Benefits of Practice Events & 3 Tips for Boosting Attendance
Hosting an event is a fantastic way to attract new patients and build stronger relationships with your existing base. The key to any successful event is, of course, getting people to show up! In this post, we’ll cover the benefits of in-office events and how you can use digital marketing tactics to garner more in-person attendees.
Why Host an In-Office Event?
Patient relationships are a huge factor in not just your marketing plan but your practice’s overall success. Events create the space for face-to-face, human interactions, helping you build more trust and lay the groundwork for new leads and repeat customers.
Patient Education and Product Demonstrations
If you’re launching a new product or service, a demonstration at an office event can stir up interest and provide education. It’s no secret that hearing aids come with a stigma, so offering an opportunity for patients to learn more can help dispel misconceptions that keep people from seeking care. Many people don’t realize the variety of options designed to fit different needs and lifestyles. Hearing technology demonstrations showcase you as the expert and help patients make more informed decisions about their healthcare.
Community Building and Brand Awareness
Choosing a healthcare provider can be an overwhelming task for patients. Meeting face-to-face with providers creates a human connection with your practice that builds patient trust. Hosting an event fosters a sense of community around your practice and among patients. It’s a space where patients can engage with staff, share feedback and even encourage friends and family members to book appointments.
Opportunity to Generate Digital Content
We understand the effort it takes to keep your social pages active and engaging. Luckily, in-person events are great opportunities to generate shareable content! You can share a few posts in the weeks leading up to the event to provide the details and help foster excitement. Take plenty of photos at your event and use them to create recap posts in the weeks following. This allows you to share key takeaways with patients who couldn’t make the event and builds anticipation for your next one.
3 Digital Marketing Tips for Attracting More Event Attendees
Share Event Incentives on Social Media
Social media provides space to get creative with your event promotion strategy and connect directly with your patient audience. Once you select a date, it’s a good idea to build a content schedule for the weeks leading up to the event. This gives you plenty of time to share specific information and create several touchpoints with your audience.
In addition to posting about the details of your event, you can also share incentives and teasers to help entice more attendees. If your event covers an educational topic, you can create a “Q&A” (question and answer) post on your Instagram or Facebook pages to collect relevant questions. This can help you tailor your content for your day-of presentation and also encourage patients to leave feedback and get their questions answered directly.
Create a Paid Advertising Campaign
Are you offering a promotion for your event, like a free hearing test or a discount on a pair of hearing aids? Paid advertising campaigns on Google and Facebook are a great way to ensure your offer reaches your ideal audience. Paid ads have advanced targeting features that use demographic data such as age, online behavior, user interests and more, all focused on the radius around your practice or even within specific zip codes.
Paid ads on Facebook expand your reach beyond your page followers and allow people to like, comment on and share your ad with others in their network. You can interact with people in the comment section and answer questions within the post. You can also create a sign-up form right in the ad space so patients can input their information without navigating away from Facebook.
Build an Events Page on Your Website
If you plan on hosting events regularly, having a page on your website dedicated to event information and registration is a must. A well-designed events page will boost awareness about your upcoming schedule and keep patients informed about additional promotions, group educational workshops or hearing product demonstrations. It’s another way to showcase your practice as a valuable health resource and build credibility among your patient base.
At AudiologyDesign, we’ve just created an event page design that showcases practice events in the best light. It’s visually appealing, easy to navigate and allows patients to register online. Essential information is displayed at a glance, and website visitors can filter events by practice location and event type, such as Product Demonstration, Lunch and Learn, Clean and Check and more.
If you’re a current client interested in adding an event page to your website, please reach out to your account manager for more details. If you’re not an AD client but want to learn more about marketing your events, book a free consultation with us here today!