The healthcare industry has taken a big hit in recent years. People are prioritizing their health, taking up all kinds of precautions, and finding cures to their problems online. This opens up a big opportunity for healthcare businesses and advertisers. But with this also comes the challenges.
Restrictions are strict, and healthcare advertisers need to be cautious of what they advertise, how they advertise, and where they advertise it. Healthcare advertising in itself is a big topic to cover.
With this blog, let’s understand what it is, the benefits it provides, the types, and the examples you can look up for inspiration.
Let’s define healthcare advertising first
Healthcare advertising simply refers to the promotion of healthcare services through paid ads. Marketers use it to target patients, their guardians, and other customers by presenting them with the services they have to offer.
Here’s how it typically goes. First comes the need to do a thorough research on the audience and the market, including understanding all the local and advertising terms. Then comes the creation part, where healthcare ads are tailored to match the requirements of the audience. This is followed by targeting the right users, bidding, and launching the ads. Once they run for a while, they are analyzed and optimized for improvement.
At its core, healthcare advertising is nothing but ensuring that all patient and consumer needs are met at the right time through promotions done by healthcare businesses. They know what’s available in the market and make their decisions wisely.
Benefits of Healthcare Advertising
Many wonder why healthcare even needs advertising. Funds are limited and have to be used efficiently. Which is a good point, but here are a few points to convince you that healthcare advertising is worth it.
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It builds awareness
Many times, patients or customers aren’t even aware of certain cures available in the market. Healthcare advertising builds awareness among consumers by presenting offers and letting them know that there’s help available. Customers will start recognizing and recalling your brand whenever necessary.
It calls for engagement
Health and fitness ads can engage users at every step of their journey by providing relevant information. Clear messaging and compelling visuals attract users to click and learn more or go to a website. This helps businesses figure out who is a potential lead and whom to retarget with ads.
It builds trust and credibility
Being honest, open, and authentic about what you’re selling and how it can benefit contributes to the credibility your business has. Using genuine testimonials, real-life scenarios, and credible spokespeople in your ads builds trust with the audience.
It leads to sales and patient retention
All the advertising boils down to our final goal: making sales. It’s easy to sell when people are familiar with your brand and have trust in it. Plus, targeting the right people at the right time makes all the difference. You can further gain their loyalty with good service and continuous communication.
It helps with patient education and empowerment
A social benefit of healthcare advertising is that it helps to educate and empower patients. For example, campaigns that address routine screenings and vaccinations empower users to take proactive steps towards their health.
Types of Healthcare Ads
Healthcare ads can be presented on many platforms in many different formats. Let’s examine the most common types of healthcare ads.
Search ads
Search ads are ads that show up in the SERPs when a certain keyword or term is entered. For example, a medical shop advertisement might show up when someone searches ‘medical shops in NYC’. These ads allow healthcare companies to improve their online presence and reach high-intent customers.
Display ads
Display ads are ads that show up on relevant websites and apps instead of the SERPs. So if you want to display ads in a pharmacy, they can show up on websites that talk about medicines, wellness, and general health. This ad type is especially helpful in building brand awareness and trust through visuals and retargeting. You can connect with a medical marketing agency to get started.
Social media ads
Social media is filled with pages talking about healthcare. People often refer to it to find precautions, remedies, and cures. This makes social media ads the perfect tool to reach the right social audience. You can use multiple ad formats to present your offer. Just remember to read all the social media platform guidelines beforehand to avoid any penalties.
Video ads
When it comes to storytelling, video ads are perfect. They can effectively convey emotions and brand stories with the right visuals. Education and product demonstration have become easier. It can be found across a variety of platforms like YouTube, websites, social media, and more.
Email ads
Email ads are a type of ad format that is valuable for engaging patients, providing educational content, and promoting your healthcare services in the long run. It allows personalized communication, maintains trust, and delivers campaigns in a non-invasive way.
Examples of Healthcare Ads
Creating healthcare ads can be a bit tricky. What to present, what story to tell? So here are a few examples that you can take inspiration from for your next ad campaign.
Heart Bite by Curaprox
Curaprox, the oral healthcare company from Switzerland, combined advertising and education in one of its most popular advertisements. The ad displays teeth forming the shape of a heart, with a clear message asking viewers to take care of their teeth before they take care of their heart. This messaging is followed by the context of how studies have found a direct link between heart attacks and cavities.
It’s a clever, visually appealing, and educational ad that piques curiosity and makes the user check out more.
Subway, Phone booth, Doorknob by Sanzer
This ad by Sanzer, a sanitizer company, is a great visual metaphor. The series of ads portrays unwashed hands in place of subway handles, fingers in the place of telephone buttons, and a soiled hand in place of a doorknob. The ad copy reads ‘What do you touch?’, indirectly insinuating the importance of using hand sanitizers.
Not only is this ad visually entertaining, but it also sends across a powerful message.
Extra large wound by Hansaplast
Hansaplast, the wound healing and sport support company, wanted to send the message that wounds aren’t just small but also large. Hansplast’s ad campaign focuses on its XL size wound healing product with visuals that are completely different. They employed a metaphorical approach by shaping the wounds to represent large animals like elephants and dinosaurs. The ad sends a clear understanding of Hansplast’s product. Check out other pharmacy marketing ideas to get a better idea.
Conclusion
Healthcare is a dynamic industry. Competition is only going to increase as more innovations and remedies are developed. To stay relevant, healthcare advertisers will have to update themselves and come up with new techniques to find their audience. Try different ad formats through a healthcare or pharmacy PPC company. See what resonates with your audience, what they respond to, and how you can make the experience even better for them.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is healthcare advertising?
Ans. Healthcare advertising is the promotion of healthcare products/services through paid ads. Healthcare providers use it to reach their customers at the right moment.
What are the benefits of healthcare advertising?
Ans. Healthcare advertising works to increase awareness, engagement, sales, retention, and trust. It’s also effective in educating and empowering patients.
Which is the ad format for healthcare advertising?
Ans. Display ads are one of the best ad formats for healthcare as they are cost-effective and offer immense reach and awareness.
How can I create impactful healthcare ads?
Ans. Connect with your audience, tell a story, and showcase your offer to create an impactful healthcare ad.
How does pharmacy advertising work?
Ans. Pharmacy advertising works by promoting pharmaceuticals and pharmacy services to relevant users on a local or global scale.
