When talking about Digital Marketing, most experts will tell you’ don’t reinvent the wheel’. If it worked for someone else, it will work for you. That is pretty good advice for most industries because chances are, if the customer liked what your competitor did, they will like it when you do it.
When it comes to marketing for healthcare providers, it just isn’t that simple.
In the past, most healthcare products and services where available offline only. But, with the integration of AI and other digital services like ‘teledocs’ and online appointments, Over 75% of Patients now turn to the internet when looking for a provider and expect that provider to have a great online presence, great reviews, and online services like scheduling and record checking.
It might be tempting to follow the herd and do what has been done. But, healthcare regulations and standards for the medical industry are different than what say a bookstore would have to follow. Healthcare providers also face ethical challenges in their marketing that must be addressed when sharing content.
In all industries, a level of trust between the client and the provider is necessary. After all, the client is trading their hard earned money for a service or goods. ‘Buy Beware’ is a saying almost as old as time. But, while the client might take a risk, on say a good deal on a car that has questionable reviews, what are the chances that they will take a ‘risk’ on a questionable Doctor?
That’s where EEAT Comes in. The acronym stands for Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trustworthiness. Its a standard used in marketing that helps your content build you that trust and remove the ‘risk’.
Often Healthcare providers struggle with the EEAT standard when producing their content. They tend to publish long article that are full of technical words, that while impressive, often leave the reader confused or running for Web, MD.
These articles are great for showing your expertise and your authority, but presented in a different format may engage the viewer better.
Such as, instead of writing a 750 word article on how to combat depression, create an info graph that shows graphs and statistics or use the popular products Loom or Canva to create an information 60 second video. The same information presented in a viewer friendly format can greatly increase engagement.
Another unique difficulty that Healthcare providers face is that no 2 clients are the same. Healthcare is an extremely personal experience. They don’t want to be just another patient.
This is often overlook in marketing even though over 90% of providers are aware of this client expectation for a personal experience.
Use this as your chance to vary the kind of content you are sharing. Testimonials and case studies are a great way to show your client how you stand out and are the perfect choice for them. But, this is also how you show your Trustworthiness and Experience (remember EEAT?) Your other patients trust you enough to share their stories of how happy they were to find you. And often the patients will tell their stories, showcasing your experience for you.