone is specifically responsible on a full-time or part-time basis. In healthcare marketing, social media shouldn't be an afterthought or a […]
Most communications professionals agree that email marketing is a major money-earning hammer in their marketing toolbox. The often-quoted ratio says that every dollar invested in email marketing can generate an average return of nearly $40. That’s a decent target, but some reports have an even higher ROI. Email marketing checklist... But beware. Triple-digit returns aren’t […]
Wait. Before you do anything else today, check on your listings on Google. Recent changes in the local search routine could have dramatically slammed your standing. And your listing may have just been kicked downstairs. Here’s a little insight about local filters and how to help your listing. Our regular readers know that local listings […]
Back in the digital dark ages—a decade or so ago—simply having a website was enough to be found online. Early on, only a few healthcare practices and hospitals had a website at all. Two or three HTML pages put your online presence miles ahead of most everyone else. But not so today. To be found […]
When everyone is working diligently to attract new patients and new business, it’s extremely frustrating to uncover a "crappy old website" that’s turning people away. (And wasting money, too.) Sophisticated Internet marketing tools reveal a big “hole in the bucket;” the lost opportunity is real and downright painful. That’s exactly what happened recently when we […]
Talk about a scary scenario—hospitals remain high profile and high-value targets for ransomware cyber attacks. It's been an ongoing threat for decades — worldwide and throughout the United States. We’re not a cyber security company, but clients, providers and hospitals voice concerns about their online presence. Understandably, websites—built for healthcare marketing and communications—are at risk […]
It’s a challenge to follow the trends attached to the future of the Internet and video marketing. Depending on your choice of stats, better than 80 percent of all web traffic is expected to be video by the end of the decade. That’s just a couple years down the road. One particularly fast moving—and nearly […]
A friend of ours is a one-person blend of Yelp-and-Angie’s-List of references, referrals and recommendations. This is a well-connected word-of-mouth resource for recommendations for life’s everyday needs. Just ask: They’ll suggest the best value in retail goods, where to find discounts on groceries, who to trust for reliable home handyman services. This a person who […]
[Second of two parts in a continuing healthcare marketing series] Today’s consumer is constantly, and instantly, exposed to “nearly everything.” Thus marketing must connect with consumers in precious micro-moments at precisely the moment of need. Micro-Moment Marketing travels at the speed of thought. At least 150 times each day, people interrogate their smartphones—with the standard […]
[A continuing education series in healthcare marketing – First of a two-part article] Micro-Moment Marketing travels at the speed of thought. Today’s consumer—which is virtually all of us—is constantly, and instantly, exposed to “nearly everything.” Thus, marketing is changing to connect with consumers in micro-moments, and at precisely the moment of need. Marketing buzzwords tend […]
Some day in the nearly immediate future, it wouldn’t be surprising to find a bold warning label on the latest-and-greatest smartphone that cautions: Negative effects include a need for instant gratification and loss of patience. It may not be on the consumer packaging, but these are real cautionary words straight from Pew Research Center’s Internet […]
Doctor’s offices don’t always recognize when their routines and procedures work against their efforts to win new patients or retain current patients. The patient experience begins with an instant demerit. People who need an appointment are already dealing with a measure of stress. And medical providers should not make it difficult for patients to access the […]
Websites show their age quickly in our digital world. A healthcare website that is three or more years old is probably doing more harm than good and it needs a fresh start. Here’s how an old site works against you and what to do about it. This came up again the other day where a […]
