Diversinet (@Diversinet)

Check out this post by our guest blogger:

If you're new at this or just getting started, these three medical marketing tips can help you establish and build your online presence into a useful marketing tool. 

Blog. There is no better way to get your presence known than to write a blog. Don't think of it as a marketing piece. Think of it as a way to share information and educate your readers. 

If you write a blog...

• Have a clear point of view and share it
• Write in a reader-friendly, conversational tone
• Keep it to less than 500 words (readers have a short attention span)
• Add a question at the end to solicit input and generate conversation
• Wrap it up with a referral to your website

Keep in mind people reading your blog are looking for tidbits of advice and insight. If you can get a discussion going, you are more likely to attract more readers. Additionally, you may get clues to other topics for future blogs.

Dear Dr.  However you establish your online presence, do not give medical advice online. When interacting with patients and consumers they are apt to ask medical questions specific to their particular situation. You may be tempted to respond as a gesture of good will. You're better off directing them to your website or office number. Don't put yourself in the position of potentially handing out wrong advice.    

Connect. In the everyday world, it can sometimes be too easy to think of physicians as cool, clinical, and rational. We often forget the very real human element that plays an important part in patient treatment. That connection needs to carry over into world of healthcare marketing.

Make a connection through e-newsletters, personal notes, press releases, and online postings. Be involved in something you are passionate about in your community and write about it in your blog. Keep in mind you have two audiences: the patient and referring physicians. Connect with colleagues to find out what has worked for them.

Medical marketing is about having a presence, whether it is online or in-person. That means using all the tools available to you, like ReferralMD.

Here are 3 other Medical or Dental Marketing strategies that you may find useful.

What online marketing tools have you found work best for your practice?

Jonathan Govette
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
@ReferralMD

NEW FEATURE: "5 mHealth Questions"

With more than 15,000 fitness and health applications on the market, I decided to offer some of these companies the opportunity to tell their story, profile their company so-to-speak, so that folks who tune into the blog can gain a greater understanding of what's out there, how it works, what it does to improve quality of life/fitness and how it can help reform and change healthcare.

These are NOT PAID ENDORSEMENTS OR SPONSORSHIPS from companies, rather profiles based on apps or companies I come across in my daily research and outreach in the mobile and health industries.

@TechnicalJones

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ENDOMONDO (@Endomondo)

Would you please provide an overview of your company?

Founded in 2007 by a team of fitness fanatics, Endomondo turns mobile devices into full-fledged personal trainers and connects users to a vibrant social fitness network where people can support, motivate and challenge each other and share results.  The Endomondo Sports Tracker mobile app, which utilizes GPS technology, records a full history of workouts and can be used for any distance-based sport.  Additionally, the Endomondo.com website provides users with a personal portal -- incorporating performance tracking tools, an extensive atlas of exercise routes around the world, connection to the Endomondo community, and more.   Available on seven mobile platforms (iOS, Android, RIM, Windows Phone, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Java), Endomondo operates on almost all GPS phones. For more information, please visit http://www.endomondo.com and follow @Endomondo on Twitter.

What products/ services does your company offer?

Fusing cutting-edge technology, including location-based GPS, and social networking capabilities, Endomondo motivates users toward more fun and greater fitness. Endomondo turns smartphones into a personal trainer in your pocket tracking your sports activities and connecting you to their Fitness Social Network.  It is the perfect solution for those looking to get fit, delivering encouragement from peers and simulating the group exercise experience. Endomondo lets you structure workouts around your fitness goals: work out when you want, where you want, and with or without others.

How does it work? 

Using GPS, the app tracks route, distance, duration, split times, calorie consumption and more, while providing audio feedback on performance. The Endomondo app offers a full history with previous workouts and statistics, as well as a localized route map for each workout. On certain handsets, the app also supports integration with the built-in music player and different heart rate monitors. Endomondo Sports Tracker also incorporates community and social features that allow users to challenge friends and share results.

Endomondo Sports Tracker is currently available on seven mobile platforms (iOS, Android, RIM, Windows Phone, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Java) and more than 400 handsets and supports almost all GPS phones.  The app can be downloaded free. Apremium version is available for $3.99. You can join Endomondo's Fitness Social Network for free, or optionally you can upgrade to the Athlete's Lounge for $6/month or $39/annually.

What are the health benefits of your products/services?

As a mobile app and social network that promotes fitness, Endomondo aids in the overall well-being of people.  In turn, this reduces medical costs associated with caring for the unfit.

What do you think needs to be done to reform healthcare in the U.S.?

It is well noted that obesity greatly impacts the U.S. healthcare system.  By promoting a fit lifestyle, aided by Endomondo, the healthcare system can offer an ounce of prevention that ultimately results in a pound of cure.

Check it out:

11 stages of the iPad's history in healthcare