Healthcare marketing today is a balancing act between trust, transparency and performance. The healthcare industry is in a sensitive position when it comes to marketing as it faces unique challenges - specifically with regards to what can and can't be said, legal regulations and, in some locations, the perception of state messaging or government spending. 

To meet this challenge, healthcare marketing strategies must be integrated, patient-centric and adapted to the realities of modern media consumption. Shifts in consumer behavior, such as increased online research and demand for convenience, are significantly influencing how healthcare organizations approach their marketing strategies. All of this while managing a tight budget and a lean marketing team…

We’re going to dig into the world of healthcare marketing and uncover some of the most effective methods from evolving digital marketing techniques to more traditional approaches. 

The healthcare journey often begins with a question. “What are the symptoms of…?” or “How do I manage…?” Being there to answer these questions is often the first step. To do this means providing accessible, medically sound content which helps patients feel informed and supported. Creating educational content is essential for building trust and authority with healthcare consumers and your target audience.

In an era when the AI overview is starting to dominate search results, this isn’t always easy. But there are still ways…

Create helpful guides in the form of specific blog pages or downloadable papers

Make videos for YouTube and/or social media

Design infographics or easy to understand visual content

This content should live on your own platform, usually a website blog - but don't be afraid to spread the reach. 

Distributing your content across online spaces, such as social media platforms and healthcare forums, is an important part of reaching your potential audience.

Remember also to use clear language, avoid medical jargon where possible and include visual aids like videos or original images whenever possible. Topics might include condition guides, preventative care checklists or behind-the-scenes interviews with clinicians.

When it comes to content, SEO should guide but not dictate your strategy. Prioritise content that is helpful over content that simply ranks. It's also a good idea to mix and match formats such as:

A mix of content allows people to engage with the information as they prefer, and also works well for the search platforms such as Google, Bing, YouTube etc.

Search engines are often the first port of call for people researching symptoms or looking for local providers. Paid search campaigns can place your services at the top of those results at the exact moment of need. Digital ads are especially effective for capturing high-intent queries from users actively seeking healthcare solutions.

In all honesty, the world of paid search marketing is a complex one, with many things to bear in mind. But to summarise it here:

Use tightly themed keyword groups focused on intent. For instance, terms like “pediatric urgent care near me” or “same-day dental appointment” show high intent. Use ad extensions to add location info, phone numbers or quick links to online booking.

Use conversion focused landing pages. You landing pages for your paid campaigns should be designed to elicit an action - whether that's booking an appointment or getting a free online assessment. Ensure your ads and landing pages comply with advertising policies, especially around claims and language. 

Regularly review campaign performance. Paid search is not a one and done marketing strategy, so monitor, analyze and adjust for click-through rate, cost per acquisition and actual patient conversions. Consider integrating search engine optimization as a complementary strategy to maximize visibility and attract more patients organically.

Paid search is highly effective for reaching prospective patients and new patients who are actively searching for healthcare services. When executed well, it can be a cornerstone of your overall marketing campaign.

Partnering with like-minded organisations (or those with an overlap) allows you to tap into new audiences while reinforcing your brand’s values. Look for health charities, fitness clubs, mental health platforms, sports clubs or local councils whose goals align with yours. One of the key objectives of such partnerships is to spread awareness about your unique offerings and build trust within the healthcare sector.

The best approach here is to co-create campaigns that benefit both parties, such as joint wellness workshops, co-branded content or shared advertising space. 

Collaborations work best when both brands bring something valuable to the table, including the specific service provided by each partner. It's also crucial to maintain consistent branding across all partnership materials to strengthen brand identity and trust.

Make sure that your messaging remains compliant and roles are clearly defined, especially when handling patient data or sensitive topics.

Hospitals, clinics and pharmacies present natural opportunities for digital signage. These eyecatching displays can promote healthcare services, share service updates, wait time estimates, health education content, or reminders about upcoming vaccination clinics. They can also highlight different healthcare options available to patients.

Outside your premises, digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising can place your brand in transport hubs, retail centers or community spaces. These ads work well for seasonal campaigns or public health messages.

Often, marketing strategies for healthcare organizations only focus  on online channels. When that happens, so many opportunities are missed.  Digital signage, for example, has proven time and time again its  effectiveness when used within a healthcare setting.

In-house digital signage is basically like serving content to a captive audience, whether that is in a waiting room, foyer or even treatment areas. This means it has a great visual impact and a high recall rate.

Some of the ways you could use digital signage in your healthcare marketing strategy include:

To amplify social media using social media dashboards, tweet walls and Instagram galleries in patient waiting rooms

Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Instagram feed is one example of content that could be repurposed for digital signage.

To provide live news, travel information, world clocks and other forms of content useful to your audience

The ability to set up digital noticeboards quickly with key information, wait times and emergency notices using a tool like Noticeboard app

YouTube video playlists with relevant health and medical information, led by your organization or others

Branded content and advertising displays from carefully selected partners, which help to increase healthcare revenue

Image galleries and information about your staff, helping patients  to familiarize themselves with doctors and nurses to feel more connected  to your hospital

Digital signage is highly adaptable which makes it one marketing  strategy that can work within any healthcare space. You get to moderate  (and change) the content, so you can be sure what your patients are  seeing is timely and relevant. The possibilities are endless.

Influencer marketing is a huge trend in business-to-consumer brands  who are looking to increase validation for their products or services.  Influencers are traditionally those who have built up a community or  audience based on their personal brand.

One good example of how this can work in a NFP scenario is Boxed Water’s partnership  with the National Forest Foundation. Using the hashtag “#ReTree” Boxed  Water promised to plant two new trees for every image containing its  water posted on Instagram. They worked with hundreds of influencers  across the world to get the hashtag trending, encouraging more than six  million photos to be published.

This article  has a great list of medical influencers and hashtags which can be  joined to spread awareness and reach. The trick is to get inventive and  come up with a campaign that influencers will buy into, and that will  truly surprise, delight or educate potential patients. There are also  many influencers out there who have built entire followings based on their experience of a specific condition.  These influencers have a niche audience, all of whom, are experiencing  or are close to someone experiencing a specific disease or diagnosis.  Pairing up with influencers could be an accessible and effective way of  getting content and new treatment ideas in front of a huge target  audience.

It’s pretty difficult these days to get audiences to sign-up  voluntarily to receive information. Inboxes become filled at an alarming  rate, and there’s so much spam that people are wary of anything which  may add to the noise.

Lead buckets are a type of exchange you can create with potential  patients where you swap something mutually beneficial for the chance to  gain their details and be in contact with them.

New research or information before anyone else

A free podcast and guide to running given away by the UK’s NHS.

The idea is to create a piece of content or offer that your audience  sees as the same or more value as letting you say, email them once per  month with your latest updates. You’ll be surprised how many are willing  when they see it as an exchange of information, rather than just a  direct sign-up.

We’re often so focused on our external marketing strategy that we  forget about the communications going on inside. A study by McKinsey  Global Institute discovered that productivity improves by 20-25% in  organizations where employees feel connected.

Then you have employee advocacy. If you have 100 employees, all  telling their friends and family how great your healthcare plans are,  you could easily reach thousands of potential patients, for free.

A study by Nielsen  found that recommendations from friends remains the most credible form  of advertising amongst consumers. Why plow all your budget into adverts  and brand campaigns when your own employees could be the biggest  untapped pool of potential?

As AI continues to shape search engines, virtual assistants and patient-facing tools, marketers must ensure their content is readable by both humans and machines. 

And with AI overviews in the search results, or people using Chat GPT for answers to their queries, it's more important than ever to be seen on these platforms.

The best way to do this is to follow the strategies in the content marketing section, with a focus on SEO. At the time of writing, these AI results still depend on available internet content, so make sure you have a broader content marketing strategy.

 technology platforms, such as healthcare marketing technology platforms and CRM systems, can help optimize content for AI and integrate various data sources for more effective campaigns.

Use structured data markup to help search engines understand and display your content. Frame your writing in a question-and-answer format to suit voice search and AI summaries. When personalizing content, utilize clinical data from electronic health records (EHR) systems to tailor messaging and target patients more effectively.

Keep copy conversational but precise. Redundant phrases or keyword stuffing are not only ineffective but may hinder AI understanding. Optimizing for AI can provide a significant competitive advantage in healthcare marketing by enabling data-driven strategies that outpace competitors.

Healthcare doesn’t begin and end at the clinic door. A healthcare organization can get involved in the communities it serves through outreach initiatives. This could mean sponsoring a local sports team, supporting school health programs, or offering free screening events.

Healthcare organizations play a vital role in community health by choosing initiatives that align with their expertise and values. For example, a mental health provider might partner with a youth organisation for stress awareness sessions.

A health system, or multiple health systems working together, can coordinate large-scale outreach programs to maximize impact and improve community well-being.

Make sure also to document all the organization's involvement through photos, local media and internal channels. You can then use these stories for PR (don't forget to invite local press along too) to reinforce your brand’s mission in a grounded, meaningful way.

Studies show that 41% of people  would choose a healthcare provider based on their social media reputation. That makes a social media strategy feel much more important  to your business aims. Channels such as Facebook, X/Twitter, Reddit, TikTok and LinkedIn give you a way to connect with customers outside of their appointments alone. 

Creating and publishing regular content across these  channels keeps you front and mind of center, so that when you are  needed patients know where to turn.

Social media also opens up a gateway to your visitors promoting things for you. One great example is a contest organized by Anne Arundel Medical Center where patients were asked to share their best “stachie” (a selfie with a mustache) to Facebook.

The campaign was to drive awareness for men’s health during November,  often known as “Movember” month but this allowed men, women and  children to become involved. This not only got hundreds of selfie image  sharing from potential visitors but it also raised awareness and drove  traffic to the center’s advice page.

Creative campaigns such as this one are a great way to attract  attention across social media and get more shares, likes and comments  for your brand.

Video is currently hugely underutilized in the world of healthcare  marketing. As a strategy, it’s proven at effectively being able to  capture the attention of audiences.

In fact, according to studies, 90% of companies that use video content have a chance of having an impact on audience decisions. In addition to this, it's one of the best methods of standing out on a busy search engine results page - search Google for a few terms in your niche and you'll see what I mean....

Video marketing can be used to create guides and information packs, to show an insight or “behind the scenes” look at your healthcare  environment and to share patient stories and testimonials.

When we see something visual like a video, it’s hard to argue with  the evidence. This makes video an extremely credible and enjoyable  format to watch and engage with.

Some of the ways you could add video to your marketing strategy include:

Youtube - the second largest search engine in the  world, YouTube is a great way to seed “how to” and guidance video  content for your audience.

Social media - all social media channels now allow  you to capture, upload and promote video content. Video is even prized  more highly by some algorithms such as Facebook’s than any other type of  static or image-led content.

Blog posts - video is a great way to illustrate content given in a blog post format and can help raise SEO.

Website - video landing pages allow your audience to really see inside your organization and what you have to offer.

Email - using the word “video” in a subject line is said to boost open rate by 19%.

Check out our guide for how to create excellent video content relevant to your community.  

The point of care is often a missed marketing opportunity. While current patients wait or move through your facility, they can be informed about relevant services, programmes or health products that enhance patient care.

Current marketing trends and ideas for healthcare organizations who want to gain more customers and expand brand awareness and reach to their audiences.

Discover the world of healthcare marketing and uncover some of the most effective methods from evolving digital marketing techniques to more traditional approaches.

Actionable Marketing Strategies for Healthcare Organizations

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