In the age of technology, patients have more options than ever regarding where they get their healthcare information. This also includes having access to information on what practices are local to them, or even what practices can provide telehealth services in their area. With so many services easily presentable online, it is crucial for NPs to consider their online presence when attempting to attract patients to their practice. If you’re still not sure about expanding your practice online, then consider that in a survey from Doctors.com, 80% of participants agreed to have previously researched healthcare information online. Additionally, 63% chose which practice they would engage with based on their online presence. Reviews also play an important role as 81% read the reviews for whichever practice they had been referred to.
With so many people relying on the internet for information on healthcare and their options for healthcare providers, NPs must prioritize building a strong online presence. Here are just a few strategies to get started.
What’s Your Practice’s Brand Identity?
To support a strong online presence, your practice needs to have an established brand. Craft a mission statement for your practice (if you haven’t already) and make it easily accessible on your practice’s website. This goes for your practice’s core values as well. Patients who feel like their values align with your practice may feel more encouraged to engage with you.
Also, consider highlighting your practice’s unique value proposition (UVP). What are the specialties of those who work in the practice? How does your practice go the extra mile to treat patients? Showcasing your practice’s UVP will intrigue potential patients who may consider utilizing your services.
After finalizing your brand values, it’s time to establish your brand’s visual identity. Create a professional logo while using a consistent color palette across the brand. Ensure the logo and color, and even typography where possible, is used across all marketing to maintain a cohesive design, allowing your practice to be easily recognizable online.
Connect With Your Community
The road to a strong online presence includes creating a connection with your community through social media. This may seem overwhelming at first, as there are a multitude of social media platforms, each with their own rules. However, with a consistent strategy, this task can be manageable and even rewarding.
The simplest way to get started is to create social media accounts on three of the most popular platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
On Facebook, NPs can build their community by sharing health tips, news about their practices, and any success stories.
Instagram requires a more visual strategy, so infographics and images sharing health tips would do well here. NPs can also film videos sharing a “behind-the-scenes” look at their practice.
LinkedIn leans more on the professional side, so this is a great platform for building connections with other healthcare providers, organizations, and possible referral partners.
Enhance Website Performance
Attracting new patients online is difficult without a well-functioning website. Even if the website is purely highlighting the practice’s services, it can still be SEO-optimized to appear in search engine results.
With whatever content is featured on your website, integrate popular keywords that patients would typically search, such as “nurse practitioner near me” and “primary care for [city name].” This should be done across pages with careful consideration so as to not overload any one page with keywords.
Navigation menus are also essential to a user-friendly website. Organize topics in a way that makes sense for patients visiting the site and provide clear paths to the most essential information, including service information, accepted insurance providers, and appointment scheduling.
Don’t forget that a user-friendly site is also a mobile-responsive one. Mobile visits make up 58% of all site visits worldwide, so make sure your site is prepared for any potential who may be searching for your services while on the go.
When NPs work to implement each of these strategies, they are helping to ensure that their practice stands out in the competitive world of healthcare.
