A marketing strategy is essential to running a successful business of any sort, including a healthcare practice. Patient acquisition is an area where practices can never rest, as patients are the very lifeblood of their business. However, marketing can be expensive, and figuring out how to successfully market your practice can put undue stress on your budget.

Its not all bleak, however, as there are ways to market your practice without spending exorbitantly. These strategies are both cost effective and effective at acquiring patients, read on for 5 of these strategies.

1. Strong web presence

The key to effective low-cost marketing is to utilize digital channels. The anchor of all of your digital marketing will be your website, your social media and your presence on websites like novelHealth or Zocdoc. All of these profiles need to be properly managed and maintained, to ensure any prospective patients that come across your practice online are receiving correct and up-to-date information. Modern patients also depend heavily on social media, so make sure those profiles are also well taken care of. Affiliate marketing tools can be incorporated to keep everything under the track and elevate the web presence.

2. Digital expansion

Once your digital presence has been properly established and maintained, the next thing to do is to look to expand your presence to more areas online. Growth is vital to ensuring your practice is visible to as many prospective patients as possible; start by trying to acquire any domain listings with your practice’s name in them. A simple web search will show you where your practice shows up online. This will give you an idea of where the gaps are in your digital marketing and which areas need more attention.

Read More: Boost Patient Acquisition with High Converting Content Framework

Adding your practice to Google My Business is one of the easiest ways of increasing exposure. If your budget allows, perhaps even consider paid marketing as it will ensure your practice shows up at the top of any related searches.

3. Feedback and reviews

The first place to look when you find yourself wondering why you are getting as many patients as you want, is the patients themselves. Reviews left by past patients play a crucial role in helping prospective patients decide whether or not your practice is right for them, and they also hold key insights on how you can improve your patient acquisition. While some patients will likely leave reviews of their own volition, simply asking can be all the encouragement needed by those who don’t fall into that category.

Here are a few ways you can increase the amount of reviews you receive:

• Ask directly.
• Link a patient satisfaction survey in messages sent to patients after their visits.
• Have a suggestion box in the practice.

4. Content marketing

Content marketing is simple; it involves creating content that informs or entertains users. Any blog post you read online is a form of content marketing, including this one.

Read More: 8 Ways To Improve Patient Satisfaction

How content can help you is in creating credibility for your practice. Use the pieces of content you publish online to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in your field, and patients who come across those posts will be more likely to trust you. It also serves to educate the community as patients will come across your posts as they look for answers to any of their maladies.

5. Update your website

Let’s talk about SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of increasing traffic to your website by improving how it ranks within search engines. This is a relatively new concept, so older websites often do not meet the requirements for appearing at the top of searches. If your website is old then it might be time for an update, consider the following:

• Ensure your website is mobile friendly.
• Your website should run smoothly.
• The content on your website should be written with SEO in mind.A marketing strategy is essential to running a successful business of any sort, including a healthcare practice. Patient acquisition is an area where practices can never rest, as patients are the very lifeblood of their business. However, marketing can be expensive, and figuring out how to successfully market your practice can put undue stress on your budget.Its not all bleak, however, as there are ways to market your practice without spending exorbitantly. These strategies are both cost effective and effective at acquiring patients, read on for 5 of these strategies.
  1. Strong web presence

  The key to effective low-cost marketing is to utilize digital channels. The anchor of all of your digital marketing will be your website, your social media and your presence on websites like novelHealth or Zocdoc. All of these profiles need to be properly managed and maintained, to ensure any prospective patients that come across your practice online are receiving correct and up-to-date information. Modern patients also depend heavily on social media, so make sure those profiles are also well taken care of.

  2. Digital expansion

  Once your digital presence has been properly established and maintained, the next thing to do is to look to expand your presence to more areas online. Growth is vital to ensuring your practice is visible to as many prospective patients as possible; start by trying to acquire any domain listings with your practice’s name in them. A simple web search will show you where your practice shows up online. This will give you an idea of where the gaps are in your digital marketing and which areas need more attention.

  Adding your practice to Google My Business is one of the easiest ways of increasing exposure. If your budget allows, perhaps even consider paid marketing as it will ensure your practice shows up at the top of any related searches.

  3. Feedback and reviews

  The first place to look when you find yourself wondering why you are getting as many patients as you want, is the patients themselves. Reviews left by past patients play a crucial role in helping prospective patients decide whether or not your practice is right for them, and they also hold key insights on how you can improve your patient acquisition. While some patients will likely leave reviews of their own volition, simply asking can be all the encouragement needed by those who don’t fall into that category.

  Here are a few ways you can increase the amount of reviews you receive:

  • Ask directly.
  • Link a patient satisfaction survey in messages sent to patients after their visits.
  • Have a suggestion box in the practice.
  4. Content marketing

  Content marketing is simple; it involves creating content that informs or entertains users. Any blog post you read online is a form of content marketing, including this one.

  How content can help you is in creating credibility for your practice. Use the pieces of content you publish online to demonstrate your knowledge and expertise in your field, and patients who come across those posts will be more likely to trust you. It also serves to educate the community as patients will come across your posts as they look for answers to any of their maladies.

  5. Update your website

  Let’s talk about SEO. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of increasing traffic to your website by improving how it ranks within search engines. This is a relatively new concept, so older websites often do not meet the requirements for appearing at the top of searches. If your website is old then it might be time for an update, consider the following:

  • Ensure your website is mobile friendly.
  • Your website should run smoothly.
  • The content on your website should be written with SEO in mind.