The internet is an undeniably integrated and powerful force in our daily lives. More and more people have smart phones, allowing them to be connected to the web almost constantly. It’s increasingly a factor in the way people communicate, consume information, and connect with the world around them. That is why your practice must have an internet presence—but more importantly, why you can’t skimp on your internet marketing. A plain website and a neglected Facebook page are not enough to market your practice online.
The fact of the matter is that people do business with people and companies they trust. They don’t want to entrust their all-important health or the health of their family to someone they don’t like or don’t believe cares about them. However, it’s hard to show someone that you do care and can solve their problems before they step foot in your office, or continue to do so after they leave. This is where your internet marketing comes into play.
Your website, social media, online reviews, and Google map location are the “face” of your practice on the internet. For many people, they are the only face that they see until they set foot in your office for an appointment. You want your online presence to not only accurately represent you, but also engage with current and potential patients so they decide to call you when they need help.
This means you need a website that not only shows up at the top of Google’s search results for your local area, but is also easy to navigate, nice to look at, and jam-packed with information to answer patient’s questions. Furthermore, you have to keep your website up-to-date constantly, so search engines don’t penalize you.
Your social media becomes a way for you to showcase your personality online, direct people to your website, and engage more with your community. Your patients want to entrust their health to a person, not a faceless entity. Actively using your social media allows you to share information and meet your patients where they already are.
Online reviews are a part of your internet marketing, too. They are rapidly becoming a kind of “word of mouth” tool in people’s decision-making process. By making sure your information is up-to-date and accurate on the major review sites, and by actively requesting good reviews from satisfied patients, you help put your best foot forward online.
None of this online practice marketing happens on its own, or just in your spare time. Everything about your online presence has to be actively planned out and worked on, so it all pulls together and functions the way it’s supposed to. That’s why you can’t skimp on your internet marketing—if you don’t invest in it, it won’t happen at all.
