Internet Marketing for the Physician!

I should probably preface physician with “busy” in the above title and make it clear that we understand how that characteristic can be seen as a catch-all term to summarize stress for most Doctors or Clinicians.  As an internet marketing agency based in Minneapolis, but serving clients nationwide, we are continually learning many things as we serve the medical industry.  The autumn leaves may be changing color here but one thing does not change, the hectic pace of life for most in the workforce and some of the unique stresses for those in the medical field.

As an inbound marketing company in Minneapolis we have the privilege of providing SEO and related services (such as keyword research, lead tracking, website health profiling and more) for physicians, clinic offices and other healthcare related entities.  As a relationship-driven client services provider we’d like to think that in addition to building new websites with the latest design, that inbound marketing and its various tools can play a role in reducing some of that stress referred to earlier. Consider:

1.  Reputation and healthcare grading- It’s been in place for some time and will only increase as health care reforms take effect and changes are made.  The online searcher is becoming more savvy and more engaged with sites that monitor information like this. When recently visiting with my own GP doctor it was clear that the pressure is on to perform, perform well and in a timely manner- or else.  But who has time to check and manage all the various sources of reputation information?  This is where a tool like MDWebPro.com can come in. The site provides lots of information available from many sources, all aimed at providing the busy healthcare professional with up to date insights on their own website and/or their public reputation.

2. Social media marketing- A subset of internet marketing, the social media world can sometimes be a tricky path to navigate.  What venues to pursue and at what pace can be debated and each doctor or designated staff person needs to determine that. As it relates to comment number one, reviews are made, scores are compiled and reputations are sometimes tarnished. But perhaps only to an extent (and this is where social media, reputation management and public relations intersect) for, as the Proverbs speaks, “a word fitly spoken” can be like apples of gold.  A well-timed and worded response via the appropriate channels, with no hint of defensiveness, combined with close monitoring can help in damage control. Either way,a well engaged and robust social media presence online can be a helpful asset in managing the stress that sometimes comes with the territory. For some, it might simply be the creative outlet of social media that can help in dealing with stress.

Now, of course the opposite is also true, inbound marketing poorly executed can actually cause more stress and add additional workload to the physician and their busy staff. That’s another blog!

Take care, Paul D.