If you are searching for the best and most reliable healthcare marketing agency in Australia, you are at the right place. Healthcare marketing is a delicate operation. Whilst you can promote retail or lifestyle clients however you see fit, there are particular parameters surrounding healthcare marketing and medical web design. In Australia, the AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency) advertising guidelines dictate what you can and cannot say when creating content or web design for medical practices. Before you appoint a healthcare website design company or a medical marketing agency to grow your practice, you must learn the rules for creating the best healthcare website design and content that you can.
Things to Consider for Healthcare Marketing Agency in Australia
1. Don’t advertise made-up incentives (or deviate from the terms and conditions)
Healthcare is a regulated business, so everything should correspond with the fine print. So, when creating web design for medical practices, you are not at liberty to create discounts or promotions. Should such campaigns appear in the terms and conditions, you may disclose them, but ensure to incorporate them as written.
2. When advertising approved incentives, specify all details
On the occasion where the terms and conditions do include discounts or promotions, you need to disclose any corresponding restrictions or limitations in the promotional material (if applicable). For example, if an offer has an expiry date, you need to include this in the copy. If the offer is exclusive to a specific location (or multiple locations), you need to indicate which one(s). You also need to outline any factors determining patient eligibility—for example, age.
If, whilst creating the medical web design, you find yourself with a set of convoluted terms and conditions—or such that is difficult to work into the design—you’ll still need to find a way to display the information. The easiest way around this is to use captions.
3. Don’t use testimonials about services or businesses
There’s no denying that testimonials are an effective way to attract new customers. However, this emotive technique goes against the objective nature of the medical field, as outlined in the AHPRA advertising guidelines. Because everyone has unique medical requirements, what’s good for the goose isn’t necessarily good for the gander. Patients should make decisions in line with their own situation without influence from outside sources.
What does this mean for a medical marketing agency? It simply means they can’t use testimonials to promote any healthcare organisation—be this on an official website or on social media.
4. Don’t make claims unless you have the all-clear
Working at a healthcare marketing agency in Australia is a balancing act between creating compelling content and sticking with the facts. Claims like ‘24-hour emergency services’ may sound attractive, but they could cause reputational damage should the reality fall short.
As the old saying goes, don’t promise what you can’t deliver. The best healthcare website design is honest and informative rather than misleading or deceptive. Reserve impressive claims for cases where you are 100 percent sure of their accuracy.
5. Use words to inform, not to embellish
In most other industries, marketers can push the boundaries of the truth and decorate the mundane with fancy words. However, if you work at a medical marketing agency, this is not an option. According to the AHPRA advertising guidelines, you need to reserve words like ‘expert’ or ‘specialist’ for medical professionals holding a specialist registration. Though it’s tempting to unlock profits with exaggeration, web design for medical practices has no room for embellishments.
6. Give your all-or-nothing statements a reality check
The marketing world is teeming with buzzwords—healthcare-related adjectives include ‘safe’, ‘pain-free’, ‘risk-free’, and ‘effective’. Just as you need to verify your claims about ‘24-hour emergency services’, you also need to confirm that your (albeit attractive) adjectives describe the service in question with accuracy.
To play it safe, use grey areas to your advantage. For example, you could describe a treatment to be ‘generally safe’, but advise the reader to ‘seek medical attention if symptoms develop’. The written word is powerful and, when crafted with care, can keep you out of trouble.
7. Don’t name specific drugs
It may seem counterintuitive, but when writing medical content, you should avoid name-dropping drugs—even non-branded variants. Should a prospective patient see a drug so much as name-dropped (or, worst-case scenario, endorsed), they may misinterpret an advertisement as a clinical prescription.
For example, let’s say a Facebook user sees a (blatantly illegal) post endorsing ‘botox’. They may use the drug in question and, should they encounter problematic results, use this as ammunition against the original advertiser. To avoid prescriptive language, use general terms that don’t specify the product, such as ‘anti-wrinkle injection’.
And that, in a nutshell, is how to create quality content and, in turn, develop the best healthcare website design possible. If there ever were a time for a copywriter to stick to the brief, it would be at a healthcare marketing agency in Australia. Because such advertising can influence customers’ decisions about their own health, there is more at stake than there would be for more typical agency clients. It’s important to balance persuasion with ethical practices.
If you own a healthcare organisation, you’ll need a quality marketing strategy that falls in line with the AHPRA advertising guidelines. At VIS Healthcare Marketing, you’re in good hands. Get in touch today to see how we can help you boost your booking numbers and elevate your online presence.
