An internal medicine practice’s marketing and advertising toolkit

The benefits of a modern approach to marketing

If you still rely on traditional marketing and advertising tools, consider the benefits that come with digital marketing. They can help shift your mindset — and your marketing strategy. Here are just a few of the benefits to consider:

• It’s cost-effective. Digital marketing and advertising are more affordable than their traditional counterparts. By avoiding print and production costs and taking advantage of digital advertising inventory, internal medicine practices spend less while meeting patients where they are already spending time (online!).
• It’s highly-targeted. While traditional marketing channels have a broad reach, they don’t offer many targeting capabilities. Fortunately, digital marketing allows internal medicine practice marketers to reach the consumers who are most likely to need their services. This results in higher conversion rates and a better return on investment.
• It’s scalable and flexible. With digital marketing and advertising, you’ll have real-time data at your fingertips to help you refine your strategies. If a campaign is performing well, it can easily be scaled for greater reach. Likewise, if something flops, you can quickly halt that campaign and move on. You can also swap headlines, imagery or copy with the click of a button. Plus, you can test multiple iterations of the same ad to see what resonates most with your audience for better performance.

And when it comes to digital marketing, you don’t have to take an all-or-nothing approach. Many primary care practices start small with digital marketing strategies, gradually shifting over time. Others still use a hybrid approach, composed of both traditional and digital strategies for greater reach.

An internal medicine practice’s modern marketing checklist

As you know, marketing and advertising for primary care practices is a competitive business. Not only are you up against other local internists and family medicine practices, you’ve got urgent care centers, retail healthcare providers and national telehealth companies to contend with.

Standing out in today’s competitive landscape requires a comprehensive digital marketing and advertising strategy that takes prospective patients from their first online search to scheduling their first appointment and beyond.

For long-term internal medicine practice growth, you’ll need a combination of the following proven digital marketing and advertising tactics:

• An impressive website that’s easy to navigate, mobile optimized and loads quickly. Add a link to online scheduling to support patient conversion. Your site should also include web pages detailing every service and procedure you provide.
• A powerful online presence that spans beyond your website to help you connect with more patients online.
• Search engine optimization (SEO) and local search marketing strategies that will help your internal medicine practice rise to the top of search results. This will allow you to connect with more patients in your target market.
• A strong reputation management program that attracts patients to your practice by demonstrating that your internists are delivering high-quality care and your practice prioritizes the patient experience.
• A patient engagement and retention plan that will keep current patients connected to your practice and coming back for more appointments.
• A comprehensive content marketing strategy that keeps your practice top of mind with current and prospective patients through the use of timely and relevant content related to the conditions you treat and the services you provide.
• A long-term growth plan that includes measurable goals and allows you to keep an eye on key metrics that drive sustainable practice growth.

Used together, these strategies drive both patient acquisition and retention at your internal medicine practice.

Want to learn more about a proven all-in-one platform to help accelerate your practice growth? Request a demo of Afia Fix’s HIPAA compliant solution here.

A powerful online presence begins with your website

The basics of building a memorable website include an eye-catching design that’s easy to read and navigate, offers optimal online performance (e.g. page load times, mobile-friendly design), and has a clear call to action to help you close the deal (such as online scheduling or appointment phone number). To strengthen your brand, use consistent colors, fonts, imagery, and of course, your logo.

When it comes to your website, don’t set it and forget it.

Your internal medicine practice website is like a brochure that’s never finished and without content constraints. In fact, more content increases your odds of ranking for unique keywords related to internal medicine. Unfortunately, too many independent practices don’t put enough resources into their website, and instead approach it with a “one and done’’ attitude.

Instead, think of your internal medicine practice website as a living, evolving document that needs constant supervision. You need to update it regularly and check its performance by keeping an eye on key metrics, including page load times, website traffic, and bounce and conversion rates. By adding new content regularly, you’re signaling to search engines and patients that you’re invested in your website, which will generate more traffic over time.

Lastly, be sure to highlight anything that sets your internal medicine practice apart from the competition, and when appropriate, establish a dedicated page for any unique services or offerings. For example, if you offer on-site laboratory services, x-ray, in-office procedures, extended hours, or urgent care services, ensure they are prominently displayed throughout the site.

Going beyond your internal medicine URL

The days of yellow pages and phone books are long gone, and a new era of online directories and profiles has taken over. Popular business directory sites, such as Google My Business, Yelp, Vitals, and WebMD give prospective patients numerous avenues to find your internal medicine practice — if you’re taking advantage of them.

A simple internet search of your practice is likely to bring up a multitude of such profiles. Drive more traffic to your website and pique searchers’ interest early in their search journey by claiming and enhancing these profiles with your practice details (name, address, phone number), professional photos, and information on the services you provide.

Likewise, implementing a strong blog and social media strategy exposes more prospective patients to your brand where they’re already spending time.

Content marketing strategies for the internal medicine provider

Content marketing is another powerful way to expand your web presence. Content marketing is a strategy that requires creating relevant and useful content that explains or describes the services your internal medicine practice offers.

Today’s savvy healthcare consumers are looking online for answers to their healthcare questions and concerns. For internal medicine practices, this is an incredible opportunity to connect and engage with patients by serving as a valuable and expert resource. At the same time, you’ll be driving awareness of your practice and providers.

Creative content marketing ideas for internists

There are dozens of ways to use content marketing to connect with current and prospective patients. Many internal medicine practices will focus on blogging, email marketing campaigns, and social media outreach.

If you’re not sure where to start, here are some content marketing ideas to consider for your internal medicine practice:

• A video explaining the difference between molecular and rapid COVID-19 tests.
• A blog explaining the risks of high blood pressure and how their internal medicine doctor can help them keep their condition under control.
• A social media campaign focused on women’s health.
• A targeted email campaign for patients with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis with tips for preventing a flare-up.
• A Q&A with one of your providers about medical weight loss, how it works, and what to expect.
• An email message letting patients know it’s time to schedule their annual flu vaccine or annual physical exam.
• A Facebook post sharing a positive online review or patient testimonial with their permission
• A Twitter post highlighting the latest FDA-approved treatments for diabetes.
• An email introducing a new service, such as telemedicine, concierge medicine or stem cell therapy.
• A video series on non-pharmacological ways to manage back pain.

When describing your services, be sure to use the keywords and phrases your patients are most likely to use when searching online. This will support your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy.

If you need more inspiration, here’s a list of common internal medicine keywords and topics to consider incorporating into your next blog post, social media and/or email campaign.

Common internal medicine keywords & topics

• Primary care/Internal medicine
• Physical exams/Annual physical exam
• Family medicine
• Functional medicine/Regenerative therapy
• ADHD
• Allergy testing
• Arthritis
• Back pain
• COVID-19 test/Rapid COVID-19 testing
• Fibromyalgia
• High blood pressure/Hypertension
• Hormone replacement therapy
• Men’s health
• Pain management
• Thyroid problems
• Urgent care/Walk-in clinic
• Weight loss/Obesity treatment
• Women’s health
• Dermatology & specialty services
  • Body contouring
  • Botox and fillers/injectables
  • IV vitamin therapy
  • Laser hair removal/Laser treatments
  • Microneedling
  • Prolotherapy
  • PRP injections
  • SculpSure
  • Skin care/Skin rejuvenation/Skin tightening

More on content marketing
7 blog post types for healthcare marketing
What doctors should know when blogging about hot medical topics

More reviews drive search engine rankings and website traffic

Prospective patients aren’t the only ones looking at online reviews. Google and other popular search engines are monitoring your online reputation, too. In fact, the volume and frequency of reviews your internal medicine practice receives has a significant impact on your search engine rankings. That’s because a steady stream of patient reviews signals to search engines that your internal medicine practice is visited often and has relevance in the community. As such, Google’s algorithm rewards those businesses by improving their search engine rankings.

The quality of feedback matters, too. Google’s star rating system aggregates all of your internal medicine practice reviews into an easy-to-read star rating that lets prospective patients see how your practice compares to others in your area. If your practice has less than four stars, Google will leave your practice out of all searches that include the term ‘best.’ For example, a search for [What is the best internal medicine practice in midtown?’]. When it comes to attracting new patients, how can you compete if you’re not even in the running?

With online reputation so closely tied to search engine optimization (SEO) and local search performance, those internal medicine practices with a strong reputation management program will be in a better position for long-term growth.

More on online reputation management
Creating and maintaining a 5-star reputation for your healthcare practice
The risks and potential rewards of negative patient reviews

Simple strategies that drive patient engagement and loyalty

Primary care office visits have declined in recent years³, despite research confirming that staying on top of routine care is the best way to maintain your health and reduce healthcare costs. So, how do you get internal medicine patients to stay on top of their routine care, show up for appointments, and stay loyal to your practice? Here are some top tips to keep patients engaged all year long.

• Stay in touch: The average primary care patient will come to your office between two to four times per year⁴. Keeping in touch in between visits through email, text messaging, and automated appointment reminders help patients remember to maintain their routine care.
  66% of patients prefer text messages when receiving appointment reminders.
  59% of patients prefer a text message reminder when it’s time to make their next appointment.
• Deliver value: For patients with chronic conditions, email campaigns are a great way to provide valuable and relevant health information throughout the year. You can also target your emails by age, risk factors, or interests, which allows you to keep patients informed of new services or changes in practice operations.
• Make it easy: Today’s patients are busier than ever. Introducing digital tools that streamline scheduling and office visits lets patients know you value their time. You also make it easier for them to book and maintain their appointments. From online scheduling and digital paperwork to telehealth and text message reminders, offering a modern experience keeps patients coming back to your practice.

More on patient engagement
Improve the patient experience and build patient retention
Issues with patient engagement and retention? 4 reasons patients may be slipping through the cracks at your healthcare practice
Giving patients what they want in 2021: Top recommended actions for healthcare practices

The benefits of an all-in-one practice growth platform

Busy practices need to streamline operations. While you could manage numerous applications or vendors for your website, search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, online scheduling, and patient satisfaction, tracking practice performance would be nearly impossible. You’d also spend far more time and money than necessary.

On the other hand, using an all-in-one practice growth platform supports your internal medicine’s practice growth strategy by giving you key insights into the factors that drive both patient acquisition and retention.

From website statistics and search results rankings to new appointment volume and online reputation insights, Afia Fix’s all-in-one platform shows internal medicine practices how they’re performing against their practice growth goals.

The information you’ll have at your fingertips helps your practice refine its advertising and marketing efforts to attract new patients. It can also guide operational changes to improve patient satisfaction.

The bottom line? Using a comprehensive solution helps busy internal medicine practices keep an eye on practice performance while making it easier to meet growth goals — today and well into the future.

More on practice growth
What is a practice growth platform and how can it help private practices achieve 2021 goals?
5 ways every healthcare practice can get more from a practice growth platform
Making your healthcare practice a thriving business: Four must-haves for a technology platform

These digital advertising tactics work well in conjunction with any traditional marketing efforts you have in place, including direct mail, broadcast or print advertising campaigns.