It’s American Heart Month, which means it’s the perfect time to answer this important question: Is your hospital doing everything it can to promote its cardiovascular program?
If your hospital provides leading cardiovascular care, current and potential patients should know about it. Now is the time to reflect what you could be doing to differentiate your hospital from other cardiovascular care providers in your local market – and not just for American Heart Month, but all year long. What is going to make people in your city or region think of your organization when they need to see a heart specialist or undergo a cardiac procedure? Our hospital marketing team at Scorpion has the answers.
Here are 3 strategies that you can use to promote your cardiovascular program.
Broad Approach
Start by Raising Awareness
Start with a broad approach by raising awareness about your hospital’s cardiovascular services. You can do this by running display ads that online users will see when they are browsing the web. A few examples of display ads include text- and image-based ads that appear on other websites, social media ads, and YouTube video ads. Display ads can be especially effective when they are “native,” or when they appear with or alongside relevant content.
In these awareness ads, you can feature information such as:
- Details about relevant events held by your hospital, such as heart health screenings and workshops that are open to the community
- Information about your hospital’s and specialists’ unique qualifications, such as special certifications and accreditations related to cardiovascular care
- Information about specific services and procedures performed by your cardiovascular program
Display ads are a great hospital marketing strategy that you can use to gain exposure for your cardiovascular program and get in front of patients in the places where they are already spending their time online.
More Focused Approach
Meet Patients Early on in the Research Process
Another great marketing practice is to create high-quality online content (such as blog content) that helps answer questions for potential patients early on in the research stage.
Try blogging about topics related to heart health, such as common signs of heart disease, nutrition and lifestyle tips to improve cardiovascular health, or information about various types of cardiovascular procedures. Not only will this help the patient learn more about cardiovascular health, but it will also make it easier for your hospital to get found in relevant online searches on Google and Bing.
While patients are typically not yet ready to select a provider at this stage of their research, filling the information gap for them can keep your hospital at the forefront of their minds. Then, when the patient is finally ready to choose a specialist or healthcare facility, they will remember your healthcare organization as an authority and helpful resource on the topic of cardiovascular care.
Highly Targeted Approach
Reach Patients at Their Highest Level of Intent
After people have done their research, they’re ready to look for cardiovascular specialists and facilities in their local communities. This is when the potential patient has the highest level of intent and is most likely to convert from an online visitor to a new patient.
So how do you get in front of potential patients at this crucial point?
One highly effective strategy is to maximize your visibility in search engines with highly targeted paid search ads. These text ads, which appear at the top and bottom of the search engine results page (SERP), show up when potential patients search keywords that are related to your hospital’s cardiovascular services or specialists. If the online user clicks on the ad, he or she is directed to a landing page on your hospital website that features the advertised cardiovascular service / specialist and encourages the visitor to schedule an appointment.
Paid search ads – also known as pay-per-click (PPC) ads – are especially effective for getting the most relevant online users’ attention right at the point when they are most likely to schedule a consultation. Keep in mind that you can target your ads to local geographic areas to ensure your hospital is reaching the most relevant audience.
Being Present in Each Stage of the Patient Journey
It’s important to reach potential patients at each stage of the patient journey, from when they are not even thinking of cardiovascular care to when they are actively searching for a local specialist. For better exposure and the best marketing results, make sure your hospital is present each step of the way.
Contact Scorpion to find out how we can help you improve your hospital marketing!
