Basic Glossary to Understand Healthcare Marketing

Before diving into the world of digital marketing and racing full speed ahead in the online search for your patients, there are a couple of things you need to fine-tune.

Specifically, understanding the basic terms of healthcare or medical marketing.

Don't worry, we won't dissect Zuckerberg's winning strategy for Facebook ads, but we will go through some terms that you've likely heard from your marketing team.

Leads, CTA, funnel, hosting, avatar, SEO…

These aren't words everyone naturally knows or handles, right?

So, let's get to it!

Healthcare marketing glossary

Avatar or ideal customer

This is the dream patient, the one perfectly suited for the medical services you offer. The one who needs exactly what you can provide.

For example, if your specialty is cosmetic dermatology, your Avatar could be a woman or man aged 25 to 40, interested in improving, rejuvenating, or addressing a specific skin issue.

Blog

A blog is a section on your website where you can regularly publish articles, information, tips, news, or any content relevant to your audience (especially useful for SEO).

It's a powerful tool to share information, establish authority in your field, and attract interested visitors.

Medical branding

It's the DNA of your medical practice, the image you project.

• How do you want your patients to see you?
• Are you the friendly doctor everyone loves?
• Do you project yourself as a cutting-edge specialist?

Your branding defines that and much more, from your logo to your online reputation.

Buyer person

This term refers to the "fictitious representation of your ideal customer" based on real data, demographics, behaviors, motivations, and goals.

It's a fundamental tool to understand who you're targeting with your marketing strategies.

For example, for a fitness center, a buyer persona could be "Laura," a 30-year-old woman, a busy professional interested in well-being, and willing to pay for convenience and flexibility in her workout schedule.

Prospective client

These are patients who haven't walked through your door yet but could be looking for exactly what you offer. Think of them as seeds about to sprout.

For instance, someone Googling "best fertility clinics in my area," and there you are, ready for them! With a well-crafted marketing strategy, you can reach those people who need what you offer but haven't discovered you yet.

Conversion

This refers to the moment when a visitor takes the desired action on your website, such as filling out a form, subscribing to an email list, making a purchase, or any other pre-established goal.

Conversion rate is a key indicator to measure the effectiveness of your marketing strategies.

For example, if 100 people visit your site and 10 of them purchase your service, your conversion rate is 10%.

CTA (Call to Action)

In the marketing world, a CTA or call to action is a message, button, or link designed to motivate users to take a specific action. It could be "Book an appointment now," "Subscribe here," or "Get more information."

CTAs guide visitors to take desired actions, turning simple visits into valuable engagements like leads or clients.

Web design

Your digital storefront, the face of your clinic in the vast world of the internet.

Imagine your website as the online waiting room and reception of your clinic. Is it welcoming, organized, and easy to navigate?

A strategically designed website can achieve this and more because not all websites are well-made or intended to sell.

Domain

It's your address on the web, like your clinic's address in the city.

For example, www.medicalmarketing.digital is our domain, the address that allows people to find us in the digital world.

Email marketing or emailing

Ever opened your email to find it saturated, no, overcrowded with emails from one person or company?

Well, email marketing is the art of reaching your potential patients' inboxes without being intrusive.

Sending relevant information, newsletters, or appointment reminders via email is crucial for maintaining contact and building strong relationships with your clients.

Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Google Ads

Powerful tools to reach your audience. With Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, and Google Ads, you can showcase your services to potential patients who might need what you offer.

Need to create a campaign to promote your new sports physiotherapy treatment?

This is where social media advertising shines!

Hosting

Remember we mentioned the domain? That address where your patients can find you on the internet? Well, hosting would be the "land where you build your digital clinic."

Your website needs a place to stay, right?

That's what hosting does: provide space and resources for your website to be available online.

Landing page

Imagine this as the specific consultation room for a particular ailment.

It's a webpage designed for a specific action, like enrolling in a course, downloading an ebook, or requesting a limited-time service/product promotion.

A landing page for the medical sector is commercial and direct because it aims to convert visitors into patients.

Leads

Potential patients who have shown interest in your services by providing contact information.

These data are gold and turn into real opportunities to convert them into patients!

Ad campaigns and landing pages are a strategic way to generate a large number of qualified leads.

Digital marketing

The daily bread for any health professional looking to grow!

This is where all online strategies and tactics unfold to promote your medical services.

Search Engine

A platform online that allows users to search for information on the web.

It works by collecting data from web pages and organizing it to provide relevant results to user queries. Common examples include Google, Bing, and Yahoo.

The reason we do medical SEO is precisely to:

• Position yourself in these search engines,
• Convince the algorithm and the user that you are an authority in your field,
• Make your website stand out above the competition.

Niche

Finding your special place in the vast world of marketing.

Instead of trying to appeal to everyone, focusing on a niche means targeting a specific and specialized group of people who share particular interests or needs.

Optimization

In the context of digital marketing, optimization involves constantly adjusting and improving your strategy, content, or website to maximize its effectiveness.

From improving the loading speed of a webpage to adjusting content to attract more visitors, optimization is key to staying relevant and effective in a constantly changing digital world.

SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

SEM is a marketing strategy that involves promoting your website through advertising on search engines.

Unlike SEO, which focuses on improving organic positioning in search results, SEM relies on paid advertising.

Through paid ads like text or display ads, SEM allows you to reach your audience quickly.

Medical SEO

Medical SEO involves optimizing your online presence so that people looking for medical services can easily find you.

Think of it as precise directions leading patients to your clinic. It's a long-term strategy that involves using relevant keywords, creating quality content, and improving the visibility of your website.

Local SEO

On the other hand, local SEO focuses on appearing in specific searches in your geographic area.

For example, if you're a dentist in Barcelona, local SEO will help you appear among the top results when someone searches for "dentist in Barcelona."

Remarketing

Ever searched for shoes online and then seen them follow you everywhere? That's remarketing!

It's a strategy that shows ads to people who previously visited your website, keeping your brand on their radar.

It works as a persuasive and efficient digital reminder.

What do you think of these terms? Did you identify some in your digital marketing strategy? Have you heard them from your team?

Because if you haven't heard words like SEO, ads, optimization, or landing from your team, they might not be doing good healthcare marketing.

Okay, we don't want you to be left with questions.

What matters to us is that the strategies you're going to implement really catapult your medical practice.

Are you looking for the same?

Go to the bottom of the website and schedule your free strategic session.