15 Best Healthcare App Marketing Strategies for 2023

Working on a new medical app? Imagine it becoming the next Epocrates of today. Easier said than done, right? Some products in this niche just fail to take off.

The poor healthcare app marketing strategy in part causes the lack of traction. It is worth noting that it may differ from the general healthcare marketing strategy. The value you bring to the table is not enough signal to put you on the map. Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increasingly, patients and doctors prefer remote healthcare channels. You need to hurry to take your place because the market will grow almost threefold in a few years.

The recent report of MarketsandMarkets, the global healthcare IT market is projected to reach USD 829.2 billion by 2026 from USD 319.2 billion in 2021, at a compound annual growth rate of 21.0% during the forecast period. Researchers believe that a few factors mainly drive this growth:

• Rising use of big data in healthcare
• High returns on investment associated with healthcare IT solutions
• The need to curtail escalating healthcare costs
• The growing demand for and use of HCIT solutions due to COVID-19
• The growing telehealth, mHealth, and remote patient monitoring markets
  
  

Not surprisingly, the number of consumer digital health apps ballooned last year, with more than 90,000 new ones introduced in 2020, according to the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science. Moreover, in 2021, more than 350,000 digital health programs have been available to doctors and patients. Most of these applications focus on general health or fitness. However, the number of specific digital programs for treating diseases is growing on the market, reaching 47% of the total number of healthcare apps.

As for our experience, for the last couple of years, we've had multiple clients with requests to create different kinds of mhealth solutions solutions. One of our projects, MedRealtime, is a telemedicine app providing real-time video consultations service, appointments scheduling, and reminders for doctors and patients about the time of the visit. It is a cutting-edge medical software consisting of web and mHealth booking & telecommunication platforms transforming how we get healthcare treatment before.

Another one of the projects we worked on is HIPAA Video. It is a brand new web-based communications and video conferencing application for accessible healthcare and medical advice. Created by a startup company from the US, it offers a new medium for online interaction with physicians and patients. HIPAA Video aims to revolutionize doctor-patient relationships and reduce the costs of healthcare in the entire world.

So when you create a medical application, you face a lot of competition. You need to make sure that your digital solution becomes popular in a market that millions of users will utilize.

We have prepared the 15 best powerful healthcare marketing ideas and bonus tips for your app's audience that are actionable, effective, and specific to medical software.

The App Marketing Strategy as a Part Of The Healthcare Marketing Strategy

In the ever-evolving healthcare industry, medical businesses such as clinics or healthcare organizations must strive to adapt and integrate modern technologies into their marketing strategies to maintain their competitive edge. An application strategy, particularly a mobile application strategy, can be a powerful tool in enhancing the overall marketing strategy of a medical business. In this essay, we will discuss how an application strategy can improve the marketing strategy of a medical business.

Firstly, an application strategy can provide convenience and accessibility to patients. Patients seek services that offer ease of use and convenience in today's fast-paced world. A mobile application strategy can enable patients to book appointments, access medical records, view test results, receive reminders, and much more, all from the convenience of their mobile devices. This level of accessibility and convenience enhances patient satisfaction and can significantly improve the medical business's reputation. With a mobile application, patients can engage with the medical business seamlessly, which can help establish trust and loyalty between the patient and the business.

Secondly, an application strategy can enhance patient engagement. A mobile application can enable patients to stay informed and up-to-date on their health. Patients can receive personalized notifications, alerts, and reminders regarding their appointments, prescription refills, and other important information. An application can also integrate educational materials, patient forums, and other interactive features to increase patient engagement and help patients take control of their health. This level of engagement can improve patient outcomes, and patients who feel empowered are more likely to recommend the medical business to others.

Thirdly, an application strategy can improve communication between the medical business and patients. Communication is a crucial component of healthcare services. A mobile application can facilitate secure messaging between patients and medical professionals, enabling them to communicate in real time. Patients can ask questions, get advice, and share important information with their medical professionals, improving patient care. This level of communication can also enhance the medical business's image, as it shows that the business values patient input and is willing to engage in open dialogue.

Fourthly, an application strategy can improve patient data management. With a mobile application, patients can input their health data, including medical history, symptoms, and medications, which medical professionals can view. This level of data management can improve diagnosis accuracy, streamline the appointment process, and reduce medical errors. A mobile application can also integrate with electronic health record systems, enabling medical professionals to access patient data remotely, significantly improving patient care.

Lastly, an application strategy can help medical businesses stand out in a competitive market. In today's digital world, medical businesses that embrace technology are more likely to succeed. A mobile application can be a unique selling point for a medical business, as it offers features many competitors may not have. An application strategy can attract new patients, improve patient retention, and enhance the medical business's reputation.

In conclusion, an application strategy, particularly a mobile application strategy, can significantly enhance the overall marketing strategy of a medical business. It can provide convenience and accessibility, enhance patient engagement, improve communication, streamline patient data management, and help medical businesses stand out in a competitive market. The implementation of an application strategy requires careful planning and execution. Still, the right approach can result in significant benefits for the medical business and its patients.

How marketing may boost your healthcare app

Patients now have an even greater choice of places where they can receive medical care. Previously, they preferred medical facilities located near their place of residence. However, there is now a trend that almost every second person plans to change primary care providers in the next few years, according to Solutionreach. Moreover, the recent Future of Healthcare Report from Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) shows more than a half of surveyed patients are ready to use telehealth services.

Patients increasingly pay attention to the reviews of health facilities and employees they find online before using healthcare services. This fact suggests that people are becoming more demanding, so they choose the best option for themselves and their families. Therefore, healthcare providers should consider healthcare marketing not just as a great investment but as an absolute necessity.

So you need to join companies that create and implement successful marketing strategies for medical apps. This approach will help you form trust, a sense of expertise, and a positive image of your product among current and potential customers. You will be able to become one of the market leaders and achieve the desired financial results.

Key benefits of implementing marketing:

• Increase the visibility
• Building a strong reputation among patients
• Understanding the needs and expectations of consumers
• Understanding the patients' perceptions of the quality and results of your app

It is worth noting that the app marketing strategy is a common part of the medical marketing strategy. We share with you our marketing ideas for healthcare to help make your medical app popular, and your business successful.

Slava Ivanov

Global IT partnerships and Strategic development

Contact Slava and get professional expertise on healthtech solution development

Build your custom platform

Build your custom platform

Guarantees

Dealing with people in person is a whole different cup in contrast to dealing with an app. Sensitive as it is, eHealth comes with a gamut of trust issues that you need to deal with to persuade your customer that it's worth it.

1. Security

The first item on our list is security as a competitive advantage. Safety is important for any digital product that is setting itself up for success. In terms of healthcare marketing trends, this issue is even more relevant for obvious reasons for dealing with health data. People feel especially vulnerable about Electronic Health Records used by most online healthcare providers. If you are in this business, you have probably taken the extra measures needed for your product to be safe from all potential issues, both external and internal. As for marketing, the guarantee of security has an important place in your pitch. Be explicit about the security guarantees of your app. Tell people about it on your landing page.

2. Medical Experts

Personal branding goes a long way in medical app marketing. That's why it will be a huge benefit for your app to involve a renowned physician to do some promotion. Ambassador medical experts will create a memorable impression about your product and earn the needed trust from your potential audience. One of the keys to winning these names over will be the value of your product, and this outreach will put it to a true test.

3. User Reviews

People believe other people. That's why one of the best healthcare marketing tactics is to ask some of your users to give you a review. Put these reviews at the bottom of your main page. Get their consent to accompany these testimonials with their photos if possible. Learn how to make testimonial videos for more impact. The testimonials won't write themselves. Be outgoing about obtaining them. Combine the efforts in social media and healthcare marketing to get these results. Ask your audience about the individual aspects of your services.

4. International Regulations

If you are creating an app that, one way or another, has to do with healthcare, you should be familiar with HIPAA and GDPR. In and of itself, HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is a set of U.S. government regulations. Aside from health coverage retention within the United States, it protects the integrity of user data, namely EMR or EHR.

Electronic Medical Records have been at the center of multiple incidents. In the wake of user data abuse scandals, it has been followed by a more recent HIP (Health Information Privacy) legal framework in Europe called GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation. It is even more unequivocal about the fair electronic information exchange.

Both the GDPR and HIPAA badges get huge in terms of healthcare digital marketing trends. They will provide huge benefits for the credibility of your product and thus are a must-have for your healthcare marketing strategy. If you are planning to develop the mHealth application, we created a guide to help you find detailed information on meeting the requirements of HIPAA and GDPR.

Market before launch

As a part of the medical app marketing plan, you should warm up the crowd before diving neck-deep. Promoting your product long before the launch is as intuitive as it is important. Find the most relevant channels for app launch promotion and use them to gain recognition so that when your product is out, it gets a warm welcome.

5. Study Your Audience

It's highly important to know the people you reach in your healthcare digital marketing plan. Different types of health services are more popular among specific demographics. Learn these nuances. They will help you to understand their needs better. With this data, you can even make better decisions when choosing the design types. For example, the older the demographics, the more they would appreciate conservative visuals. One-gender-prevalent audiences will show a preference for specific visuals and pallets.

6. Make a Press Kit

Press kit is the best-unified source of information about your product available to journalists and press in a neat and organized fashion. When working on this kit, make sure that it's not missing any essentials. These include:

• Review guide with highlights
• Screenshots
• Logos
• and, of course, Video

All in all, a press kit is a great composing source of information on your product that you can give readily available to people upon request — an indispensable asset to your medical marketing and media efforts. You can add it to your website as a page.

7. Prepare the Support

Rest assured that when your product hits the market, people will start having usability questions during their onboarding. Some things may be unclear, under-explained, or simply missed by the user. You have to be ready to hit another point on our healthcare marketing checklist to strike a good impression by addressing these questions quickly and comprehensively. Ensure that all the required support capacity is in place when your website gets flooded with traffic on the opening month.

Mobile first

The mobile expectations for any digital product are especially high today. Make sure that your product's mobile app launch strategy is stellar, even if you envision it to be used as desktop web primarily. Here are a few key points when creating a perfect mobile experience for your healthcare app.

8. Stellar Performance

A highly important aspect of the mobile onboarding process that always comes up for us is how fast it runs. We are talking milliseconds which are a difference between on and off when it comes to user experience. The more waiting time, the less eager the user will be to stay within your app. That's why we always recommend building a separate native Android and iOS version for your app. Ensuring superior performance is one of the most potent marketing ideas for healthcare apps you can come up with.

9. Push Notifications

Push notifications are a motherlode of outreach capability. However, the correct use of this powerful feature can be tricky. Very often, push notifications are treated similarly to email marketing. Mobile notifications are a different beast that should offer unique value to your users. It is, in part, the best way to market a new app to inactive users, but you should view push notifications as an integral part of your interaction strategy for the product as a whole.

10. Innovation

Innovation is a very important part of healthcare mobile app marketing. Pharmaceutical industry trends are very explicit about this one. Novelty is very much pivotal to the decision-making process when users are offered to try your healthcare app. That's why your app would reap immense benefits from including a new piece of technology in the market. Portable devices are a great medium to integrate new technology. It can be voice assistants, IoT support, even useful geolocation capabilities. Including these features in your unique trade proposal will have a hugely positive effect on your adoption rates.

Smooth onboarding

With medical apps, much marketing effort is simply keeping your UX/UI free from potential roadblocks. Your bounce rate will depend on how complicated your product is to get into. It is inevitable as far as sales funnels go as well as marketing in the healthcare industry. Even if your app would potentially be life-saving for your audience. Create the most streamlined introductory process you can.

11. Easy Website

Your app may be strictly mobile, but the website is highly important for new app promotion. Make sure that users get exactly what they need with maximum ease when learning about your product. Elucidate the common questions and answer them right on the page. Use analytics to see where users usually stumble and improve their navigation.

We also recommend you do SEO and optimize your UI and UX on your website, and set up a proper mobile website version.

12. Intro Video

A video on how to use your app will prove much more effective than a text guide. Multimedia ads are more effective than text ads. Your website intro video will get you many more leads than anything else. Explain what your platform is and show how easy it is to use.

13. Not Going Too Deep

If you are aiming at wide patient demographics, using too many terms will turn them away. The same goes for excessive use of data as part of the marketing strategy for new app adoption. As proven by the success of the NM Mychart App, you don't need every tiny piece of available data to create a comprehensive picture. There may be a lot of necessary information, but how you break it down will make a difference. Focus on the two tips given above. And try to limit the technicalities as much as possible while keeping the substance.

Bonus tips

1. Use PPC campaigns

Simple goods are not the only thing people tend to entrust to Google. It's also crucial aspects such as health-related products and issues. That's why some of the best healthcare marketing campaigns are paid advertisements. It's so great to step up your search engine presence. One of the viable ways to do so is PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertisement.

Google offers you several healthcare advertising opportunities to get in the client's face with paid search results that show up on top of the organic ones. Plus, through PPC, you get hold of the precise targeting instruments that aim at the exact audience you are looking for as part of your healthcare marketing campaigns. You may use geographic-based targeting and even get paid placements via Google Maps if running a medical institution.

2. Don’t neglect SMM and SEO

You can create a powerful SMM for your healthcare app so that your product is well presented in various digital channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter).

If you want to take full advantage of SMM to promote your product, you need to explore successful examples of other brands. For example, Doctors Without Borders lets their current employees serve as marketers and recruiters who actively use their social media pages to show how their workday goes. It's a free and, at the same time, effective way to promote the healthcare brand.

Create a unique SMM campaign that will go viral in the digital space.

Generate a content marketing strategy for your users browsing the internet trying to solve its problems. If your app can help solve those problems, it will become a great lead-gen channel for your medical app.

Smart staffing for UK pharmacies with the Locum App

Find out more about a cutting-edge recruiting platform

Read more

Smart staffing for UK pharmacies with the Locum App

Get a reliable partner for your healthcare app development and marketing

Let's sum up:

• Consumers want to receive quality healthcare services online.
• The global healthcare IT market and with it the number of applications is growing rapidly.
• You need to create a clear healthcare app marketing strategy. It should include items that need to be implemented one after another. Then your healthcare app will succeed in the market.

You may need the help of an IT company and a marketing agency to create your healthcare app and implement a marketing strategy for medical apps. But what company can do it?

We at Softermii have extensive expertise in different types of custom healthcare app development: telemedicine application (Medrealtime), healthcare conferencing application (HIPAA Video), healthcare platform providing personalized diabetes programs for patients faced with diabetes (My Health Explained), and telehealth application for pets healthcare (PetRealTime).

Read also: How to Build a Veterinary Practice Management Software

Our dedicated team consists of QA Engineer, Project Manager, Business Analyst, Ui/UX Designer, and Full-Stack Engineer. They help you to develop your app from scratch and implement healthcare marketing ideas at it. Our team can assist you in choosing the right option for your idea.