With flu season fast approaching we thought we’d put together a list of clever ways clinics can encourage more patients to book in for a flu shot.
1. Use Posters and Counter Cards
Posters may be one of the oldest forms of advertising but there’s a reason why they’re still around. They work. The trick to posters is to remember that less is more. Don’t put up too many on your wall or poster board. This confuses the patient and in the end patients often don’t pay attention to any of the messages. Try to focus on a specific message for the month. This month may be about your flu clinic, next month skin checks etc. You can still advertise all of your services but the key is to place the emphasis on one thing at a time. Counter cards are also an effective way to advertise your flu clinic as patients are usually in the decision making process when they are standing at the counter. Check out our free Flu poster you can print for your clinic here.2. Remind Patients about Flu Vaccines after their Appointments
This might not sound that clever, but with people increasingly turning to more ‘online’ forms of communication it’s becoming less common to talk about new promotions in person. And, that’s exactly why this technique is so effective. Simply having your reception staff point to the counter card and ask patients if they’re interested in booking in for a flu shot is a great way of, not only reminding patients that flu season is coming, but also helping your team learn more about the most common questions and objections patients have. You can then use this feedback to improve your other campaigns, like posters and flyers. Even if one patient a day says “yes”, you can consider the strategy a winner.3. Promote Your Flu Clinic on Facebook
If you have a Facebook page post a simple advertisement notifying patients that flu vaccines are now available. Generally an effective Facebook ad has 4 components. 1) It’s visual, 2) It’s relevant, 3) It includes an enticing value proposition, and 4) It has a clear call to action.4. Create a Flu Season Educational Web Page
Think of this page as a place where you can answer questions, not just about the flu vaccine itself, but about the flu in general. For instance, what is the flu? And, how can I prevent the flu? Avoid treating this page as a place to push the flu vaccine hard. Consider it instead a soft sell. Of course, you can put flu shot ads on the page and answer questions about receiving the vaccine, but the idea is more about encouraging people who are searching for more general flu-related terms to land on your website. After all, these are the people most likely interested in getting vaccinated.5. Promote Your Flu Clinic By SMS
This is perhaps the most effective way to remind your patients of flu shots because it cuts through the clutter. Not everyone reads a poster or an email or their Facebook feed, but most read an SMS. To make notifying your patients super simple HotDoc has created HotDoc Inform. It works in two ways. The first allows you to promote your flu clinic by targeting those patients who have appointments coming up. It’s simple. A patient receives an SMS asking them to confirm whether they can make their appointment the following day. When they click ‘Yes’ they see a friendly promotional message. The second way allows practices to send an SMS broadcast out to all patients. It takes less than 60 seconds. Simply choose one of our performance tested campaigns, select the group of patients you want to receive the message, and hit send. 
