Consumers Using Internet to Save on Medical Expenses in Tough Economy
To Reach “Patient 2.0” Community, Healthcare Marketers Must Adopt Web 2.0 Strategies
CHICAGO, IL, May 21, 2009 – According to Andrea Fishman, Vice President of Global Strategy at BGT Partners, the leading worldwide interactive agency, the state of the current U.S. economy is prompting Americans to cut back on necessities that were once immune to financial compromise, including healthcare. In an article published in the April 2009 edition of eHealthcare Strategy & Trends, Mrs. Fishman asserts that American consumers are saving on medical expenses through greater use of the Internet, thereby creating new areas of opportunity for online marketers. To reach these Web-savvy patients, healthcare marketers must adopt Web 2.0 strategies in order to fully engage the “Patient 2.0” community.
“The Internet is the ultimate tool of empowerment for consumers,” said Mrs. Fishman. “Patient 2.0 is online, sharing information with peers from all over the world on community sites and praising or disparaging experiences with doctors, treatments, medications and hospitals. Marketing your company’s healthcare services via Web 2.0 tools is a cost-effective and valuable way to interact with patients and ensures that the traditional “word-of-mouth” reference is extended online.”
Mrs. Fishman believes that patients are more informed than ever as a result of the emerging health information websites. She says that through sites like WebMD and HealthGrades, Patient 2.0 currently conducts a variety of activities over the Internet, including sharing information and experiences in patient Web communities, using search engines to research health information and statistics and browsing healthcare review sites such as the federal government’s Hospital Compare, among other activities. These “customers” are more informed than ever – and are challenging the status quo within the healthcare industry.
In order to reach these potential consumers, Mrs. Fishman says healthcare marketers must engage in Web 2.0 strategies and tactics. For example, she says that Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is crucial to attracting the nearly 150 million U.S. adults that, according to Harris Interactive, used online search for health information in 2008. Another method she mentions is Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Campaigns, which allow you to invest in targeted ads that give you exposure to current and potential patients across these leading sites. Additional tools Mrs. Fishman lists are e-newsletters, affiliate marketing programs, social media sites and individualized patient sites.
To read the complete article by Andrea Fishman, please click here:
http://www.bgtpartners.com/pressroom/AsktheExpertFishman.pdf
About BGT Partners
BGT Partners is an independent global interactive marketing agency that helps companies strengthen their brand and business relationships through digital marketing and technology solutions. The company created interactive marketing solutions for clients such as Florida Power and Light, Office Depot, Ryder, ADP, Sony, Tupperware and FedEx. Founded in 1996, BGT is headquartered in Miami, with offices in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. BGT has earned the reputation as one of the Global 2000's foremost professional services firms.
Contact:
Andrew Dixon
BGT Partners
Media & Public Relations Manager
305-438-1800 x230
adixon@bgtpartners.com
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