flipMD for Healthcare Marketing Firms

When you’re a resident seeing 20 plus patients in a single shift, it’s easy to forget that healthcare is still a business that needs to be marketed.

In reality, though, healthcare marketing is a busy industry. That’s because in today’s hyper-competitive market, hospitals and small practices alike have to compete for patients to stay in business. This is true even for non-profits, which still need to see a certain volume of patients to stay afloat. The typical healthcare marketing firm relies on physician consultants every day to do their job of growing healthcare entities.

What does a healthcare marketing agency do?

Healthcare marketing firms work with entities in the medical field to help them get more patients/customers. This includes hospitals and healthcare systems, physician groups, and manufacturers of medical products.

Similar to marketing in other industries, this work involves things like:

• Content creation. This is the process of making texts, images, videos, or other types of media to attract patients. And yes, this could totally be a tik-tok.
• Paid search. This is a strategy to push businesses to the top of online search engines. Healthcare marketing firms pay people to identify popular search terms and then link those search terms to the business they’re promoting through ads.
• Branding. Major corporations often have super recognizable brands. If I were to say “golden arches,” for instance, I’m willing to bet a major fast-food chain would come to mind. Unless you're the only hospital in town, effective branding is important for healthcare entities, too.

How is healthcare marketing changing?

The medical industry is notoriously slow to make changes, but the same is not true for healthcare marketing, which is evolving rapidly to keep up with the times. In fact, a big part of a marketing firm's job is understanding and then actually keeping up with healthcare marketing trends.

It should come as no surprise that healthcare digital marketing is the big thing right now.

A major update in 2021 is the rise of patient reliance on online reviews. Years ago, patients looked to word-of-mouth references to find care. Now, patients are just googling providers. According to some reports, less than ten online reviews can form the basis of a person’s decision to see a particular doctor…or not. Sometimes, even just one online review can make or break a person’s decision to see a provider.

Another recent healthcare marketing trend is the use of video content to draw in patients. Videos are great because they’re quick to make and they lend a really personal feel. It’s also a lot easier to get a doctor to whip out their phone or tablet and shoot a quick video than it is to get them to write an article about their practice. We have enough notes to worry about as it is.

Where do consultants come in?

Take any healthcare marketing job description, and you’ll see why an experienced physician is going to come into play at some point.

First and foremost, healthcare marketing firms rely on physicians for their insights into the field. These insights help firms figure out how to promote healthcare entities effectively. Many flipMD job postings therefore involve focus groups or one-on-one interviews to gain valuable physician insights.

Another area ripe for consultant assistance is content creation. A video from a real doctor discussing the benefits of a new type of prosthetic is almost always going to be more effective than if an actor had made the video.

Now that you know all about healthcare marketing firms, get connected with one today on flipMD!