Is Your Healthcare Digital Marketing Plan For 2014 Ready To Meet Consumer Needs? 

Welcome to 2014. It's going to be a big year of health care policy changes. With The Affordable Care Act unfolding, we're going to see an influx of seniors, families and young adults reaching out to communicate about what this means for their care and benefits. Is your healthcare digital marketing campaign ready to address the needs of your consumers? If you're not on board yet, we'll help you discover what areas of digital marketing your consumers will respond to most. 

Developing A Solid Healthcare Digital Marketing Campaign

Let's take a look at how healthcare consumers currently acquire information online. 

• Since 2002, overall internet use is up 87%. Seniors are up 33% to 65%.
• A recent Pew Research Center report showed that of the 65% of seniors online- most make regular use of the internet until around age 75. Seven in ten also own cell phones- another opportunity to use online applications. One in three seniors uses social media, including Facebook and LinkedIn. 

Does your digital marketing plan include search engine optimized target website marketing?

Some companies cringe at the idea of SEO- after all, who wants to read an article that sounds like a robot created it! Search engine optimized content need not be about keyword stuffing. You can deliver authentic information by choosing wisely where you publish content and what you link back to. 

Try the info looping approach: 

1. Where to publish. Now that we know a huge percentage of healthcare consumers extract information from LinkedIn and Facebook it's time to follow your consumers over there. Look at: 

• what sites they click out to
• who they're making connections with (this helps you understand your target market in general by looking at who they form relationships with)
• do they "shop" around for doctors and health care?
• are they trying to research Affordable Care Act or insurance benefits?

Once you've discovered the web information they're digesting and sites they trust and visit regularly, you'll know who to partner with and where to publish "meaningful" content for your consumer. 

2. Link back to sites they trust. Once your content has been developed it's time to insert authentic links and resources that bring your users back to desired destinations. Since you already know your target market trusts LinkedIn, use that destination as an opportunity to build your brand. In your content, discuss the value your brand creates and use a LinkedIn link to elicit this. 

• Wait! Before linking back to any content, be sure the destination you're linking back to contains the type of info that will "make the sale", get them clicking through, build trust, make you stand apart from the competition. Make the page they land on easy to navigate and attractive to click on. 

The looping approach can help you track your digital marketing campaign without constantly having to develop new tools- use the ones that are already out there. 

Do you have an app your consumers can use? 

Apps simplify life. And, you don't have to re-invent the wheel when developing your apps. Make it personal and develop apps that show you care. 

• Develop content pages that offer just enough information, but that ultimately get consumers to your health center or to the doctor. 
• Include a scheduling widget in your app- creating on-demand tools that avoid making telephone calls is key.
• Offer a "freebie" area that is so useful it keeps consumers connected to you on a daily basis. Whether it's healthy recipes, a heart monitoring app or the like, create ongoing need.