In the world of healthcare, few trends have risen as quickly as telehealth in recent memory. Lockdowns caused a massive increase in the number of patients seeking online consultations from the NHS in 2020, jumping from 25% to 71%.
Even in a post-lockdown world, telehealth is sure to remain a vital service as patients look for more flexible options and healthcare brands must take steps to ensure they deliver an exceptional online experience.
With that in mind, we’ve created a list of top tips for leveraging the full potential of your telemedicine service through the prism of digital marketing.
Focus on the user experience
It all starts with your website and how you help patients discover your telehealth offering. When searching online, people may look for a specific service that’s related to a condition, rather than actively starting from your homepage, so you’ll want to create a good user journey no matter what page they start on.
This can be achieved through including Calls-To-Action (CTAs) on a page e.g. a banner that says ‘Book in for our telehealth service.’ The banner would lead to the relevant page that contains all the information about your virtual consultation service.
Set up a FAQs section
Setting up a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section on your website is an excellent way to promote more awareness about telemedicine, answer common questions and improve your search engine rankings.
FAQs are great from a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) perspective because you’ll be able to include keywords that people are searching for and provide the right information. Here are some useful questions to include:
- What conditions can be treated with telemedicine?
- How does telemedicine help?
- How much does a virtual healthcare consultation cost?
- How do telehealth consultations work?
Tap into the power of Google Ads
Using paid search ads like Google Ads is an effective way to promote your online consultation services as soon as people start searching online.
When developing your Google Ads campaigns, we’d recommend you create multiple campaigns that focus on the key telehealth treatment services. For example, if you specialise in treating skin conditions like acne then feature ‘acne’ and ‘virtual consultation’ as the keywords you’d like your ads to appear for.
Use testimonials to build trust
For someone who hasn’t tried a telehealth consultation before, they may be hesitant to go through with it. A great technique to use in this situation is to demonstrate how effective your services are through using testimonials from other patients.
Try reaching out to former patients over the phone or via email to see if they’d be interested in giving feedback on their experience. You may even want to consider sending an easy to fill out checklist to gather the necessary information.
The testimonials can then be featured on your website and promoted across social media, showcasing how others will benefit.
Build an effective social media strategy
Social media is a space that provides many opportunities for healthcare brands to promote their telemedicine services.
To start building your social media strategy, it’s important to think about the audiences that you’re targeting, the platforms they are using and how best to connect with them. For example, older patients may be more likely to use Facebook, while younger patients could be more focused on Instagram and TikTok.
Once you’ve nailed your demographics and platform, you’ll be in a better position to create telehealth ads and posts that resonate with every audience.
Create a healthcare marketing strategy with Trio Media
At Trio Media, we have plenty of experience with creating successful digital marketing strategies for many healthcare brands. If you’re planning on promoting your telehealth service, get in touch with us today at [email protected] and we’ll be able to help.
