From primary care and women’s health to specialized, high-value services like orthopedics, there are fundamental elements for engaging consumers and driving growth across all service lines.
While each service has unique decision cycles, selection criteria and other variables, there are hallmarks of effective lead generation content that guide your prospects from research and evaluation to consideration and conversion.
Here are the content types we’ve found to be essential for healthcare service line campaigns and highly effective when aligned with the consumer health journey.
Social media—Social networks like Facebook and Instagram are essential for connecting with consumers seeking health information, provider updates and peer reviews. Use storytelling and content on trending topics to drive engagement and promote screenings, virtual seminars, telemedicine and other top-of-funnel CTAs.
Search optimized content for your website and blog — Provider sites are a leading entry point for consumers seeking timely, trusted information. To meet their needs and build affinity for your brand, brainstorm an editorial calendar one to two months at a time. Feature information on trending topics, priority services and seasonal health trends, clinicians and other subject matter experts speaking to contemporary topics of interest, and more that will guide consumers on their healthcare journey.
Patient education resources—To engage consumers at the research phase, content should primarily educate them on the specific issue in question and, more importantly, on how the right treatment can positively impact their health. Health risk assessments and downloadable guides featured on your service line- or campaign-specific pages are effective in educating consumers and empowering them to address concerns, clarify misconceptions and take the next step on their journey to better health.
Earned media placements and backlinks—Third-party endorsements increase exposure and bolster credibility. This is especially true in the competitive healthcare environment. To make your messaging stand out in a sea of repetition, create connections in your community. Build relationships with relevant sources by contributing Op-Ed pieces to local news media with details about your safety protocols. You can also share patient stories with civic associations and affinity groups serving target demographics like young families and area business leaders.
Provider reviews—Conditioned by sites like Amazon and Facebook, consumers increasingly seek customer reviews before making decisions—and healthcare is no exception. The majority of your service line prospects will research physicians before making an appointment, and this will only increase with the trend toward greater information transparency. Make sure to encourage satisfied patients to provide a review, enable them with links to make it easy and promote five-star reviews on your website and landing pages as social proof of your brand promise.
Email nurturing journeys and content—The large majority of your website visitors (up to 96%) are not ready to convert. Guide these consumers through their healthcare journey with a well-planned email nurturing series. This tactic delivers relevant content based on their interest while allowing you to keep your brand top of mind, advancing the relationship from engagement through to encounter.
Direct mail—When done strategically (targeted to the right households), direct mail can be an effective tactic. Consider mailings to drive screenings like colonoscopies and mammograms. Or to promote discounted cardiovascular screening programs, connect new movers to primary care providers and area urgent care. When your health system opens new locations or adds new providers, direct mail is a great opportunity to reach your community.
Search ads—Meeting your consumers when they are researching information prior to making a decision is critical to effective service line marketing. Research for keywords that drive the most local traffic to competitor sites and build campaigns around those queries. Make sure to align the ads with landing pages to improve your quality score and increase conversions.
Landing pages—When your consumer is actively seeking information or solutions to health concerns, meeting her at that moment with a laser-focused landing page is essential. An effective landing page has minimal copy that mirrors the messaging in your ads. Create engaging visuals and a clear call to action designed to advance prospects to the next stage in the decision cycle.
Digital content with high conversion-intent keywords—To make sure you’re there when consumers need you, develop an SEO strategy that, at minimum, includes up-to-date listings and website content for your highest priority service lines that provides a frictionless path to conversion. Some consumers always skip over ads when searching for services, so ensuring that your content performs well organically is a good complement to a paid strategy and will help capture more conversions.
Our team of healthcare marketing experts can find, engage and convert patients for your priority service lines through effective lead generation content strategies.
The original version of this page was published at: https://truenorthcustom.com/blog/top-lead-generation-content-types-for-effective-service-line-campaigns/
True North Custom is an innovative content marketing agency focused on growth and engagement. Our passion is helping healthcare organizations build engagement and affinity, drive revenue growth and... Read more
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