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Our Top Tips About Running Effective Medical Practice Ads

Digital Ads Don’t Have to Be Disruptive. See Our Top Tips About Running Effective Medical Practice Ads.

by | Jul 13, 2021

Running the most effective medical practice ads comes down to understanding three key elements: the rules, your target audience, and how best to frame your content so that it appeals and resonates. Too often, medical practice ads can be dry and unremarkable. Though healthcare practitioners have an undeniable responsibility to ensure their advertisements are both informative and ethically sound, there are plenty of opportunities to be creative in the ways you advertise to your audience. Today, we’re examining some of the most important things to keep in mind in order to produce ads that captivate your target audience, address their pain points, and incentivize them to become patients. Let’s get started.

Know Your Audience

Step one to any content strategy, be it for blogs, advertisements, or even social media posts, is understanding who you’re talking to through the content. One of the most common mistakes made by business owners in marketing strategies is opting to go for general messaging over specific and targeted content. Attempting to make your advertisements universally appealing means producing content that lacks the specificity and personality it takes to truly resonate with any one demographic. Instead, create a data-driven buyer persona of your ideal patient. Use a combination of geo-mapping, demographic information, and creativity to create a detailed profile of your ideal customer. Then, use that profile as the foundation of your advertising campaign. Anticipate that person’s pain points: what are they missing from their healthcare provider? How can your firm fill that gap? What kind of tones and messages would most appeal to that audience? Approach your advertising strategy with this buyer persona as a reference point. By targeting the behaviors and needs of one persona, you’ll produce content that truly resonates with the kinds of people you’re looking to attract to your practice.

Inform, Don’t Sell

Any content you share online should have the primary intention of informing its audience, not selling them something – even advertisements. Think of your advertisements as opportunities to reach readers you might not otherwise have reached. In this scenario, your primary mission is to show the value of your practice, not tell them about it. The key to building trust with your audience is by sharing content that anticipates and addresses their needs, positioning your practice as their very best option while taking them through a natural decision-making process. This is called the Buyer’s Journey. Think about how you can make your advertisements both dynamic and informative: if you are a physical therapist, consider advertising short videos of yourself going through easy stretches and mobility exercises that most people can do themselves to relieve pain. If you’re a specialist, choose a question you commonly get asked relating to your area of expertise, then create a short video answering that question.

This is not to say that you can never run ads with a “Contact Us” or “Book an Appointment” call to action – simply that your first goal should be to build a rapport with your audience through relevant, informative ads so that, when you do give them that decision-making offer, they’re inclined to take it.

Play By the Rules

There are numerous regulations for healthcare providers when it comes to running ads, and it’s crucial to ensure that you’re familiar with them. Though the rules vary by state and specialty, we’ve compiled a list of the general Do’s and Don’ts that every healthcare provider should keep in mind:

Do:

Focus on Facts Over Spin
If you share any information about a condition or service, always share facts, not opinions. For example: rather than saying, “our primary care services are the best in the area,” say something like, “our primary care services put the needs of our patients first, and we are committed to attentive, results-driven care.”
Talk About the Medical Practitioner
As a general rule of thumb, your advertisements should focus more on you as a physician than on the tools you use, the medical procedures you implement, or the services you offer. Avoid sharing anything that could be taken as medical advice, focusing instead on the caliber of the professionals who work at your practice.
Use Intentional Wording
Experience and expertise are not the same thing as certified specialty; unless you are Board-certified in a specific practice area, avoid terms like “specialist” or “certified.”

Don’t

Break HIPAA
Never share patient-identifiable information on your advertisements or websites. Always obtain written permission for any patient testimonials you share online.
Make Promises
Never make promises when it comes to cures, results, or even pricing. Be clear about the fact that you are committed to excellence, but that no outcome is ever guaranteed.
Make Unfounded Claims
Even if a claim about a specific service, treatment, or procedure seems solid, do not share it on your advertisements unless it is accompanied by a published peer-reviewed article that can back it up.
Name Any Competitors
Focus on the quality of your practice’s services and healthcare practitioners. Do not name any other competitors in any of your advertisements.

Running effective medical practice ads is all about contextualizing your ad strategy into a holistic campaign that’s based on up-to-date data and optimized accordingly. To learn more about how to get started with building an ad campaign that works for your practice, schedule a consultation with us.

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Preferably with a cup of coffee in hand. Leave us your info and a little bit about how we might be able to collaborate. We’d love to get to know you better.