What is Medical Marketing?

Medical marketing is a set of actions and strategies for attracting, winning over, and retaining patients. In addition to adding value to professionals and practices, it also boosts authority and improves reputation in the healthcare sector.

The practice is regulated by the CFM, so it must be done ethically and responsibly. Later in this post, I will discuss in more detail what is prohibited in medical marketing and what is allowed based on the changes in guidelines.

👉 But first, I want to share a selection of free tools and support materials to boost your visibility and reputation.

The Importance of Medical Marketing

Why is it essential to invest in medical marketing? Well, there are two answers that apply here - one more human and the other more commercial:

• To facilitate the patient experience, whether through helpful content for them or by strengthening the relationship with your audience.
• To increase your business's profitability in the long term, remember that your practice also needs revenue to continue operating.

Which answer best fits your current professional situation? Medical marketing can help you become a regional reference.

To give you an idea of the importance of medical marketing, according to the most recent Panorama of Clinics and Hospitals, conducted by Alto Generation:

• 74% of the clinics and hospitals surveyed said they invest in marketing.
• Half of the sample said they do the basics, while 24% adopt advanced strategies, which shows that the sector is aware of marketing's impact on its results.

👉 As you can see, this is an opportunity to delve deeper into the practice, increase your visibility and reputation, and get ahead.

How to Do Medical Marketing Strategically (and Ethically)

Are you interested in starting your medical marketing or boosting your existing plan but don't know where to start?

Below, I share a step-by-step guide to help you understand what should be defined and observed to increase your chances of success:

Learn How to Do Medical Marketing Within the Council's Rules

To do medical marketing assertively and, above all, ensure medical ethics, you need to keep in mind the determinations of the Federal Council of Medicine to avoid penalties.

Ethical and responsible medical marketing is so crucial that the CFM developed a booklet on the subject: the Medical Advertising Manual. However, knowing its guidelines should be the first step before planning your actions. The same goes for other health specialties that have their own rules.

What is Prohibited in Medical Marketing?

As we know, credibility and medical ethics are essential pillars to ensure your image as a medical professional is not harmed. Therefore, it is necessary to remember what is prohibited in medical marketing and should be avoided when advertising.

⛔️ Below, I list 10 things that you cannot do in your medical marketing actions, according to the CFM manual:

1. Do not advertise specialties you do not have: Avoid advertising treatments for organic systems, organs, or specific diseases in a way that induces confusion about your qualifications and specialties.
2. Do not advertise devices, equipment, or products without HHS registration: It is prohibited to attribute and disclose privileged capabilities to devices, equipment, or products not duly registered with HHS.
3. Do not display images of patients, including 'Before and After': It is prohibited to display pictures of consultations, procedures, or any approach to patients, even with their express authorization.
4. Do not participate in misleading or false advertising: This includes avoiding any form of advertising that could be considered deceptive or that guarantees results.
5. Do not sensationalize: Avoid actions that may cause alarm or promote yourself in a sensationalist manner, practicing unfair competition or disseminating false content.
6. Do not guarantee specific treatment results: It is forbidden to promise, guarantee, or insinuate specific results, suggesting a certainty of effectiveness that cannot be assured.
7. Do not call yourself the best or the only one: Avoid attributing privileged capabilities to yourself, being included in or authorizing inclusion in awards or lists that suggest superiority, promotion, or sponsored advertising.
8. Do not suggest diagnoses without prior consultation: Prohibition of offering diagnoses or consultations that replace in-person medical consultation, except those regulated for Telemedicine.
9. Do not use the image of celebrities to promote medical services: Although not directly mentioned, one should avoid using the image of third parties to promote medical services to respect ethical advertising guidelines.
10. Clearly identify the responsible physician in the health information disclosed: The health information disclosed must always clearly identify the responsible physician, including registration number and specialties.

This consolidated list reflects an ethical and regulated approach to medical marketing actions by CFM guidelines.

👉 Take the opportunity to clear up all your doubts about Medical Advertising in this webinar here.

Define Your Target Audience of Patients

The next step in ensuring assertive medical marketing is to define who needs your service. Who is your patient?

It may sound cliché, but being aware of the profile of the people you want to serve is essential to planning targeted actions. Meeting patients' expectations and increasing loyalty becomes much more manageable when you know who they are.

There Are Three Ways to Do This Survey:

• Raising hypotheses based on what you would understand as an ideal client.
• Interviewing patients to find out their average age, what they do for a living, and what they are looking for, among other information.
• Researching secondary sources, such as social media or health platforms.

👉 The second option is certainly the safest of all. But the third can be useful for understanding what they like to talk about, what they doubt, or what draws their attention the most. This information can further enhance your planning.

Define Your Goals

To continue with your medical marketing planning, another vital definition is your goals from now on.

See Some Examples Below and Feel Free to Use Them in Your Strategy:

• Attract more patients.
• Retain the loyalty of patients recently treated for the first time.
• Position yourself as an authority in your specialty.
• Help people understand the importance of paying attention to specific healthcare.
• Gain the attention of digital patients.

Choose the Strategies

Strategies will act as "bridges" that will help you achieve the goals you have just defined. That is why you should choose what makes the most sense according to your goals.

An example? Suppose you saw statistics showing that almost half of the people who visit a doctor will not return. So, you set the goal of building patient loyalty. In this case, using strategies such as sending out satisfaction surveys after consultations may be interesting. This is a way to gather feedback and further improve the quality of consultations.

👉 See also: How to measure your patients' satisfaction

Monitor the Results

I believe you are wondering how to know whether all the effort and investment in medical marketing will be worth it. How can you measure results? How can you know if the defined strategy is working?

These are very valid questions. After all, it can be a little frustrating to dedicate time to a project that does not generate the expected results. Do you agree?

However, there are some handy indicators at these times. In marketing, we call them "marketing metrics" or KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). These indicators measure the results of actions and strategies.

Some of the Most Used Metrics by Doctors:

• New patients
• Generation of appointments
• Better positioning on Google
• Brand recognition
• Higher monthly revenue
• Visibility (views and followers)

Important: In some cases, it may be necessary to review the tactics applied in your medical marketing. Therefore, try to keep an open mind to changes along the way. Often, they ensure that the objectives defined back then are actually achieved.

How Do You Use Social Media in Medical Marketing?

These days, talking about marketing directly involves social media. It is safe to say that without them, much of the good work done in promoting businesses on the web would not be possible.

According to a study by the discount platform CupomValido.com.br—based on data from Hootsuite and WeAreSocial worldwide— the US is the third country in the world that uses social networks the most, with an average of 3 hours and 42 minutes per day.

Among Americans' most used social networks are Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and, recently, TikTok. WhatsApp remains undefeated in the average time users spend on the app: up to 30 hours per month in conversations.

Considering the digital patient within this profile, digital marketing strategies naturally extend to the healthcare sector, respecting the due limitations imposed by the CFM rules.

Using Social Media for Medical Marketing

The starting point is understanding that you can and should use these spaces to promote your company. The advantages are countless, but among the main ones, we can mention:

• Improvement of the online presence of a medical professional, practice, clinic, or hospital.
• Ability to inform more quickly.

With a presence on social media, you can inform people and arouse their interest in the subjects they need to know.

"It is possible, for example, to use them to say if there is still an open appointment for a given week."

There are many possibilities, but you will not always use them all. Medical marketing on social media should not be done impulsively and improvised.

In addition to reducing the effectiveness of the presence on the networks, this can also generate risks of violating the CFM rules. Understand how to use these platforms strategically:

Be on the Social Networks That Make Sense

One of the biggest challenges for medical marketing when using social networks is defining which platforms to be on. Not all of them will make sense, depending on your strategy. Therefore, the sooner this is realized, the better. This way, you can focus your efforts on the right networks.

These questions will depend on your audience, what these people expect from the brand and the medical professional, and what these patients want. Instagram may be an excellent channel for a particular professional, but it may not make sense to others.

👉 See also: Social networks for healthcare professionals: losses and gains

Use the Right Tone in Communication

Every company has a main characteristic, a “personality.” This is also true in the medical field, Which creates the challenge of understanding the best tone of voice when communicating. This tone can be formal, informal, or semi-formal, for example.

Knowing how to talk to people on social media helps create closeness and credibility.

👉 However, the tone must always respect the medical segment, the type of patient treated, And the complexity of this specialty. Each professional knows their responsibilities and the weight of their work. Based on this, it is essential to define this tone of communication on social media.

Show More About the Establishment

Medical establishments also generate curiosity in patients. People want to know what the structure is like To understand if they will be received in a clean, comfortable, and well-equipped place. Strategically, this can be shown on social media.

It is interesting to show the “behind the scenes,” including making the environments of the office or clinic Fully known to potential patients. This gives these people more security since they will know exactly what to expect when they go there.

Publishing images of this infrastructure is a way of promoting the business. But remember one of the prohibitions in the CFM manual: It is not allowed to advertise the clinic’s equipment or products to show that it has state-of-the-art medical structures and technologies.

Introduce Patient Care

One of the factors that makes a difference for those doing medical marketing on social media is customer service. Here, we need to divide the concern into two points:

• The service provided on these platforms.
• The dissemination of related information through the networks.

It is important that professionals and medical establishments indicate how patients can get service To ask questions, make complaints, or even schedule appointments on these channels.

It is also possible to provide social media services, including WhatsApp redirects. Service via the app is usually a differentiator, but attention is required to ensure quality service to patients.

Take Advantage of Interaction Opportunities

Interactions should be taken seriously in medical marketing since contact with patients and potential patients generates proximity and engagement.

When thinking about these interactions, always consider the most varied forms. For example, this could happen in response to a comment praising the service provided at a medical facility Or in an attempt to resolve a question from your profile’s followers.

Use It to Create a Professional Network

LinkedIn is the right social network if you are a healthcare professional And want to increase your contacts and promote yourself as an expert. You can publish articles and content on various subjects, conduct surveys, and, most importantly, Connect with other professionals.

”LinkedIn plays an important role in medical marketing, but from the perspective of personal promotion, in the case of doctors.”

Although this platform is often thought of as common to the corporate world, It also houses professionals from the healthcare sector.

It is also very common for large hospital networks and companies to be on LinkedIn To promote their company culture, showcase their work, and prospect new B2B businesses. In addition, LinkedIn is great for prospecting new talent.

👉 You may also like: How to improve your medical reputation through social media

13 Ideas for Marketing Strategies and Actions for Doctors

With a wide variety of strategies, medical marketing can be implemented through different channels and in different forms. Check out some suggestions right now to start yours off on the right foot:

1. Have a Defined Visual Identity

You have probably heard that a picture is worth a thousand words or that the first impression is the one that lasts. Right?

These two phrases illustrate well the importance of having a clear and pleasant visual identity. Think about how, from there, It will be easier for the public to recognize your practice on their communication channels. Keep this in mind when planning Your business card, electronic medical record, prescription pad, website, and profile—both on social media and on Altogeneration.

👉 Want to create an incredible visual identity quickly and easily? Download our free eBook on Canva, a powerful, simple, and intuitive design tool.

2. Sign Up to an Online Healthcare Platform

Speaking of Altogeneration, this is an example of an “online showcase” that is essential to help boost your Visibility and further improve your online reputation. With over 33 million views per month, It is the largest healthcare platform in the world.

👉 Is it worth it? Altogeneration schedules 7.8 million appointments through the platform each month.

3. Have a Website

Having a website is another critical step to making life easier for patients. They need to find information about you and Your services to understand how you can help them.

Another critical point is ensuring that the website is responsive and optimized for Google rankings.

4. Invest in Content Marketing

Content marketing is one of the best ways to attract patients at a lower cost because it offers a high return on investment.

5. Look for Partners

Since developing a medical marketing strategy takes time and requires dedication, partnering with experts can help you Save time and optimize your marketing efforts.

6. Make Good Use of Social Networks

Social networks are increasingly popular and serve as a primary means of accessing information.

Important: Always follow CFM rules to avoid any violations.

7. Promote Ads or Sponsored Posts

Running ads or boosting posts on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads Can increase visibility and attract new patients.

8. Promote Your Telemedicine Resources

Telemedicine has gained traction since the COVID-19 pandemic. Creating content about Telemedicine and explaining How it works can help patients understand its benefits.

9. Work on Google Optimization

Optimizing your website with SEO best practices ensures better Google rankings and improves Your chances of being found by potential patients.

10. Use Email Marketing

Email marketing helps maintain frequent contact with patients and attract new ones. However, it should not be excessive To avoid unsubscribes.

11. Send SMS Messages

90% of people open SMS messages within 3 minutes of receiving them, making it a powerful Tool for patient engagement.

12. Create Video Content

Video consumption accounts for 82% of all internet traffic. Videos are dynamic and educational, Making them a great marketing tool.

13. Be on Google Business Profile

Registering your establishment on Google Business Profile improves visibility, making it easier for patients to find you.

Medical Marketing: More Than a Differential, a Necessity

Don’t see medical marketing as an option! Today, it is essential to invest in good positioning in front of the public. This brings growth to professionals and clinics, hospitals, and offices.

Likewise, do not apply your medical marketing strategies in any old way. Respecting the CFM rules is essential To avoid notifications or punishments.

In addition to marketing efforts, being on a platform for healthcare professionals like Altogeneration Is essential to being found by patients. Sign up now!

Was this article helpful to you? I hope that you will soon see medical marketing creating value for patients And taking your practice to new heights.