Leveraging Social Proof on Your Healthcare Website: Best Practices

As someone working in the healthcare space, you undoubtedly understand the power of trust when it comes to a patient’s choice of provider. Prospective patients want to know they’re in capable, caring hands — and nothing helps establish that trust like hearing other patients’ positive experiences.

This is where the concept of social proof comes into play. Whether through patient testimonials, online reviews, local awards, or other marketing collateral, social proof is a powerful tool that can reassure patients on their journey of care and drive conversions for your organization.

What is social proof — and why does it matter?

Social proof is a psychological term for the way people take cues from the people around them in certain situations.

When used in marketing, social proof refers to the way consumers look for reviews and recommendations while shopping to help inform their final decision. It’s an incredibly valuable marketing tool, with one 2022 survey finding that a staggering 95% of consumers read online reviews before they make a decision while researching a product or service.

When trust and reassurance are this essential to bringing in new patients, a well-placed testimonial or glowing online reviews can make all of the difference.

Social proof for healthcare websites

There are several ways to incorporate social proof into your healthcare website to build trust with potential patients:

Patient testimonials

Real-life patient stories can be some of the most impactful pieces of content on your website. People searching for care are more likely to trust your organization’s providers when they can read or watch firsthand accounts of others’ positive experiences.

Testimonials can be gathered via surveys or follow-ups and should focus on specific outcomes or aspects of care (e.g., “The staff made me feel comfortable during my procedure.”).

Remember to obtain consent in accordance with HIPAA regulations prior to posting any testimonials on your website or social media channels. You could also take a page from Geonetric client Bronson Health, whose Bronson Positivity blog features stories patients and staff members submitted on their own.

Online reviews and ratings

Positive reviews help build credibility, but even negative reviews, when handled professionally, can show potential patients that your organization takes feedback seriously and is committed to improvement. Make it easy for visitors to find your ratings by embedding them on key pages.

If you plan on encouraging patients to leave a review following their visit to your facility, be mindful of when and how you do so. A recent survey of consumer reviewing habits found that for healthcare, the sweet spot for requesting a review from patients is three days to one week after care is provided. Send out that request email too soon, and the patient may not have recovered enough from the condition that drove them to your organization to write a testimonial or review.

Provider profiles and credentials

Highlighting the credentials and experience of your doctors and staff in your provider directory helps establish authority and build confidence in your organization’s expertise. Including patient satisfaction scores, awards, publications they’ve written in, or specific accolades in provider profiles can add a layer of trust and professionalism.

We worked with Nebraska-based Bryan Health to create a directory that put their providers’ ratings and reviews front and center, alongside introductory videos, showcasing their transparency and helping reassure patients that they’ve made the right choice before they ever schedule an appointment.

Before-and-after case studies

For certain specialties like plastic surgery, dermatology, or dentistry, before-and-after case studies can provide tangible evidence of successful treatments. Featuring real patient results through photos or videos, when HIPAA-compliant, can reassure prospective patients that your practice delivers results.

Endorsements and awards

Another way to build trust with prospective patients is by showcasing any endorsements or certifications your organization has received from local groups or healthcare organizations like the Joint Commission, U.S. News & World Report, Best Places to Work rankings, etc. These validations can strengthen your reputation among patients and offer an added layer of reassurance.

Whatever you do, stay HIPAA-compliant

In healthcare, any form of patient information — including testimonials — must comply with HIPAA. Ensure that you have explicit consent from patients before using their stories or images, and anonymize details where necessary to protect patient privacy. Have clear guidelines on what constitutes a HIPAA-compliant review, and encourage patients to follow those when leaving reviews online.

Reviews, ratings, and results

Social proof is an essential part of any successful healthcare website strategy, and can go a long way to help boost conversions by increasing trust and credibility, improving SEO rankings, and decreasing patient anxiety as they research their care options.

By using patient testimonials, online reviews, provider credentials, and case studies, you can reassure prospective patients that they’re making the right decision in choosing your organization.

Not sure where to start with your organization’s social proof strategy? Geonetric is here to help through tactics like robust provider directories, user-generated blog content, responding to patient reviews, and more. Contact us today to get started!

FAQs: Personalization in Healthcare, and Why It Matters

In today’s digital landscape, brands are expected to provide personalized experiences to consumers that meet their unique needs and preferences. This is even more true for healthcare organizations when prospective patients are faced with making decisions about care and looking for information supporting their care journey and concerns.

In a field where trust and timely access to information can impact patient decisions, personalized websites offer more than just convenience; they enhance the overall experience and turn prospects into loyal patients. From guiding users to relevant health resources to streamlining appointment scheduling, personalization helps healthcare organizations offer meaningful, patient-centered digital experiences.

Despite the uptick in personalization, it still remains a relatively new concept in the healthcare marketing space. If your organization has never tried personalization before or was unsuccessful in launching a home-grown personalization solution, you likely have some questions.

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about personalization and why now is the time for your organization to incorporate it into your marketing strategy.

What is personalization?

Personalization is a marketing strategy that identifies user groups based on their browsing habits and other broad identifiers in order to provide them with a unique experience.

How can personalization be used in healthcare?

Personalization offers a way to provide tailored experiences that increase patient engagement at several key decision-making moments.

For prospective patients, you can use personalization to deliver content that aligns with the service lines they’re researching and shares why your organization is the best choice in the area for receiving care for that condition.

One example of this could be setting up a heart and vascular care campaign that features two distinct patient experiences: one that shows up when a user arrives at your site after clicking a paid ad and one that’s set to appear after a user visits two specific pages.

This same concept can be put in place for current patients after they visit a certain set of pages or arrive at your site after clicking a link in an email sent out to patients.

Perhaps their browsing habits show they have a new condition they’re seeking care for and are wondering about next steps — your personalized digital experience can guide them through this new care journey and reinforce why your organization continues to be their best choice for care.

Why should we include personalization on our site?

First and foremost, today’s patients expect personalization.

Our 2022 consumer survey found that 68% of respondents agreed it’s frustrating when healthcare websites recommend information or calls to action that aren’t relevant to their unique needs. In that same survey, 79% of respondents said that they agree healthcare websites should personalize their experiences based on their preferences.

But this focus on personalization goes beyond healthcare. A 2024 Deloitte Digital report found organizations that excel at personalization are 48% more likely to have exceeded their revenue goals and 71% more likely to report improved customer loyalty. The organizations that Deloitte surveyed as “personalization leaders” also reported improvements in conversion rate (54%), customer engagement (61%), and customer satisfaction (57%).

Aside from the fact that patients are looking for personalized experiences, personalization is also a great way to “do more with less” and increase the value you get from your existing digital collateral. Personalization campaigns can be set up with existing paid ads and website pages, and designed so the most relevant content appears after a certain set of requirements are met.

If you don’t invest in personalization now, as it’s becoming more prevalent in healthcare, you could miss opportunities to exceed patients’ expectations, differentiate yourself from competitors, expand marketshare, and boost revenue.

What is optimization?

Optimization is a key part of the personalization journey! Optimization refers to the process of testing personalization campaigns to see how they resonate with website visitors.

Optimization could include A/B testing, multivariate testing, and multi-armed bandit testing that only a small portion of website visitors see to determine if the original content or test content is more successful in driving users to an end goal.

For example, on an orthopedic services page, a test might show 50% of visitors the original “schedule an appointment” call-to-action that’s been on the site, while the other 50% receive an optimized version of the call-to-action.

If the test clearly shows that one version is more successful than the other at encouraging a user to schedule an appointment, the test is complete, and we can implement the winning strategy.

Won’t personalized experiences violate HIPAA?

It’s a fair question — wouldn’t taking patients’ browsing habits and identifiers put your organization in violation of HIPAA? The answer is no, if you do personalization right and work with a team that has experience with personalization and HIPAA compliance.

For example, the personalization platform Geonetric uses is HIPAA-compliant, and we have a Business Associates Agreement (BAA) in place that covers our personalization and optimization offerings. Our team also exclusively works with healthcare organizations, so they’re already well-versed in the intricacies of industry regulations that could take other agencies longer to work around.

How can I get started with personalization?

Understanding where to start with personalization while remaining HIPAA-compliant can be overwhelming — but when you work with Geonetric, you have a partner who’s here to support you every step of the way.

As a healthcare-focused agency that’s created more than 500 healthcare websites and intranets, our team has what it takes to navigate personalized patient experiences and data privacy.

Geonetric routinely provides reports and recommendations on how we can evolve your personalization campaigns to meet your changing business goals. We pride ourselves on continuously communicating complex topics in a way that allows the key contacts at your organization to feel empowered to discuss our strategies with internal stakeholders.

If you’re ready to see the difference personalization and optimization can make for your organization and your patients’ digital experiences, reach out to us today!

4 Things Healthcare Job Seekers Want to Learn from Your Careers Content

Your organization’s careers webpages are likely among your most viewed digital content. That’s no surprise, considering 76% of job seekers research a hiring company before applying for a job, either most of the time or every time they apply, according to a 2023 survey.

But does the information on your website answer job seekers’ top questions? Complete, persuasive content can help attract more talent. But most importantly, it attracts the right talent — the applicants most likely to be a good fit for your organization’s culture.

Research shows healthcare job seekers want to know four key things when considering a prospective employer.

1. What are the pay and benefits?

More than 70% of healthcare workers feel underpaid, according to a 2023 survey of 500 medical professionals. Among nurses who planned to leave their jobs in 2022, 69% said they sought a higher salary. If the laws in your state don’t require pay transparency in job postings, it’s up to your human resources department to choose whether to specify salary ranges. But as a marketer, you may have opportunities to highlight other factors contributing to compensation.

If your organization offers sign-on bonuses for nurses or other positions, add that information to your careers website, not just the individual job descriptions. If your area has a low cost of living, note that team members’ pay goes far. This is especially valuable when you’re recruiting physicians or promoting other positions that often draw non-local candidates.

You should also advocate for publicizing benefits information. This content is highly viewed on many health systems’ websites. By publishing it, you send a clear message that your employee benefits are something to brag about. You also foster a sense of trust and transparency among job seekers, especially if your website provides more information than competitors do.

Your organization’s employee benefits vendor or manager has probably told your HR department how your benefits package compares to similar organizations. Are you a leader? Highlight your generosity.

Don’t forget to mention perks that enhance your overall benefits package, such as a cafeteria discount, commuter transit accounts, legal and financial services, etc.

2. How’s the work-life balance?

Physicians and job seekers of certain age groups have named work-life balance their top consideration when looking for a job. Among healthcare workers:

68% want better staffing levels to reduce workload and stress

58% want more flexible scheduling options

51% want more opportunities for breaks and rests during shifts

Plenty of organizations say they value work-life balance. You can stand out by highlighting specifically how your health system supports (not just allows) team members to rest and take time to care for themselves and their families. Highlighting the amount of paid time off is a start.

Other possible examples include:

Floating personal days off

Employee assistance programs

Mandatory breaks

Health condition management

Wellness programs

Fitness center memberships

If your organization has recently made specific changes to address work-life balance — especially in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic when many professionals have left the healthcare field — briefly describe those as well. Doing so shows you’re serious about addressing new employees’ health and wellness. It may also give some former team members a reason to reconsider your organization as an employer.

3. What growth opportunities will I have?

Lack of advancement opportunities is one of the top causes of employee turnover, according to a survey of human resources professionals. Healthcare job seekers ranked “development opportunities” just behind benefits in a survey of their priorities when choosing a position.

Since professional growth starts with a solid onboarding process, spotlight your organization’s training and orientation programs. Does your health system provide reimbursement or flexible scheduling for employees pursuing a relevant degree or certification? Management training? Formal mentorship for certain roles?

By promoting career advancement opportunities, you’ll attract ambitious, driven job seekers. You’ll also show your organization’s dedication to helping employees succeed.

4. How happy are the current employees?

Among job seekers who research an organization before applying, 65.7% want to read employee reviews or testimonials to gauge what it’s really like to work for the employer. Don’t force prospective applicants to rely solely on Glassdoor or other external review sites. These sites tend to attract disgruntled former staffers seeking an outlet to vent their complaints.

It’s your job to help ensure applicants hear satisfied employees’ voices. Gather testimonials from team members in nursing and other areas that are a high priority for staffing. When soliciting reviews, jumpstart employees’ thought processes by asking open-ended questions like:

“What made you say yes to our organization?” (If they want to answer, “the pay,” let them!)

“How has your career advanced since you started here?”

“How do you feel your department supports work-life balance?”

“What’s the most rewarding part of your job?”

When publishing employee testimonials, include full names and photos to ensure credibility. If you can get some team members to agree to record a video, that’s powerful social proof.

Track & tweak your content

Once you’ve published your new careers web pages, practice good content governance of the information. Monitor the pages’ performance, and work with your human resources department to review them regularly and identify opportunities for updates.

Want guidance on your digital strategy for careers? Our content strategists, writers, SEO and PPC specialists, designers and other digital marketing experts are ready to help. Contact us today to get started!

How to Incorporate User Testing into Your Healthcare Website Redesign

Redesigning any website is a big undertaking, let alone one that thousands of your patients rely on for scheduling appointments, finding answers to their health questions, and researching their care options. Whether you’re updating your site’s look and feel, improving functionality, or ensuring your analytics comply with the latest regulations, there’s one thing you can’t afford to overlook: user testing. After all, your website’s primary purpose is to serve your patients and visitors, so their experience should be at the forefront of your redesign strategy.

But how do you effectively incorporate user testing into the process? Here’s a simple guide to help you navigate this essential step.

1. Find your baseline

Did you know you can incorporate user experience (UX) testing into your redesign before you even get started?

UX testing is the most impactful right at the beginning of your redesign, as it gives you a solid roadmap of what consumers would like to see from your website.

You can send out a survey or conduct testing to gather data about what users like about your current site, whether it resonates with their pain points or not, and what they’d like to see from your organization moving forward.

2. Conduct user research

Now that you have some idea of what users think about your current website, you need to get a better understanding of who your users are as people and what their pain points, browsing habits, and hurdles to conversion are. Conduct surveys, interviews, and analytics reviews to gather data on your current site’s performance.

This research will help you identify users’ needs and opportunities for improvement. Understanding your demographics, behaviors, and preferences beyond what they think of your current site ensures that your redesign is not just aesthetically pleasing but also functional and user-centered.

3. Create user personas

Once you’ve gathered enough information, the next step is to develop user personas. These are fictional “characters” that represent the different types of users who visit your website. For example, you may have a persona for an expectant parent visiting your site to learn about pregnancy and childbirth, family and friends who are looking up information about visiting a loved one in the hospital, or a parent researching pediatric care options for their child.

Each persona should include details like age, occupation, goals, and challenges. By keeping these personas in mind during the redesign process, you can ensure that your new site meets the needs of all your user groups.

4. Develop prototypes and wireframes

Before making significant changes to your website, start with wireframes and prototypes. These are simplified versions of your site that allow you to test layouts, navigation, and user flows without investing too much time or money.

Prototypes can be as basic as paper sketches or more sophisticated interactive models. The goal here is to visualize how users will interact with your new design and to identify potential issues early on.

5. Conduct user experience (UX) testing

UX testing involves having real users interact with your prototypes or a preview version of your redesigned site. This step is crucial because it allows you to observe how actual users navigate your site, complete tasks, and respond to different elements.

Gather a diverse group of participants that reflect your user personas, and ask them to perform specific tasks on the site. Pay close attention to where they struggle, what confuses them, and how they react to different design choices.

6. Analyze feedback and iterate

After completing usability testing, it’s time to analyze the feedback. Look for patterns in the data — are multiple users experiencing the same issues? Which features did users find most helpful or frustrating? Use this information to refine your design.

Remember, iteration is key. It’s rare to get everything perfect on the first try, so be prepared to go back to the drawing board, make adjustments, and test again.

7. Test for accessibility

Healthcare websites must be accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Incorporate accessibility testing into your UX process to ensure that your redesign meets WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) standards.

Use tools like screen readers, keyboard navigation, and color contrast analyzers to evaluate the accessibility of your site. If you don’t have in-house expertise, consider hiring an accessibility consultant to guide you through this critical step.

8. Launch and monitor

Once you’ve tested and refined your design, it’s time to launch your new site. But the work doesn’t stop there. Monitor your site’s performance through analytics and ongoing user feedback. Set up regular check-ins to review key metrics like bounce rate, conversion rate, and user engagement. If issues arise post-launch, be prepared to make further tweaks to improve the user experience.

Incorporating user testing into your healthcare website redesign process isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s essential for creating a site that truly serves your audience.

By following these steps, you can ensure that your redesign not only looks great but also functions seamlessly, providing your users with the best possible experience. Remember, a website that meets the needs of your users will drive better outcomes for your organization.

Interested in incorporating UX testing into your next website redesign? Let the Geonetric team help!

We’ve worked with healthcare organizations like yours for more than 25 years to create digital experiences that resonate with their audiences and solve their pain points. Contact us today for a free 30-minute UX consult to kickstart your redesign efforts!

3 Reasons to Add Short-Form Videos to Your Marketing Strategy

Open up just about any social app these days, and you’ll see it: short-from video.

Spurred on by the success of TikTok, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have gotten in on the action with their own short-form video feeds. More users are consuming short-form videos than ever before, and they’ve quickly become a vital piece of the marketing puzzle for many industries.

While healthcare might not seem like the most obvious fit for short-form video content, we’re seeing more healthcare organizations incorporate it into their marketing strategies as a way to reach new patients.

The stats on video

It’s estimated that 73% of consumers are shifting away from traditional content consumption in favor of short-form videos like those found on TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.

In 2021, our digital healthcare marketing trends survey saw that video production was slowly but surely inching its way up the list of tactics organizations were incorporating into their marketing strategies.

In the 2024 edition of our survey, we found that just under 20% of organizations still rated using TikTok as a marketing tactic as “not important.” All other organizations surveyed said TikTok was either nice to have, a must-have, or a competitive differentiator. While our questions about Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube didn’t specify whether organizations were investing in Reels or Shorts, they rated even higher than TikTok in terms of organizations seeing them as a must-have marketing channel.

All signs point to short-form video in some format becoming and staying a vital marketing strategy, regardless of whether TikTok gets banned in the United States in 2025.

This means, like it or not, if your organization hasn’t taken the leap into short-form video yet, now is the time. If you’re still on the fence about short-form video, here are a few of the benefits it can offer your marketing strategy.

Standing out from competitors

By next year, 82% of all internet traffic is forecasted to come from video, so getting in on the ground floor of this trend could pay dividends for your organization. But even with the meteoric rise of short-form video, we’re seeing very few healthcare organizations producing their own short-form content.

By establishing a presence in short-form video now, you can reach audiences of prospective patients who aren’t looking at traditional media and who your competitors aren’t connecting with. You’ll also avoid the extra work required to stand out if you wait to start producing videos and find your local healthcare market already saturated.

Connect with Gen Z

Marketing to Gen Z consumers is a topic we’re talking about more and more with our clients (in fact, we’ll touch on it in our October 2 webinar on future trends). Gen Z is currently between 12 and 27 years old, which means many of the older consumers in this cohort are managing their own healthcare and selecting providers for the first time. Some may also be starting families and looking for care for their children.

That makes it incredibly important to reach this audience where they are — and where they are is on short-form video channels. Gen Z is leading the way in terms of consumers turning to short-form video for information, with 64% of the generation using TikTok.

By connecting with Gen Z consumers on the platforms they use the most, you’ll have a gateway to communicate with the next generation of consumers who are looking for your services.

Put your existing content to work

Incorporating short-form video into your marketing strategy doesn’t mean you have to start from scratch. Consider taking content you already have and repurposing it for video!

For example, you could take snippets of a recruiting video with employees talking about why they love working at your organization into bite-size pieces that feature individual employees providing a line or two.

If you have a podcast, you could take a few standout moments per episode and edit them into short video clips.

If you have a blog, consider posting short-form videos with a few key facts from each post, then linking back to the blog itself in case viewers want to read the whole article.

The ways you can repurpose content are endless, and it’s a great way to make the work you’ve already done go a bit further in reaching your marketing goals.

Getting started

Not sure where to start on your short-form video content journey? Geonetic’s content marketing experts can provide valuable insights into ways healthcare organizations can take this growing trend and make it their own. Reach out to us today to level up your content marketing strategy with video!

The Future of Findability: Search in the Age of AI

Artificial intelligence is shaking up how people search for information and interact with the content on your website — are you prepared?

While all of these AI developments may seem daunting, there are steps you can take today to prepare for what’s coming next and solidify your digital presence no matter what the future brings.

Download our latest eBook today to learn about the current state of AI and search, where we anticipate new developments to happen, and improvements your organization can make to its content to get ready for whatever’s next.

4 Ways to Maximize Your Digital Marketing Dollars

As part of our 2024 Digital Healthcare Marketing Trends Survey, we asked healthcare marketers how their budgets are faring in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Four years after the pandemic’s initial hit, many organizations are beginning to bounce back financially. However, too often, the last place that recovery is felt is the marketing department — our survey found that just 30% of organizations expect their budgets to grow this year. One in five healthcare organizations continue cutting their digital marketing budgets to mitigate more significant financial issues.

If you’re on the marketing or web teams at one of these organizations, where you’re given a budget that doesn’t allow for much wiggle room or investment into new digital initiatives and staff, you’re not alone. And you’re not entirely out of options, either.

Making progress toward your marketing goals is possible without breaking the bank or hiring more employees. Here are a few ways you and your team can get the most value out of your marketing budget, no matter its size.

Prioritize user experience

To get the most bang for your buck, you need to identify the most impactful changes you can make to your marketing program that will help it resonate with consumers and, in turn, drive conversions.

One of the most effective ways of doing this is through a user experience (UX) assessment. Through this process, you (or an agency partner like Geonetric) will gather pain points, successes, and other vital patient journey information from various stakeholders to create a persona.

Using this persona, we can get an idea of their journey from prospect to patient and share observations, best practices, and competitor notes to help identify the problem areas you’d want to put your marketing resources toward first. You can also take it a step further through user testing, which utilizes real consumer feedback on things like the navigability of your website.

By leveraging the power of user insights, you can work through your budget and staffing challenges with impactful, informed solutions that will provide maximum results.

Tackle low-hanging fruit

Sometimes, the most significant marketing impact can be made from minor fixes that require little effort or resources.

Think broken links, pages that return an error message, incorrect page tags — these are small issues that may seem inconsequential but can completely derail a customer’s journey if they visit your website or search for your services online.

Take the time to audit your site for these errors, and fix them as soon as possible. You may be surprised by the results you’ll get in exchange for a relatively low effort!

Make incremental website changes

Depending on your budget and staffing situation, a full website redesign may not be on the table right now. But that doesn’t mean you have to let your website grow stagnant!

You can keep your site up-to-date and able to solve consumer’s pain points through iterative updates. Taking an iterative design approach rather than launching into a complete redesign allows you to make continuous improvements over time.

Examples include updating the information on your location landing pages to better answer patients’ questions, creating a careers microsite to attract and inform prospective employees, or launching a content hub to provide helpful information and improve your site’s search engine optimization.

By taking on smaller web updates as needed, your next redesign — whenever you’re able to take it on — can start with a strong foundation instead of a website that’s grown outdated.

Track results

No matter your budget, you’ll want to monitor how the marketing efforts or improvements you can implement are performing.

By analyzing data like website visits, conversion rates, and search rankings, you can tell what efforts are showing results and worth allocating resources toward — and which ones aren’t.

You can also loop in some user experience (UX) insights by looking at statistics like bounce rate and site search terms to identify areas of your site that might not be meeting users’ expectations.

Those areas could be candidates for the “low-hanging fruit” to tackle as soon as you can — think creating an FAQ section to answer users’ common questions, fixing broken images, etc. — to see results while you’re waiting on the resources to tackle larger-scale projects.

Ready to get more out of your marketing?

At Geonetric, we’re helping healthcare organizations at all stages of their financial comeback see results from their marketing strategy. For expert insights on marketing tactics like user experience and iterative website design, contact our team today!

We also help healthcare marketers do more with the resources they have through our VitalSite® content management system. VitalSite® is designed specifically for healthcare organizations to make managing their websites flexible and intuitive, no matter the size of their marketing department. Schedule a demo to see firsthand what VitalSite® can do for your organization!

4 Best Practices for a Successful Rebrand

There’s one aspect of your digital presence as a healthcare provider that’s universal across all organizations, whether standalone hospitals with more than a century of history or a recently formed health system with hundreds of locations: brand.

Your brand is what sets you apart from your competitors, communicates your mission and values as an organization, and reassures patients that they’ve come to the best place to receive care.

But like any part of your marketing strategy, your brand should evolve to fit changing consumer expectations, your organization’s growth, and your overall mission and marketing goals.

If you’re about to embark on a rebrand or aren’t sure if your organization is due for one, check out these best practices to help guide you through the process.

What is a rebrand?

When you think of a rebrand, your first thought might be updating the look and functionality of your website. While that’s a vital part of a rebrand (and one we’re very fond of here at Geonetric), a website redesign on its own won’t get the job done.

Instead, a rebrand is a complete change in your corporate image that could include a new name, logo, color palette, slogan, website and print material design, content voice and tone, marketing strategy, core values, brand promise and mission statement, all in an effort to rebuild your marketing strategy from the ground up.

1. Understand when it’s time to rebrand — and when it’s not

We’ve all heard the marketing horror stories of well-known companies that decide to rebrand only to lose brand recognition or consumers’ trust in the process.

So, how do you know when a rebrand is right for your healthcare organization?

If your primary pain points are bringing in new patients and building your brand recognition, a rebrand might not be the answer you’re looking for. Instead, you can focus your resources on search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and content marketing to help build awareness and create connections with consumers.

On the other hand, it’s a smart time to rebrand if your organization has:

Experienced a rapid period of growth, like going from one location to several

Begun to look visually similar to other organizations in your area

Merged with another organization or system

Refocused your target patient demographics

Recently updated its mission, vision and values

Had the same branding for years, and it’s beginning to look outdated

If it’s been a while since you’ve last rebranded, and your brand strategy no longer feels like it’s communicating the benefits your organization delivers, it’s time for an update.

2. Get the timing right

In general, full rebrands only tend to happen every seven to 10 years since they’re quite resource intensive. But that doesn’t mean you should simply “set it and forget it” when it comes to your visual branding!

Consider doing a brand refresh, which typically happens every three to five years. Instead of revamping your entire marketing strategy through a full rebrand, a brand refresh instead focuses on updating your visible branding, like your logo, fonts, and colors.

A brand refresh requires fewer resources than a full rebrand, and it’s easier to take on every few years. It is not, however, a substitute for rebranding — if you’re coming up on a decade with the same brand strategy, it’s time for a full rebrand.

Rebrands don’t always happen at the most convenient times, of course. You may have had months of planning done in advance and have perfectly timed your rebrand to roll out with a complete website redesign. Other times, you may have recently redesigned your site, but you only need to make more changes following a merger or major organizational change.

In those less-than-convenient cases, a brand refresh can help tide you over until a full rebrand and site redesign is feasible.

3. Know your audience

Putting resources and time toward a full rebrand won’t be worth much if your new brand strategy doesn’t speak directly to patients.

Before you get started and throughout your rebrand timeline, we recommend conducting user experience (UX) testing so you can make informed choices and give consumers what they’re looking for. Through UX research, you can get an idea of what your patients think of your branding (and your competitors’), their first impressions of your visual brand, and how your website and overall digital presence meet their needs.

You can conduct this research through surveys, looking at your analytics to see what areas of your site attract the most clicks from users, interviewing groups of current patients to see what resonates with them, and researching wider industry trends.

4. Focus on consistency

Once you have your rebrand roadmap and are ready to begin the actual rebrand work, it’s essential to keep consistency in mind.

A consistent visual narrative across all of your platforms ensures that your brand is easily recognizable and can build trust and reliability in the consumers’ minds.

If you forget to update an online listing with your new logo or still have pages on your website that use your previous brand colors or fonts, it can confuse users and muddy the idea of your brand that they have in their minds.

This brings us back to the concept of incorporating a complete website redesign with your rebrand. A new website is crucial to accurately reflecting your brand identity and showcasing the rebranded elements you’ve created for this process.

If your rebrand includes a renewed focus on a world-class service you offer that your competitors don’t, your website can include a dedicated service line page or microsite highlighting that service. If your new mission statement places a greater emphasis on education, consider creating a blog and newsletter that routinely shares helpful health information with patients.

No matter what your new brand strategy looks like, a redesigned website is the perfect vehicle to show off that new branding and give patients, prospects, and employees a fantastic first impression of your organization.

Time for a rebrand?

If your organization’s brand experience could use an update, Geonetric is here to help. Our teams of website developers, designers, and writers can transform your brand and successfully position your organization to meet whatever goals you have. Contact us today to get started!

25th Anniversary Client Spotlight: Bryan Health

In honor of Geonetric’s 25th anniversary, we’re sharing the stories and successes of just a few of our healthcare clients across the United States. Some have been with us for decades, others just a few years; some are major health systems, others just one standalone hospital. But one common thread ties them all together: Geonetric has helped them take their digital marketing programs to new heights.

Bryan Health is a non-profit health system based in Lincoln, NE. The system was formed in 1997 following the merger of two hospitals in Lincoln, and today has grown to include more than 70 locations, a state-wide physician network, six acute care hospitals, and more than 6,000 employees. The system is also home to the Bryan College of Health Sciences, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing, biomedical studies, and healthcare studies, along with college credit healthcare courses for high school students.

Bryan first began its partnership with Geonetric in 2014, after an antiquated content management system began limiting the team’s ability to update its website and accurately tell its brand story to visitors.

A vital upgrade

We introduced our VitalSite® content management system as a solution to help enhance Bryan’s online presence and help turn website visitors into loyal patients with features like an easy-to-navigate provider directory and key service lines pages. Geonetric also stood out from other agencies Bryan interviewed for our dedication to customer success long after their initial website launch.

“Their ongoing support was unique compared against others, and we knew even after we received a beautiful new portfolio of websites, our work together would continue with a dedicated client success manager,” explained Jenny Sundberg, Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning at Bryan.

Bryan’s new website launched in 2015. In the decade since, Geonetric has provided regular website enhancements, such as custom location profiles, a microsite for the system’s recently opened comprehensive community cancer center, and a microsite for the Bryan Heart cardiovascular practice that would go on to win a Gold Award for Best Landing Page or Microsite in the 2023 eHealthcare Leadership Awards.

From January 2024 to March 2024 alone, the Bryan Health website brought in more than 19,000 conversions, more than 160,000 views of its provider profile pages (a 17.8% increase compared to 2023), more than 210,000 views of its location pages (a 6.8% increase compared to 2023), and more than five million Google search impressions.

Adapting for the future

In 2024, Bryan and Geonetric began the initial steps to redesign the system’s website again in order to match its strategic business objectives, current consumer expectations, and changes in the way patients access health information online.

“With our current website redesign project, we’ve engaged members from across our health system to inform how we develop our next website to meet growing needs, based on their engagement with their patients and families,” said Sundberg. “With more than 80,000 monthly unique visitors to our website, the site will have great visibility, and we’re excited for the impact it will have on how users engage with Bryan.”

Sundberg also appreciates Geonetric’s commitment to staying on the forefront of pressing healthcare and digital marketing topics, “which has proven to be beneficial as we’ve navigated data privacy and new and emerging rules and regulations in the healthcare space.”

When asked to sum up Bryan’s decade-long relationship with Geonetric in one word, Sundberg said “partnership.” And to healthcare organizations looking for a digital marketing partner to help reach their own marketing goals, she simply responded “Do it. It’s one of the best investments we’ve made.”

“We knew when we selected Geonetric that they would be a great partner, we just didn’t know our relationship would expand now a decade,” said Sundberg. “We’ve developed a strong working relationship with their team, appreciate how they keep us informed of the latest news and insights in the digital healthcare space and have grown alongside us.”

Ready to experience the Geonetric difference? 

If your healthcare organization is looking for a digital marketing partner to supercharge your website and marketing efforts, Geonetric is here to help. Contact our team today to learn more about how we can deliver results for the next decade and beyond!

Google’s Cookie Announcement: What Does it Mean for Healthcare Marketers?

Google announced late last month that it no longer has plans to do away with third-party cookies in its Chrome web browser. This announcement came after four years of work by the search engine giant to create a new solution that allows for tracking and measurement while improving users’ privacy.

Instead of pivoting from cookies to its Privacy Sandbox API, Google said in a blog post that it proposes a new approach that “elevates user choice.”

“Instead of deprecating third-party cookies, we would introduce a new experience in Chrome that lets people make an informed choice that applies across their web browsing, and they’d be able to adjust that choice at any time,” Privacy Sandbox VP Anthony Chavez explained in the post. No other details of this new solution or a timeline for its release were included in the announcement.

While the move to focus on personal choice instead of deprecating cookies may seem surprising after four years of work, it doesn’t come as a shock if you remember that 80% of Google’s revenue comes from online advertising. And despite accepting user feedback and trying to create solutions that “support a competitive and thriving marketplace,” in the end, those vital advertisers just weren’t impressed with Privacy Sandbox.

While Google’s new focus on user choice may be an attempt to make the best of a bad situation, it still raises the question of whether it will eventually develop something new to replace third-party cookies.

Would a new solution look different from this attempt? Or is the potential wrath of advertisers enough for Google to stay away and keep cookies in place for the foreseeable future?

What does it mean for healthcare marketing?

For now, Google’s announcement to stick with third-party cookies shouldn’t change anything about your marketing strategy. Everything will remain status quo until we hear more about this “new experience.”

What this move does call into question is how Google and other tech companies like Microsoft will handle their efforts to incorporate artificial intelligence solutions into their search engines.

The rollout of features like Google’s AI Overview hasn’t been a resounding success so far (today, AI Overviews only show for about 7-8% of searches, compared to 64% when the feature first launched in 2023). The efforts tech companies have made to incorporate AI into their search engines may look very different — or cease to exist entirely — if they don’t raise market value enough.

Our advice? Keep focusing on the fundamentals of good content that will continue to drive ROI across paid and organic strategies. Don’t ditch AI entirely, but use it as a tool when a project calls for it instead of putting all of your eggs in the AI search basket.

As for advertising and analytics, in the healthcare world, your efforts should still be on gathering valuable consumer data in a way that doesn’t run afoul of HIPAA regulations. You can stay tuned to the Geonetric blog for HIPAA updates and other useful healthcare marketing tips, or check out our Geonetric Privacy Filter to supercharge your marketing efforts with compliant analytics.