Almost everyone has some form of social media, which is good for marketing. Healthcare institutions have to reevaluate how to increase their clientele most effectively every year, and posting ads through social media is one way to do it. Why? Because social media works. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers must consider how to be present in the digital world because that’s where most of their prospective patients are. Being visible and available to those online who have doubts about returning to a healthcare facility for fear of getting sick is how healthcare professionals develop connections with new and old patients to create a personalized healthcare experience. This is where paid social ads for healthcare marketing come in. Creating these ads has proven to increase patient volume and enhance business.

Paid Social Engagement

After you have reached a stable point with your organic and paid searches, it is time to move on to social media marketing, specifically on Facebook and Instagram. We recommend only investing in social media after establishing a solid SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay-per-click advertising) foundation. When it comes to online patient acquisition, you have to pick and choose how to spend your budget wisely.

Social channels, like Facebook and Instagram, are useful because they provide ways to listen to and engage with your audience. Healthcare businesses use social media as their primary branding platform because it creates engagement that you might not receive in person. Healthcare providers can post educational videos, testimonies, and other information while using Facebook Live and Instagram Reels to create rich engagement with live comments and responses. Growing your Facebook and Instagram presence increases brand awareness and helps you know if you are fulfilling your patients’ needs. But, putting your healthcare business out in front of an audience of potential patients using Facebook and Instagram isn’t enough to generate immediate leads. The next step is to use performance marketing in line with your branding as a social media strategy that can raise your patient volume.

Facebook Ads for Healthcare Marketing

Compared to long-term organic SEO, a well-constructed Facebook advertising strategy can deliver results quickly, just not as fast as a PPC campaign. For a Facebook ad to deliver those results, it is necessary to use a full-funnel strategy. A full-funnel approach tailors your campaign messaging to the journey customers will take when they decide to use your healthcare business. The strategy travels from the top of your ad to the bottom – top of the funnel (TOF), potential patients who just started showing interest, and bottom of the funnel (BOF), those who are about to convert to your business. A full-funnel strategy walks your audience through the journey, often reducing the overall cost to generate a lead at the bottom of the funnel.

These are the components to consider when creating a successful full-funnel strategy:

  • Brand Awareness: Target the TOF audience to increase your overall brand awareness. Use your paid ads strategy with your social media content to attract potential patients and initiate the patient journey they will take when they choose your healthcare business.
  • Message Tailoring: Tailor your language to the specific audience you target with each ad. Your message can’t be the same on an ad that is creating awareness and an ad that is trying to convert patients. Tailoring your messaging – your content, creatives, and CTAs – to your audience’s journey will significantly increase your clickthrough rate and engagement.
  • Retargeting: The middle of the funnel (MOF) audience is at the consideration stage – they are the ones who have seen your website, app, or engaged with your social media before. You push them closer to the conversion stage by retargeting them in an ad. A full-funnel strategy walks alongside your future patient, and your ad keeps your brand in front of them at all decision-making moments.
  • Diversify Ad Types: Today’s ads are more than just photos and videos. As social media ad platforms continue to develop, features like carousels, lead generation forms, and unique mobile experiences can be incorporated as methods used to convert new patients to your business.
  • Make Conversion Easy: You want conversion methods to be straightforward throughout your campaign, either with a click to a landing page, a CTA button, or a direct Facebook Instant Experience. The goal of your ad is to increase your patient volume, and this won’t happen if users can’t figure out where to schedule an appointment or how to talk to an expert.

All Roads Lead to Your Website

Once your Facebook and Instagram ads have worked to convert new patients to your healthcare business, there is a good chance those new patients will end up on your website. They will travel to your website by either calling the number on your ad or using a button to schedule an appointment online. Now your responsive, friendly, and optimized site can round out the job and act as your healthcare institution’s online front desk that will welcome new patients and greet old ones.

Now that we have provided insight on how paid social ads on Facebook and Instagram can increase your patient volume, let us help you develop a marketing strategy that will get your healthcare business on search engines in no time. Call Fotex Labs at (858) 228-7697 or visit our website for more information about our services!