In today’s healthcare field, patient engagement has become an increasingly valuable step in the care journey. It has also become harder to maintain. Here are the top five strategies to boost patient engagement:
#1 - Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Optimization is the name of the game nowadays. Making sure every aspect of your website is optimized will pay off in the short and long term. In the short term, you’ll boost visibility in online searches. In the long term, it will help you build a reputable online presence, which will draw in new business and help you keep the patients you already have. When Google can read your website correctly, it will rank higher in searches. Tags for your website pages and strategic HTML titles will give you the competitive edge in these areas.
#2 - Consistent Online Presence
Your online presence is like your brand, except it can be accessed anywhere at any time by anyone with the Internet. That’s why it’s important to stay on top of it. Timely updates for things like contact information and address updates are essential to building a consistent online presence, but there’s more to it than that. Reliability and access are two deal-breakers for patients choosing a practice, so the more consistent your online “brand” is, the easier it becomes to sway potential patients your way.
#3 - Responsiveness
Beyond just consistency, your website should be periodically checked for usability. Timely and meaningful online interactions with patients will create a public record of trustworthiness for your practice. Poor reviews should be addressed immediately, as they can have a huge impact on that trustworthiness. The more responsive you are, whether the feedback is positive or negative, the more trust you build in the public eye.
#4 - Two-way Communication
Arguably one of the most important ways to sustain relationships with patients nowadays is using social media. At the base level, it helps boost the visibility of your practice, but more than that, it establishes a two-way communication with patients. Social media is key to broadening your engagement and to targeting the quick-reader--someone otherwise difficult to reach by traditional marketing. Emails are great for direct engagement, and if used in conjunction with social media, you maximize your audience reach.
#5 - Educational Content
With this strengthened partnership also comes streamlined care. The more empowered patients are, the higher their engagement will be. Providing educational tools on your website establishes a pathway for patient empowerment that puts your two-way, active relationship at the forefront of the patient experience. This level of accessibility and willingness to engage with all aspects of patient concerns will cultivate quality patient engagement. An informed patient is ideal for both sides of the practice-patient relationship, and the more you provide, the more trust you earn.
Managing all these strategies takes time and expertise. We know the importance of all these strategies and successfully deploy them for our customers. Schedule a demo with us today to see how PracticeBeat can help your practice grow, or use our simple-to-use online testing tool to see where you stand right now.
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