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Artificial Intelligence Predicts the Future for Healthcare Marketing

“Hey Google, I Don’t Feel Well”

Person holding phone that shows the Google voice search prompt saying "Hi, how can I help?" Next to the phone is a large speech bubble with the quote "Hey Google, I don't feel well."

A true story following a Thanksgiving Day mishap—”Hey Google, I burned my hand.” Forgoing care at the nearest urgent care, I opted for the next best thing—Google Nest.

The virtual assistant advised immersing my hand in cool water (not ice water), applying petroleum jelly three to four times daily and not putting butter, vanilla or ointments on the burn as those could cause infection. I found basically the same tips on WebMD.

According to Google Insights, more than 700 million people turn to Google devices every month as their personal assistants. Add in Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and other virtual assistant software, and there’s infinite information being disseminated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Based on changing consumer patterns, much of the quick information they seek is likely to be healthcare-related. To ensure the reliability of that information, AI needs to be part of healthcare marketing strategies.

Consumer demand drives AI and other digital healthcare tools, which have increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic. According to the Huron 2022 Healthcare Consumer Market Report:

  • 78% of consumers participated in telehealth visits last year.
  • 53% of survey participants are likely to switch providers for superior virtual care offerings.
  • 34% of consumers consider themselves digitally inclined—a significant shift in the youngest (ages 18 to 44) and fastest growing consumer segment.

AI Virtual Assistance

AI is being used in healthcare for everything from virtual assistants setting reminders for wellness checks and mammograms to screening for breast cancer.

Machine learning algorithms, which drives the talk behind AI, can also help target ideal patients much the same as social media apps push content based on user patterns.

Considering the millions of people turning to virtual assistants, it’s imperative to constantly update hours, addresses, services, maps and other digital information. Check Google listings bi-monthly; ask Siri and Alexa health-related questions to ensure the reliability and relevancy.

Chatbots are virtual assistants. With the help of matching learning and natural language processing, chatbots help to personalize online experiences. They address simple questions, handle scheduling requests from patients or guides users to relevant information. Optimize the user experience with chatbots on the health system’s website, patient portal or service line app by routinely testing the virtual assistant.

The first step in the search process is directing patients to the correct information and ultimately to a website. Getting them there quickly requires SEO to be more intuitive for AI, since 70% of requests are in natural language rather than web search keywords.

AI In Clinical Settings

Any type AI being used in clinical settings deserves the marketing spotlight. It’s the newest shiny object, much like 3D mammograms and robotic surgery before it. However, unlike those innovations, AI is a two-way partner in the healthcare journey. We ask questions; it answers back.

Dr. Ayanna Howard, one of the world’s leading experts on robotics and the intersection of AI and humanity, predicts in 10 to 20 years, all industries will be influenced by AI. 

AI can ease the workload for physicians. The end goal for both—doctor and AI—is recognizing patterns. Nearly 500 healthcare AI startup companies raised a record $12 billion in funding last year.  AI assisted  tasks include streamlining patient intake with text-based AI chatbots; “virtual medical residents” that prescreen patients; and AI triage-guidance tools.

Mayo Clinic researchers are using AI to predict how patterns of changes in pregnant patients can identify whether vaginal or cesarean births are less risky. The University of South Alabama Health offers enhanced colonoscopy aided by AI to detect polyps with visual markers in real time.

AI Assisted PR

AI isn’t just for clinicians and researchers. It can make marketing and public relations much easier.

A new study by PRophet and The Harris Poll reveal that 92% of public relations (PR) professionals believe AI is worth exploring. Of participants surveyed, 55% said AI would be useful when crafting PR materials and predicting media interest.

Imagine the time saved when pitching if we know who is actually interested. According to a study from PR company Propel, journalists responded only to an average 3.25% of pitches they received in Q2 2022.

The PRrophet platform can algorithmically figure out which journalists are most likely to take an interest in a pitch and what they sentiment is likely to be.

Whether growing brand awareness, amplifying messages or forecasting clinical complications and treatments, AI is now the future of healthcare in the present.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

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What’s Trending: Marketing To Gen Z (Part 2)
the next big thing is marketing to gen z. 3 trends to marketing to gen z.

More Ways to Market to Gen Z

Despite their youth, Generation Z holds an immense $140 billion spending power. This economic strength, coupled with them being the first completely digital generation, is likely to disrupt several industries. That makes marketing to Gen Z—sooner than later—the next big thing.

While most healthcare marketing strategies still skews toward older demographic, don’t overlook Gen Z. However, know there are vast differences between them and other age groups.

Let’s look more closely at the Gen Z persona:

  • Values brands that have active communities—influencers and fandom;
  • Females mostly use TikTok and Instagram; Gen Z males prefer YouTube;
  • Video platforms provide them with outlets for social networking, entertainment, information, and discovering and buying products.

Gen Z is committed to improving their lives. But they’re looking for practitioners—or influencers—who give them tangible steps to improve their lives. This is the “life hack” generation—TikTok is filled with videos offering simple DIY ways, or hacks, for making their own two-for-one burritos at Chipotle; applying makeup; making snacks with five ingredients; and on and on.

Connecting with Gen Z is also necessary for recruiting and retaining the next generation of employees. Older members of Gen Z are close to, or have already graduated college. They’re looking for employers that align with their personal values. How your brand markets to Gen Z will serve as a strong first impression when recruiting the next generation of the work force.

What’s Trending: Tactics for Marketing To Gen Z

Use video on social media like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to market to a gen Z audience

Trend 1: Video

Gen Z lives in a world of video. TikTok is their preferred platform. YouTube is hot, and though organic engagement has decreased on the platform, Gen Z can still be found on Instagram . However, they are largely migrating away from Facebook. Here are some tips for planning effective marketing to Gen Z:

  • Check out other brands and what they’re doing on all platforms; you can download and scroll the TikTok app without ever posting a video; @chipotle, @washingtonpost and @fentybeauty directly target Gen Z with humor, hacks and even light-hearted takes on trending news;
  • Use hashtags to provide context, help viewers to find content that interests them and build community; branded hashtags encourage viewers to engage with your brand and create their own content around it;
  • Consider TikTok for Business, which guides businesses through top-views ads, in-feed ads, branded hashtags, brand takeovers and brand effects.

Experiment and show a different side of the brand. Post videos that are funny, personal, and relatable without being irreverent and flippant. Use tutorials, hacks, and how-to content to market to Gen Z.

Gen Z enjoys creating videos almost as much as they enjoy watching. Some 30% of 18-24 year olds and 40% of 25-34 year olds consider themselves content creators. Tap into this creative gold mine by recruiting interns and recent college graduates to help establish a social presence with videos marketing to Gen Z.

Trend 2: Audio. Use Spotify to connect with Gen Z's music interests. Join in the conversation by using trending audio on TikTok

Trend 2: Audio

Spotify’s Culture Next Report reveals that in the first quarter of this year, 18-to-24-year-olds had played more than 578 billion minutes of music on the streaming platform. As change makers, they consider music as an outlet for exploring their individuality. If marketing to Gen Z is a top priority for your healthcare brand, consider a Spotify Advertising campaign as part of your strategy.

For a lot of Gen Z, the isolation of COVID-19 impacted their crucial years of navigating social connections. Instead, they retreated into digital communities to foster connections. This also led to creating alter egos that let them be the leading characters in their own lives. One of Spotify’s most popular features allows them to create their own “My life is a movie” playlist.

Connecting with Gen Z’s audio preferences can be as simple as:

  • Listening to their playlists, ranging from K-Pop (South Korean boy bands) and Olivia Rodrigo to Lil Nas X, who ran a Nicki Minaj “stan” (super fan) account before earning his own fame;
  • Engaging with their creations; Gen Zs consider themselves creators, often producing their own beats and other audio;
  • Advertising on streaming platforms to reach the target demographic.
  • Use trending sounds on Instagram Reels and TikTok to join in on current conversations and hot topics

Trend 3: Podcasts

As Gen Zs transition from teens to twenty somethings, they are also exploring politics, gender, and their own fluid personalities. They often turn to podcasts as safe spaces to work through these complex issues.

The average podcast listenership among Gen Zs on Spotify increased by 62% between Q1 2022 and the previous year. More than one-third of 18-to-24-year-old Americans listen to podcasts at least weekly. Mental health ranks as the top podcast genre among Gen Zs globally.

The popularity of podcasts presents an excellent channel for marketing through paid and earned media.

  • Use Google to find “Gen Z’s top 10 podcasts;”
  • Place paid ads where they listen; consider host talent ads created and voiced by the show’s host in the style of the show;
  • Pitch to podcasts; use a media monitoring service to find contact information for the producer or host; some podcasts have guest submission forms on the website.

Once you get Gen Z’s attention, don’t lose it. Complete the connection by giving them a strong call to action, preferably with something interactive such as QR codes.

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

How to Spend $20 Million in 60 Seconds—or Not

Another Super Bowl come and gone; a halftime show that some declare the best of all time (others argue Prince in Miami in the rain); and 97 ads from pre-kickoff to post-game that made us laugh, cringe and grab our phones to scan a bouncing QR code. In the end, there were two key takeaways:

  1. If you have as much as $20 million to spend on marketing and branding, consider something other than a one-time chance in the Super Bowl;
  2. There was only one Joe Cool in the game—Broadway Joe for DraftKings wearing the fur and getting the girl!

Despite blockbuster budgets and brands that many of us never heard of before Sunday, there are lessons to learn from some of the best—and worst—of what we saw.

Target Demographics

Along with a halftime show featuring some of the best known hip hop and rap artists, many of the spots aim directly for Gen X nostalgia. Songs from the ’80s and ’90s provide the soundtrack while celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Mike Myers reprise previous roles as “The Cable Guy” and “Austin Powers.”

Identifying a clear target market is key to successfully delivering a target message. Verizon connects all the dots with Jim Carrey as The Cable Guyin the “Goodbye Cable” spot. It’s funny, nostalgic and informational for anyone still unsure about 5G Verizon internet. Also, it lands a powerful blow at the competitive field without naming any particular company.

Emotional Appeal

In healthcare marketing, we often try to appeal to emotions. But who says emotional marketing is all about tear-jerker moments. Laughter is also an emotion. This year’s commercials are filled with humor. After two years of pandemic concerns, 2022 seems like the year to connect with consumers through a good laugh.

Humor and relatability make for a power couple in marketing, as do real-life celebrity couple Scarlet Johansson and Colin Jost in Amazon Alexa’s “Mind Reader.”  Just about any age demographic identifies with the necessity of saying one thing, meaning another in a relationship.

Strong Storylines

Most of what we saw didn’t have strong storylines. But two that captured viewers’ attention from beginning to end were also among the few heart-warming ads.

Toyota scores with the impactful story of the McKeever Brothers in “Start Your Impossible.” Their focus on Paralympic champions began last year with swimmer Jessica Long’s story. There is no Toyota vehicle in either of the commercials. Neither sells vehicles, but both sell memorable stories.

A dog. A horse. A comeback champion. Budweiser meshes all three themes with “A Clydesdale’s Journey.”

Celebrity Spokespersons

Celebrities should raise awareness and positively impact a brand. There was an overabundance of celebrities in ads this year. Some were hits, but several were misses.

Actress Lindsay Lohan’s life may have been a train wreck in the past, but she makes a comeback in Planet Fitness’ “What’s Gotten Into Lindsay.” While Lohan is a surprising celebrity choice for a fitness brand, it shows her taking control of her own narrative. It also elevates brand awareness with a message suggesting if Lohan can get it together at the fitness center, anyone can.

However, T-Mobile’s collaboration with Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus misses most tenets of advertising. The initial ad starts with Dolly seemingly delivering a PSA, but for what? Her overly plumped lips caused some viewers to quip that subtitles were needed to understand what she said. After 30 seconds, the message was still unclear.

The second spot, featuring Cyrus singing “Do It For the Phones,” doesn’t clear up the message. Instead of persuading viewers to switch to T-Mobile 5G coverage, it offends many viewers with a tone-deaf parody of the iconic “We Are the World.”

Purposeful Marketing

Of the four healthcare related ads that aired during the game, medical technology company Hologic markets purpose, not product. Featuring halftime performer Mary J. Blige, it delivers a powerful message encouraging women to prioritize their health. “Her Health Is Her Wealth” focuses on preventive screenings and drives viewers to a custom website promoting women’s health.

The commercial hits on one of the many catastrophic impacts of the pandemic as people missed annual health visits. It also presents a strong, powerful woman delivering an authentic message empowering other women.

Brand Metrics, CTA and ROI

A QR code bouncing around the screen for 60 seconds with no ad text or logo was the most talked about Super Bowl ad. While several crypto brands advertised this year, Coinbase actually crashed its own app. Yet viewers didn’t know the brand name unless they scanned the code. Some 20 million did to receive $15 in cryptocurrency.

The QR code was the obvious call to action, and it paid off for Coinbase. Along with capturing metrics for 20 million people who scanned it, the company also enjoyed an immediate short-term return on its $14 million investment. By noon on Monday, Coinbase’s stock price rose 4 percent for a nearly $4 billion increase.

USA Today’s Ad Meter may have ranked it dead last, but Coinbase emerges the winner in this year’s Super Bowl ad competition.

TotalCom is a full-service hospital marketing and advertising agency that believes in getting great results from telling great stories. Contact us for more information on how we can help tell your brand story.

Patient Experience: Now’s the Time to Improve
Patient experience text on patient paper with stethoscope

For years, we’ve talked about improving patient experience and patient-centric care. Now it’s time to walk the talk. Patients want information about their health and wellness, not industry awards, consumer surveys or scores.

Once they walk through your “front door,” whether virtually or in person, all attention should be on the patient experience.

In 2004, Fred Lee left his role as a hospital executive to train as a Disney cast member. His experience led him to write, “If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 1/2 Things You Would Do Differently.” The book still receives accolades for pointing out how healthcare entities can learn from Mickey Mouse.

“Service should be changed to experience. We are not at a patient’s bedside to provide a service. We are there to provide a compassionate healing experience so the body can mend itself,” wrote Lee, who passed away in 2017.

He pointed out that patients expect quality care; that’s basic. But, they judge the experience by how they are treated as a person. As marketers, we need to think like imagineers to help make the patient experience remarkable from first to last impressions.

What are you doing for patient experience?

After more than a year of a global pandemic, brand loyalty depends on effective, clear and smart communication. The human connection begins online. Look at everything you are doing and offering in the digital space, from telehealth visits and virtual events to tools for managing payments. Schedule content around innovations for patients.

Include video on all channels and consider featuring frontline employees such as with a valet attendant talking about free parking or a volunteer from the information desk updating visitor policies. Patients want to feel safe and cared for at every touchpoint.

Patient safety is part of the patient experience

Now more than ever, health and safety are top of mind. Yet, reports indicate that about 36 percent of non-elderly adults and 29 percent of children delayed care over the past year because of COVID-19 concerns.

Whether for preventive screenings or routine care to manage chronic illnesses, the priority is to reconnect with those patients. That begins with reassuring them that all possible precautions are being taken to keep them safe. Safety is definitely part of the patient experience.

Include messages about the importance of not overlooking routine care or ignoring symptoms. Don’t wait until October to start a breast care awareness campaign. Consistent mammogram screening reminders throughout the year can save lives.

How should patients prepare for tests and screenings?

Patients grow anxious over the unknown. Help to ease their tension with open and frequent communication about what to expect—from registration to discharge.

Follow the “The Rule of 7” marketing adage—seven interactions needed for a consumer to connect with a brand. Use all of your available channels to communicate information about procedures that could impact the patient experience.

Who can patients trust?

The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals an epidemic of misinformation and erosion of trust, particularly in the US. To make the situation even worse, ads recently showed up from more than 4,000 brands—including some of this country’s largest healthcare organizations—on websites with false COVID-19 information.

Position your healthcare brand as the community’s trusted authority. Health topics still dominate the news cycle, so pitch your doctors, nurses and patient stories to media outlets. Position medical directors on morning news shows to provide vaccination updates. An interview with a pediatric nurse can help reassure parents and children about returning to the classroom. Include patient testimonials on content calendars.

Do your values align with those of your patients?

A recent Consumer Index Report shares that 65 percent of consumers are more likely to support a brand that cares about the same social issues they do. Part of the consumer experience is seeing action from your brand in the community.

It’s not time for platitudes, but it is a time to tell a good story. Share photos on social media of the CEO shoveling snow. Doctors blogging about their own COVID-19 journeys can humanize your brand. Hospital employees handing out water at a free test site shows how you relate to your consumers.

Now is the time to listen and reimagine how to create a remarkable patient experience.

Google Just Changed Its Online Review Terms. Here’s What That Means

Google online review on smartphone - TotalCom healthcare hospital marketing

Online reviews are extremely important for hospitals these days. The more good reviews you have, the more people will want to choose your hospital and your providers for their healthcare needs. The more negative reviews you have, the more people will want to stay away.

Online reviews also have a big influence on your website’s search engine results. That’s why hospitals want as many good reviews as they can get, and they’ll go to great lengths to achieve them.

Google, one of the main sources for online reviews, knows this and recently changed its review policies to regulate how, exactly, businesses solicit these reviews.

How the Review Game is Changing

Google thinks it’s perfectly okay to ask someone to leave a review. They want you to, in fact. But what they don’t want you to do is provide some kind of incentive for them to leave a positive one.

And they don’t want you to create something called a review funnel to get only good reviews.

A review funnel is pretty straightforward. You send an email or a link to a customer. They are asked to rate your business. If the rating is a good one, then they are sent to a place where they can leave the actual review, on Google, Facebook, Yelp, etc.

If the rating is a bad one, the reviewer is sent somewhere else, usually a screen that has a quick survey they can fill out to provide feedback. They are not sent to a place where they can leave a review, though.

The end result: by using a review funnel, you’re selecting for only positive reviews.

Google now says that is not allowed and has banned the use of review funnels in this way.

What Can You Do Now?

Review funnels are very effective – too effective, it seems, for Google’s liking. So what can you do instead to get more positive reviews?

You can actually still use a review funnel. You just need to give the negative rater an option to leave a review, just like everyone else.

“But won’t they just leave a negative review?” Probably, but here’s the thing: you need more reviews, a never-ending supply of reviews, and getting some bad ones here and there is just a risk you’ll have to take to keep up.

Besides, if you’re doing a good job servicing your patients, you won’t have to worry about the negative reviews because they’ll be few and far between.

One thing we want to make clear is that you shouldn’t let your fear of a few negative reviews keep you from trying to get more positive ones. If you don’t take that chance, you’ll miss out on the huge benefits of online reviews for your hospital.

Don’t be afraid to ask for reviews. If you get a bad one, reach out and see what you can do to make it right. Emphasize patient service and taking care of your patients to the utmost of your ability so no one has a reason to rate you negatively.

TotalCom is a full-service hospital marketing and advertising agency that believes in getting great results from telling great stories. Contact us for more information and see what stories we can tell for you.

How Creative Are Your New Healthcare Campaigns Really?

You’ve heard the adage, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” It’s true! If you’re looking to create a new brand for your hospital, promote a new service line or procedure or gain market share, it may be time to think outside of the box. Consider these creative ways to send a new message.

 

Utility

How can your advertisements serve another purpose than getting your message to the masses? It can be easy to overlook an ad that is mostly fine print and technical jargon. Monash University created wristbands for an event that were used to identify who’s ID had been checked to allow them to purchase drinks, but they had a secondary use. The user could place a drop of their drink on a designated spot on the wristband to detect if common drugs had been used to spike their drink.

Consider the true message you want to send. Monash University wanted to make sure that those who were drinking were of age, but went even further to ensure that they were being safe while drinking. Think about how your message can reach further than the page, especially in print ads.

 

Use Your Staff

How often do you run a campaign that looks successful on your computer but didn’t seem to make as big of an impact as you wanted? Maybe the hospital’s staff isn’t being utilized to the fullest extent.

We know that doctors, nurses and administrative staff have a lot on their plates, but something as simple as wearing a button about a current campaign can have a significant effect. Many times, people see advertisements for a new service but can’t remember the name once they arrive at the doctor’s office. Or even worse, the staff members aren’t aware of the campaign and unable to answer any questions the patient may have. When prepared, your staff can have a remarkable impact on a campaign.

 

Provide Inspiration

It’s true – people have access to a wealth of knowledge online with just one search. When it comes to big topics like cancer, how can your organization stand out in the middle of all of these long, technical terms and a potentially bleak outlook?

After they’ve found the information on their issue or diagnosis, they need tend to look for something else – hope. Providing these patients with a community of people that have been in their shoes is comforting when a diagnosis, treatment and every day can be shocking. If you give them access to testimonials and inspiration, it can be much more compelling than information that can look the same from site to site.

 

If you are ready to send a new message or strengthen your current message within the healthcare industry, contact TotalCom Marketing!

digital healthcare marketing resolutions

Digital Healthcare Marketing Resolutions for 2018

We’re at the beginning of a new year.

Now is the perfect time to take a step back, analyze the what you did over the past 12 months, and build a strong plan for 2018.

This may seem like a daunting task. That’s why you should start planning now. We’re giving you a checklist of the most important things you should do in the coming weeks.

  • Ensure business listings are accurate

If you’re not already on top of this, potential customers may end up someplace other than your healthcare facility. Don’t let old phone numbers or former street addresses drive your customers to the wrong hospital or clinic. Fix whatever data errors you can this year, and make a New Year’s Resolution to keep an eye on it during 2018.

  • Add special hours to Google My Business

With the end of one year and beginning of a new one, hours can change. Maybe your clinic is changing hours in the new year. Either way, add your new or extended hours to your Google My Business page. No customer wants to show up at your clinic and find you are closed for the day when Google says differently. Negative brand impressions lead to negative reviews of your healthcare business, so check these hours twice.

  • Social media ready to go

Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or Pinterest that your customers rely on most, start brainstorming ideas for healthcare content in the new year. Don’t leave it to last-minute scrambles to think of something to say. Make a spreadsheet and schedule days and content for your posts.

  • Website pages updated

Been putting off updating your site’s blog or adding that new employee to the site? Get on it now to ensure everything is crossed of your list when January rolls around. Customers like a completed, up-to-date site, and you will too.

While many people are cherishing this time of year and in the jolliest of moods, there will still be unhappy reviews coming in. Be prepared for reviews, both good and bad, in 2018. Come up with a strategic plan on how to handle and respond reviews about your facility in a timely manner. Make sure everyone in your company who handles reviews is well versed in the plan as well.

The start of a new year is a great time to get started on these healthcare marketing resolutions. But get ahead of your digital resolutions now so they don’t get pushed aside until 2019. If this list seems too daunting to handle on your own, let TotalCom help! Contact us today.

iPhone X Facial Recognition

Could the iPhone X Change Digital Advertising?

You took the plunge about the iPhone X and you’re not even sure if you’re supposed to say iPhone X or iPhone ten.

But what’s the big difference between this model and the one you had before collecting a new monthly payment added to your stack of bills?

Facial recognition is the big difference. Are you unlocking your phone or is it unlocking you? This could bring in a new era for marketers. Since the announcement of the iPhone X, facial recognition has quickly become the topic of dinner conversations everywhere. Facial recognition used to be reserved for top secret labs or something you saw the President use in a movie. But now we have access to it as well (celebrities, they’re just like us!)

While this feature is marketed as a security function for unlocking your phone, a consumer device used by the masses is a seriously powerful technology.

It is said 90% of personal communications is nonverbal. Every day there are instances where we don’t understand the nonverbal cues of the person on the other end of our screens. We use emojis and GIFs to try and share emotion within our digital interactions.

For all of us in the communications business, we know good experiences lead to trust and loyalty while bad experiences lead to brand rejection. So what could we do as marketers if we were able to obtain real-time reactions from a consumers? Imagine a world where we have access to consumer’s facial expressions and emotional cues in reaction to products and brands?

If we could access the facial cues from patients waiting for an extended time in the emergency room? The excitement on someone’s face when they try out a restaurant’s new dish. Or the skepticism on your face when you’re indulging in a purchase you shouldn’t be.

Currently, Apple is keeping detailed facial recognition data local on the phone and not storing it on its servers. App makers can use the iPhone X, with the user’s permission, to read a rough map of a stream of facial expressions. While Apple may never store this information for public use, it’s interesting to think about a world where we design advertisements based on the most unique human feature. This technology would tell us more about our consumers than we’ve ever known before.

Digital advertising can be hard to keep up with, let us do the work for you. Contact TotalCom today.

high quality web page

How to Improve the Google Ranking of your Healthcare Site

There’s a list of factors Google considers when grading your healthcare site’s pages as high or low quality. These range from page load times to grammatical mistakes. Top rankings are crucial to the success of your healthcare business. According to a study by Infront Webworks, the first page of Google receives 95 percent of web traffic, with subsequent pages receiving 5 percent of less of total traffic. Today, we’re going to unlock the secrets of how to improve Google ranking for your healthcare site.

What is considered high quality for Google?

  • Unique content
  • Valuable content
    • Google wants relevant helpful content. This is information that’s typically not found anywhere else. This also factors in design and the presentation of your content.
  • External links
    • High quality content links out to its references.
  • Internal links
    • Google likes to see you linking to another page on your website.
  • Searcher’s query
    • Google can tell if a user solves their search query using a page. For example, you type in “healthcare marketing,” and someone clicks your site. If they go back and visit a different site, or perform a new search, it tells Google that the page did not successfully answer that searcher’s query.  If they click on a page, go perform an unrelated search and then switch back to their email, that tells Google the page solved their query.
  • Load time
    • The page has to load quickly on any connection.
  • User experience and design
    • This means high quality design and accessibility on mobile, desktop tablet and laptop.
  • Grammatically correct and well-spelled content
    • Google analyzes pages for poor spelling and bad grammar. If your site includes these, you don’t qualify as a high-quality site anymore.
  • Non-text content needs to have text alternatives
    • This is why Google encourages use of the alt attribute or video transcriptions on non-text content.
  • Well-organized content
    • Content that is easy to consume and understand.

As you can see Google’s algorithms are sophisticated and there is more to a website than just hitting “publish.” Start by analyzing the pages on your website. Make a list of high priority edits you need to make and use this list to guide you.

If your website is not living up to your expectations and you want to improve it, contact us! Whether you need a few tweaks or just content added to your current site, or a completely new, mobile-friendly website design, contact TotalCom Marketing to discuss what the process looks like.

 

healthcare budget

Healthcare Marketing: Why You Should Increase Your Paid Social Budget

These days, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms are changing the way patients interact with their healthcare providers. Social media is certainly something that you can’t afford to ignore.

Paid social is having a banner year in 2017. Analysts from HootSuite predicted that social ad spending will top $35 billion this year.  Judging by the past several years, which have each seen consistent growth, that growth will continue into the future.

As long as you do it right – paid social is an excellent investment in your healthcare marketing plan. Here are 3 reasons why.

Paid social is a necessity if you want your brand to be seen on social media.

When you post something on social media, you’re competing with what feels like 1,999,999 other healthcare businesses- and we’re just talking about ones that are advertising. Realistically, there’s no way that your posts are going to get engagement from more than a few people unless you pay to promote them. With social media algorithms becoming more and more complicated, it makes it even harder for current and potential patients to see your content.

Organic social is still important, but if you want your posts to be seen, it’s time to set aside some budget for paid social ads. 

Paid social allows you to target users with incredible specificity.

It’s really amazing how specific you can get with your ad targeting these days.

Look at Facebook, for example. You can customize your audience by everything from level of education and field of study, to online activities, to simple demographics.

This ultra-targeting means that you’re a lot less likely to be wasting your ad dollars. Instead of showing your ad to people who almost certainly aren’t going to buy what you’re selling anyway – men and gynecologists, for example. Through targeting, you won’t be annoying people with ads they would never be interested in and you’re cultivating an audience that may eventually lead to a loyal customer.

It’s highly resource- and cost-effective.

When you’re just starting out with paid social advertising, you don’t have to know it all. You can create relatively basic ads with a relatively basic audience and budget. You also don’t need a huge budget to begin with. Base your budget on factors including your company size, the number of people you want to see your ad, etc… This is especially helpful when your hospital is just starting out and not sure where to begin.

The key is to be patient and be proactive. Watch your analytics, stick to your goals, and don’t be afraid to experiment when needed.

Social media can be hard to navigate, to improve your chances of succeeding, allow TotalCom to help you.