Self-searching for information remains a reality for many, if not most, representatives of the clinic's target audience. You've probably noticed yourself that developing flexible marketing strategies for medical brands has become more important than ever to reach a larger number of potential patients, wherever they may be. With this approach, every medical brand also needs to create content that sets it apart from competitors.
Let's consider some strategies that can help you develop a medical content marketing plan.
1. Prioritize Visual Content
If you're not achieving the desired level of engagement, there could be many reasons. One of the most common mistakes medical brands make is relying too heavily on text. The modern audience is overloaded. Patients encounter a lot of branded textual content more often than ever in human history. They want to spend less time reading content.
It's obvious that clinics need to invest in visual content. But not just any content will do. Stock images and icons, which are often a fundamental part of design tools, can look so generic that they don't match your brand and may leave potential patients with the wrong impression of your clinic. There's also a high chance they'll ignore your information altogether. After all, internet users now have access to a wide variety of excellent visual content to choose from. You need to give them a reason to stop and pay attention to your clinic.
2. Be Authentic
One of the most important things we know about modern patients is that they value the authenticity of the medical brand they interact with.
As patients receive more information about how medical organizations operate and impact the world socially, ethically, and environmentally, it's the medical brand's duty to allow potential patients access to this information so they can make an informed choice.
That's why you need to pay attention to what your medical brand says and focuses on, make sure the information provided gives a genuine and transparent representation of who you are. And this leads us to the next strategy: defining your values.
3. Clearly Define Your Values
If you can't openly talk about how you deliver your services, what your clinic and doctors have achieved, what successes you can be proud of, your advantages over competitors, unique features - it's time to take a step back, make some fundamental changes, and reevaluate.
This work needs to be done before developing a marketing strategy and, of course, before creating content. This is necessary because marketing content is a reflection of the brand, a visual expression of the brand strategy. So, are there topics you avoid or don't have a clear answer to? If you feel there are aspects of your practice where you can't be transparent, it's time to revisit discussions about your brand's values.
Only then can you develop a marketing strategy that openly and directly tells what you value as a medical company, how you help your patients, and how you strive to make the world a better place. And at that moment, you'll discover all sorts of new ideas for developing content that truly showcases what makes you truly special. And that's something your target audience will definitely appreciate.
4. Look for Personalization Opportunities
Part of creating a positive user experience is providing personalized content. In fact, modern patients increasingly want such interaction: according to a survey, 72% of respondents are interested only in content that meets their needs.
How can you achieve this? One of the most effective solutions is to develop interactive elements that provide a unique experience for each user.
Interactive infographics and thoughtful website design will have a positive effect.
They can include clickable elements, data visualization, animation, embedded video, or any number of interactive elements.
5. Create Interactive Elements for Repeated Use
Creating high-quality visual medical content requires a lot of time and effort. That's why many marketers feel they simply don't have the resources to create such content. However, you can create visual content that can be repurposed for various channels and platforms.
A great option is to create a library of reusable resources - what we call a visual workbench. These could be icons related to your core services. These could be data visualizations about the medical industry that you often reference. Or they could be headlines for specific categories of blog articles.
6. Develop a Campaign-Specific Marketing Strategy
Ensure that your content aligns with the topics that concern your patients. This is especially relevant now - during times of great upheaval and difficulty in the world.
Think about how parts of your content will relate to each other and how they can tell your brand story, about your services. Make sure the tactics for developing your medical business and brand are still relevant and applicable to the types of content you're creating; adjust and update them as needed.
Then group your content into unique campaigns. Each one should have a clear and measurable goal and a specific target audience. You should also decide if each one needs its unique artistic direction or your brand's "visual language."