Radio advertising is an excellent way to drive traffic to your healthcare business. With effective digital creative and diligent partners working alongside you, adding radio advertising to your marketing mix can build your brand and attract new patients. This post will discuss how your healthcare clinic can attract new patients with radio utilizing six methods of radio marketing.
Utilize Radio Endorsements
To strengthen your radio campaign, consider using endorsements to powerfully and effectively build a brand that people trust. You may not have considered that your healthcare business is a brand and how important it is to get your image in front of potential patients through effective radio ads. The following tips should help guide you when marketing your healthcare business with radio:
- Choose an on-air personality that aligns with your brand. In order to effectively endorse your brand, the on-air personality should believe in your clinic, business mission, and fit within your target audience to create authentic marketing. If you find that your radio personality wouldn’t consider becoming one of your patients then it may not be a good fit. Remember that authenticity is vital to effective marketing and building trust.
- Choose a station with an audience that aligns with your brand. When choosing a radio station it’s important that the listening audience, and personality endorsing your brand are aligned with your target audience.
- Invite your endorser to your clinic for an inside look into the business. Make the endorser a part of your team by inviting them to tour your clinic, meet the staff, try your products or services, and learn more about your business. He or she will become intimately familiar with your business, which will increase the authenticity of each message.
- Work together on the creative. Though you will have complete control over the content, the on-air personality should be involved so the message is written in his or her own words to make it authentic.
- Allow your endorser to improv. Your endorser has drawn in a specific target audience — one that should also match yours. Listeners prefer the endorser’s distinct personality so allow for some improv to increase authenticity and hold the audience captive.
- Mix up your endorsements. When marketing your healthcare business with radio, include a long-term approach that utilizes live reads and recorded commercials.
- Use the same personality across other ads. Using the same personality across your marketing mix will help to build trust in your brand because each target audience already trusts your on-air personality.
Utilize Radio Station Remotes
Using radio station remotes — short 2-hour, on-site appearances by a radio station — is closely related to using endorsements. A promo team and/or personality will come to your clinic and engage with patients. Remotes are also promoted on-air for listeners.
Be careful to plan a radio station remote accordingly and know that, though it would be wonderful to have the entire town show up, this usually isn’t the reality. Make sure your expectations for customer turnout are reasonable. Having a strong offer that appeals to listeners and gives them a reason to show up to the station remote is a great tip for making it a successful one.
Showcase Deals, Promotions, and Special Events
Use the on-air time you have purchased to highlight clinic specials, deals, or events to increase foot traffic. Remember to create a clear and consistent call-to-action (CTA), as well. Tell your customers what they need to do next to take advantage of special offers. Make sure your CTA is clear, consistent, and focuses on only one goal — especially since your listeners can’t see your message. Send out your CTA, then repeat, repeat, repeat.
Drive Traffic to Your Website
When creating your ad campaign call the attention of listeners to your website. This should be part of your call to action. Remember that listeners can’t click on your website link while listening to the radio in the car. Your URL should be simple or utilize words that match your mission — make it easy for listeners to remember so they can find your website at a later time. This CTA should encourage listeners to go to your website to learn more about your healthcare clinic. Once on your website, make it easy for listeners to contact your business, whether through a contact form, email, phone call, or a link to set up an appointment. People want the least bit of hassle possible, especially when trying to contact a clinic.
Drive Traffic to Social Media
Just as you want to drive traffic to your website, you'll also want to drive traffic to your social media platforms. 93% of online buying decisions are dependent upon social media so don’t miss out on an opportunity to engage with and influence potential customers.
Utilize Branding Campaigns
Branding campaigns — or awareness campaigns — are created to make listeners aware of your brand. These will help improve brand authority and authenticity over a long period of time to encourage customer loyalty.
To set your business apart from the competition you may want to create a catchy jingle or slogan that will stick in listeners’ heads since they will be hearing it repeatedly over a long period of time. This is a very effective way to attract new patients with radio. Also, consider adding on-air interviews to your radio marketing. When listeners hear from actual staff and/or owners of a clinic, it builds credibility and keeps your business top-of-mind. This personal connection can be the defining moment when a listener decides to become one of your patients.
The digital age has increased reach in the healthcare industry. Your healthcare practice is a business and your patients are your customers. Deciding how to attract new patients with radio will depend upon what your goals are and the audience you need to reach. Overall, if you utilize any of the above suggestions for your radio campaign, you should see positive results and an increase in traffic to your healthcare business.
