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Are the Wrong Visuals Hurting Your Marketing Efforts?

Why good visuals are especially important in healthcare marketing — and how to choose the right ones

Apr 22, 2019 | Hospital Solutions


Some marketers have it easy when it comes to punctuating their content with the right visuals. Lots of industries (think: retail and travel) lend themselves to dynamic photography and engaging illustrations.

Healthcare, on the other hand, can be tricky — especially when it comes to marketing to physicians. It’s no simple feat to convey your hospital’s brand in a single image or landing page. But that doesn’t mean your visuals are any less important. It just means you’ll need to get more creative.

Why Good Visuals Are Essential to Physician Marketing
You know visuals are important in marketing, just as they are in most things. But why, exactly?

They grab physicians’ attention.
The most obvious reason to include visuals with your content is to attract viewers, and it works. If the advent of Instagram and Snapchat aren’t proof enough, consider these stats from Hubspot:

    • Facebook users are 2.3 times more likely to engage with posts that contain a visual than with those that are text-only.
    • Tweets that contain an image are 150 percent more likely to be retweeted.
    • Articles that include imagery every 75 to 100 words get double the number of shares as articles with fewer or no images.

They keep users engaged longer.
Relevant imagery doesn’t just grab readers’ attention. In some cases, your audience will spend more time on visuals that contain information than they will on reading text.

They’re good for SEO.
Google and other search engines rank content with visuals higher than content without, even if only slightly.

How to Find the Right Visuals for Physician-Focused Content
You know you need visuals — good ones at that— but how do you choose? These tips can help you select the right ones.

Consider your audience.
A renowned surgeon has developed a new surgical technique that’s making a splash, so you’ll obviously want to show it, right? Well, it depends. Surgery photos and detailed diagrams are great when you’re messaging specifically to surgeons, but other physicians might not find them interesting or useful. Images of medical equipment should be reserved for physicians, internal audiences and stakeholders.

Opt for real people.
Stock photos are great in a pinch. They’re readily available and affordable (and sometimes free). But physicians, like any audience, respond better and engage more when brands use original photos of people, places and products. Hire a photographer for printed material and large-scale media.

Get explanatory.
People do 323 percent better at performing a task after reading instructions with accompanying visuals versus instructions without visuals. Include graphics that highlight important takeaways, statistics or other data to help your readers absorb your content more easily.

Go conceptual on tough subjects.
It can be difficult to find appropriate photography for sensitive topics, such as mental health or end-of-life care. In such cases, choose a conceptual photograph (say, of a storm cloud) or an illustration.

Stay on brand.
Maintaining a cohesive aesthetic will help physicians become familiar with your brand. Ensure a unified look across photography, graphics and other imagery to increase brand recognition and build a sense of trust and consistency among your physician audience.

Looking to connect with a larger network of physicians? We can help.

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