Breaking Down the Top Tactics: Digital Marketing for Optometrists

In today’s media landscape, marketers have so many advertising options available. How do you know which one will give you the best results?

TV advertising is a great way to reach a wide audience for optometrists looking to grow brand visibility and increase in-person visits. It is super effective in building brand awareness and increasing appointments. When you add digital marketing to that mix, campaigns are even more effective.

What does your healthcare brand need to know about digital advertising? Here are Team TEGNA’s prescriptions.

What is Digital Advertising?

The primary goal of marketing is to reach the right audience at the right time with the right messaging in hopes of sparking action by the viewer, such as a website visit, phone call, or making a purchase. Digital advertising is one way to accomplish this goal via online channels, such as behavioral and contextual ads in the form of pre-roll and banner ads on websites.

There’s also native advertising, which is sometimes referred to as sponsored content, which matches the visual experience of editorial content in an online publication but is intended to promote the advertiser’s product.

What’s great about digital advertising is its targeting capabilities. Whether by physical location (geofencing), a specific demographic, expressed interest, online behaviors, first-party data, or retargeting, marketers have many options to reach desired audiences.

All in all, having a strong digital strategy will act as a perfect complement to TV and streaming campaigns to extend reach, create brand awareness, increase website traffic, and generate more leads.

Why is Digital Advertising Important for Optometrists?

Any optometrist knows the importance of having good vision, and being visible in the local community is important to attract new patients and retain loyal ones. After all, you can’t provide the best care for vision problems, eye injuries, and ocular diseases if nobody knows about your practice.

TEGNA’s new e-book, Checking the Pulse of the Healthcare Consumer,​found that patients who have postponed medical care since 2020 are eager to address their healthcare needs, spending significant time and money in the pursuit of wellness – and this includes addressing eye care. In fact, we’re expecting a 13% increase in dental and vision care visits in 2023.

That’s where optometrist digital marketing comes into play. Now is the time to add eye care internet advertising to your marketing mix to position your business as the vital choice in quality care while attracting and retaining new patients

6 Digital Marketing Tactics For Eye Care Practices

Bringing in new patients with a marketing campaign will require some homework. The messaging needs to be just right, and where your ads are placed is equally important. It also comes down to how well you know your target audience and their wants, needs, and pain points.

Before you get started, consider creating persona profiles and digging into the mindset of your target audience from insights gathered in Checking the Pulse of the Healthcare Consumer will also help determine the best way to generate new business and bring in new patients. In the meantime, here are our recommendations.

1. Differentiate Your Optometry Practice 

Checking the Pulse of the Healthcare Consumer found that less than half of patients understand what differentiates the hospitals in their area. Therefore, healthcare providers have a major opportunity to highlight competitive differentiation using cross-platform video storytelling.

2. Build A Strong Online Presence

Having a strong online presence is key to any optometrist’s marketing strategy. This includes strong website SEO, ensuring your brand appears on or near the top of search engine results for key terms, such as “optometrist near me” or “local eye care.” You’ll also want to consistently update your website to remain relevant and at the top of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). 

3. Use Local Websites & Mobile Apps

Local TV news is a critical source of health information and arbiter​ of trust for patients – it’s where most consumers (55%) learn about the latest health information. Running video, display, native, and high-impact advertising within your local broadcast news station’s website is a great way to gain brand awareness while building credibility. After all, consumers who get health information from local news are more likely to trust brands they see advertising in its content.

4. Combine the Power of TV and Digital

As TV remains an effective advertising must-have, digital continues proving its effectiveness. Combining these strategies into a multi-channel, cross-platform media plan is a powerful way to improve your ROI. In fact, a study by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) shows that brands, on average, can increase return on investment by 19% by increasing from one media platform to two. Just be sure to be consistent with your branding and messaging across channels.

5. Use Context to Deliver Ads to the Right People

As cookie-based advertising gets phased out, many marketers are unsure of how to reach their audiences across digital channels. By leveraging contextual advertising, you can leverage a page’s context to gain insight into your audience and their preferences. For example, an article related to eye care or Lasik could be a good placement for your business. Contextual ads can help you create ads that are more likely to convert since they offer a personalized feel without being invasive.

6. Consider Retargeting 

A retargeting strategy is a comprehensive plan for reconnecting with potential patients at all points in the marketing funnel – and they’re effective. Digital Information World states that retargeting can lead to a 147 percent higher conversion rate, and an average of 30 percent of shoppers will react positively to retargeted ads. What’s more, 25 percent of those shoppers say they enjoy retargeted ads because they serve as helpful reminders. There are several types of retargeting to consider, including site, email, search, social media, pixel-based, and contextual retargeting. Learn more about these different retargeting methods here.

Start Building Your Optometry Digital Marketing Plan With TEGNA

By aligning with the unique content opportunities that TEGNA delivers proven results through simplified multi-platform advertising solutions that connect your business to the audiences that matter most via Broadcast TV, OTT Streaming Advertising, and Digital Solutions, including Targeted Display and Retargeting,​ as well as campaign measurement ​and optimization with ​TEGNA Attribution. ​TEGNA stations also offer a variety of customizable content sponsorships, as illustrated above. Let’s get in touch if you’re considering amplifying your eye care brand’s marketing efforts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I Promote My Optometry Practice?

According to TEGNA’s e-book, Checking the Pulse of the Healthcare Consumer, we expect a 13% increase in dental and vision care visits in 2023. That means now is the perfect time to promote your optometry practice, especially to those who postponed medical care since 2020. This audience is eager to address healthcare needs, spending significant time and money pursuing wellness, including eye care.

How Do I Promote My Optometry Practice?

Combining digital marketing strategies into a multi-channel, cross-platform media plan is a powerful way to improve your ROI. In fact, a study by the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) shows that brands, on average, can increase return on investment by 19% by increasing from one media platform to two. Just be sure to be consistent with your branding and messaging across channels.