Healthcare, defined as the complex system made up of businesses that provide medical services, manufacture medical equipment, provide software and systems or insurance that facilitate the provision of healthcare to patients, continues to be an industry ripe with innovation and technological advancement. In a recent article from Datalink, healthcare transformations will continue to be fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), unlocking new ways to connect the tools physicians need with the healthcare people want. Healthcare, sometimes thought of only as our experience as patients with our physical or primary care hospital, continues to expand as an industry. With more awareness and light focusing on wellness, mHealth or mobile health applications, healthcare technologies, and medical equipment and devices used to bridge the gap between legacy formats, such as the shift from x-ray films to digital imaging, the definition of healthcare continues to increase in scope.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – 48% of healthcare facility websites have basic address mistakes, which is just the tip of the iceberg regarding SEO. Search Engine Optimization applies to website addresses and the content curated for your website. Optimized content uses keywords and phrases to address topics, technologies, or products that your target audience is searching for. The more your content is optimized and organized with a cohesive SEO and ad strategy, the higher your website will rank in search results.

Paid Advertising – According to a recent Conversion Benchmark Report from Unbounce search ads account for two-thirds (64.7%) of all traffic to pages that contain a medical online form-fill page. In many cases, your business may be only using one or two paid advertising channels, mostly Google ads or display ads, but, as digital advertising continues to expand, so too is your ability to reach your target audience. Between remarketing ads, expanded social media ads, influencer marketing and native advertising – developing a robust, holistic paid advertising strategy that works with your SEO program and other marketing channels can increase leads and brand awareness.

Social Media – Building an authentic brand and gaining trust from your customers are essential when it comes to healthcare marketing. B2B customers, especially in the healthcare industry, want to connect not only with the brand but with the people. This means building strategies that include salespeople or executive team members willing to put themselves out there and building more thought leadership content that can be shared, posted, and discussed on platforms. In addition to hearing from business leaders and creators, customers value Key Opinion Leaders, KOL, and advocate insight into a company solution or service. As more businesses streamline physician workflow, advance technologies used daily in hospitals or clinics, it is critical to build a network of physicians and experts who can speak to the impact of the product or service on their practice, and how this in turn has elevated their patient care or ability to provide better patient care. This boost of credibility, either through a formalized social media campaign or word-of-mouth networking can be an extremely cost effective channel to integrate into your overall marketing strategy.

As a healthcare marketer, the landscape of your target audience and how you can reach them with impactful, value-driven messaging and campaigns continues to change. Working with a healthcare marketing agency that understands the latest data privacy guidelines and deploys best practices for each of its clients will be impactful as your business grows to the next level.

HIPAA – Many times, when organizations think about HIPAA compliance, they view it in terms of patient health information and data protections. From a marketing perspective, HIPAA compliance means understanding how these protections can define marketing guidelines for healthcare organizations. A clear example of this is when organizations or businesses use client testimonials, patient images or reviews to tout the benefits of their products or services. These testimonials are designed for patients to identify themselves and acknowledge their participation in a product or service. To ensure that review or testimonial programs are HIPAA compliant, there should be explicit approval and refusal processes that protect the patients and the company.

Data Regulations – Data, audience insight, demographics – all these and more are used by marketing experts to create strategies and campaigns around products and services. How this information is collected, who owns the data, and how it is protected have become the cornerstone of data protection and privacy laws in recent years, within healthcare this is even more important. In a recent document published by the American Medical Association, guardrails and clear definitions were outlined to address patient privacy and the extension of this privacy to entities that collect patient data. Two very distinct avenues should be understood when it comes to health-related businesses and data regulations. In one sphere, businesses and organizations are developing technologies that support and advance healthcare. An example of this would be an app that allows more seamless communication between physicians and patients or an eyecare company developing ultra-compact lasers to treat retina diseases. These companies will target their customers using different demographic and engagement-based data because they are marketing to another business.

For businesses marketing their product or services to consumers, their audience demographics, data, and engagement parameters will be different and need HIPAA-compliant marketing tools to do so. For example, Meta’s Facebook ads, used by 93% of social media marketers, are not HIPAA-compliant. At the time of this article, two hospital networks in Louisiana are battling class-action lawsuits because they use Meta Pixel ad-tracker code and share sensitive medical data with Facebook. There are currently different avenues healthcare marketers can take to ensure that non-compliant marketing tools are used in a compliant manner – this additional expertise and insight are often outside of the scope of current in-house marketing teams. Working closely with a healthcare marketing agency that deeply understands data privacy and HIPAA-compliant marketing tools is a foundational investment for any business.

As a healthcare organization looking to expand and invest in your marketing strategy, you want to find an agency and team that actively listens to your business needs, understands your industry and can work hand-in-hand with your internal teams to create a holistic marketing strategy and approach that fits your business goals and objectives.

Here are 5 important things to consider:

1. Marketing Expertise

Find a consulting firm that brings together a team of experts in multiple areas of marketing to fit your project or business goals. For example, if you’re in healthcare and looking to develop a mobile app as a compliment to your current web application, sourcing a marketing and consulting agency that understands user experience, features that translate easily into mobile or tablet formats, the difference between creating for an Android operating system compared to iOS and how to maintain a published app or increase downloads would be ideal. All of those talents may come from multiple people within the agency – and as a healthcare organization, your choice is to find the consulting firm that brings together these experts in the most cohesive and holistic way possible. It will be especially helpful if the consulting firms you are meeting with also have a deep understanding of the regulations around healthcare marketing, advertising, physician testimonials and social media, ensuring that the ads placed or messages created follow industry-standard practices and are easily supported with facts and research information if necessary.

2. Budget and Project Scope

Identify your needs. Set, and stick to, a budget. As you meet with and interview different teams, being able to outline what you’re looking for will help them put together a proposal and scope of work that meets your requirements. This will ensure that your meetings are productive and will help you make some initial decisions about whether the agency can deliver.

3. Processes/Decision-Making Framework

How do you work? How do they work? And how will you work together? It’s important to understand the different tools, software, and platforms that you may collaborate with. Equally important, is knowing who all of the key players are and how decisions are made. Some teams apply the DACI Decision Making Framework, which helps make effective and efficient decisions with multiple players and stakeholders. No matter who you partner with, having clear processes and a framework for decision making will drive productivity and ensure that you hit your project deadlines.

4. Communication

Similar to the previous consideration, you should establish how you communicate with your partners–the frequency, method, and style of communication are all important. Depending on the deliverable, having a scheduled check-in can help keep everyone on track. Is a weekly call warranted or is an end-of-week email recap all that’s needed? Determine this early on and maintain this workflow. A recent workshop led by Georgette Pascal, highlights the importance of understanding client communication preferences and how this can significantly impact how teams collaborate with each other to reach marketing goals.

5. Culture Fit

First impressions matter. You’ll know from that first meeting if a potential partner will jive well with your team. You should enjoy working with the agency you choose and the partnership should be one where collaboration and creativity flow.

Focusing on building strategies, developing campaigns, creating operational efficiency between marketing and sales efforts, and staying on top of industry trends can be daunting even for the most experienced marketing executive. Utilizing a healthcare marketing and consulting firm can bring an enormous amount of talent, experience, and flexibility to any company looking to scale up their efforts and refine current systems in place.

LG+ Marketing is a Full Service Healthcare Marketing Agency – If you’re looking for a B2B healthcare marketing agency that can help you plan and strategize, deliver on branding and design, cue crystal clear communications, and get your audience engaging with your website and social media, then give us a shout! LG+ is a B2B marketing agency that serves as an extension of your team. We’re fun, approachable, knowledgeable, and we get shit done. Upon partnering with us, our clients find that we were the missing part of their equation for success. Our clients’ success is truly our success and we look forward to helping you with your marketing needs.