27 Nov Allied Health Advertising vs. Digital Marketing
Allied health is a fast-growing industry in Australia; the term includes all those health practitioners who are not doctors, nurses or dentists. These often overlooked health workers play an enormous role in preventing, diagnosing and treating a range of patients with a variety of ailments. They often work with doctors and dentists but many have also opened up their own practice. Their biggest concern when going out on their own is whether to spend their marketing dollars on traditional advertising or on digital marketing. We take a closer look.
The difference between advertising and digital marketing
This answer may appear to be simpler than it really it and media professionals around the world often disagree on what the exact difference is. For simplicity’s sake we’ll take advertising to be the more traditional way of selling your products or services, whether it’s taking an add out in the newspaper, or on radio or television, billboards, flyers or even car magnets. We’ll take digital marketing to include all online advertising; from Facebook and Instagram to SEO, Blogging and Google Adwords.
How can we tell what is more effective?
To determine which is more effective without actually trying out both with similar budgets is difficult, but to help you make a decision ask yourself these questions.
- How cost effective is it?
- Can you measure the results?
- What is your ROI if you can measure?
- Does this campaign target the right audience for your business?
The problem with traditional advertising is that you generally need a large budget and it’s more a “spray and pray” approach than anything else. With smaller practices, especially startups, this is not ideal and there is no measurable way of determining the success of your campaign. That’s why we suggest a digital approach to marketing for allied health practices. There are a number of reasons for this.
Target the right audience
Google Adwords and Facebook Ads allow you to target people of a certain demographic in a particular area. Google My Business is also effective for local businesses looking for patients in the area.
Measurable ROI
This is very important for any business, but even more so for those with limited marketing spend. Google Ads allows you to set a budget and you can easily quantify the response you get, as do Facebook ads. Using these tools in conjunction with good analytics software, which is not difficult to use, will give you all the information you need regarding the success of your campaign.
Word-of-mouth is still king and social media is the best tool for this
Social media allows you to engage and interact with your audience. It also allows people to recommend you easily, making this the best form of word-of-mouth there is. People these days often turn to social media platforms to ask for advice and recommendations, and if you have satisfied customers, they will be happy to talk about it on Facebook and other social media apps.
Blogging also allows you to share useful information thereby attracting new customers to your website, many of whom convert to patients. Email marketing is also extremely effective in communicating with your database, keeping you top of mind and advising your patients of any discounts or specials you are running, or pertinent information to the industry.
Digital marketing gives every business the opportunity to attract new clients or patients without having to spend a fortune. We do recommend you use professionals who are experts in their field and will help you maximise your marketing budget.