When you don’t have much to spend on marketing but still need to see results for your practice, it is important to choose wisely what you do with your money. To make the most of your marketing resources, start by identifying your target market so that you can focus your budget on whatever the best channel is to reach them. Focusing on one activity and doing it well will help produce the best results for your healthcare organization.
Are you in the process of deciding which marketing medium to pursue? Here are some of the most cost-effective marketing channels that will deliver the highest return on investment:
1. Medical website.
Having a website is a necessity in this day and age – and any business that fails to recognize this is losing out on countless potential customers. After all, more people use the Internet to search for doctors and health professionals than any other available medium. What this means is that if you have a website there’s a greater chance patients will find you – and if that website is optimized for search engines, your chances increase even more. Plus, paying for medical web design services is a one-time investment that will bring long-term benefits. If your marketing budget is tight, you can always start with a template site and build on to it when your finances permit.
2. Pay-Per-Click.
Through pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, you can create ads that will appear in search engine results when someone types certain keywords or phrases. The purpose of these ads is to direct people to your website. PPC ads can be created easily in Google through their AdWords service, and you can spend as little or as much as you want. You can choose to target specific geographic regions, this way you know your ads are being seen by people who might actually use your services – and best of all, with PPC you only pay when an advertisement is clicked.
3. Email newsletters.
Email marketing is an effective and economical way to communicate with existing and prospective patients. Email newsletters can be used to distribute information in real-time, and the messages can be easily tailored to different target audiences. This makes email marketing a good choice if you have limited resources but want to get a message out to a broad audience.
4. Social media.
Being active on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter shouldn’t be the backbone of any marketing campaign. However, social media can supplement your other advertising efforts. Setting an account up is easy (and free) – and it can help your practice build brand recognition and improve communication with patients.
Interested in learning more about why you should market your practice online? Contact us at 866-932-9944 to discuss the benefits of online marketing. We’ll help you develop the right strategy for your practice’s budget.
