You’ll find a lot more digital marketing in medicine now than you ever have in the past which might come as a bit of a surprise to you.

Why are doctors and medical professionals using online marketing to gain your attention and offer their services? There are several reasons why this is happening, but you’ll find that marketing in the online world has become a large part of medicine today.

Why are doctors and medical organizations using digital marketing?

1. Patients Live in a Digital World

In the world we live in today, people are online more often than they are not. Some don’t even like an actual paper book and spend hours online. If doctors want to reach patients where they live, they have to be in the digital world with them. Nearly all health care needs must start online and go from there, which means this is where medicine must also be.

2. Users are Searching for Doctors and Providers Online

More than half of the searches for doctors to treat ailments are done online. Health information is the third most popular online search activity in the United States which means medical professionals need to offer their services in this world. This is another important reason why digital marketing has been integrated into medicine as much as it has.

3. Growth is Being Done on Mobile Devices

Like any other industry, the health industry must grow, adapt, and be in new areas or be left behind. The largest audience group for doctors is now Millennials which are looking for immediate answers to questions along with actionable items to solve problems and ailments. With this group replacing Baby Boomers as the largest generation, it’s important for doctors to be easy to find online.

4. Medical Organizations Can use Email Marketing

One way that digital marketing has been integrated into medicine is through the use of email marketing. Rather than sending out mailers or making calls, doctors, nurses, and providers can simply send a secured email that patients can view online and understand more information. This allows for an easy communication tool between medical professionals and patients. This tool is also inexpensive which cuts costs for the medical companies.

5. Most Prospective Patients Review Hospital Reputations

While many medical professionals might not appreciate online reviews, especially from patients given the information they didn’t want to receive, no matter how necessary, there is value in them. The reputation of a hospital is important before having a procedure performed. If there are several hospitals to choose from, patients want the one that has the best reputation online and a staff that will help them heal after their procedure.

6. Both Digital Marketing and Health Care are Rapidly Changing

The fact that medical science and online marketing are both constantly changing makes it easy and ideal for medical organizations to be part of the digital world. Using digital marketing that’s integrated into medicine is a great way to get new information out to the masses that need it. It’s also a wonderful way for professionals to show what they are working on and what learning that should be shared.

7. Localization is Paramount in Online Marketing

Localization is easy to achieve with digital marketing which makes it easy for users to find their local doctors that specialize in certain procedures and practices. This means doctors can reach their local area and be at the top of the search result when a user is looking for a doctor in their area. The marketing budgets set by the medical organization will reach the specified targets more effectively.

8. New Practices Can Track Results More Easily

When doctors are setting up new practices and want to get the word out, the use of flyers and mailers used to be the way to go. Today, using digital marketing that’s been integrated into medicine, doctors can reach potential patients with marketing campaigns and measure that reach. Accurate measurement was never possible with previous methods.

9. More Users Are Connecting Via Mobile than Ever Before

Google now requires websites to be responsive because more than half of online users are connecting via mobile devices. With responsive design elements, Google can adjust the website pages to appear useful on the device. This can help websites for medical organizations appear useful and attractive when a patient searches for the right office to go to. This is just another way that medicine needs digital marketing to be successful.