Digital Marketing Tips for OBGYN Practices
Posted: December 22, 2021 - By Health Dev
Every woman will need an obstetrician-gynecologist (OBGYN) at some point in her life, whether it’s for routine wellness exams, prenatal care, or addressing gender-specific healthcare concerns. Demand is high, and competition between OBGYN physicians is fierce.
To stand out from your competitors and attract more patients, you need a strong digital marketing strategy. Here are 10 OBGYN digital marketing tips to help you get started.
Know Your “Customer” (Your Patients!)
Before you can implement a digital marketing strategy for your practice, you need to know who you’re marketing to. As an OBGYN, you know you’re looking to market to women who need OBGYN services such as annual wellness visits or prenatal care — but there’s more to your patients than that.
Create Patient Personas
To pinpoint your ideal medical patients, ask yourself questions such as:
- Who are they?
- How old are they?
- Do they have children or not, or are they expecting their first?
- What do they do for fun?
The answers to these questions can help you establish patient personas. You can use those personas to implement more effective marketing strategies that enable you to connect with current and prospective patients.
Create Online Listings
The first place people typically start their search for an OBGYN or other types of physicians is online. Search engine optimization (SEO) is key to ensuring that prospective medical patients find you. Incorporating obstetrician and gynecology practice-specific keywords throughout your website, making it mobile-friendly, and ensuring a smooth, pleasant experience are all critical for improving your overall ranking in search engines.
Part of your SEO strategy should also be to get yourself listed in various online directories. Fill out your Google My Business page, if you haven’t already, and create listings on other sites for medical practices like WebMD and Healthgrades.
When getting your OBGYN practice listed online, make sure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are the same for each directory. That consistency plays a role in your SEO. Even slight differences can have an impact.
Maintain a Social Media Presence
These days, a social media presence is a must for every business — including an obstetrics and gynecology practice. It’s not enough to create profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, though.
Signing up for social media accounts for your practice “just because” will get you nowhere. If you leave your profiles empty or don’t update them for long stretches, potential new patients might think you’re no longer in business.
Post Regular Content
Setting up a social media content schedule can be helpful for posting content regularly. You can also use tools that automate the process, making it faster and easier. Create unique and relevant posts like helpful tips and news about your practice. Encourage patient engagement by responding to comments and questions.
Don’t forget to include a link to your practice’s website in your social media profiles to drive traffic. They offer direct access and make things easier for patients who want more information. It might seem like a small thing, but saving patients the effort of having to search for you themselves can go a long way in improving their overall impression of you.
Build an Email List
There have been many changes in the ways businesses market their products and services. Even so, email remains one of the most engaging digital marketing tactics available. Creating and building your email list will continue to be essential for your OBGYN practice.
Benefits of Email Marketing
One of the key benefits of email for your healthcare organization is that it helps you stay in contact with your medical patients. A monthly newsletter keeps them informed and keeps you at the top of their minds. You can confirm appointments in a less invasive manner and reduce your number of no-shows. Email is also great for sharing customized informative information.
Another attractive feature of email marketing is that it’s one of the most cost-effective solutions. The average return on investment (ROI) is $36 for every $1 spent.
Tips for Building an Email List
Several strategies can help you build your email list. Some to try include:
- Place an embedded form on high-traffic website pages
- Include a call to action (CTA) on your blog posts
- Offer access to a relevant lead magnet like an ebook or a compilation of healthy recipes
- Continue to provide useful, engaging content that keeps patients from unsubscribing
Don’t Be Afraid To Spend Money
To boost your OBGYN marketing lead generation efforts, you can’t be afraid to spend some money. That doesn’t mean you have to break the bank, though. Strategically investing in services can help you attract more new patients, boosting your ROI.
Facebook Ads
With nearly 3 million active monthly users, Facebook is the most widely-used social media platform. Facebook ads allow you to target your ideal patients, helping you expand your reach. You can attract more visitors to your website, generate more leads, and increase your medical patient volume.
Pay Per Click
Pay per click (PPC) is a type of paid search marketing. Your ads appear at the top of search engines’ results pages — such as Google or Bing — putting you front and center. It’s an effective solution for reaching potential patients. You only pay when someone clicks on your ads, and you can set a budget to avoid overspending. PPC also provides instant results.
Digital Services
You might also consider investing in digital services such as website maintenance, design services, and content writing. While you do have to pay for them, they can save you valuable time and allow you to focus more of your attention on creating optimal patient experiences.
Have Content Marketing Strategy
There’s a reason they say content is king. It’s one of the oldest digital marketing strategies for websites, and it’s still one of the most effective. The content you create today can result in more website traffic five years from now.
A solid content marketing strategy is critical for your OBGYN practice. Publishing regular content and incorporating relevant keywords can help boost your internet SEO efforts and improve your overall online reputation.
Types of Content to Post
Blogging is one of the most well-known forms of content marketing. Most healthcare organizations have one on their websites. Today, however, blogs aren’t the only option you have. You can make helpful and informative videos, create infographics, publish ebooks, or even host a webinar. All of these types of content can aid in your healthcare marketing efforts.
Monitor Your Analytics
As a busy medical professional, your time is valuable. You can’t be wasting it on anything that isn’t helping you bring in new patients or improving your patients’ experiences. Monitoring the success of your digital marketing campaigns with analytics will help you to avoid doing just that.
You can’t set and forget digital marketing. To maximize your campaigns, you need to monitor them regularly. Take a look at what’s working and what isn’t. Keep doing the things that are generating leads and bringing you more patients. Adjust any strategies that aren’t delivering the results you want until you find what clicks.
Hire Someone
While healthcare marketing is vital for OBGYN physicians to attract more leads, your focus should be on your medical patients and their experiences. If you’re finding it a challenge to strike a balance between marketing and your patients, consider hiring someone to help.
A professional who can help you optimize your website, increase medical patient engagement, and generate more leads is well worth the investment. The key is to find someone who knows what they’re doing. The right healthcare marketing expert by your side can fill you with confidence. You can focus all of your time and attention on your patients while they take care of bringing in more people and helping you grow your practice.
Stay Flexible
In today’s digital world, things move and change quickly. People might stop using Facebook or new social networking platforms might pop up out of nowhere and gain sudden popularity. Search engines might drastically alter their algorithms — more so than they usually do. Google could be outlawed.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and panic when things change. You’ve gotten so used to doing your marketing a certain way for so long. However, you’ll want to stay flexible and open-minded. There’s a good chance that something will change during your career as a medical professional. Being flexible will help you respond and adapt more quickly. You’ll be able to maintain a strong marketing game and keep people visiting your website with fewer hiccups.
Remember, It’s a Long-Term Strategy
Digital marketing for your OBGYN practice isn’t about instant gratification, nor should it be. It’s about building your brand and your online reputation. What you do now will improve where you are and what you do in the future. It’s a long-term strategy that can help you grow your practice in ways you never thought possible.
Get the Most Out of Your OBGYN Digital Marketing Strategy
Combining various digital marketing tactics into a solid strategy can help OBGYN physicians like you grow your brand awareness, engage with current and prospective patients, and grow your practice. While essential, your main focus should be your patients. How do you manage it all?
That’s where WebMD PracticePro comes in. We can help you manage your entire patient lifecycle with an all-in-one growth solution. From attracting patients to managing appointments to patient retention, we’re with you every step of the way. Schedule your demo to learn more today.
