Reading Material 3 - Digital Marketing Strategy

1. Consumer decision journey – AIDA

• A consumer goes through different stages in their purchase journey. The AIDA (Awareness,
Interest, Desire, Action) model can be applied to digital marketing. The AIDA Model
identifies cognitive stages an individual goes through during the buying process for a product
or service. It's a purchasing funnel where buyers go to and fro at each stage, to support
them in making the final purchase.
• Awareness: creating brand awareness or affiliation with your product or service. Display
advertising on websites, social media (Fb, Instagram, Linkedin, Youtube)
• Interest: generating interest in the benefits of your product or service, and sufficient interest
to encourage the buyer to start to research further. Also known as “consideration” stage.
Interest can be generated by creating highly creative campaigns. Emotional messaging can
trigger emotional connect
• Desire: new media makes it easy for consumers to ‘evaluate’ competing choices using inputs
from reviewers, peers, retailers, influencers, specialists, marketers, and competitors.
Marketers can use Credibility Platforms (such as Online PR, celebrity endorsements,
influencer marketing, reviews, ratings)
• Action: CTA - Move the buyer to interact with your company and taking the next step ie.
downloading a brochure, making the phone call, joining your newsletter, or engaging in live
chat, ultimately buy your product/service.
• In digital marketing, the Advocacy stage has become important in influencing other
consumers and building loyalty. Hence it is the 5th stage in the consumer buying funnel.

Modified versions - AIDAR / AIDAE

2. Healthcare Marketing Strategy

• The healthcare marketing funnel consists of four key stages: Awareness, Consideration,
Conversion, and Retention.
• Customization of the healthcare marketing funnel is essential, involving the identification of
target audiences and aligning services with patient needs while employing SEO and other
digital marketing strategies to enhance visibility and patient engagement.
• Awareness: Potential patients encounter information about a healthcare provider.
• Consideration: Individuals assess their confidence in the provider’s ability to address their
medical needs.
• Conversion: Choosing to pursue treatment from the healthcare institution or professional.
• Retention: Cultivating ongoing loyalty among patients.
• Understanding the intricacies of a patient’s healthcare journey is crucial for devising
effective marketing strategies.
• This understanding empowers healthcare marketers to tailor their campaigns to align with
patients’ needs, fears, hopes, and desires, which are essential elements for successful
progression through the conversion funnel.

• Steps for consideration

• Identifying Your Target Audience
• Aligning Your Services with Patient Needs
• Creating Engaging Content Across the Funnel Stages

3. Role of SEO in healthcare marketing

• Healthcare marketing greatly benefits from utilizing SEO within digital strategies. By
improving their website’s online visibility, healthcare providers better connect with potential
patients who use search engines for health-related information. Nearly half of all internet
users (47%) look up health professional details online.

4. Role of Social media in healthcare marketing

• Social media platforms provide a robust avenue for healthcare providers to connect with
prospective patients.

• Research shows that while 90% of doctors engage on social media for personal purposes,
65% also utilize these networks professionally. This widespread utilization underscores social
media’s valuable role in healthcare marketing.

o Platforms can serve various functions for healthcare professionals including:

o Building professional connections
o Continuing education
o Public interaction and engagement
o Disseminating medical research findings
 o Marketing their services
o Advocating for health issues
• When actively involved on these platforms, healthcare providers can enhance their
reputation, thereby nurturing trust and establishing credibility with future patients.

5. Role of email marketing

• Email marketing is a powerful instrument for transforming leads into enduring patient
relationships. Providers deliver pertinent information directly to potential patients’ inboxes
through customized email initiatives, ranging from informative materials to reminders and
exclusive promotions.

• Paired with digital resources like patient portals and mobile applications, email marketing
enhances the patient experience, boosting engagement and loyalty.

6. How to measure success and optimizing Healthcare Marketing Funnel?

➢ Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Quantitative metrics, known as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), are essential for gauging
the success of your digital marketing efforts in healthcare. Tracking KPIs such as conversion
rates, email campaign efficacy, and social media engagement levels provides critical insights
into your marketing strategy’s performance.

➢ Conversion Rates

• Conversion rates measure how often prospects complete desired actions, such as setting
appointments or signing up for newsletters. They offer a clear indication of the effectiveness
of your calls to action and reflect overall strategy success in converting prospects.

➢ Social Media Engagement

• Analyzing data from social media initiatives, including follower growth rate, likes, comments,
shares, and results from paid advertising, provides a valuable perspective on content
resonance with audiences and interaction intensity.
Reference Example

Hospital Chain Launching a New Cancer Care Centre

Stage Objective Strategies

Awareness Make potential Social media
patients and campaigns (targeting
caregivers aware of cancer support
the new cancer groups).
care centre Collaborate with
influencers in the
healthcare space.
Advertisements on
health-related
websites and local
radio stations.
SEO-optimized blog
content on early
cancer diagnosis and
treatment options.

Interest Generate interest Host webinars with

among potential oncologists discussing
patients and cancer treatment
referring physicians advancements.
Share patient
testimonials and
success stories on
social media.
Personalized email
campaigns for doctors
and healthcare
professionals

Desire/Consideration Build trust and Offer free cancer

establish credibility screening camps and
consultations.
Publish research
articles and case
studies on the
hospital’s website.
Engage with local
healthcare
communities and
forums

Action/Conversion Encourage patients Simplified online

to book appointment booking
appointments system.
 Discounts on first
consultations.
Dedicated helpline for
inquiries and
appointment support

Retention Build long-term Regular follow-ups and

relationships with health check
patients reminders.
Patient newsletters
with healthcare tips
and updates.
Personalized recovery
plans and access to
support groups
7. POEM Framework

• The POEM framework is a business methodology that is used to develop digital marketing
strategies. There are three parts of the POEM framework: paid, owned, and earned media,
all of which affect every aspect of digital marketing campaign.

• It is an approach used to promote a product or service and looks at how the right mix of
media channels can attract more customers, deepen and strengthen relationships with
existing customers, and push the business towards ultimate goals of growth and success.

• Paid Media
✓ The first element of the POEM framework is "Paid Media", which is the most common type
of marketing channel. Any medium that requires payment, falls under the category of paid
media. Paid media is typically one of the quickest, most efficient, and easiest forms to track
direct return on investment. But control of paid media is generally in the hands of the
service provider. At the same time, it is often the least credible resource for communicating
to your target customer.

✓ Advertising products or services on paid media channels, such as Google Ads and Facebook
Ads can help you grow your audience and build a sizable customer base. Paid media covers a
lot of media vehicles and platforms including, Magazines, television commercials, radio
announcements, PPC (pay-per-click) advertising, search engine marketing, and paid ads on
Instagram and Facebook.
 1. Social Media Marketing

• Social media marketing is the simplest and most effective way to reach your target audience.
Running paid campaigns on social media doesn't go steep on marketing budgets, and
measuring and analyzing results becomes easier, too. Once you post or push your ads on
social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, you will be able
to reach your target audience as soon as possible and start seeing the results quite quickly.

2. Display Ads

• Display ads are used to create brand awareness through eye-catching and interactive visuals.
Creating powerful display ads requires focusing on elements like structural layout, color, and
typography. With advanced marketing tools, these display ads can be targeted to the right
audience at the right time.

3. Pay-Per-Click Marketing (PPC)/ Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

• PPC/SEM is a must-have POEM framework in digital marketing strategy in your marketing

plan and it's a tried and tested formula. Through search engine marketing companies aim to
rank higher on the search engine results page of search engines like Google, Bing or Yahoo.
It's an excellent way to drive traffic to your website and increase brand awareness.

• Owned Media

✓ "Owned media" is the second element in the POEM framework. It refers to any media
channel that a brand controls and owns. One of the most common examples is websites,
blogs, newsletters, social media pages (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc), and podcasts
owned by companies or brands. You can completely control the content and what goes on
the website and manage it according to your customer base.

✓ SEO optimization also falls under the bracket of owned media digital marketing tools.
Owned media allows you to connect with your current audience and nurture your long-term
relationship. Owned Media is a great way to connect with your current audience and
nurture long-term relationships with potential clients. The goal of owned media is to carry
the brand voice and communicate the offerings to the market. Owned media is relatively
more cost-effective than paid media. Another benefit of owned media is its versatility and
longevity, and it allows you to maximize the effectiveness of your owned media marketing
strategies as long as needed.

✓ Examples
✓ The website is the strongest brand representation and asset a company can own. Websites
can build credibility and trust and be the catalyst for a customer journey.
✓ Blog Posts work like the brand voice. It's the communication that the brand is trying to
establish out there in the market/public. Brands have complete ownership over these blogs
and their distribution and what goes inside the content.
 ✓ Social media pages are the owned media property made over platforms like Instagram,
Facebook, LinkedIn, and Telegram for the sake of customer engagement and brand
awareness.

✓ Earned Media

✓ As the name suggests earned media refers to the exposure and recognition the brand
receives as a result of other people talking about, mentioning the brand, or due to organic
publicity and awareness. And it is the only media vehicle in the POEM framework that
doesn't require investments from the company. Earned media allows you to interact,
connect, and communicate with your audience through third-party channels, such as social
media, public relations (PR), and referrals.

✓ Most marketers classify earned media as inbound marketing as the efforts put in to get
engagement and recognition are all organic. Earned media is technically the result of efforts
put into owned media and paid media. as earned media supports both nurture/retention
tactics as well as acquisition activities of the customers.

Examples
✓ Word-of-mouth marketing
✓ Viral marketing
✓ Press releases
✓ Publicity
✓ Brand awareness

• Group Activity

For the given News Article on Diabetes, prepare AIDAR and POEM framework. Create a post on any
one of the stages.