When patients are searching for a pediatrician, gynecologist, or general practitioner, they can take their time, ask for recommendations, and do their research. When they need urgent care, they need it now, and if they aren’t loyal to a clinic already, they turn to the source of all knowledge–the internet.
Positioning your urgent care clinic as the right choice for new patients starts long before they spike a fever or sprain their ankle. Creating brand awareness starts with visibility online where patients are searching. That’s why your urgent care marketing strategy is so important.
According to Hubspot, healthcare companies spend 18% of their revenue on marketing. This number may seem high, but it includes pharmaceutical companies and large hospital systems. When marketing urgent care, that percentage may be higher or lower depending on whether you focus on business growth or maintenance.
Since most people look online rather than asking for personal recommendations, urgent care clinics should focus a significant portion of their budget on digital advertising like Facebook ads, Google Ads, and more focused, potent sources like Solv Connect. But which avenue provides the best results? Let’s break down the options available for your healthcare marketing strategies.
Facebook Ads
You may not think of Facebook for marketing your urgent care, but traditional wisdom says you should–why? Location, location, location. Facebook remains the most used social media platform among the target demographic of most urgent care clinics–women aged 25-45, many with children.
Facebook ads are relatively simple to set up. Your business must have a Facebook business page, which comes with an Ads Manager account.
Using Ads Manager, you can create an ad and determine the audience by demographic and location, the length of time it will run, and the concentration with which it will appear. Facebook ad prices are based on how many people see them, so set your budget and let your visibility increase.
Facebook’s size is a benefit and a disadvantage. In the plus column, Facebook provides broad access to your potential pool of prospective patients. Ads can be specifically targeted at patients in your prime demographic, and the results are trackable so that you can see the return on investment of your advertising spend. They are also less expensive than Google ads.
However, Facebook is becoming a crowded marketplace for advertisements. If your ad is bookended with other sponsored posts from creators or doesn’t stand out visually, you may not make as big of an impact as you want. And those huge numbers of users? They don’t all apply to you–your visibility is based on your chosen parameters. Your potential views may be fewer if you’re targeting a fairly small geographical location.
All in all, can Facebook be effective? Absolutely, but it should be used primarily for brand awareness.
Google Ads
Unsurprisingly, most people turn to Google to find answers (and care) quickly. It makes sense to consider Google ads when planning your urgent care marketing. But while Google comes with size, it also comes with cost–and not insignificant costs, either.
Whereas Facebook ads charge based on how many eyes see them, Google bases its fees on how many people click on the ad. Those fees are typically higher than Facebook’s but they are also targeted in a different way. While Facebook allows you to place ads in front of demographics based on age, location, gender, and interest, Google aligns your ads based on the search history of the viewer. Google also allows you to set a monthly budget cap.
However, standing out in Google’s cluttered landscape can be tough. It relies on your knowledge of search engine optimization (SEO) to target effectively–you may have great results or middling results based on how well you anticipate the keywords your ideal customer will be searching.
Solv Connect For Urgent Care
Solv Connect combines the best of both platforms to create a uniquely targeted plan for urgent care marketing.
Instead of appearing smashed between the latest influencer on facebook, or on the same page as every other company with the word “urgent” or “care” in their name, Solv Connect places your clinic right where it needs to be–in front of people searching for urgent care in their area.
Patients using Solv have several things in common.
- They are looking for same day care
- They are more likely to rebook, in fact average Solv user book 2.7x
- They are more likely to leave reviews, which boosts your NPS numbers and build trust.
Six million patients search for care on Solv every month. And of those patients, many become long-term patients, rebooking for every member of their family.
Is Solv Connect the only form of healthcare marketing you need? Probably not. But if you’re looking to acquire new patients, Solv Connect creates a hybrid solution that includes the best of all worlds–location and demographic-specific leads with the intent to buy.
Key Takeaways
- Urgent Care Marketing is essential for growth
- Advertising spend should be focused on where you’ll see the highest ROI
- Solv Connect offers ways to target high-intent patients
Ready to learn more? Let us show how Solv can help you connect with more patients.
