If you’ve noticed a drop off in office visits and new patients coming into your pediatric practice, you’re not alone. For the first time in years, revenue for primary care doctors of all types is anticipated to decline 3.3% in 2020.
The pandemic has created a multitude of challenges for pediatricians, not the least of which is finding ways to stay in front of current and prospective patients.
How can your pediatric practice reach its target audience during the pandemic?
To stay visible with patients and prospects, go digital with your marketing:
Content marketing.
Share content that parents/caregivers will find to be relevant, useful and educational. If you don’t have one yet, add a blog to your practice’s website. Then:
- Share your content on social media.
- Use your blog post content to create a digital e-newsletter for patients and their caregivers.
- Roll up a series of related blog posts into long-form content (e.g., eBooks) you house permanently on your website. You can even gate the content to collect contact information and get permission to market to individuals who want to download the resource.
What should you write about?
- Problems parents and caregivers typically face when raising children
- Information about what to expect at various stages of development
- Frequently asked questions about your practice
- Guidance on how to choose the right pediatrician
- Information on your health and safety protocols (which is especially relevant during the pandemic)
- Benefits of regular pediatric care such as immunizations and well visits
This is just the tip of the iceberg! In addition to traditional article-style blog posts, you can keep readers engaged with infographics, instructographics, videos, slide decks and more.
For information on how content marketing can help you keep in touch with your audience and grow your practice, check out these posts:
Why Should You Use User Generated Content (UGC)?
7 Rules to Follow for SEO-Friendly Content
SEO.
Speaking of search engine optimization…the pandemic has sent search engine traffic through the roof – making SEO a great way to generate more traffic to your practice’s website. Modern search engine optimization techniques have evolved from keyword stuffing to understanding how patients, parents and caregivers search, so make sure you’re up to date on best practices. Again, the key to success is to think like a searcher – and then optimize your site and digital content around the questions people are likely to ask online.
More on SEO:
What Are Google’s Rules for SEO?
Sharing content and advertising on social media.
Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn have recently experienced huge increases in traffic. Your pediatric practice can capitalize on this opportunity to increase your reach, drive visibility and grow your practice:
- Focus on developing content that adds value and positions you as a solution.
- In addition to sharing content on your practice’s accounts, ask everyone on your staff (including practitioners, nurses and administrative personnel) to share your content on their social accounts.
- Use PPC to cost-effectively serve ads to the exact right individuals (e.g., based on location, interests and even income levels) on social media. Whether your goal is to build your practice, or simply to increase engagement with current patients, you can run very targeted ads on social media to achieve your goals.
More on social media marketing and advertising:
Managing Your Social Media Practice Pages During the Pandemic
Smart Marketing Tips During Social Distancing
Email marketing.
Email marketing is a cost-effective and effective tool to stay top of mind, build your brand and convert prospects to patients – even as social distancing continues.
- Focus on growing your list. Train your staff to ask parents and caregivers for email addresses, and explain the benefits of joining your list. With a robust, up-to-date list, you can build more on-site traffic and increase referrals to your practice.
- Add opt-in calls to action throughout your site, to encourage prospects to join your list.
- Get the tone right. Make sure your emails add value for recipients – otherwise readers will quickly unsubscribe.
Learn more:
How to Build Your Pediatric Practice
BARQAR is here to help.
With a full complement smart marketing services for pediatric practices, we’re the ideal partner to keep you top of mind with patients and build your practice. Ready to chat?
