Medical Facilities Still Need a Good Website
The medical industry is not immune to the incessant chatter going on these days about social media. Doctors are tweeting more than ever, writing blogs, setting up Linkedin accounts and building a presence and following on Facebook.
All good stuff, right? Of course it is. But these social media tools are still no replacement for a solid medical Web site, where customers, that is patients, can find everything they need to know about you, your practice and critical contact information without having to “tweet” their way around the basics.
Any medical practice, which should include doctors, dentists, chiropractors and physical therapists, should consider it mandatory to invest a portion of their marketing budgets in the creation of a solid medical website that allows them to build a brand just like any other business and help them connect and stay current with patients.
Websites offer an opportunity for physicians and medical professionals of all scopes and sizes to provide their new and returning patients with photos, updates about health care issues that they care about, access to a scheduling or appointment setter, and basic information about a facility or office, that should include a doctor or doctor’s background, area of specialty, schooling, awards and more.
Simply put, the medical website remains a relevant and much-needed marketing tool.
There are many companies in business who design websites, so if you are just starting out with yours or need to makes some upgrades and updates, you should consider selecting a web site design and hosting company that can bring your Web site to the surface, not just slap together a little content with an address and e-mail information.
A good medical web site should include graphics, photos of patients, testimonials, the business in action. These tell your “human” story online and, in a world where online communication can leave us feeling a little anonymous, nothing carries more weight with potential patients than the idea of being treated like a human being.
But more than good design is needed in order to make your medical website pop and zing. Your web site is a marketing tool, so you also want to ensure that your designer is up-to-date on search media optimization and search engine optimization. These services will help potential patients find your web site, as the SMO/SEO process incorporates key words that put your listing at the top of the big search engines, like Google. Make your site more visible by driving traffic over and you’ll see your practice grow.
Medical web sties should be customized to suit your unique services, background and area of specialty. No one wants to see a canned photo of actors playing doctor or nurse on a web site. They want to trust the site as much as they want and need to trust you.
Use real photos of staff and patients, as well as bios of yourself and your associates and fellow physicians if you run a partnership. Tell your stories and try to connect with your patients so that they are more inclined to click on through, make an appointment and become your patient for life!
Your web designer should also provide you with a customized content management system, or CMS, that will allow you to go into your own site and mange updates and changes without having to call in the IT department.
If you are a specialist, find out what agencies and foundations out there support your area of medical experience and link to their sites to offer patients extended information about their causes and concerns. Blog about your specialty and link visitors to news articles that matter to them. In other words: Make it personal.
To know more about Medical Billing Services please browse Medical BillingServices
Processing your request, Please wait....
