Healthcare Advertising’s Newest Opportunities Are Online

True Media’s Digital Project Manager, Elizabeth Van Kort, was asked to guest blog for Hospital Solutions, a division of Everyday Health whose blog focuses on providing information to healthcare marketers about digital strategy and tools. Read Elizabeth’s article below, and view the many other great posts on EverydayHospitals.com/blog.

Healthcare Advertising’s Newest Opportunities Are Online

As a Digital Project Manager at True Media, I have the opportunity and privilege of working with a variety of clients – including those in the healthcare vertical. I started working in the healthcare vertical over two years ago and have learned a lot along the way. This is an exciting yet challenging sector. I think one of the main challenges to healthcare advertising is the constant reactiveness that is required to meet ever-changing needs and goals.
While clients in many other sectors seek to meet goals on a quarterly or annual basis, healthcare clients often don’t have that same luxury and are required to be much more reactive in their advertising, and therefore, media planning and buying. The recent and significant changes in healthcare legislation have only served to make this a more pronounced challenge and opportunity.

Digital Media Opportunities

Speaking of opportunities, digital media offers an endless amount for healthcare advertisers. With healthcare topics often being of a very personal nature, individuals seek online sources of information because they feel a level of comfort and safety in the anonymity. We all know the truth in the phrase, “Google knows more about you than anyone else.” This is especially true when it comes to your personal health information. I would even venture to say that individuals share more information regarding their ailments with Google than their own doctors!
So given that the online space offers individuals a place where they feel comfortable seeking medical and healthcare information, why not have your brand front and center when individuals are actively seeking healthcare information? I believe this is especially relevant for hospitals, as they are not attempting to sell one specific product but are instead service providers who will do whatever necessary to ensure the health and wellness of their patients.

Mobile Healthcare Advertising Opportunities

Another key opportunity for healthcare advertisers, which will only continue to grow in the future, is mobile advertising. With individuals turning more and more to their smartphones as their primary access to the Internet, it is crucial not to ignore this opportunity. Healthcare providers with a website that is mobile-friendly allow for better overall online search and display campaigns. When individuals click on a search or display ad using their mobile device, a mobile-friendly website provides a positive user experience. The benefits of this positive experience will hopefully be twofold: The user gets the information they need at the time they need it and the healthcare provider gains the appreciation and trust of the individual and works toward the goal of welcoming another loyal customer.
Although this post merely touched on a few key benefits of the partnership between online advertising and healthcare advertisers, I hope it displayed the hand-in-glove fit between the two. If online advertising is a new venture for you as a healthcare provider, I hope this post will encourage you to at least reach out to your media agency for information on how digital marketing could be a good fit for your advertising needs and objectives.