According to a poll from Gallup, 38% of Americans said they or a family member skipped or delayed medical care in 2022 due to cost.
While healthcare organizations can’t control consumer behavior, they can influence the patient experience. In healthcare marketing, the patient journey is a person’s experience throughout an episode of care—from scheduling an appointment and receiving a diagnosis to billing and any follow-up visits.
The goal is to encourage and enable patients to be participants in their health and there are strategies marketers can take to get there. Paid media can be transformative to help prevent patients from dropping out of the funnel of receiving care. Understanding today’s patient journey is an important place to start.
Understanding the modern patient journey
With so many avenues to connect with patients, and some people avoiding care all together, making a positive impact at the first point of contact is crucial. One of the first touchpoints might be the contact form on your website, a scheduling call, or even a social media ad.
Other touchpoints in the patient journey could include an appointment reminder email, a mailed flier, or a text to schedule an appointment. You’ll notice many of these points of contact are digital. These avenues and online research play a role in how patients make decisions about their health because they give people options. Not having multiple touchpoints sets a healthcare organization behind.
To reach even broader healthcare audiences—and help grow your business—that’s where paid media comes in.
The role of paid media in healthcare marketing
These days, people are more likely to turn to the internet and social media for information. This has led to a variety of channels to reach people—such as sponsored social media posts and Google search ads.
In addition to the variety of ad types, another benefit of paid media is the ability to target specific patient demographics. A hospital system could target an age range to reach more people who might be interested in knowing about its birthing center. An insurance provider could develop an awareness campaign to reach employers looking to offer coverage. Paid media helps make it possible to amplify a brand and its services to increase visibility instead of relying on organic traffic alone.
Optimizing paid media strategies for healthcare
Putting money on the line might be daunting, but having goals and a strategy can help set your organization up for success. The first step is to define clear goals. Are you aiming to drive traffic, generate leads, or bring awareness? This will help measure the effectiveness of the campaign.
When deciding what channel to use, it’s important to understand your target audiences’ demographics and behaviors. Each channel has its benefits, and certain groups of people might be better targeted on one versus another. The channel will also impact the ad type.
For example, if lead generation is your goal, your ads need to be visually appealing and have a strong call to action. However, with an awareness campaign, a strong CTA isn’t as necessary as consistent branding. To measure effectiveness, use targeted keywords and create variations of ads for A/B testing.
Above all, optimization is the most vital aspect of a paid media campaign. Allow the data to inform you when things need to be changed—and they will need to be. Is your CTA not leading to conversions? Try something new. Research commonly used keywords to incorporate in copy. Optimization is time-consuming but necessary for success.
Overcoming challenges and adapting to regulations
Paid media in the healthcare space doesn’t come without challenges and considerations. First, there are several options—from sponsored social media posts and search ads to pay-per-click advertising and affiliate ads. However, the biggest concern is ensuring patient privacy. Collecting and sharing information online brings the risk of leaked data. Therefore, healthcare organizations must have encryption on website forms and adhere to regulations from HIPAA and the FDA.
Those regulations, while necessary, are an added layer of complexity. HIPAA regulates how healthcare organizations can use patient information for marketing purposes. While testimonials can make for good content, written consent is required under HIPAA. The FDA also has guidelines that healthcare organizations must follow, such as educating on use and side effects of medications.
Integrate paid media with owned and earned for success
While owned and earned media are great, paid media in healthcare can quickly make a difference in connecting with patients. Keep in mind, however, paid media isn’t a substitute for fliers and in-office conversations; it’s meant to complement them. Having paid, earned, and owned media helps move patients through their journey of care by providing information when they’re ready to receive it.
Ready to explore the transformative potential of paid media? ddm’s team of paid media experts is here to help.