If you're a medical professional looking to start or grow your private practice, you need to know how to market it effectively. In this blog post, we'll discuss some of the best digital marketing and SEO strategies for promoting your private practice. We'll also talk about creating content that will engage potential patients, as well as maintaining an online presence through sites like BUPA Finder. So, if you're ready to take your private medical practice to the next level, keep reading!

There are many groups of doctors who embark on setting up a private medical practice, but let’s look at the six top areas to consider as well as two completely different areas of medicine to illustrate what it looks like in real life.

1. BUPA Finder profile

Having up to date, accurate and comprehensive information on BUPA finder and other online sites where your details appear (e.g local private hospitals) is crucial. This includes your contact details, a brief description about you and your areas of expertise as well as opening times for clinic appointments. Make sure your BUPA profile allows patients to find your website and book online too - this will help make it easier for them!

2. Website

Engaging a web designer and creating a logo, building a website and consistent branding across your business does not need to be expensive and in fact we show you on the course how to build your own website just to get started really cheaply. It is obvious however that the website needs to be optimised for SEO and digital marketing and you may need to engage a digital marketing team once you get going and develop a digital marketing plan to improve your online presence.

3. Digital marketing

Digital marketing can be an excellent way to grow awareness of your private practice and attract new patients. There are many strategies you can use, but some of the most effective include SEO, Google Ads and creating engaging content. Remember there are many opportunities for free digital marketing if you are prepared to write and create great content

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process of improving your website's ranking in Google and other search engines. This can be done by optimizing your website for certain keywords and publishing high-quality content that will interest potential patients.

Google Ads is a pay-per-click advertising program that allows you to place ads on Google and other websites. When someone clicks on your ad, they'll be taken to your website where they can learn more about your practice and book an appointment.

Content marketing is the process of creating content that will interest potential patients and encourage them to visit. This can include blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media posts. The key is to produce content that is relevant to your target audience and provides valuable information they will find useful.

Maintaining an online presence through sites like BUPA Finder is an important part of digital marketing. By including your practice's details on multiple websites, you can reach a larger audience and increase your chances of attracting new patients.

If you're looking to market your private medical practice, these are just a few of the strategies you can use. For more ideas, be sure to consult with a digital marketing specialist. They can help you create a plan that will work best for your practice and get you there quicker. Negotiate a three-month plan that gets you started with some key performance indices (targets) that you can all agree on. By keeping everyone engaged and motivated you will have a successful digital marketing plan.

4. Social media

Engaging with potential patients on social media is a great way to create relationships and drive traffic back to your website. You can share blog posts, videos, and images that will interest them, and you can also answer their questions about your practice. This is a great way to show potential patients that you're knowledgeable and passionate about what you do. Social media will inevitably play some role in your business development and marketing strategy. Facebook can be very useful for certain types of practice, for example lifestyle medicine, where a group can be a good way of delivering content and support. You could use this in addition to a website and other digital marketing activity.

Orthopaedic surgeons might find Twitter useful as they can tweet pictures of procedures or interesting cases that have arisen in the clinic during the day. Again, you should use this in conjunction with a website, digital marketing, and SEO for best effect.

Instagram can also support practitioners particularly those who are in the lifestyle medicine, or counselling space, where messages and images can convey your brand and practice ethos creating background awareness and engagement.

LinkedIn is great for professionals and can be used to post articles, connect with potential referral partners, or even find employees. As you can see, social media should not be ignored when marketing your private medical practice. By using a combination of different platforms, you can reach a larger audience and create relationships that will benefit your business in the long run.

5. Build a create team around you

No successful business is ever built in a vacuum and the same applies to private medical practices. To ensure your practice thrives, it's important to surround yourself with a talented and supportive team. This includes allied health specialists. Let’s use the orthopaedic surgeons as an example. You might be an amazing surgeon, but it is actually the allied health specialists such as physiotherapists, pain specialists, acupuncture therapists, orthotists who are probably making the most difference you your patients’ everyday lives. If your practice can have the look and feel of a comprehensive team then patients will choose you over single-handed doctors.

6. Webinars and events

Become a thought-leader. If you're looking for new digital marketing ideas, hosting live events and webinars is an excellent way to engage your audience. A digital event can be a great way of connecting with potential patients and building trust in your practice. These events also provide opportunities for networking which can lead to more referrals or even collaboration projects in the future. If you are a Menopause expert or Mental Health guru, then talks, webinars and forums and groups can be a great way of positioning yourself as an industry expert.

Hopefully that now gives you some starting blocks to get going with marketing your private practice. Your digital marketing strategy should include all of the above, however you will want to make sure that once patients contact your practice and book appointments with you or other specialists in your practice, they have an excellent experience. This is where allied health professionals and a great team come into their own. Make sure you have an excellent website, digital marketing activity and SEO that will attract patients to your practice. Use social media platforms to engage with potential patients and create relationships. Finally, use live events and webinars as a way of building trust in your brand and showcasing your expertise.