Patient acquisition and retention are always on your radar at your practice. The audiology industry is booming. Grabbing your share of that growth is right in front of you, online, and ready to take.
That’s where strategy comes in — deliberate, data-backed tactics generate leads that turn into loyal patients who keep coming back. But who has the time to learn and implement those plans at your practice? That’s why we’re here with seven digital marketing tactics that help you reach and retain patients.
These tactics and strategies work for you (not the other way around). And they work together to form a patient-centric audiology marketing plan.
[Related: Podcast: Hibu talks to Dr. Robert Moore about marketing your medical practice online]
1. Automate patient outreach
Email is still one of the most effective (and underused) ways to reach patients. With a great strategy in place, audiology marketing automation is powerful. You boost retention and decrease no-shows with very little effort on your end.
And we’re not just talking about the occasional newsletter here. With automated marketing services, you can send all sorts of HIPAA-friendly content via text and email:
- Appointment confirmations
- Post-visit follow-ups
- Hearing aid maintenance tips
- Happy birthday notes
- Discounts, specials, and promotions
Your digital marketing partner personalizes that content to the patients who’ll appreciate it most. Marketing automation keeps your patients in the loop and your practice top of mind. It’ll even encourage return visits without adding to your workload.
And it’s successful — healthcare email campaigns have an average open rate of over 41%, way above most industries. Whether you’re welcoming new patients or reengaging ones you haven’t seen in a while, marketing automation connects you 24/7.
[Related: How Marketing Automation Can Save Time (and Make Money!) For Your Small Business]
2. Optimize your website to convert
Your audiology website is your digital storefront, but it needs to do more than look good. (Of course, your website’s first impression is important.) Invest in a website revamp so that it actively drives new appointments.!
A custom smart site delivers a platform built to convert visitors into patients. Mobile friendly, fast, ADA compliant, and voice search compatible, exploring and scheduling appointments are intuitive. Your professional web developers ensure your site has easy navigation, which is critical when you may serve an older demographic.
Clear calls to action (CTAs) like “Book Now” and “Schedule a Hearing Test” create a smooth conversion journey. Contact forms and click-to-call buttons also help potential patients make the leap to loyal patients.
In other words, shore up your website as a whole as part of your audiology digital marketing strategy. When you do, it’s not only nice to browse, but it also encourages visitors to come back and schedule appointments.
[Related: Today’s Website: Free Guide for Small Businesses]
3. Boost local visibility with SEO
A potential patient searches for “audiologist near me,” and your practice appears on the first page of search results. That’s the ideal scenario with local search engine optimization (SEO).
Local SEO is how potential patients in your area find your practice online sooner rather than later (and ahead of your competitors). Professional SEO services are your best bet — it’s a complex skill involving keywords, deep research, and markup across channels. Experts help your audiology practice rank better across Google, Bing, Yahoo, and beyond.
That’s not the extent of the service. Local SEO ensures your audiology practice’s key contact information is consistent in directories. It means adding locally relevant keywords to your website and Google Business Profile (GBP).
Audiology SEO services aren’t just a box to check! Over 60% of people search for medical services of all sorts before scheduling an appointment. Strong local SEO is your key to reaching more patients as you stand out online.
[Related: Podcast: The Importance of Small Business SEO]
4. Reach the right people on social media
People spend an average of 2.5 hours on social media platforms, especially Facebook and Instagram (Meta). And you need to be there to meet them.
It’s not simply about brand awareness. Your audiology marketing strategy needs social media as a potent patient acquisition tool. For example, it’s smart to post from an official profile for patient engagement.
But that’s not enough to reach nearly 4 billion users. Hypertargeted social media ads on Facebook and Instagram are the ticket.
Social ad services analyze users’ location, age, interests, and behaviors to show ads to the people most likely to need your services. Engaging ads let you access potential patients with key messaging, from service specials to new audiology technologies.
About 84% of people use social media to look for healthcare information and connect with service providers. About half of Meta users are 45 years old and up… AKA around the ideal age group to need audiology services. And you can get in front of them with audiology social media ads.
[Related: The Smart Business Owner's Guide to Social Media]
5. Build trust with reputation management
Your reputation makes all the difference when someone looks for specialty healthcare providers like audiologists. Trust matters, and you build it digitally these days.
It’s unfortunate if your practice has only a few outdated online reviews. Worse, you have a bad one that you never responded to. Neglecting reviews (both getting positive ones or replying to negative ones) turns away potential patients.
A smart reputation management tool lets you stay on top of your practice’s online reviews and ratings across platforms. That includes Google, Yelp, and Facebook: the digital world’s big players. You can monitor feedback, respond to patient comments, and encourage patients to leave reviews.
Every step strengthens your credibility — these aren’t vanity stars. Around 94% of patients use online reviews to assess healthcare providers, with most saying a high rating sways them.
Make sure your reputation is crystal clear to clean up your digital first impression. It helps turn casual visitors into trusting audiology patients. Plus, your online presence reflects the quality care you provide.
[Related: Five Reasons Why Reputation Management is Crucial for Your Local Business]
6. Retarget potential patients with display ads
Most people won’t book an appointment the first time they run across your practice online. That’s OK — you haven’t lost them forever!
Display ads (image or video) retarget and remind them that you're there with the services they need. That’s a valuable asset in your audiology marketing plan — these ad types make your practice visible across the web.
Let’s say someone browses your site to learn about tinnitus, hearing aids, or other audiology content. Later, they see your ad while reading the news, scrolling their social media feeds, or checking the weather. Your appearance is a gentle nudge to act.
Retargeting works especially well for services that have longer decision cycles, like hearing care. An interesting ad is a helpful tap on the shoulder, not a battering ram. The strategy is effective.
Retargeted visitors are 70% more prone to convert than people who haven't seen a display ad. You grow your practice with visuals designed to catch the eye.
[Related: Online Advertising Ideas for Small Businesses]
7. Guarantee practice accuracy with listings management
Let’s say a potential patient finds your audiology practice online, only to see the wrong phone number or location. It’s a seemingly small slip-up that has big consequences.
Inconsistent or incorrect business listings, like your GBP, hurt your search rankings and patient numbers.
Listings management services make sure your details match and are accurate across directories and search engines. (That includes Siri and Alexa!) Your core data is up to date, no matter where people look:
- Name, address, phone number (NAP)
- Hours of operation
- Website URL
- Services/products
Accuracy matters — nearly half of all business listings show wrong information. A whopping 80% of people give your practice the side-eye when they spot errors.
An audiology marketing plan that includes listings management cultivates and maintains connections, now and into the future. And it’s not only that patients can reach you confidently. Search engines tend to reward you with better local rankings!
[Related: See how your online business listings change over time]
Find savvy audiology marketing services with Hibu
Let’s start reaching and retaining more patients for your practice. At Hibu, we offer smart, powerful digital marketing solutions that work together together to optimize your audiology marketing ideas. And we’ve got plenty of experience in helping medical service providers like you succeed.
We partner with you to customize marketing solutions that exceed expectations for both your practice and your patients. From automated emails to accurate business listings, we’ve got top-tier tools and a dedicated team that make the tactics we just outlined profitable!
Want to learn more? Call 877-237-6120 or complete our Get Started form to request your free consultation.
