The world of marketing in general and digital marketing in particular is always rapidly changing. However, world events made the phenomena especially prevalent in the healthcare industry in 2020. The spillover from the upheaval we all went through will continue into 2021 and create new healthcare marketing challenges.
Coping with news fatigue
Let’s face it, people are tired of reading the news, especially about COVID-19. There are a lot of reasons for this. Consuming bad news gets tiring, and so does having to constantly figure out whether information is good or bad, whether sources delivering it are reliable or not. After a year, a lot of people are ready to tune out as much as possible.
This is where your office, as the most trusted medical resource in their life, can make a big difference. You’ve had the last year to immerse yourself in everything from the virus to the vaccine. Make your website a go-to place for your patients and people in the community for how they should be approaching this pandemic in 2021.
That means creating good long-form content across platforms. Articles, videos and podcasts will ensure you meet every patient and prospect in their desired form of media content. Producing content in the long-form allows you the freedom to explore these issues from all sides.
Ideally, you’ll move your patients to your way of thinking. If nothing else, this type of content effort will ensure they don’t have to rapidly browse websites or flip channels trying to find all sides of the ongoing medical discussion. Your website will have provided something that represents a great contribution toward coping with news fatigue.
Building your telehealth services
Something else a lot of patients have gotten used to in 2020 was appointments being conducted on their computers. Even if they start to feel safe about coming into the office doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll want to.
If you haven’t done so already, creating special landing pages on your website geared toward telehealth will be beneficial. People can find out how it works and if they would be comfortable with it. Those anxious to continue using it would find out what they can’t realistically expect from a telehealth session that they might otherwise get in person.
Part of expanding telehealth usage means re-evaluating your security protocols. More and more people have experienced being hacked during a Zoom call. Something they might laugh off if it happens with a group of friends takes on an entirely different context when it involves their medical privacy and data.
That makes now a good time to have your IT people make sure your portals are secure. You know how much more secure that industry-approved video communication is compared to standard platforms that ordinary consumers use. Just make sure you communicate that security and assurance to patients.