Tag: diagnostic imaging marketing

4 Fundamental Radiology Marketing Strategies

Sales and marketing in diagnostics is an area that has become increasingly challenging and complex. A clear picture of your current situation, your goals, and the path of least resistance to reach those goals is crucial. There’s more to it than making a list of strategies and jumping right in. Trial and error lead to time and money lost unnecessarily.

Radiology Marketing Strategies: Fundamental Planning Steps To Grow an Imaging Center

Most imaging centers have some radiology marketing strategies up their sleeves. However, sales and marketing in diagnostics is an area that has become increasingly challenging and complex. A clear picture of your current situation, your goals, and the path of least resistance to reach those goals is crucial.

There’s more to it than making a list of strategies and jumping right in. Trial and error lead to time and money lost unnecessarily.

Research, data assessment, and patient and provider feedback are the guiding forces behind an effective marketing plan for any imaging center.

Collecting patient feedback after their appointment is industry standard these days, so why not improve your online reviews while you’re at it?

Here’s how to get more online reviews and collect feedback directly so you can build trust and improve and your patient experience.

You Can’t Grow an Imaging Center Without Some Information

analyzing graph dataGathering information in the following areas will vastly improve any marketing manager’s ability to grow an imaging center. The success of your diagnostic marketing plan and your overall profitability will be driven by this research.

  1. SWOT Evaluation: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats
  2. Competition and Market Analysis
  3. Data Collection From Patients & Providers
  4. Reassessment & Adjustments

If you’re already on a roll and looking for some quick and effective strategies, check out this article for some simple yet effective additions to your radiology marketing strategies. If you’re looking to set up a big picture plan for long-term sustainable growth, read on.

A lack of initial research leads to an inefficient allocation of resources.

Spend the time now to save weeks or months of effort later. Before enacting your marketing plan, gather data for the following areas.

1. SWOT: Evaluating Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats

Determining your strengths and weaknesses can be as involved as you choose for it to be. Regardless of how detailed you choose to get, note areas you’re already at the top of your game on and where you stand to make the most meaningful improvements.

Performing a detailed SWOT Analysis takes time and effort, but it’s well worth the energy. This will not only help direct your marketing efforts, it will help you budget for what matters most.

Strengths: Pinpoint what sets you apart from your competition

  • Do you offer exams which are not available elsewhere in your area?
  • Do you have an online referral system or unique integrations for your RIS?
  • Do you have equipment that accommodates a specific group of patients?
  • Do you offer the lowest self-pay prices in the area?
  • Do you offer extended hours of operation?

Weaknesses: Assess areas for improvement

broken link in a chain

  • Are your software systems slow and clunky?
  • Is there a group of patients you struggle with assisting?
  • Is your website dated and difficult to use?
  • Is your location inconvenient for your patients?

Even if you are not able to make improvements to these areas right now, simply knowing where your challenges are will help direct your diagnostic marketing efforts.

Opportunities: Finding areas of need and how you can fulfill those needs.

  • Do your strengths put you in a prime position to best perform a specific type of exam?
  • Is there a need for a service you provide which you expect to grow in the coming years?
  • Are there ways the radiology industry is changing that open new doors for your business?

The next section covers Market Research & Competition Analysis, which will help you target the most valuable opportunities for growth.

Threats: Finding where you are most vulnerable.

  • Is a local hospital’s radiology department growing at a rate you can’t compete with?
  • Are changes in government policy going to cause hardships for your center?
  • Is a larger facility in a nearby area getting referrals that use to be sent to your center?

Identifying threats will help you find how to best protect against them instead of weathering the storm once it arrives.

Even a quick brainstorm style version is better than nothing and you can always make modifications over time as you collect more information.

2. Competition and Radiology Market Analysis

tabletop football gameGathering data by performing a full radiology market analysis and competition assessment is akin to learning who you are up against in a sporting event. If you don’t know how many other players are on the opposing team, their signature plays, or even how many teams you could be competing against, you’re in for a tough game.

Researching your local competition and radiology market size for your area using these steps:

  • Gather local market statistics from vendors, independent consultants, medical publications, and databases to determine the greatest need in your area. Strive to learn things like what specialists are most likely to refer for each exam type and how far from your location is too far.
  • Assess your current referral data and track changes over time. Integrate a HIPPA compliant reporting tool that integrates with your RIS to build customized dynamic reports you can check anytime. Note your top referring providers’ location, specialty, and practice size. Use this data to assign a current sending score for each provider. This will help you find opportunities for increased referrals and identify physicians who are already referring an ideal number of patients.
  • Identify the best new referral opportunities by researching medical providers in the area. If you have a web developer on your team, you may be able to automate this process. Score potential referrers to find those most worth pursuing.

Take these factors into consideration when building your radiology marketing strategies for assessing referral opportunities. 

  • Specialty
  • Practice size
  • Location

Once you have determined which current and prospective referring providers are most valuable to your facility, you can focus your radiology marketing plan around them. This will ensure your marketing has a well-defined path.

3. Data Collection From Patients & Providers

Customer Feedback Form on TabletGetting a clear picture of how you’re perceived by patients and providers may be the most valuable ongoing data you can collect. Strive to constantly assess your progress through:

Patient Satisfaction Surveys can be sent via email, SMS text messages, or as a pre-stamped postcard at the time of the exam. The answers patients give can help you to:

  • Understand your strengths and weaknesses from a patient perspective
  • Gather more information about patient expectations
  • Request online reviews. A crucial part of reputation management
  • Reach out to unsatisfied patients to resolve the issue

An imaging center’s patient satisfaction rate is correlated to ratings and reviews, both of which can help you get more patients. Learn more about how to grow an imaging center through effective patient retention strategies. Ensuring patients would choose your center next time around makes a big difference.

Provider Feedback can be collected on an individual basis over the phone, in person, or through email. Ask your referring providers about

  • Ease of referral process. Was it quick? Easy? Convenient?
  • Exam results. Were the results timely and easy to access? Were the images clear?
  • Communication. Was it easy to communicate with our staff? Were you able to get in touch with us easily? Did we answer any questions and adhere to special requests?
  • Would you recommend us to another physician? Why or why not?
  • What can we improve? The most important question you can ask.

Most likely, your imaging center profitability revolves around your referring providers. Your provider feedback will help you understand what your referring doctors are looking for and how to best meet their needs. It will also let them know you’re striving to make things easier on them and that you respect and value their relationship with your center.

Effectively marketing to physicians for referrals

One strategy rarely employed is email marketing to physicians. This method of gaining referrals requires some planning and research and can produce surprisingly positive results. The key here is finding out what information of value you can offer to referring partners to strengthen your relationship with them.

4. Reassessment & Radiology Marketing Strategy Adjustments

adjusting dialsThings change over time, if you’ve planned carefully, it will be for the better. Monitoring your progress through ongoing data collection and assessment is a key component to maintaining your trajectory.

Now that you’ve put the time and thought into the preliminary steps to planning out your approach, you’re off to the races. The work you’ve put into analyzing your business, researching your local market, and collecting data will be invaluable in every marketing tactic you employ. You’ll want to check back in with these items regularly.

Decide how often you will:

  • Reassess your data
  • Measure your progress
  • Make adjustments to your marketing plan

Maybe it’s once a quarter with your whole team, maybe it’s at the end of each month when you’re taking a look at the cash flow, maybe it’s a quick glance each week. Whatever you choose, be diligent and you will get the most out of your radiology marketing strategies to drive your business to success.

Looking to get a leg up by better understanding your local market and competition?

Click to learn how we provide detailed local provider research so you know exactly where to focus your marketing efforts.

Diagnostic Imaging Marketing Hack: Setting up Click-To-Call On Your Website

Your diagnostic imaging marketing doesn’t mean much if your phone number isn’t easy to call. A phone call is the main method of contact for most imaging centers and the phone number is most often found online.

Get More From Your Diagnostic Imaging Marketing With This 5-Minute Fix

Don’t use just any developer, use a development team with over 10 years of experience with diagnostics.

Click to find out about an affordable and professional new website for your diagnostic center!

How many people actually call a business after finding it on the web?

In a study of 3,000 people, 61% of mobile users call after a local business search.

Click-to-call makes it easy for your patients, physicians, and website visitors to call your imaging center by simply tapping the phone number on their mobile device.

Some devices may be able to recognize the phone number automatically, but without setting up click-to-call in your HTML code, you’ll be leaving many people to have to copy and paste the number or write it down to call. This often means the difference between gaining and missing out on a new patient.

The good news is that your phone number can be optimized in less time than it takes to fill out the new patient paperwork in the waiting room. If you or someone on your team has a little HTML experience, you can knock this out in no time. If not, you can reach out to the company that developed your website to request they add this functionality.

Creating Click-To-Call Using Text

To add click-to-call functionality to your website without a button, you can add the following tag directly into an HTML code, replacing the 5555555555 with your center’s phone number without spaces or dashes.:

<a href="tel:5555555555">Call Us</a>

In this example, the text “Call Us” will be what visitors to your site see. You can replace this with the phone number its self or any other text you’d like to display.

Creating Click-To-Call Using an Image

If you have a phone icon or the number displayed as an image, you can create a click-to-call button using the following code and replace the 5555555555 with your phone number and also replace the http://www.domain.com/files/phone-icon.jpg with the file path for the image you’d like to use.

<a href="tel:5555555555"><img src="https://www.domain.com/files/phone-icon.jpg"></a>

 Testing Your Click-To-Call

Anytime you make a change to your site, you’ll need to test it. Test your click-to-call function by pulling up the site on a variety of different phones to make sure everything is displayed correctly and of course that the call can be made successfully.

Want more people calling? Getting more online reviews will attract new patients.

Find out how to get better reviews and improve your patient experience.

How To Use Facebook To Market Your Radiology Center

Your Guide to Setting Up, Maintaining, and Growing Your Imaging Center’s Radiology Facebook Page

While most businesses now have a facebook page, radiology Facebook pages for imaging centers are less common than others. Even in the Medical industry, Facebook is a powerful tool for any practice.

Questions multicolour radiology facebook

In this article, we will discuss the “who, what, when, where and why” of using Facebook to promote awareness of and engagement with your imaging center.

Looking to increase your patient reviews on Facebook and Google?

Learn how MedRev generates glowing patient reviews and gathers patient experience data to help improve your business.

Getting Started: How to Market Your Imaging Center on Facebook

Radiology social media outreach is complex due to the nature of their business. However, Facebook is the most popular social media site worldwide. Its position in the market means it has the broadest reach across all demographics. It also provides some of the most powerful user tracking tools available to marketers.

With a Facebook page, your imaging center can reach any demographic and also collect valuable data on real users to inform all your marketing initiatives, including market segmentation strategy. These things and more make Facebook the best place to start your radiology social media presence.

What to do With Your Diagnostics Facebook Page

1. Who? Market to referring doctors and patients in the same place at the same time.

Traditionally, the marketing approach for most imaging centers has focused on referring doctors while excluding patients. This made the most sense from a numbers-to-dollars perspective in the past, but that was before the rise of social media. On your radiology Facebook page, your practice can market to both groups at once.

radiology facebookFor targeting patients, your posts should center on the human element of your practice, demonstrating an intimate level of care in your organization and the patient benefits you offer. According to Ragan’s Health Care Communication News, referring physicians spend 60% of their time on social media reading, sharing, and discussing healthcare news. So, focus your physician-targeted posts on sharing both your expertise and what’s going on in the world of diagnostics. The best approach is an all-inclusive one in which you post content frequently in a well-mapped flow of how and when to target all your market segments and their overlapping interests.

2. What: Broadcast all your cool technology (machines and images) for an easy eyeball magnet.

You’ve probably heard the term “eyeball economy,” which refers to the effect social media, SEO, and the science of web traffic have had on businesses and how they find new customers. Essentially, if you can get the eyeballs, the dollars will follow. So, lean on your strengths.

Radiology imaging centers have some of today’s coolest and most expensive machines that the public have personal access too. Broadcasting information about the impressive tech in your center(s), and sharing the images, GIFs, and videos these machines produce, are two great ways to get and keep eyeballs on your diagnostics facebook page. Whether this is a fMRI of the brain, contrast-enhanced images of the body, or cardiac imaging of a pulsating heart muscle, use the tech at your disposal to your advantage!

3. When: Frequently.

Radiology facebook frequencyWhile your radiology Facebook page is not a personal one and you should avoid over-sharing, your imaging practice should post to its Facebook page at least once a week and not more than once per day. Ideally, you will set a schedule and queue up unique content for publishing at the same time on the same day each week, then fill in the days between with interesting and relevant “shares,” or repurposed content. Creating that much original content is a lot of work, so make sure you have a dedicated resource to allocate to your diagnostics center social media presence.

You can use an auto-posting system like Buffer to queue up your posts for set-it-and-forget-it simplicity.

4. Where: Cross-promote your content everywhere.

Because of its broad reach, Facebook should serve as the center for your content cross-promotion across all outreach channels. Link back to your practice’s main site as much as possible, and once you are an imaging center Facebook expert, branch out into other channels and begin driving traffic there as well. The goal is to whip up a cyclone-esque flow of traffic between all your social media outreach channels, your website, and all your followers.

Bear in mind that learning web traffic science and digital marketing is required to create a strong feedback loop that will make all your effort worthwhile. Either dedicate the time required and stick with it until your investment pays off, or reach out to an expert for help.

5. Why: All these reasons, and then some.

  • Your Facebook page can teach you more about what patients and referring doctors want. With special tools just for marketers, your imaging practice can track the online behavior of those “Like” your page.
  • A Facebook page gives you a chance to make lasting, human connections with referring doctors and their patients. Just as much as we are in an eyeball economy, we are also living in a relationship-based economy. Engaging with patients, referring doctors, and prospects in a personal way will draw them in and keep them close.
  • Facebook is good for search engine optimization (SEO). A Facebook page is a great tool for your radiology social media strategy to increase the visibility of your website and your branded content. While creating a strong flow of traffic requires a well-planned engagement funnel, any level of cross-promotion is helpful.
  • Your competition may already have a Facebook page. This point speaks for itself. Unfortunately, “everybody’s doing it” does apply to this scenario.

Creating an engaged, active following for your diagnostics Facebook page is a lofty, albeit important, goal. In conjunction with an active and relevant blog on your practice’s website, this is the first step to digital marketing for your radiology practice in the social media realm. Once your practice achieves this, you can move on to image-based social platforms like Instagram, which has an increasingly broad reach across many demographics.

Looking for more ways to keep your patients and referring providers engaged?

Click to learn about our diagnostic growth system that provides value and education to your patients and referring physicians.

Your Guide to Setting Up, Maintaining, and Growing Your Imaging Center’s Radiology Facebook Page

While most businesses now have a facebook page, radiology Facebook pages for imaging centers are less common than others. Even in the Medical industry, Facebook is a powerful tool for any practice.

Questions multicolour radiology facebook

In this article, we will discuss the “who, what, when, where and why” of using Facebook to promote awareness of and engagement with your imaging center.

Looking to increase your patient reviews on Facebook and Google?

Learn how MedRev generates glowing patient reviews and gathers patient experience data to help improve your business.

Getting Started: How to Market Your Imaging Center on Facebook

Radiology social media outreach is complex due to the nature of their business. However, Facebook is the most popular social media site worldwide. Its position in the market means it has the broadest reach across all demographics. It also provides some of the most powerful user tracking tools available to marketers.

With a Facebook page, your imaging center can reach any demographic and also collect valuable data on real users to inform all your marketing initiatives, including market segmentation strategy. These things and more make Facebook the best place to start your radiology social media presence.

What to do With Your Diagnostics Facebook Page

1. Who? Market to referring doctors and patients in the same place at the same time.

Traditionally, the marketing approach for most imaging centers has focused on referring doctors while excluding patients. This made the most sense from a numbers-to-dollars perspective in the past, but that was before the rise of social media. On your radiology Facebook page, your practice can market to both groups at once.

radiology facebookFor targeting patients, your posts should center on the human element of your practice, demonstrating an intimate level of care in your organization and the patient benefits you offer. According to Ragan’s Health Care Communication News, referring physicians spend 60% of their time on social media reading, sharing, and discussing healthcare news. So, focus your physician-targeted posts on sharing both your expertise and what’s going on in the world of diagnostics. The best approach is an all-inclusive one in which you post content frequently in a well-mapped flow of how and when to target all your market segments and their overlapping interests.

2. What: Broadcast all your cool technology (machines and images) for an easy eyeball magnet.

You’ve probably heard the term “eyeball economy,” which refers to the effect social media, SEO, and the science of web traffic have had on businesses and how they find new customers. Essentially, if you can get the eyeballs, the dollars will follow. So, lean on your strengths.

Radiology imaging centers have some of today’s coolest and most expensive machines that the public have personal access too. Broadcasting information about the impressive tech in your center(s), and sharing the images, GIFs, and videos these machines produce, are two great ways to get and keep eyeballs on your diagnostics facebook page. Whether this is a fMRI of the brain, contrast-enhanced images of the body, or cardiac imaging of a pulsating heart muscle, use the tech at your disposal to your advantage!

3. When: Frequently.

Radiology facebook frequencyWhile your radiology Facebook page is not a personal one and you should avoid over-sharing, your imaging practice should post to its Facebook page at least once a week and not more than once per day. Ideally, you will set a schedule and queue up unique content for publishing at the same time on the same day each week, then fill in the days between with interesting and relevant “shares,” or repurposed content. Creating that much original content is a lot of work, so make sure you have a dedicated resource to allocate to your diagnostics center social media presence.

You can use an auto-posting system like Buffer to queue up your posts for set-it-and-forget-it simplicity.

4. Where: Cross-promote your content everywhere.

Because of its broad reach, Facebook should serve as the center for your content cross-promotion across all outreach channels. Link back to your practice’s main site as much as possible, and once you are an imaging center Facebook expert, branch out into other channels and begin driving traffic there as well. The goal is to whip up a cyclone-esque flow of traffic between all your social media outreach channels, your website, and all your followers.

Bear in mind that learning web traffic science and digital marketing is required to create a strong feedback loop that will make all your effort worthwhile. Either dedicate the time required and stick with it until your investment pays off, or reach out to an expert for help.

5. Why: All these reasons, and then some.

  • Your Facebook page can teach you more about what patients and referring doctors want. With special tools just for marketers, your imaging practice can track the online behavior of those “Like” your page.
  • A Facebook page gives you a chance to make lasting, human connections with referring doctors and their patients. Just as much as we are in an eyeball economy, we are also living in a relationship-based economy. Engaging with patients, referring doctors, and prospects in a personal way will draw them in and keep them close.
  • Facebook is good for search engine optimization (SEO). A Facebook page is a great tool for your radiology social media strategy to increase the visibility of your website and your branded content. While creating a strong flow of traffic requires a well-planned engagement funnel, any level of cross-promotion is helpful.
  • Your competition may already have a Facebook page. This point speaks for itself. Unfortunately, “everybody’s doing it” does apply to this scenario.

Creating an engaged, active following for your diagnostics Facebook page is a lofty, albeit important, goal. In conjunction with an active and relevant blog on your practice’s website, this is the first step to digital marketing for your radiology practice in the social media realm. Once your practice achieves this, you can move on to image-based social platforms like Instagram, which has an increasingly broad reach across many demographics.

Looking for more ways to keep your patients and referring providers engaged?

Click to learn about our diagnostic growth system that provides value and education to your patients and referring physicians.

8 Effective Strategies to Improve Your Diagnostic Imaging Center’s Marketing Plan

If you’re in the business of diagnostic imaging marketing, you have a lot of tools at your disposal. From patient outreach to physician referrals, using your resources effectively is key.

In today’s world, online is the place to focus your diagnostic imaging marketing efforts. As of 2016, over 76% of Americans were searching the web. With the internet becoming easier to use each day, that trend shows no signs of stopping.

Important note: Always be mindful to abide by Stark law and anti-kickback laws that prohibit giving incentives like gifts or money to patients or referring physicians.

Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to gain traction without legal repercussions.

Looking to grow your patient base without any extra marketing effort?

Building your online reviews will attract patients and referring providers alike so you can grow your imaging center without jumping through hoops.

Here’s our secret to getting more 5 star reviews.

These steps will lead to success in your medical imaging marketing

  1. Website: Make it specific to you diagnostics imaging center

Your website should be a cornerstone of your medical imaging marketing plan so it’s imperative that it has at least the basics:

  • Works on all browsers and devices
  • Is designed for users to easily find what they are looking for
  • Clearly represents your services

Because your website is the foundation of your business, you’ll want to make it as helpful to your visitors as possible. Here are some areas of development to consider:

  • Patient Portal
  • Physician Portal
  • Online patient forms
  • Online payment option
  • “Call now” button for mobile sites
  • Pricing information
  • Exam information
  • Equipment information
  • Calendar of events and facility closing dates
  • Customized landing pages
  • An image rotator

Read more tips on setting up a website specific to diagnostic imaging marketing

Pro tip:  Even if your website looks great, user experience testing can help identify pain points for your website visitors so you can address areas of difficulty.

2. Google Places: A crucial step in digital marketing for an imaging center

This one is high on the list because it’s so important. People don’t typically think of Google Places when planning digital marketing for an imaging center, but this is definitely worth paying attention to. People being unable to easily find your facility on Google Maps, means missed appointments, lower patient satisfaction.

What’s more, you want to be the first thing that pops up when someone in your area types in “MRI” or a similar term into Google Maps. You don’t have to compete with the whole world, like you might on a traditional Google search, just with your local area.

google-search-results

The good news is it’s not hard to set up. Just follow these steps:

  1. Set up a Google My Business account
  2. Verify your business
  3. Fill out information about your business

Pro tips:

  • Use high-quality images for your listing
  • Keep your information up to date (hours of operation, contact information, etc.)
  • Set up keywords that people would search to find you

Choose your keywords carefully. Like in any of your other diagnostic imaging marketing strategies, keywords should be terms real people would type into a search, so put yourself in the patient’s shoes for this one.

3. Facebook: Building a business page for your imaging center

Odds are your business either has or has considered a social media account or two. This is one of those medical imaging marketing ideas that is worth investing time in. If you don’t have a Facebook page you can set one up using this guide.

If you already have a Facebook page make sure it’s effective by having:

  1. A clearly branded profile picture and cover photo
  2. A call-to-action (CTA) button
  3. A regular posting schedule
  4. Someone to respond to comments and messages on a regular basis
  5. Up to date “About” information

Read more tips on building a Facebook page for your imaging facility that will propel your medical imaging marketing efforts

Here’s an example of a page well done:

page-well-done

If you’re already a Facebook pro, here are some more advanced options to be sure you’re getting the most out of your medical imaging marketing ideas:

  1. Use targeted Facebook ads to promote your page
  2. Measure your success using an analytics tool
  3. Use a social media management tool like Buffer to schedule relevant articles to post

Looking for more on how to set up your social media page? This article is a great guide.

4. A Blog: Creating content for your diagnostic imaging marketing

Building and maintaining a blog is crucial for multiple aspects of marketing your imaging services. It’s how people browsing the web for related topics will find you as a trusted resource. It also gives people coming to your website educational information.

The articles you write for your blog can be used in your email marketing and your social media posts. Finally, your blog can help your SEO so your website ranks higher in Google searches.

Determining a blog strategy is the first step. Here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Determine how much time you can devote to your blog in order to decide on a posting schedule. Whether it’s once a week or once a month, regularity is key.
  • Decide who you are writing for. Will this week’s article be written for the college athlete or stay at home mom? Each article should have a clear audience.
  • Write actionable content. Don’t write a bunch of fluff. Give your readers clear and helpful information that they can really do something with.
  • Quality trumps quantity. Always.

5. Automated and segmented emails

Building an email list is a no-brainer, but it’s easier said than done. Keep things organized by creating groups or segments in your list so you can send out personalized emails to your subscribers.

Any diagnostics imaging email strategy will benefit from automated emails. Consider grouping subscribers by:

  • Physicians
  • Patients
  • Newsletter subscribers

Your automated emails will also benefit from:

  • Having multiple ways to subscribe (eg. Facebook, Blog, or in-office)
  • Keeping track of where people signed up
  • Sending emails on a regular schedule

6. Lead Magnets

You know those pop-ups that offer ultimate guides, or a 3 part lesson? Those are lead magnets and you want them. Putting lead magnets on your blog gets people onto your email list and provides them with valuable information.

Here’s an example:

diagnostic imaging marketing Lead Magnets example

For a diagnostic facility that might go something like this:

Example:

  1. You write a blog article about “What to expect during an MRI”
  2. You create a PDF checklist that tells “Everything you need to know to prepare for an MRI exam”
  3. You put a lead magnet on your article that pops up or is shown in a sidebar asking readers to enter their email to receive the free checklist

There are lots of tools to use for this. We like Sumo.

7. SEO

A good radiology marketing strategy needs more than just a website and a blog. If you are not showing up until page 47 of a Google search, none of that matters. SEO means finding your keywords and optimizing your site to showcase them.

This is the tried and true process we recommend:

  1. Brainstorm keywords that you think people would search for when finding you
  2. Use Google Adwords Keyword Planner to see which of those keywords are being searched the most and how difficult it is to rank for each one
  3. Pick out your best keywords. These are the ones that are relevant to you, have the highest search volume, and have the lowest competition
  4. Use those keywords in the text on your website and blog
  5. Repeat these steps for each page and article on your site

SEO google adwords, diagnostic imaging marketing

Don’t have much time? Keep reading, PPC could be your better bet.

8. PPC

Pay per click ads can be a great use of the dollars in your radiology marketing budget especially if you have a bit of extra cash, but not a lot of time.

Not sure what PPC ads look like? Here are some examples:

diagnostic imaging marketing, PPC

To have paid ads on Google like these you will need to set up a Google Adwords account

There is still a substantial learning curve, but there are lots of tutorials that can help. This article is a good resource to get you started.

—

This is just the beginning of what you can do. Over time you will get to know these techniques and tools better so you can tailor your strategy to your imaging facility.

If you need more help with laying the groundwork for your radiology marketing plan, or if you want a hand implementing your current strategy we are here to help.

Looking for a better way to market your imaging center to patients and referring providers?

Click to view our menu of diagnostic growth systems!

We specialize in radiology and diagnostics marketing and nothing else. We are here for you when you need us!

If you’re in the business of diagnostic imaging marketing, you have a lot of tools at your disposal. From patient outreach to physician referrals, using your resources effectively is key.

In today’s world, online is the place to focus your diagnostic imaging marketing efforts. As of 2016, over 76% of Americans were searching the web. With the internet becoming easier to use each day, that trend shows no signs of stopping.

Important note: Always be mindful to abide by Stark law and anti-kickback laws that prohibit giving incentives like gifts or money to patients or referring physicians.

Fortunately, there are a number of things you can do to gain traction without legal repercussions.

Looking to grow your patient base without any extra marketing effort?

Building your online reviews will attract patients and referring providers alike so you can grow your imaging center without jumping through hoops.

Here’s our secret to getting more 5 star reviews.

These steps will lead to success in your medical imaging marketing

  1. Website: Make it specific to you diagnostics imaging center

Your website should be a cornerstone of your medical imaging marketing plan so it’s imperative that it has at least the basics:

  • Works on all browsers and devices
  • Is designed for users to easily find what they are looking for
  • Clearly represents your services

Because your website is the foundation of your business, you’ll want to make it as helpful to your visitors as possible. Here are some areas of development to consider:

  • Patient Portal
  • Physician Portal
  • Online patient forms
  • Online payment option
  • “Call now” button for mobile sites
  • Pricing information
  • Exam information
  • Equipment information
  • Calendar of events and facility closing dates
  • Customized landing pages
  • An image rotator

Read more tips on setting up a website specific to diagnostic imaging marketing

Pro tip:  Even if your website looks great, user experience testing can help identify pain points for your website visitors so you can address areas of difficulty.

2. Google Places: A crucial step in digital marketing for an imaging center

This one is high on the list because it’s so important. People don’t typically think of Google Places when planning digital marketing for an imaging center, but this is definitely worth paying attention to. People being unable to easily find your facility on Google Maps, means missed appointments, lower patient satisfaction.

What’s more, you want to be the first thing that pops up when someone in your area types in “MRI” or a similar term into Google Maps. You don’t have to compete with the whole world, like you might on a traditional Google search, just with your local area.

google-search-results

The good news is it’s not hard to set up. Just follow these steps:

  1. Set up a Google My Business account
  2. Verify your business
  3. Fill out information about your business

Pro tips:

  • Use high-quality images for your listing
  • Keep your information up to date (hours of operation, contact information, etc.)
  • Set up keywords that people would search to find you

Choose your keywords carefully. Like in any of your other diagnostic imaging marketing strategies, keywords should be terms real people would type into a search, so put yourself in the patient’s shoes for this one.

3. Facebook: Building a business page for your imaging center

Odds are your business either has or has considered a social media account or two. This is one of those medical imaging marketing ideas that is worth investing time in. If you don’t have a Facebook page you can set one up using this guide.

If you already have a Facebook page make sure it’s effective by having:

  1. A clearly branded profile picture and cover photo
  2. A call-to-action (CTA) button
  3. A regular posting schedule
  4. Someone to respond to comments and messages on a regular basis
  5. Up to date “About” information

Read more tips on building a Facebook page for your imaging facility that will propel your medical imaging marketing efforts

Here’s an example of a page well done:

page-well-done

If you’re already a Facebook pro, here are some more advanced options to be sure you’re getting the most out of your medical imaging marketing ideas:

  1. Use targeted Facebook ads to promote your page
  2. Measure your success using an analytics tool
  3. Use a social media management tool like Buffer to schedule relevant articles to post

Looking for more on how to set up your social media page? This article is a great guide.

4. A Blog: Creating content for your diagnostic imaging marketing

Building and maintaining a blog is crucial for multiple aspects of marketing your imaging services. It’s how people browsing the web for related topics will find you as a trusted resource. It also gives people coming to your website educational information.

The articles you write for your blog can be used in your email marketing and your social media posts. Finally, your blog can help your SEO so your website ranks higher in Google searches.

Determining a blog strategy is the first step. Here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Determine how much time you can devote to your blog in order to decide on a posting schedule. Whether it’s once a week or once a month, regularity is key.
  • Decide who you are writing for. Will this week’s article be written for the college athlete or stay at home mom? Each article should have a clear audience.
  • Write actionable content. Don’t write a bunch of fluff. Give your readers clear and helpful information that they can really do something with.
  • Quality trumps quantity. Always.

5. Automated and segmented emails

Building an email list is a no-brainer, but it’s easier said than done. Keep things organized by creating groups or segments in your list so you can send out personalized emails to your subscribers.

Any diagnostics imaging email strategy will benefit from automated emails. Consider grouping subscribers by:

  • Physicians
  • Patients
  • Newsletter subscribers

Your automated emails will also benefit from:

  • Having multiple ways to subscribe (eg. Facebook, Blog, or in-office)
  • Keeping track of where people signed up
  • Sending emails on a regular schedule

6. Lead Magnets

You know those pop-ups that offer ultimate guides, or a 3 part lesson? Those are lead magnets and you want them. Putting lead magnets on your blog gets people onto your email list and provides them with valuable information.

Here’s an example:

diagnostic imaging marketing Lead Magnets example

For a diagnostic facility that might go something like this:

Example:

  1. You write a blog article about “What to expect during an MRI”
  2. You create a PDF checklist that tells “Everything you need to know to prepare for an MRI exam”
  3. You put a lead magnet on your article that pops up or is shown in a sidebar asking readers to enter their email to receive the free checklist

There are lots of tools to use for this. We like Sumo.

7. SEO

A good radiology marketing strategy needs more than just a website and a blog. If you are not showing up until page 47 of a Google search, none of that matters. SEO means finding your keywords and optimizing your site to showcase them.

This is the tried and true process we recommend:

  1. Brainstorm keywords that you think people would search for when finding you
  2. Use Google Adwords Keyword Planner to see which of those keywords are being searched the most and how difficult it is to rank for each one
  3. Pick out your best keywords. These are the ones that are relevant to you, have the highest search volume, and have the lowest competition
  4. Use those keywords in the text on your website and blog
  5. Repeat these steps for each page and article on your site

SEO google adwords, diagnostic imaging marketing

Don’t have much time? Keep reading, PPC could be your better bet.

8. PPC

Pay per click ads can be a great use of the dollars in your radiology marketing budget especially if you have a bit of extra cash, but not a lot of time.

Not sure what PPC ads look like? Here are some examples:

diagnostic imaging marketing, PPC

To have paid ads on Google like these you will need to set up a Google Adwords account

There is still a substantial learning curve, but there are lots of tutorials that can help. This article is a good resource to get you started.

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This is just the beginning of what you can do. Over time you will get to know these techniques and tools better so you can tailor your strategy to your imaging facility.

If you need more help with laying the groundwork for your radiology marketing plan, or if you want a hand implementing your current strategy we are here to help.

Looking for a better way to market your imaging center to patients and referring providers?

Click to view our menu of diagnostic growth systems!

We specialize in radiology and diagnostics marketing and nothing else. We are here for you when you need us!