7 Patient Marketing Strategies to Attract and Retain Patients

Mia Jensen | April 18, 2025 | clock 5 min read
7 Patient Marketing Strategies to Attract and Retain Patients | DemandHub

What is Patient Marketing?

Patient marketing is the strategic approach of attracting, engaging, and retaining patients to help grow your healthcare practice. While traditional marketing strategies focus on promoting the practice’s services, patient marketing uses patient engagement tactics to nurture long-term relationships and foster patient loyalty.

Healthcare practices need to build trust with patients in order to thrive. In fact, it is much more effective than traditional advertising for enhancing communication and elevating the patient experience.

7 Patient Marketing Strategies to Attract and Retain Patients

patient-marketing-strategies

  1. Build a Strong Online Presence Your practice’s website is one of the most important aspects of your brand’s online presence and can be used to attract and retain patients.

    Building a website that is easy to navigate, well-optimized and updated regularly with engaging content makes it easier for patients to discover your practice and interact with you. This is crucial because the more your patients engage with you, the better your search engine ranking will be.

  2. Leverage Social Media Marketing Similar to a website, social media is another way potential patients can discover your practice. Posting engaging and educational content, sharing patient success stories, and practice updates allows you to maintain an active social media presence.

    Social media is all about engagement and building a community. This allows you to connect with potential patients and foster stronger relationships with them.

  3. Utilize Email Marketing for Patient Engagement Email marketing is a cost-effective way to stay in touch with patients. Practices can use email marketing to share exclusive content with loyal patients and keep them engaged.

  4. Implement Automated Appointment Reminders Missed appointments lead to wasted time, resources, and lost revenue. To avoid this, healthcare practices can use automated reminders to reduce no-shows and streamline appointments.

    Automated reminders can be sent via text or email, and allow patients to achieve their health goals even when their schedules are busy. They are also more effective than manually calling patients to update their appointment status.

  5. Focus on Online Reputation Management A few negative reviews can affect your practice’s reputation, but having no reviews at all can drive potential patients to a competitor. This is why it is so important for healthcare practices to use patient marketing strategies to build a strong relationship with patients that is reflected in a positive image online.

  6. Educate Patients with Informative Content Patients are most likely to research their symptoms before they go see a specialist. Writing long-form, well-researched, and accessible content gives practices the opportunity to educate patients about their conditions.

    This way, you can not only drive more traffic to your website but also create a great first impression. A blog section is great for your brand’s SEO and allows you to engage and build trust with your patients long before they visit your practice.

  7. Engage with the Local Community Healthcare practices can also engage with potential patients by actively participating in local events. These include wellness workshops and seminars focused on awareness and immunization.

    Local events are often organized in collaboration with local businesses, giving you the opportunity to expand your reach, engage with potential patients, and give back to the community, which creates positive word-of-mouth referrals.

Simplify Patient Marketing With DemandHub

DemandHub is the perfect tool to help you elevate patient marketing. With AI-driven automation, healthcare practices can ensure seamless patient interactions, automate reminders and streamline operations.

DemandHub allows you to take your patient marketing to the next level by reducing no-shows, streamlining review collection, and tracking patient interactions to help you grow your practice efficiently.

To learn more about how DemandHub can help you save time and boost revenue, book a free demo today.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is patient marketing, and why is it important?

Patient marketing refers to the use of marketing tactics such as digital marketing and online reputation management to build trust and lasting relationships with patients that ensure long-term practice growth.

How can healthcare providers improve patient acquisition?

Healthcare practices can improve patient acquisition by enhancing their patient marketing efforts. This includes engaging with them on a regular basis, automating reminders and following up with patients, using management software such as DemandHub.

What digital marketing strategies are best for patient engagement?

Here are some of the most effective digital marketing strategies for healthcare practices:

  • Local SEO marketing (Google Business, FAQs, and SEO blogs).
  • Social media marketing & advertising (social media posting, collaborations, and live Q&A sessions).
  • Email & SMS marketing (appointment reminders, offers, deals, and wellness tips).
  • Online reputation management (review collection, client testimonials & success stories)
How can social media help in patient marketing?

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow healthcare practices to connect with their target audiences, engage with patients on topics such as health, and share patient testimonials. This allows practices to build awareness about their brand, and establish credibility in the process which is essential for patient marketing.

What are the best tools for HIPAA-compliant patient communication?

Platforms like DemandHub are ideal for HIPAA-compliant patient communications, providing secure text messaging, automated reminders, and review collection features.

How can healthcare providers effectively collect online reviews?

Healthcare providers can use automated review requests and review invite links to collect more reviews and make the process as seamless as possible for patients.

What strategies help reduce appointment no-shows?

One of the most effective strategies for reducing no-shows is sending automated reminders to patients. This ensures that they stay on top of their appointments and have the opportunity to reschedule if needed.

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