What are the best online platforms and channels to reach your target audience in healthcare?

I hear people all the time that say everyone is on x platform so I need to be as well... WRONG! You know to take the time out to really know where your audience lives and breathes. As too many people waste so much time, energy and money on the most popular platform in the moment only to realize the created an audience of non buyers. Find out where your ideal customers are paying attention and build relationships there. You will be so much more successful in the long run with a strategy that is customized to your business and target audience.

Building TRUST is critical. Be transparent, when it comes to healthcare, transparency is key. Be clear about the benefits and risks associated with them. This will help your customers make informed decisions and establish your brand as an honest and trustworthy one. edutainment please! Ask yourself these questions: Who Am I targeting?, What do they want to know? When do they use the phone or search for information? what's their main socialmedia based on their demographics? Once you have those answers, now it's time to engage - Social media is a two-way conversation, so don't be afraid to engage with your follower & connections. Side note: People only buy from brands they TRUST.

Healthcare Professionalss are already in the position of being a trusted source...but by creating a regular flow of simple blog posts related to your field but written in laymans terms, you can forge a RELATIONSHIP with potential patients before they ever even cross the threshold to your office. In an age of quarantines, video meetings, work from home and social distancing it is more important than ever for a person that might consider becoming a new patient to feel like they KNOW their doctor. If the physician doesn't write, there is no excuse not to have 2 to 4 blogs ghost written to answer keyword frequent search terms then reviewed and expanded upon by the Doc. Let them see what you think about what they are thinking about.

Healthcare is a broad area and there are so many areas within this you need to identify first. Questions like which therapeutic area? are the audience from patient or clinician backgrounds? Does geo location matter?

YouTube and other video platforms like Facebook, Vimeo, LinkedIn, Twitch and even short form platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are ways that human beings can see and hear and experience the bedside manner of their doctor. These platforms have plenty of eyeballs, many healthcare industry providers may not feel comfortable with the level of content creation some of these platforms can consume. Even a once a month podcast (which can be DIY or we can turn-key produce for the Doctor) can lead to massive followings of viewers/listeners hungry for wellness information.

Your SM content is your Digital "Deep level trust-builder" Business Card. Creating meaningful content starts with understanding your audience and their needs. What are their pain points? What questions do they have? What do they want to learn? Once you have a deep understanding of your audience, you can create content that speaks directly to them and provides real value. Once you get it right it will help you capturing and retaining your audience, establishing yourself as an authority, encouraging social sharing, and driving traffic to your website. By focusing on creating content that provides REAL VALUE to your audience, you can build a strong brand and connect with your customers on a deeper level.

Video marketing can produce some valuable content in Healthcare Educate - this could be showing how patients can use a service or therapy or could be content for doctors and clinicians to learn from Entertains - this could be content which isn't directly medical/healthcare content this could be 'a day in the life of' or 'funny things doctors do' Inspires - this could be patient or doctor stories that are positive and thought-provoking Empowers - this could be content that can give your audience practical value that they can go an action right away with results, for example "how to videos"

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then video is worth a million. The pure emotion of RELIEF when a patient can put their feet on the floor in the morning without pain is priceless. Debunking Health Care Myths is also very strong medicine. That can be imminently sharable if the Doc is passionate about setting the record straight correcting "common knowledge".

Humour and other emotions can be really powerful in healthcare as most content in this area can be a bit serious and down to earth. We saw how viral videos went crazy during times like Covid eg Nurses dancing on tik tok - it made us laugh but at the same time created huge emotions for the people in healthcare doing an amazing job.

This can be effective in the niche of healthcare providers that are often classified under the category of "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM). Chiropractic, acupuncture, massage therapy, body sculpting and sports medicine are all examples of CAM practices. These providers often operate outside of the traditional acute care system and may offer services in specialized clinics, wellness centers, or private practices. We invite fitness influencers or athletes that live locally (BEST case, gym owners) to come BE A PATIENT in a video. The gym owners are grateful for the joint exposure, they have a crowd of their own members who will be influenced to try acupuncture or chiropractic or something they may not have considered before.

Another good idea is to check which groups and communities the target audience lives, you can then post to these groups knowing there is a good chance other will share it! You can also email/message other organisations to ask them to share it and show them how it will be valuable to their audience to encourage them to take part.