Greystone.Net and Klein & Partners, two leaders in strategic thinking and market research in the digital healthcare space, recently published Wave 6 of their State of Digital Marketing in Healthcare Report, a study that highlights the changes taking place in digital marketing on an ongoing basis. This wave, in particular, sheds light on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on trends, techniques, and priorities in digital healthcare marketing. When compared to Wave 5 of the report, published prior to the pandemic in February of 2020, one key insight stood out:
The pandemic expedited the pace of digital transformation in healthcare, which will be felt for years to come. And since the speed of change is unlikely to slow, this year, more than others, marketers must keep pace.
So, what are hospitals and health systems focused on? According to the State of Digital Marketing in Healthcare Report, here are three things that marketers are focused on right now:
#1: Marketers are focused on driving volume
Marketers are looking to regain volume loss experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, their primary marketing goal is to stabilize and drive volume to physicians and services. There is also an emphasis on restoring the public’s trust in returning to in-person care at the doctor’s office.
In the next 6-9 months, traditional brand building will take a backseat to generating volume for physicians and services with an emphasis on specialty care patients for high-value service lines.
While this survey question was new for Wave 6, it demonstrates the growing importance of marketing’s role in the overall success of the brand. The goals outlined above are in stark contrast to marketers’ top two goals expressed in Wave 5 of the report, which are much more tactical in nature: figuring out personalization and 1:1 marketing and marketing attribution (ROI).
#2: Specialty care patients are their primary target audience
In support of the goal to drive volume to selected specialty services, marketers identified specialty care patients in select services as their primary target audience. The target audience breakdown is as follows:
- Specialty care patients in select services: 81%
- Primary care patients: 57%
- Patients and prospects interested in virtual health: 42%
- Lapsed patients: 38%
- Deferred patients: 33%
After specialty and primary care patients, marketers listed their third-ranked target audience as patients and prospects interested in virtual health. This is in alignment with the consumer sentiment and demand we’ve been tracking on a weekly basis since March 27, 2020 in the Healthgrades COVID-19 Patient Confidence Study, conducted in partnership with Infosurv.
In our latest study, 92% of U.S. patients said they expect to participate in telehealth in the future at the same or greater level. 41% of patients participated in a telehealth appointment in the past three months—an amount that has nearly doubled since the beginning of the pandemic.
#3: What other channels exist beyond Facebook and Google Ads to aid in growth?
Facebook and Google Ads remain the top platforms leveraged by healthcare marketers. However, many marketers feel like they’ve exhausted these avenues when it comes to patient acquisition, which is why the industry has seen growth in the use of local websites, streaming music sites, and third-party online ad networks.
While Google should remain a key priority for healthcare marketers, Healthgrades can play a big role in diversifying your existing paid marketing mix by reaching a highly targeted healthcare consumer audience.
Healthgrades Advertising Solutions to Meet Your Marketing Goals
Many healthcare marketers are not aware of the opportunities that exist for them on healthgrades.com. Healthgrades.com receives hundreds of millions of visits a year from consumers looking to find the right doctor. With consumer confidence at its highest levels since before the pandemic, now is the time to engage with a motivated, bottom-of-the-funnel audience that is actively seeking care.
Customizable Specialty Service Line Bundles that help health systems drive appointments to their most profitable service lines and guaranteed patient conversions are just two of the features that make a program with Healthgrades invaluable to your marketing strategy.
Learn more about how a healthgrades.com media buy can help you acquire new patients:
Promote Your Health System with a Healthgrades Media Buy
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