8 Ways to Engage with Electronic Health Record Content Customers

Getting your services in front of decision makers in the health and medical field isn’t easy. These professionals are busier than ever. And that makes marketing your electronic health and medical records services to them all the more difficult. Inbound Marketing, on the other hand, brings these decision makers to you. And no – it doesn’t involve any of shady tricks or gimmicks. Inbound Marketing is a new and proven system for nurturing your ideal customers along the buyer’s journey… from not even being aware they have a problem (awareness stage), to recognizing the problem and search for solutions (consideration stage), and finally to satisfied customer (decision stage).

Let’s take a look at some of the ways electronic health record content and Inbound Marketing engages health and medical decision makers:

1. Provide engaging and informative content

The most important and thing you need to remember here is that “Content Is King.” Roper Public Affairs found that 80% of B2B decision makers turn prefer informative articles over ads. And HubSpot’s research discovered that companies with consistent blogs will enjoy 4.5x more leads than their competitors. So, it’s crucial that you engage prospects with the kinds of content that is answering the questions, solving their problems, and addressing their interests. That means you should avoid the mistakes most companies are making with their blogs, which is writing posts about their products and services. In other words, gear the content toward your ideal customer. But you don’t need to create all that electronic health record content by yourself. Talk to your customers. Ask them if they would like to contribute to your blog. That will increase exposure, because your customers will most likely share the link across their social media.

2. Encourage participation in blog comments and social media

Creating great electronic health record content is just the beginning. Now, you need to generate some buzz around it. Encourage your readers to leave comments and respond to social media posts. One of the easiest ways to motivate participation is to end your blog post with a question. The same goes for social media: ask questions. And when people engage with the content, reply with a thank-you and clearly answer any questions they have. This boosts your online reputation and motivates people to come back for more. Inevitably, you’ll get your share of spam now and again. Be sure to remove them the moment these irrelevant comments are found. This will keep your company looking professional and on-point.

3. Host Google Hangouts or webinars

You ideal customer – like all of us – loves visual, real-time engagement… especially if the person they’re engaging with can help them solve their problems and provide them with the information they desire. Webinars and tools like Google+ Hangouts allow you to take advantage of these opportunities. And you can keep your viewers engaged by including:

• Graphics
• Slides
• Charts

But remember to always end your webinar or Google Hangout session with a Q&A segment. This allows you to foster strong relationships with your ideal customers in ways other forms of content cannot.

4. Build your own community

A very effective tool for engaging new customers that is often overlooked is to create exclusive online communities or forums. Your customers get instant access to your members-only group, where the can network with one another and discuss the health and medical field issues that concern them. Attract members by offering electronic health record content available only through the group. And keep them interested by offering exclusive incentives, such as special pricing and discounts. Not only will your customers feel like VIPs, but you’ll also discover many new pain points as you scan their conversations. That is marketing gold.

5. Collaborate with your existing customers

When your preparing to launch a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) software service or product, improve your website’s UX, write an eBook, or whatever – ask your customers for suggestions. Not only could this provide some valuable insights, but asking for their advice goes a long way toward nurturing loyalty. And you could even encourage your greater customer participation by making a content of it. Maybe offer rewards to those whose suggestions are included in the electronic health record content or design.

6. Celebrate with your customers./h3> Did your company’s social media achieve a milestone goal? Your Facebook Page reach its first 1,000 followers? Then celebrate. Share the news with your email list. Your community members or social media followers will feel as though they’ve contributed to this success. And consider offering perks when these milestones are reached. More importantly, take the time to recognize your customers’ successes. You can highlight their achievements in social media posts or your company’s email newsletter.

7. Monitor social media

We don’t need to tell you that social media has become one of the most important tools for playing an active role in your industry. So, keep an eye out for the trending topics in your field. What has gone viral among health and medical professionals? Buzzfeed.com can help you find trending topics in your field. When you find these conversations, participate. Like and share, leave a comment. And join the dialogue by creating electronic health record content that builds on these conversations. A consistent effort here will boost your credibility and help to establish you as an authority.

8. Grow your list of leeds and nurture them

Email marketing remains one of the most effective methods for nurturing B2B customer relationships. According to HubSpot, email communication is the preferred form of communication for 86% of business professionals. Email isn’t going anywhere. And by sending high-value Lead Nurturing Emails on a regular basis, you will keep them interested while fostering brand recognition. Use these emails to:

• Share the latest industry trends
• Educate them on relevant topics
• Feed them appropriate blog posts
• Distribute your weekly newsletter

Using these nurturing emails strategically helps your leads along the buyer’s journey.

The Final Word

We’ve covered a lot of information here. But we can see how engaging new prospects is crucial to increasing brand recognition and growing your list of qualified leads. And that empowers your sales team to close more deals. Everything we talked about, though, is just one component of the Inbound Marketing Strategy. Implementing this methodology can be a challenge, especially doing it alone. But Responsify partners with Electronic Health Record (EHR) software services to develop the right strategy, and provide all the support and help these companies need to put Inbound Marketing to work. Let’s talk. We would love to help you attract the right visitors to your website, convert them to qualified leads, and turn them into satisfied customers. Request your free strategy session now.