While the thought of turkey dinners and caroling might sound more appealing, it’s time to grab some eggnog and start planning for 2024, because before you know it, the year will be flying by like a reindeer on caffeine. But being in the healthcare industry, your job won’t be as easy as one of Santa’s helpers crafting the perfect toy …
While regulations are necessary in the healthcare space, they pose unique challenges to developing successful privacy-centric marketing strategies due to the sensitive nature of patient data, complex regulatory landscape, and the intricate dynamics of healthcare decision-making. Below are five 2024 data trends we expect to impact the healthcare landscape, along with recommendations on how you can be prepared to handle them.
The continued rise of AI and automation.
AI is already being used in healthcare marketing in a variety of ways, such as to personalize content, automate tasks, and target ads more effectively. In 2024, we can expect to see even more innovative and widespread use of AI in healthcare marketing. For example, AI could be used to develop chatbots that can answer patient questions and book appointments, or to create personalized patient education materials. Measuring the internal and external use of AI, along with its effectiveness on a case-by-case basis, will allow you to determine which AI-based strategies you should continue to invest in.
Omnichannel marketing becomes essential.
Healthcare consumers are increasingly using multiple channels to find and interact with healthcare providers. U.S. adults will spend more than 7.5 hours a day on connected devices, up a full hour from 2020. To reach these consumers, healthcare marketers need to develop omnichannel marketing strategies that deliver a consistent experience across all channels. This could involve using technologies such as customer relationship management (CRM) or customer data platform (CDP) software to track patient interactions across all touchpoints—digital and in-person.
The focus on patient experience and engagement.
Healthcare providers are increasingly recognizing the importance of providing a positive patient experience. This includes making it easy for patients to find and book appointments, access care, and understand their bills. Healthcare marketers can play a role in improving the patient experience by developing content and marketing campaigns that are educational and informative. They can also use analytics to track patient engagement metrics and identify areas where improvement is needed. And don’t just measure your website analytics—healthcare organizations are continuing to develop apps to improve the patient experience on mobile devices. In 2024, healthcare providers must understand the importance of patient retention and word of mouth, and how both are substantially impacted by a patient’s experience.
The growing importance of social media.
Social media is a powerful tool for healthcare marketers to reach and engage with patients. Sixty percent of doctors say social media improves the quality of care delivered to patients. Forty-one percent of consumers use social media to make decisions about which doctors or hospitals to choose, and 40 percent of users say information found on social media affects the way they deal with their health. Knowing these key statistics, healthcare providers can use social media to share educational content, promote their services, and build relationships with patients. In 2024, we can expect to see healthcare marketers using social media in even more innovative ways, such as to host live events and offer virtual consultations. Growing your social media presence, and analyzing traffic from social media platforms to your personally owned websites (and ultimately scheduled appointments!), can help measure the success of your social media campaigns and the positive impact these top-of-funnel approaches have on your bottom line. Of course, don’t forget about the continued importance of SEO and ranking well on those all-important SERPs!
Data-driven marketing and decision-making.
Healthcare marketers are increasingly using data to drive their marketing decisions. This data can come from a variety of sources, such as patient records, website analytics, and social media. By using data to understand their patients and prospects better, healthcare marketers can develop more effective marketing campaigns. For example, is your organization using location-specific capacity reports to adjust media spend?
Of course, when it comes to data collection and analysis in the healthcare space, whether on the web or in-app, be sure to consider the importance of collecting it in a HIPAA-compliant way by ensuring you have the necessary Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with your analytics platform as well as the platform(s) that may be storing patient data. InfoTrust has invested in our own HIPAA-friendly analytics solution powered by BigQuery, and we’d love to talk to your organization about how it works, why it’s HIPAA compliant, and the key insights that can be derived from it.
There’s nothing simple about creating an effective, data-driven marketing strategy in the complex regulatory healthcare landscape, but we hope this advice helps you navigate some of the trends we expect for 2024. If you feel like your organization could use help in ensuring your marketing strategies for 2024 are both data-driven and HIPAA compliant, don’t hesitate to reach out to us!
