2018 is already off to an amazing start.

We’ve seen updates from Facebook (again).
We’ve seen video content explode.  
We’ve seen Google make it even harder for addiction treatment centers to advertise online.

The fantastic thing about digital marketing is that it’s always shifting – like a revolving door of marketing opportunities.

That’s why CEO Bernard May and Director of Marketing Matt Erickson developed a powerful webinar dedicated to digital marketing trends for addiction treatment centers.  From mobile domination to artificial intelligence, this webinar gives practical and actionable insights that you can leverage in 2018.

Let’s take a look.

Mobile Domination

So you might be asking yourself, “Why should I care about mobile traffic?”

Well, the reality is that clients have the opportunity to find your business anytime and anywhere simply because of their mobile devices. This is an opportunity you can’t ignore. That’s especially true when it comes to location. As Google prioritizes local search results more and more, you have a greater opportunity to show your value to clients on their mobile devices.

Taking this mobile-first design approach into account also gives you a new perspective as to how clients, looking for addiction treatment information, will navigate your website on mobile. Place your most valuable information front and center on your mobile website and make mobile navigation of your content simple. Such mobile strategies are profoundly important.

Budgets Move Paid Facebook

One of the main reasons to focus on Facebook is that the social media giant hasn’t restricted advertising like Google. Not only can you target potential clients or families of clients based on the demographic and geographic data you have; you can also leverage your current or alumni client lists within Facebook to build new audiences to target.

Facebook is also cost-effective. Driving leads and finding clients for your facility is expensive. But using advertising and post boosting on Facebook can cost far less than your Google investment…and you can reach a larger number of prospects in a single campaign.

Example: On Google, $14 can be the price of a SINGLE keyword click. On Facebook, you use that same $14 to get your treatment center in front of between roughly 3.5k-and 4.6k members of your target audience in a single day.

Influencer Marketing Grows

Why do influencers matter when it comes to addiction treatment facilities? The time it takes an influencer to build trust with their audience can be substantial. So those who follow influencers are far more apt to trust what the influencer has to say. For example, National Positions ran an influencer campaign across YouTube and other social networks. The influencer had over 260k YouTube Followers. This single campaign garnered thousands of views, traffic to our client’s website, warmer and more qualified leads, exposure, advertising, and extended SEO benefits. The investment can be greater – but so can the results!

Video Will Reign Supreme

How does video apply to addiction treatment centers? The most straightforward answer would be video testimonials. Hearing from those who have been through your program is extremely powerful and helps build trust with potential clients. The value of trust cannot be overstated, and video offers additional transparency into your facility, your programs, and your methodologies.

One of the main reasons that Google pulled advertising for the addiction treatment industry was due to the reported over-prescribing of opioids. Video can help show how your facility is part of the solution and not part of the problem, which can in turn build more trust with those looking for help. Facility tours, staff introductions, program overviews and success stories are powerful ways to utilize video.

2018 is the Year for Amp

So, why Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)? The main reason is that Google and its algorithms are fixated on fast-loading pages. AMP pages are lightning fast and help improve the user experience, and a better user experience means better placement in the search results. Converting to Mobile Accelerated Pages in 2018 will also become easier and less painful than they used to be. In fact we have built thousands of AMP pages in 2017 and have seen some pretty stellar results by making these changes.

Google My Business to Own Local Search

GMB pages will soon replace your website as the most important source for local results. Is your website still valuable? Of course! We are strictly focusing on the results provided by local search, which most often come from Google My Business. You want to make sure that your GMB profile is complete, that you have chosen the right categories for your facility, and that you continue to generate positive reviews. Additionally, you should post often to your Google My Business profile and use some of the new features like Q&A.

Voice Search Continues to Gain Ground

How can addiction treatment facilities capitalize on the growth of voice search? One point of focus is content. The content created should be asking and answering questions in a conversational manner to help Google serve up content to those searching with voice. Examples could be: “What are the signs of cocaine addiction?” or “How do I know if I have a drinking problem?” or “How do I pick a good rehab center?” When creating, or reworking content, keep in mind the way we speak. This will help you create contextually-based content that is easier to find with voice search.

Also, when it comes to local search, Amazons Echo’s default is Yelp, but with Google home and (most mobile search queries) the local default results will come from Google My Business. So make sure that your facility is clearly represented on these platforms.

Artificial Intelligence

Let’s look at Google and SEO. Google ranks site on hundreds of factors, but one of the biggest is known as User Experience. Through Google Chrome and Google Analytics, Google can tell whether people found your site helpful or not. Its algorithm gets smarter and smarter every time someone does a search. That means a machine determines how you rank based on all the interactions on your site and on your competition’s site. AI and machine learning are also used for virtual assistants and online bots, as well as automated ad bidding, which can look at over 70,000 bidding factors per second!

From groundbreaking analytics to better audience targeting, AI and machine learning will soon have a hand in all of it to help streamline our processes and reduce redundancies.

Personalization

In our previous webinar we talked about Marketing Automation (see clip below) and how important it is to send out emails based on the needs of your prospects. For instance, if someone is looking for information surrounding cocaine addiction, you want to make sure you can follow-up automatically with a series of emails related to cocaine addiction and how your facility will help. General emails and responses are not enough anymore.

We are also going to see dynamic web page content becoming more commonplace this year. These dynamic web pages can show personalized content when someone returns to the site, based on what the visitor had previously clicked or read about. This all comes down to a high level of lead nurturing.  Personalizing the content for your leads and web visitors should make them feel like you are having a one-on-one discussion.

Client Engagement 

Let’s face it, addiction treatment traffic is expensive and we need to do everything we can to increase the conversion rate at every stage of the lead funnel. With Google removing paid ads, driving traffic has become more difficult. Addiction treatment facilities will need to focus on the user experience to improve conversion. Consider moving beyond analytics to user experience tools that record and review visitor sessions across devices. Leverage technologies such as heatmaps, form analytics and conversion funnels to improve your overall client engagement.

Digital Marketing in 2018

There is no shortage of opportunities when it comes to digital marketing in 2018. What is most important is to not be romantic about what worked last year, or upset about changes made by Google or Facebook. Times change and so must your strategies. The longer we dwell, the faster our competition is going to outpace us. We must adapt quickly and keep our eyes open to opportunities. So if your addiction treatment center has been left wondering what to do for 2018, download our eBook, watch our webinar video, share with your team, and send us your questions!

Click to download National Positions’ 2018 Digital Marketing Trends for Addiction Treatment Centers presentation PDF (left) and eBook (right)! 

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