1. Be Approachable Online, Just as You are Offline
You don’t need anyone to remind you that you need to make your patients feel welcome when they come to your practice. Well-trained medical office staff use a down-to-earth, welcoming tone when someone comes to your practice or calls to book an appointment. It's a crucial part of the patient experience.
You need to make sure that same, welcoming tone comes through online, on your website, social media platforms, and even in paid ads you run.
It’s also crucial to make sure you’re literally approachable – in other words, you're easy to find when potential patients search for you or your specialty.
Make sure your practice is listed online — your online listings are the first thing potential patients see in search results when they look for care. After all, today, almost everyone starts their search online.
Your contact information, location and hours of operation should be prominent. Include a picture of yourself and your staff, smiling in a clean, inviting office.
Little details matter.
[Related: Dr. Jordan Job, DDS, talks to Hibu about marketing strategies]
2. Take Social Media by Storm
If you don’t have a social media presence, get on it! (If you need help getting started, Hibu can help.)
People of all demographics find medical, dental and hospital services online. Social media posts are an important piece of what they’ll find. Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the big three. Don’t be afraid to branch out — try YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Snapchat and Pinterest to reach even more patients.
Encourage patients to leave reviews — reviews boost word of mouth, generate more positive reviews, and improve your search ranking. Patients are going to talk to others about the provider they visited regardless, so you can take the initiative and include the best feedback beforehand.
One thing to remember – you’re going to get negative online reviews along with the positive ones. Everyone does. It doesn’t matter how great a doctor you are.
It all comes down to how you respond to the negative reviews you receive. It’s important to quickly respond to negative reviews, to turn them into a positive. Be as encouraging as possible. Never leave an emotional response.
If you’re open to it, work with an experienced digital marketing partner, a specialist who can work with you and even automate a lot of the review process for you.
[Related: Is Your Business Social Enough?]
3. Fill Your Website with Informative and Unexpected Content
On your website, along with the usual who you are, your areas of expertise, etc., be sure to include content that will engage existing patients and prospective patients.
Think about questions your patients might have and those they might not think of. Add content that discusses proactive steps they can take to benefit their health.
Include sections or blog posts that cover common health concerns — focusing on the ones you treat. That information carries a lot of weight on a healthcare website.
Most people like to educate themselves at least a little before seeing a doctor or dentist. Health issues and any kind of medical procedure can be alarming, so wanting to know the basics is natural. Address their concerns up front… it could go a long way toward making you the provider they choose.
If you don’t have a website, talented professionals can craft one for you and help fill it with engaging content.
[Related: Dr. Robert Moore on marketing your medical practice online]
4. Lean into Digital Marketing
Promote your practice and services on multiple digital channels. Maximize the number of patients who can find you wherever they look – on Google, on social media, on their favorite sites and more.
Email and text marketing are particularly useful when it comes to patient engagement. A few targeted, timely emails can drive more people through your door — whether they’re new to your practice or long-time patients.
Automated messaging is a great way to increase patient volume in a medical office without spending more time and energy.
[Related: 10 Stats to Consider Before Investing Another Dollar Into Digital Marketing]
5. Hold Free Patient-Centric Events
You don’t have to confine your efforts to the digital space. The patient experience goes beyond just online or in your office! Smart offline marketing leads to smarter online marketing.
Activities like free vitals checks and short question-and-answer sessions with your staff can make seeing a doctor or dentist less intimidating to patients. It's also a great way to increase patient volume in your medical practice while showcasing your expertise and personality.
And the less intimidating you are, the more likely you are to increase patient volume and patient satisfaction.
When you focus on the person and not your bottom line, people can tell the difference — and will come back to see you.
[Related: Beginner’s Guide to Online Marketing for Dentists]
6. Emphasize What Makes You Different
There’s no shortage of healthcare providers listed online. What makes you unique, and how can you highlight it everywhere you have a presence online?
Maybe it’s your specialty? What makes you better than other medical or dental practices offering the same services? Your experience or education? Maybe it’s your location or your office. Is it sleek and modern, or rustic and charming?
Highlighting what your prospective patients will experience can help them choose you instead of another practitioner.
And don’t just stop at describing your office or your services – the personality, approachability, and professionalism of you and your staff can be the deciding factors for someone choosing a medical care provider.
[Related: Digital Marketing Tool Box]
7. Stay Persistent… But Not Overbearing
Follow-up emails, surveys, and reminders to leave online reviews are extraordinarily helpful for increasing patient volume.
However, common sense should always be applied — how frequently would you like someone to contact you after receiving a service? You might think of those follow-ups like appointment reminders, timed just right.
As we mentioned earlier, text marketing can be an invaluable tool to maintain ongoing patient engagement and loyalty. With the right platform, you can supplement basic automated reminders with a wide range of messages to help make patients feel appreciated.
[Related: How to Promote Your Website Online and Offline]
8. Try Grassroots Efforts, Brainstorming and Having Fun
When you think about your prospective and current patients – who they are, where they are – think about new and different ways to reach them. How can you increase engagement?
Taking advantage of your location and finding your patient persona are excellent first steps to boost patient volume.
Here are some creative ways to garner more patients that maybe you haven’t tried:
- Universities and community colleges often host job fairs — check about adding a table and introduce yourself to a young audience
- Visit a local school and speak with students about medical or dental basics
- Brainstorm with your staff — they might notice patient behaviors that you don’t, so their input can be invaluable
- Look into any local events that patients have mentioned attending
Have fun — a happy patient is easier to retain and helps lead to greater patient volume.
[Related: The Offline Marketing You Need to Succeed Online]
Are You Ready?
Increased patient volume for your practice is absolutely achievable... with effort.
When your patients enjoy their time with you and your staff, they’re more likely to spread the word about which practices they like best. When you can generate word-of-mouth buzz, your patient volume is bound to climb.
Contact Hibu for help with all the aspects of your digital marketing — a specialist will walk you through options for your practice… including all the digital marketing you don’t have the time or experience to handle yourself.
Call 877-237-6120 or complete our Get Started form to begin increasing your patient volume.
See How Hibu helped Wickford Dental increase its patient volume:
See how Hibu makes it easy for Wickford Dental reach the high-quality, targeted patients they want for their practice with a synchronized digital marketing solution.
