DIGITAL INTERACTIVE SERVICES

Why content marketing is a vital aspect of healthcare marketing

Effective marketing has become imperative for healthcare service providers to thrive in a highly competitive marketplace. They need to connect with their audience in the right place and at the right time. In the digital era, healthcare consumers are looking online for the best healthcare services. According to healthcare statistics firm Digitalis, 82.8 per cent of patients use search engines to find a healthcare provider. Digital marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach consumers looking for healthcare providers. Content in written, audio and video formats are what healthcare professionals use to communicate with their audience.

Healthcare service providers can raise awareness of their brand, attract consumers, and retain them with the power of content. What is required for this is a well-planned content strategy that aligns with the journey of a patient. It is interesting to note that 77 per cent of people use search engines to start their patients’ journey. Planning an effective content strategy entails the following.

Understanding the audience

A marketer needs to clearly understand the specific needs of the audience to create a content strategy customised for the audience. This means finding out details like the audience demographics, gender, location, social media channels they use, etc. The needs of the audience will vary based on these details. For instance, a cardiologist can expect more patients in the 45+ age bracket, while paediatricians will need to market their services to parents of children under 12. Therefore, the content must be created such that it resonates with the specific type of consumer. Analysis of customer behaviour also helps to select the best channels for content distribution. Data reveals that 90 per cent of older users access social media to find health information.

Establishing goals and defining metrics

Just like any marketing strategy, content marketing for healthcare needs to establish specific marketing goals to be achieved. Having clear goals gives direction to marketing efforts. It is also essential to determine the key performance indicators (KPIs). These will help marketers to ascertain whether they are on track to achieve their goals. These metrics will help determine the type of content to be created, the right platforms to market, etc.

Content creation

Content that is created must align with the consumer journey. Consider the example of an individual who learns that his sugar levels are above the normal range through a routine health check-up. He is likely to browse the internet to find more information about his condition and look for a suitable healthcare provider. The choice of the healthcare provider will depend to a large extent on what and how the healthcare professional communicates with him. In other words, it will depend on the type of content that is shared. If we look at the kind of content that the individual will look for in this specific case, he will look for information about ideal sugar levels, whether the sugar levels can be controlled with dietary changes, whether he needs a doctor, etc. A healthcare service provider who provides answers to all these and other such queries will attract the individual’s attention. If the individual finds relevant information, he is likely to keep visiting the website for more answers to his queries. The right content can lead to conversions.

The quality of the content is as important as the subject matter being discussed in the article or blog. The content created must be grammatically accurate, well-optimised with keywords, engaging and original. 

Content distribution

Content creation and distribution are vital aspects of content marketing. Healthcare professionals must ensure that they post relevant blogs consistently on their websites. With reference to the example above, the content that is shared should include facts about diabetes, precautions to be taken, lifestyle changes, diet recommendations, etc. Relevant information will help the brand build authority and trust.

Content must also be shared on different channels like social media platforms, email newsletters and more. Sending relevant emails to subscribers offers a personalised experience. Posting shareable content on social media helps spread the word.

Tracking

For an effective content strategy, the marketer needs to monitor how the strategy is performing. This can be done by analysing the metrics. An analysis of how the audience responds to different formats and subject matter helps in creating content that is aligned with the needs of the audience.

In conclusion

Content is essentially what a brand communicates to its audience. Content marketing is an extremely powerful tool for marketing healthcare services. This is because healthcare is a highly competitive field and effective communication is the key that helps stand out. The creation of high-quality content and its effective distribution helps establish credibility, raise awareness and build long-term relationships with patients.

About Infosys BPM Content Marketing Operations

In order to grow and sustain in today’s fast-paced digital business ecosystem, almost every function and practice has the necessity of one key asset…The right process.

Our Content Marketing Operations (CMO) team is made up of experienced digital content, campaign, and design experts who help in innovating and evolving processes for marketing operations at scale. This practice not only fulfils marketing requirements at the speed required to keep up in today’s fast-paced world but also transforms processes that drive better time and cost efficiency.

*For organizations on the digital transformation journey, agility is key in responding to a rapidly changing technology and business landscape. Now more than ever, it is crucial to deliver and exceed on organizational expectations with a robust digital mindset backed by innovation. Enabling businesses to sense, learn, respond, and evolve like a living organism, will be imperative for business excellence going forward. A comprehensive, yet modular suite of services is doing exactly that. Equipping organizations with intuitive decision-making automatically at scale, actionable insights based on real-time solutions, anytime/anywhere experience, and in-depth data visibility across functions leading to hyper-productivity, Live Enterprise is building connected organizations that are innovating collaboratively for the future.