Health Care Marketing Trends to Watch in 2016

The field of medicine has always been advancing and changing, but recent years have seen a previously unprecedented shift in how health care providers and facilities are marketing themselves. As a health care provider, it’s no longer enough to simply practice medicine, you must be effectively marketing your professional services. In this vein, here are four health care marketing trends to watch this year.

The Transition to Digital Channels

For several years. there has been a general transition away from traditional marketing channels and toward digital ones. This trend has clearly reached the medical field. According to DMN3:

• 77 percent of patients use search engines before booking appointments
• 83 percent of patients use hospitals’ websites
• 54 percent of patients use health insurance websites
• 50 percent of patients use health information websites

In today’s digital world, it’s impossible to market a women’s health practice without advertising through digital channels.

The Search for Educational Information

As a couple of statistics from the above list show, patients are looking for educational information when they go online. They’re using search engines to find answers, and they’re consulting sites that provide health-related information. Patients aren’t as interested in promotional propaganda as they are in educational information. Websites that inform will gain patients’ trust, and that trust will be transferred to the physicians featured on those sites.

The Importance of a Reputation

Although self-promoting advertisements don’t mean much to patients, doctors’ reputations carry a great deal of weight. According to Marketing Essentials, 60 percent of patients look up online reviews before choosing a doctor. Word-of-mouth advertising might be old-fashioned, but people still trust it, even in a digital age.

The Significance of Social Media

While many patients will consider anonymous online patient reviews, comments from patients’ social networks carry additional weight, especially among young patients. Citing research from Search Engine Watch, Marketing Essentials reports that 90 percent of people between 18 and 24 trust medical information shared on their social media networks.

Stay On Top of Current Trends

Running a successful women’s health practice as an OB/GYN requires more than medical knowledge. You also need to be familiar with nonmedical aspects of running a facility, including marketing.

At Perinatal Resources, we’re here to help you stay on top of trends, both medical and nonmedical. We offer a variety of courses on women’s health and related topics. If you need CME credits, contact us to find out how our courses could help you grow your health care practice and meet your continuing medical education requirements.