With the ever-growing number of businesses in the healthcare and fitness sector, attracting new clients and retaining existing ones has never been more challenging. If your lead generation and customer conversion efforts are stagnating, now is the time to rethink your marketing strategy.
In this comprehensive guide, we cover the tried and tested marketing strategies for fitness and healthcare businesses you should apply right now.
Table of Contents
Create a User-Friendly Website
While having social media accounts or sending out newsletters may be a great starting point, it is not enough to stand out in today’s fierce marketing landscape. That is where a website steps in.
A website is the core of your healthcare or fitness business. It makes your brand easier to find by online searchers, increases conversions and builds trust with your target audience.
So, how to get the most out of your website design?
Understand the Purpose of your Website
Many healthcare and fitness companies use websites to serve the latest company news and informational content to their target audience. If that is the case with your website, then focus on creating separate pages for each service and optimize it according to the rules provided in the “SEO” section below. The goal is to address the main worries and problems of your clients, explain the purpose of your services/procedures, and tell how exactly they can help your audience.
On the other hand, some fitness brands or healthcare equipment retailers build ecommerce sites to increase online sales. To create an online store, focus on the website’s mobile friendliness, clean design, and simple navigation. The goal is to create a user-centered ecommerce hub, where potential customers can find the right products and make orders effortlessly.
Optimize your Site’s Speed and Increase Responsiveness
Your site’s speed, security, and responsiveness all heavily impact user experiences and contribute to your rankings.
For starters, check how fast your website pages load. If they take more than three seconds to load, most users will ditch them and go to your competitors. You can use tools such as Google Page Insights to analyze website speed.
Second, remember that most users now use their mobile devices to find local healthcare or fitness businesses. That is why you should provide a mobile-friendly website design. Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test may be your excellent starting point. If your website is not optimized for mobile devices, invest in its redesign. The goal is to make it responsive, simple, and easy to use irrespective of a user’s device.
Third, focus on your website’s security. In the era of ever-growing cybersecurity threats, users are concerned about their security more than ever. For starters, if you still use HTTP, it is time to shift to HTTPS. An SSL certificate provides encryption, ensuring your visitors’ data is protected from hackers. It builds trust with your patients/clients, telling them that your website is secure. Additionally, SSL is a minor ranking factor that may bring a slight ranking boost to your healthcare or fitness website.
Finally, focus on increasing the overall user experience. Use tools like Capturly’s Heatmaps, Session Recordings, or Analytics Platform to understand user behaviors and adapt your website accordingly. You will understand which devices website visitors use when visiting your website, what pages they visit the most, what links and buttons they click, etc.
Keep your Website Transparent and Credible
In the healthcare industry, gaining patient trust is paramount. That is why providing informative content and highly transparent communication is essential.
One such example is bookdialysis.com, an online platform that allows patients to find their holiday dialysis treatments anywhere in the world. In addition to an easy checkout process, this platform provides patients with full control of their bookings and gives them the contact information for the clinics they chose. Plus, the entire booking process is transparent – patients know the price before booking the treatment.
Share Expert Advice
In today’s hypercompetitive healthcare and fitness industries, one way to stand out from the crowd is to showcase your expertise and knowledge. There are many ways to do that, and here are some of them:
Start a Blog
If content marketing is king, a website blog is its kingdom. It answers your potential clients’ questions, develops relationships, generates leads, and builds trust with your target audience.
That is a unique opportunity to demonstrate your industry knowledge, expertise, and experience. In other words, by creating helpful and authentic content, you will build your authority online and position yourself as a trustworthy place to get information. That will make your prospective clients more inclined to you and help you stand out in the overcrowded digital ecosystem.
What else will you gain by creating quality content on your fitness or healthcare website?
- You will create positive experiences for your target audience and establish great brand expression. That is a great chance to engage them, boost their experience with your business, and inspire them to come back for more quality content.
- You will generate more qualified leads. Once users realize how helpful and professional your content is, they will be more likely to provide their contact information.
- You will increase conversions. By creating content that provides your target users with detailed industry insights, you help them make more educated decisions.
- When optimized for search engines and promoted via social networks, your top-notch content increases your fitness/healthcare company’s visibility and raises brand awareness.
Build a Detailed Knowledge Base on your Website
Another amazing benefit of having a website is that you can make it highly user-centric. You can analyze user data from multiple sources, such as your customer service channels or tools like Answer the Public, to learn what kind of questions your audience often asks. You can build your content around these questions to provide better industry insights.
In addition to writing detailed descriptions for each service, product, or medical procedure, consider creating a comprehensive knowledge base on your website. It is immensely important to all online users who prefer self-service over interactions with customer service agents. This is a centralized repository of information that answers your prospective clients’ most common questions. As such, it should play a central role on your website, irrespective of your niche.
So, what does a good knowledge base include?
For starters, it includes links to your website’s medical procedures and blog posts, where a user may find the information they need.
Next, it consists of various brief knowledge base articles, tutorials, videos, how-tos – any content type that may help users make the right decision and convert faster.
Most importantly, a knowledge base should include a detailed FAQ page that features clients’ most common questions and your answers. Make sure your answers are easy-to-understand, simple, and specific.
A good example of a well-optimized FAQ page is Stax, a men’s and women’s activewear brand from Australia. Their FAQ page covers all segments of online purchases, including returns policy, presale orders, shipping, gift cards, privacy policy, customer checkout, and so forth.
In addition to increasing user experiences and accelerating conversions, creating a detailed knowledge base also contributes to your digital presence. It is an amazing opportunity to optimize your content for your top keywords and enhance your rankings.
Share Advice on Social Networks
Social networks are another amazing place to share expert advice, as well as collect invaluable client feedback.
For example, you can use them to promote your website content and, in that way, increase its reach and visibility. Best yet, you can repurpose your website content to create attention-grabbing and visually appealing social media posts.
Alternatively, consider engaging your audiences through live social media sessions.
For example, you could use Twitter chats, Facebook Live, or Instagram Live to host live Q&A sessions. Invite your employees to answer your audience’s questions in real time. That is a great way to showcase your healthcare or fitness center’s credibility, as well as build trust with your potential clients. You could also invite industry experts to attend your live social media Q&A sessions. Through such collaborations, you will leverage their positive influence and boost anticipation among your social media followers.
Diversify your Digital Content
In addition to the abovementioned blog articles, there are so many content research and development opportunities you can leverage. Some of them include:
- Webinars
- eBooks
- Email newsletters
- Comprehensive guides
- Case studies
- Whitepapers
- Press releases
For example, say you are running a dermatology clinic. In that case, you could host webinars and other online events for professionals in your sector. That is the opportunity to position yourself as an inevitable member of the community and gain industry credibility. Case studies are, as mentioned above, a powerful social proof tool. Use them to highlight your most important procedures and statistics, as well as explain how exactly you helped some of your clients. Press releases on your website are, on the other hand, a great way to inform your existing clients, prospective users, partners, collaborators, and other stakeholders about recent company updates.
One of the best things about digital content is that it can be easily repurposed.
For example, you can break down a 6000-word guide into a series of brief, informative newsletters or social media posts. Or, you can compile topically-related blog articles and merge them into a detailed whitepaper, guide, or even eBook.
You can use your textual content as an inspiration for creating podcasts or visual content, such as infographics or social media carousels.
Invest in SEO
When they are looking for a reliable healthcare or fitness business, most tech-savvy users turn to search engines, such as Google. When your website shows up on top of Google listings, it is more likely to draw users’ attention and inspire them to click on it. That is because highly-ranked sites demonstrate credibility and trustworthiness.
However, in today’s ever-growing digital marketing landscape, appearing on top of Google’s SERPs is not as easy as it sounds. This is a long-term process that requires continuous SEO efforts and investments.
So, what does it take to optimize a website for search engines?
Target Industry-Specific Keywords
When optimizing your website for search engines, you first need to target the right phrases for your industry. In other words, you need to focus on those phrases your audience uses when looking for businesses in your sector.
For example, if you are a plastic surgeon, your point should be the medical services you offer, such as face lifting, chin reshaping, etc. On the other hand, if you are a gym owner, you could start by targeting the keywords related to your fitness plans. That way, you will focus on the primary keywords online users are looking for when seeking businesses in your industry.
Tools such as Google Keyword Planner may be your great starting point, allowing you to compare the phrases that are or are not being searched for. Additionally, the Ahrefs Keyword Planner or SEMrush are advanced software solutions that may provide you with invaluable industry insights.
In addition to key metrics, such as keyword volume or keyword difficulty, you should also focus on keyword relevancy. The goal is to rank for relevant keywords that will bring in the right traffic and help you increase leads and conversions faster. To do that, you need to understand the search intent behind every phrase. In other words, you should know what users expect to see when searching for a particular keyword. That is where tools like Google’s Suggestions or Answer the Public can help, providing you with broader context.
Optimize On-Page Elements
Wondering what on-page optimization includes? Well, it involves a wide range of practices, including the optimization of title tags, meta descriptions, and headings (H1, H2, H3, etc.). It also involves the optimization of textual content and visual elements.
When optimizing your website content, make sure you add keywords naturally. Avoid stuffing content – this practice irritates both Google and users. Place relevant, specific, long-tail keywords organically. Only that way will you avoid penalties and increase the overall user experience.
Take Advantage of Social Proof
Let’s take a simple example. Would you rather order a meal in a packed restaurant or a half-empty one? From the first one, I suppose. That is because the number of customers often indicates the quality of service.
Humans are social beings. We care about other people’s opinions, beliefs, and behaviors. We take cues from our environment on how to behave, where to buy, what to like, etc. In the world of marketing, that is called social proof and it has a major impact on the overall success of your brand’s presence.
Simply put, social proof is a psychological and social phenomenon that pretty much explains the so-called, herd instinct. It makes it more likely that a prospective buyer will purchase from you when they see others doing the same.
Statistics back me up on that.
For example, research studies emphasize that customer testimonials can enhance conversion rates by a whopping 34%.
Now, there are different types of social proof you can use both in the fitness and healthcare sectors.
One such example is testimonials, reviews, and customer stories. They play an important role in almost any aspect of your digital presence, from your website through your social networks to your email newsletters. They build trust with your target audience.
For instance, if you are a fitness center owner, why not share your clients’ testimonials about how you helped them lose weight or achieve their fitness goals? Or, share your clients’ before and after photos to prove the effectiveness of your methods.
If you are a private medical clinic owner, your patients’ inspirational stories may work best for your prospects. Chances are your future users are interested in the effectiveness and reliability of your medical procedures.
Add social proof to your website, social media channels, and even your newsletters. Remember, irrespective of your business branch and type, customers are always your loudest endorsers.
Host Exclusive Events for your Existing Clients
In the fitness industry, there are many innovative and creative ways to engage your prospective members and increase the loyalty of existing ones. One such example is fitness events that bring people together and make exercising fun. Most importantly, they motivate people to make changes.
There is no one-size-fits-all rule when it comes to hosting events. You get your creative juices flowing and tailor the event to your clients’ specific expectations. The ultimate goal is always the same – keeping your members happy and celebrating health and well-being.
For example, you could host in-house group workouts or a massive weight loss challenge for gym members. The winner gets a valuable reward, such as free monthly membership. Alternatively, you could host marathon training events, create community seminars, or spice things up by inviting a famous fitness instructor to host a master session.
Why should you keep your events exclusive and member-only? Because it raises your clients’ loyalty and sense of belonging. That is the opportunity to increase your brand awareness and inspire word of mouth. Customers will share your event, upload photos to their social media profiles, and share their positive experiences.
Wrapping Up
In the past, traditional marketing campaigns, such as TV commercials, business cards, or in-person endorsements, were enough to generate leads and attract new clients. With the rise of digital marketing, many clients expect your healthcare or fitness business to be available online.
They expect to find your company on Google, social networks, and relevant local business directories. Plus, they want to learn more about your offers, book your services, and communicate with your brand online, via multiple digital channels.
That is why creating a consistent, multi-channel digital presence is essential to your brand’s growth. Start by creating a user-friendly website and optimizing it for search engines. Create valuable, relevant, and insightful content that will set you apart from your competitors and inspire prospects to come back for more. Share social proof to showcase industry credibility and experience. Finally, host exclusive events to increase loyalty among your existing clients and spread the positive message.
We hope this guide will help your healthcare/fitness business gain the traction it deserves!
1 Comment
Expedia API
2023-02-15 at 08:37Thanks for an amazing unique blog.