BLOG | Digital Marketing Our Guide to Digital Healthcare Marketing and COVID-19

Over the past few months, the COVID-19 crisis has changed our world in unimaginable ways. There is no question that we are currently living in a different time because of the pandemic. Children cannot go to school and are spending the remainder of the academic year at home. Individuals, if they are lucky, are working from home while other members of the working class have been laid off. Some businesses have been left with no choice but to close temporarily. Even digital healthcare marketing is not exempt from the impact of the coronavirus outbreak.

Now, if you have a healthcare business, you may be faced with a dilemma. You may wonder what your main goals should be during this health crisis. Well, first and foremost, you should remember that perspective is what is essential here. Now, more than ever, people—your colleagues, friends, essential workers, those suffering, and the community in general—need empathy. This is important for you to keep in mind as you try to maintain your digital healthcare marketing relevant during the pandemic.

So, we have established the significance of perspective and empathy during the outbreak. Keeping this in mind, you must focus on educating the public, showing that you care, and reminding them that everyone is in this together. This should be the foundation of your business’ digital healthcare marketing efforts during this period.

Today, we are going to share the ways a healthcare business like yours can help the public amid the COVID-19 crisis. But, before we get into this, we would first like to give a brief discussion of the implications the crisis has on healthcare organizations and consumers.

The Implications of COVID-19 on Healthcare Businesses

In the past, health care generally remained unaffected from recessions. Since people get sick no matter what state the world is in, the demand for medical care usually remains constant. However, the COVID-19 crisis has proven to be quite the exception.

First off, people have been asked to refrain from going outside. This is especially true for individuals whose medical conditions place them at a higher risk for the coronavirus. These are the people who use and need healthcare services the most. In addition to this, there is a need for medical offices to lessen visitors to prevent the risk of spreading the virus.

Many healthcare businesses across the country are feeling the impact of COVID-19. For instance, some primary care practices have experienced up to 70% reductions in the use of their healthcare services. Clinical staff members are also experiencing reduced or frozen salaries while some are being furloughed. And, let us not forget the many health workers who have fallen ill due to the virus.

Clearly, COVID-19 has affected healthcare businesses both from a health and economic standpoint.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Media Consumption

Since we will be talking about how your organization can help the public through responsible digital marketing, we need to touch on media consumption in the time of COVID-19. Obviously, many people have more available time these days. The time they would have spent going to the mall or joining events has now gone to staying at home.

It is no surprise, therefore, that people across the nation are consuming wide amounts of media during the pandemic. With more time on their hands, consumers of every generation have been turning to broadcast TV and online videos. The Global Web Index reports that 68% of consumers are searching for COVID-19 updates online compared to other activities. However, Gen Zers have different priorities. Based on the data from the report, they are the only generation that is more likely to listen to music than to search for news.

While staying updated on the latest pandemic news is certainly important, people also need some form of distraction to help them cope with the situation. Hence, more individuals—particularly Gen Zers—have been subscribing to apps such as Netflix and Disney+.

A lot of people are beginning to get worried over how much time they are spending on their gadget screens. But, research indicates that screen time itself is not the problem. Instead, it is the content that individuals choose to consume. The content they choose can play a significant role in their mental well-being.

However, no matter what kind of content people choose to consume, the fact is that all generations are depending on their devices. They consider their gadgets as tools that can provide them with the information and distractions they need amid COVID-19. Therefore, this provides companies such as healthcare businesses with the opportunity to engage more people.

How Your Healthcare Business Can Help the Public with the COVID-19 Situation

The COVID-19 health crisis is a new reality that most of us have yet to get used to. While we cannot be there on the frontlines, we would like to do our part in helping healthcare businesses navigate their digital marketing during the pandemic. As such, we want to help you help others through social media, your website, and other digital platforms.

No two healthcare organizations are the same. However, if there is one thing healthcare businesses have in common, it is caring about the community’s health. While your situation may be unique from others, we have come up with general recommendations that can help you decide what to do for your digital healthcare marketing.

With this in mind, we encourage you to think carefully about the following for your healthcare organization, your patients, and digital marketing efforts:

1. Educate People About the Pandemic
2. Guide Those Who Believe They May Have the Virus
3. Check Your Existing Campaigns and Ensure Your Messaging Is Appropriate
4. Use Social Media and Email to Give Updates and Advice
5. Ensure Your Audience Knows Changes to Your Process and Procedures
6. Keep Local Listings Up-to-Date

We will be thoroughly discussing each item one by one. If you are ready, then let us get started now!

1. Educate People About the Pandemic

   Let us be real here. The sad fact is that a lot of misinformation is being spread and many across the nation still fail to understand just how serious coronavirus is. Therefore, your healthcare business has the chance, or rather, the responsibility to use your influence to keep others informed about what is going on.

   Remember, your healthcare organization is so much more than your logo, tagline, and advertisements. In fact, your brand is actually more defined by your actions and the value you offer. Therefore, you must take this as an opportunity to emphasize your mission of caring for the people in your community.

   Try to relate your organization’s mission with your role in stopping the coronavirus threat. Doing what is right during the present will help you establish your healthcare business’ branding in the long run.

   Since more people are at home and are using social media more frequently, you have a bigger chance of educating more people. You can use all your organization’s social media pages to share major updates and tips about the pandemic. And, if you want to reach more members of your community, you can give paid social media advertising a try.

2. Guide Those Who Believe They May Have the Virus

   As we mentioned earlier, many people do not know what to do if they feel they have coronavirus. This is due to the different kinds of information being spread around. Furthermore, aside from the usual advice, such as washing your hands and not going out if you are sick, a suitable course of action can differ between communities.

   Here are some commonly asked questions:

   • What are the coronavirus symptoms? Should I get tested?
   • Where can I get tested in the community?
   • Should I remain at home if I have minor symptoms?
   • Who should I see—an urgent care provider, my primary care doctor, or the hospital?
   • How can I refrain from infecting others?

   You can help these individuals by posting blogs or articles on your social media about coronavirus. Make sure that what you create, of course, is medically accurate. You can also choose to share information from dependable sources such as the CDC or WHO.

3. Check Your Existing Campaigns and Ensure Your Messaging Is Appropriate

   Is your healthcare organization currently running any campaigns? Make sure that you carefully review each one to identify if the messaging fits how your organization plans to treat the COVID-19 situation.

   While changing your print or direct mail campaigns may be out of the question, you can still change your digital healthcare marketing. That is one of the advantages of digital marketing! You can make updates to your messaging and posts whenever and wherever you need to.

   For instance, if you own a pharmacy, you may want to change your approach of encouraging patients to visit your store into something more appropriate for the present. As an alternative, you can advertise your pharmacy’s delivery services or focus on providing health tips.

4. Use Social Media and Email to Give Updates and Advice

   You should use your platform to go beyond educating the public. We encourage you to keep your audience guided and informed throughout the pandemic. This is not just the right thing to do—the information you share will be of high value to all who read it. With this, you can further your relationship with your audience and establish yourself as a trustworthy authority.

   You can guide patients through the health crisis by providing them with tips, such as:

   • Ways to boost their immune system
   • How to stay positive and manage fear
   • How to deal with stress
   • Caring for young children at home and explaining the virus to them
   • Activities to pass the time
   • Ways to keep the family safe

   You can share these tips on social media or make blogs about each topic. What matters is that your audience gains valuable information from your organization. This way, they will not feel overwhelmed by the current pandemic’s impact on their lives.

5. Ensure Your Audience Knows Changes to Your Process and Procedures

   Although the pandemic is going on, dialysis patients, soon-to-be-mothers, and other individuals considered high-risk may still have to go to doctor’s appointments. This may put them in a stressful situation, which is completely understandable. As a healthcare business, your organization should emphasize how much you value these patients’ safety and well-being. This includes explaining when patients should not visit your office.

   A lot of healthcare practices are encouraging those with cold and flu symptoms to avoid going to them. They, instead, recommend telehealth visits. Is the case similar for your organization? If it is, then you have to play an active role in relaying that message. So, if you want your patients to phone you before visiting your office, make sure you get that message across everywhere. This means posting it on your website, digital ads, local listings, and social media, among others.

   When you are communicating with vulnerable individuals, acknowledge their fears and concerns. We also encourage you to give as much detail as possible in describing how your organization is protecting their safety.

6. Keep Local Listings Up-to-Date

   Have you made changes to your office hours or policies? Local listings such as Google My Business and Yelp! are great ways to keep your patients updated. What you should do is add COVID-19 statements and revise them as often as necessary.

   Google’s My Business’ posts conclude after 7 days. However, updates to your other listings may need to be revised when the situation goes back to normal. Our suggestion? Have a spreadsheet enumerating every update you have done so that you can quickly find or take out any COVID-19 information in the future.

Digital Marketing Tips for Healthcare Businesses amid the Current Pandemic

You now know the ways your healthcare business can help the public during the coronavirus threat. To further help you, we would like to discuss more insights. We have enumerated some tips that you can apply for your organization’s digital marketing efforts:

1. This would be a good time to try integrating telemedicine into your organization, if you have not done so yet. Aside from keeping your patients and staff members safe from unnecessary exposure to the virus, they will enjoy the convenience of telemedicine.
2. While you may have to change some of your approaches to marketing, this does not mean you should quit marketing completely. These days, people are finding themselves with more time than they know what to do with. They will need organizations like yours to help them with their healthcare-related challenges.
3. Your organization may have looked into the possibility of postponing or even cancelling some of your events. If this is the case, why not try digital alternatives such as video conferences or webinars instead of moving your events to a later date?
4. Keep all forms of your communication relevant, appropriate, and empathetic to the current situation. While you should generally adopt a serious tone to your posts, it is good to share lighter content every now and then. Your audience will appreciate a break from all the serious news they hear.

When It All Comes Down to It, Sensitivity Is the Key

Currently, anxiety levels are high across the country and the rest of the world. People are not only worried about their health. They are also worried about their finances, jobs, their kids’ education, and more. Keep this in mind in everything you do from here on out.

Therefore, when you share posts on social media, be sensitive about the language you use. You do not want to appear unsympathetic to your audience’s current situation, after all. Make sure that every single thing you post is in good taste and in touch with reality. When needed, you can also address and acknowledge your audience’s fears. This will help you gain trust during this difficult period in history.

Your efforts in highlighting transparent and principled communication, as well as echoing your organization’s mission in your actual deeds, will be worth it. Why? Because this way, your patients will come to the realization that they have found a healthcare organization that truly cares.

Our Final Thoughts

While things are challenging for all of us, the right attitude and approach can go a long way. Right now, your priority as a healthcare organization is twofold—you are responsible for both serving and informing the public. Ultimately, this is what you should bear in mind when adapting your digital marketing strategies to fit the COVID-19 health crisis.

Now, more than ever, your organization must recognize the importance of communication. People, especially those considered at-risk, must understand the severity of the pandemic and why staying at home is non-negotiable. As a member of the healthcare industry, you have the power to educate these individuals and help them avoid getting sick.

The COVID-19 pandemic will come to pass. Eventually, life will get better. Until then, however, you need to continue promoting frequent hand washing, social distancing, and staying at home. It is important to get these messages across while remembering to be empathetic to the situation others are facing. How you handle this health crisis will affect your organization and what people think of it in the long run.

We believe that your healthcare organization will be able to do this and more and not just for your business’ benefit. Our team has the utmost faith that you can do this for the community’s sake as well. It is our wish that you, the community, and other businesses out there will come out of this crisis stronger than ever.

Share this blog with your friends and colleagues today or leave us a comment down below. Your thoughts matter to us. We would love to know what you think about this topic!

Give Your Digital Healthcare Marketing an Edge During the Coronavirus Pandemic with Proweaver

So, do you think your healthcare organization needs help with digital healthcare marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic? If you answered yes, then you can turn to Proweaver’s expert team for assistance. There is no team better suited for the job than us!

What can you gain from choosing Proweaver? Well, for starters, you get to enjoy the expertise of a digital marketing company with over a decade of experience. There is a reason we have been around that long—and it is because of our ability to give clients like you exactly what you want.

You and your business objectives are our top priorities! Therefore, when you entrust your digital marketing needs to us, we see to it that we deliver results. Our team members work together to provide you with the solutions you are looking for.

You know how important it is to communicate and help the people you serve. This is especially true during this unprecedented period in our history. Hence, you need to work with a team like ours—one that can help you share useful tips and information to the public.

With Proweaver, you never have to worry about sending the right message to your audience. We have talented writers that can create original, well-researched content for your business. Our company also has SEO specialists who can help increase your website’s ranking. Plus, we have social media experts who know the right time to engage with your audience.

All you need to do is simple! Just tell us about your healthcare company and the kind of information you want to put out. Our team will then take over from there. Rest assured that we have your back every step of the way.

Connect with Our Team

Do yourself a favor and partner with Proweaver today! Together, we can make a difference in your community during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond! We encourage you to reach out to us to learn more about how we can help your healthcare business.

One of our representatives would be happy to answer your questions and clarifications. We cannot wait to hear from you soon!