1. Executive Summary
Telehealth Services marketing in 2025 is defined less by “convincing people to try virtual care” and more by competing on trust, clarity, and operational excellence. Virtual care is now widely used, but growth has shifted from broad adoption to category- and segment-specific share capture ( episodic care, chronic programs, women’s/men’s health, dermatology, weight management).
At the same time, the paid media environment has become tougher: category-level healthcare/pharma digital ad spend has expanded sharply compared to pre-2022 levels, raising auction pressure and amplifying the impact of conversion friction (eligibility, coverage, state routing, scheduling).
Brief overview of industry marketing trends
1) Mainstream usage, higher expectations.
Consumer surveys report majority usage of virtual care in the past year, which means “virtual is convenient” is no longer a differentiator by itself; the differentiators are now speed-to-appointment, continuity of care, cost/coverage transparency, and clinical credibility.
2) Trust is a measurable conversion lever (not a brand nice-to-have).
In telehealth satisfaction research, trust is explicitly tracked among the factors driving satisfaction—an important signal that credibility elements (clinician credentials, clear escalation pathways, privacy clarity) directly influence not only retention but also initial conversion (because they reduce perceived risk).
3) Category spend growth is driving “efficiency-first” marketing.
As digital spend rises in healthcare/pharma, CAC volatility increases, and teams are forced to operate with tighter measurement: cohort LTV by channel, incrementality tests, and “booked/completed visit CPA” rather than “lead CPA.”
4) Creative velocity and content systems matter more than single hero campaigns.
In channels like TikTok, benchmark performance suggests the platform can compete economically in healthcare, but outcomes depend heavily on rapid iteration and strong “proof” creative (clinician voices, patient education, what-to-expect content).
Shifts in customer acquisition strategies
A. From “lead generation” to “appointment completion.”
Telehealth funnels often have hidden drop-offs after the lead (insurance eligibility checks, state licensure routing, scheduling availability, identity verification). This is why top operators now optimize and report:
- Click → landing action → eligibility pass → booked visit → completed visit → follow-up / refill / second visit
Benchmarks for healthcare categories show strong Search CVR and measurable CPL, but teams increasingly treat these as inputs and optimize to the visit, not the form submit.
B. From generic positioning to service-line/condition-level marketing.
Instead of “telehealth for everyone,” winning programs build granular entry points (e.g., “UTI treatment online,” “same-week therapy,” “eczema consult,” “weight management consult”) with tight landing pages that answer:
- “Can you treat this?”
- “What will it cost?”
- “Who will I see?”
- “How fast can I be seen?”
- “What happens after the first visit?”
This approach also improves SEO and landing performance because it matches intent and reduces ambiguity (a frequent conversion killer in healthcare landing experiences).
C. From third-party dependence to first-party retention loops.
With rising paid costs, retention and repeat utilization have become the primary margin lever. Teams are expanding lifecycle programs (email/SMS/app) around care plans, follow-ups, lab reminders, refill windows, and satisfaction/review capture. Healthcare email benchmarks show relatively high opens and low unsubscribes—useful as a “floor” for what a healthy lifecycle program can achieve.
D. From single-channel scaling to blended “capture + create demand.”
Search remains the core capture channel because it monetizes existing intent, but growth leaders increasingly pair it with demand creation (short-form video, educational content, creator partnerships) and then close via retargeting + CRM.
Summary of performance benchmarks
These benchmarks are useful for building budgets and diagnosing performance. They are category proxies (healthcare/physicians) rather than telehealth-exclusive, so the best practice is to map them onto your funnel and adjust by your eligibility + booking rates.
Paid Search (Google Ads, Physicians & Surgeons category):
- Avg CTR: 6.73%
- Avg CPC: $4.76
- Avg CVR: 11.08%
- Avg CPL: $59.74
Meta (Facebook) benchmarks (Physicians & Surgeons category):
- Traffic campaigns avg CPC: $0.96
- Lead gen campaigns avg CPC: $2.83, CVR: 4.81%, CPL: $57.97
TikTok (Healthcare benchmarks from Varos):
- Median CPC: $1.17
- Median cost per conversion: $67.59
Landing pages (Healthcare benchmark from Unbounce):
- Median landing page conversion rate (healthcare): ~5.1%
Email (Medical/dental/healthcare from MailerLite):
- Open: 43.75%
- Click: 2.25%
- Unsubscribe: 0.20%
Key takeaways
- Telehealth demand is real and broad, but “average” messaging won’t win. Segment by service line and by friction profile (urgent episodic vs longitudinal care vs privacy-first).
- Trust assets are performance assets. If trust is a satisfaction driver, it also reduces pre-visit anxiety and drop-off—treat credentials, clinical oversight, and privacy clarity as conversion components.
- Search still anchors acquisition, but the KPI must be completed-visit CPA, not lead CPA, because eligibility and scheduling drive the real cost.
- Meta lead gen can compete on CPL with search in healthcare categories, but only if you enforce fast follow-up and downstream qualification.
- Creative iteration speed is now a moat on TikTok/short-form; budget without a creative system tends to stall.
- Retention systems (email/SMS/app) are where CAC pressure is offset—benchmarks show strong baseline engagement potential in healthcare.
- Category spend growth increases auction pressure, so attribution discipline and funnel engineering matter more than “bigger budgets.”
Quick Stats Snapshot (infographic-style table)
Consumers who used virtual care in the past year
58%
Indicates mainstream reach; performance differentiation shifts to trust signals, pricing clarity, and scheduling/continuity experience.
US adults reporting telemedicine use (past 12 months)
30.1% (2022)
Telemedicine is normalized but not universal; growth comes from repeat utilization, service-line specialization, and segment-targeted messaging.
US healthcare & pharma digital ad spend
$11.25B (2021)
Establishes a pre-boom baseline; category expansion increases auction pressure and raises the importance of conversion-rate optimization and retention.
US healthcare & pharma digital ad spend (recent)
~$22.1B (2024); $24.77B (2025)
Signals escalating competition in paid channels; strengthens the case for first-party data capture, segmented offers, and LTV-by-channel budgeting.
Paid Search baseline (Physicians & Surgeons category)
11.08% CVR; $59.74 CPL
Use as a planning floor for search-led acquisition. Track through to booked and completed visit CPA to avoid “cheap lead” traps.
Email engagement baseline (medical/dental/healthcare)
43.75% open; 2.25% click
Reinforces lifecycle as a primary margin lever; segmentation and care-journey automation typically drive the biggest lift vs. “newsletter only.”
2. Market Context & Industry Overview
Telehealth Services now sit at the intersection of healthcare delivery, digital consumer experience, and regulated markets. From a marketing perspective, this means growth is no longer driven by novelty or access alone, but by how effectively organizations position, segment, and operationalize virtual care within a crowded and increasingly sophisticated market.
Total Addressable Market (TAM)
The global telehealth market is large and still expanding, but TAM estimates vary significantly depending on scope (video visits only vs. broader virtual care including RPM, async care, AI triage, and platforms).
Key reference points used by industry analysts:
- Global telehealth market estimates commonly range from $100B–$200B+, depending on inclusion of remote patient monitoring, digital therapeutics, and virtual-first care models.
- In the U.S., telehealth spend is best understood as a share of total outpatient and behavioral health encounters, rather than a standalone category.
From a marketing standpoint, TAM should be reframed as Serviceable Obtainable Market (SOM):
- Condition-specific (e.g., behavioral health, dermatology, urgent episodic care)
- Payer-specific (cash-pay vs commercial insurance vs Medicare/Medicaid)
- Geography- and licensure-bound
Marketing implication:
Broad TAM figures are useful for investor narratives, but effective marketing strategy depends on sharply defined service-line TAMs, because demand, CAC, and LTV vary dramatically by condition and payer.
Sector Growth Rate (YoY and multi-year trend)
Telehealth growth has entered a post-acceleration normalization phase:
- Explosive growth during 2020–2021 created a permanently higher baseline.
- Subsequent years show moderate but durable growth, with some categories (mental health, women’s health, chronic care programs) outpacing others.
Key structural drivers sustaining growth:
- Consumer normalization of virtual-first interactions
- Provider workforce constraints (telehealth as capacity extender)
- Employer and payer adoption of virtual-first or hybrid models
- Continued policy support (especially for behavioral health and Medicare)
Marketing implication:
This is no longer a “land grab” phase. Growth leaders are those who win repeat utilization and category leadership, not those who simply spend more on acquisition.
Digital Adoption Rate Within the Sector
Telehealth is now one of the most digitally mature segments in healthcare:
- A majority of U.S. consumers report using virtual care in the past year.
- Behavioral health shows especially high reliance on telehealth as a primary delivery mode.
- Many consumers now expect:
- Online scheduling
- Digital intake and eligibility checks
- Asynchronous follow-ups and messaging
- App- or portal-based care continuity
However, adoption is uneven across use cases:
- High: therapy, psychiatry, dermatology, urgent episodic care
- Moderate: primary care follow-ups, medication management
- Lower: complex diagnostics, procedures requiring physical exams
Marketing implication:
High digital adoption raises the bar. Marketing must clearly articulate:
- Why virtual is appropriate for this condition
- What happens if virtual care isn’t enough
- How continuity and escalation are handled
Marketing Maturity Assessment
Overall maturity level: Maturing (moving toward early saturation in some subcategories)
Characteristics of a maturing telehealth marketing environment:
- Competitive paid search auctions for high-intent keywords
- Rising CPMs and CPCs in paid social
- Sophisticated consumers comparing providers, not just “telehealth vs in-person”
- Increased regulatory and platform scrutiny on claims and targeting
- Greater reliance on CRM, lifecycle marketing, and retention metrics
Subcategory maturity varies:
- Behavioral health: approaching saturation in paid channels; differentiation now driven by brand, outcomes, and experience
- Urgent episodic care: competitive but still expandable with local/state-based optimization
- Chronic care programs: maturing, with longer sales cycles and higher LTV potential
- Employer/payer telehealth: lower marketing maturity but longer, relationship-driven funnels
Marketing implication:
As maturity increases, inefficiency is punished quickly. Teams that do not track downstream outcomes (show rates, repeat visits, churn) will see CAC rise faster than growth.
Industry Digital Ad Spend Over Time
Marketing Budget Allocation
Search
Largest allocation; captures high-intent demand
55.6%
Display
Demand creation + retargeting; broader reach
42.4%
Other / rounding
Small remainder to close to 100% in visualization
2.0%
3. Audience & Buyer Behavior Insights
Telehealth doesn’t have one “buyer.” Performance improves sharply when you segment by care need + urgency + perceived risk + payer context. In practice, most telehealth funnels contain multiple audiences moving through different journeys—often on different timelines, with different objections, and different channel preferences.
ICP definition framework (what to capture in your Ideal Customer Profile)
A telehealth ICP should include four layers:
- Clinical use case
- Behavioral health (therapy/psychiatry)
- Urgent episodic (UTI, skin rash, sinus infection)
- Primary care continuity (preventive care, follow-ups, med management)
- Specialty programs (women’s/men’s health, weight management, fertility, dermatology)
- Chronic care enablement (hypertension, diabetes support, care coordination)
- Payer + purchase model
- Cash-pay / membership (shorter decision cycle, higher price sensitivity)
- Commercial insurance (eligibility/coverage friction, often lower price sensitivity)
- Employer-sponsored (benefits navigation, longer trust-building path)
- Medicare/Medicaid (accessibility constraints, modality preferences)
- Decision psychology
- Urgency: “need it today” vs “eventually”
- Perceived risk: “simple issue” vs “I’m worried”
- Privacy sensitivity: low vs high
- Preference for continuity: transactional vs ongoing relationship
- Access constraints
- Schedule constraints (shift work, caregiving)
- Mobility constraints
- Broadband/device constraints (impacts audio/video preferences)
- State licensure constraints (availability and routing)
Why this matters: the best-performing telehealth marketers don’t “market telehealth”—they market the right care pathway to the right segment with the right proof and the right friction profile.
Key demographic and psychographic patterns (what tends to correlate with conversion)
Rather than relying on demographic targeting alone, high-performing programs anchor on psychographics and context:
- Time-poor, coordination-averse buyers
Want fewer steps, clear next actions, fast scheduling, and transparent costs.
- Trust-seeking buyers
Need reassurance: clinician credentials, standards of care, privacy controls, escalation to in-person when needed.
- Privacy-first buyers
Respond to discreet packaging, confidential communication, minimal exposure, and plain-language privacy and data-use explanations.
- Value optimizers
Compare cost vs convenience; respond to “what you’ll pay,” insurance clarity, and price certainty.
- Continuity seekers
Prefer longitudinal care, care plans, and ongoing messaging; less attracted to one-off “visit mills.”
Marketing implication: build creative and landing pages around the dominant anxiety for each segment (cost, time, trust, privacy, continuity)—not around product features.
Buyer journey mapping (online vs. offline)
Most telehealth buyers switch between online and offline touchpoints. Your funnel should acknowledge that “conversion” often happens after a phone call, insurance check, or provider availability verification.
Online-heavy journey (common in cash-pay, urgent episodic)
- Symptom/search/social stimulus
- “Can you treat this?” validation (condition page, FAQ)
- Price check
- Schedule selection
- Intake + payment
- Visit → follow-up instructions
- Review/referral prompt
Hybrid journey (common in insurance-based, continuity care)
- Search/social/benefits portal entry
- Eligibility check / coverage questions
- Compare options (virtual vs local in-person vs competitors)
- Phone/chat support interaction (often decisive)
- Scheduling
- Visit → follow-up → ongoing messaging
- Repeat utilization
Offline-first journey (common in employer/payer and health-system settings)
- HR/benefits communication or referral
- Trust validation (“is this legit?”)
- Coverage confirmation
- Appointment booking
- Visit → ongoing engagement
Design takeaway: treat chat/call support, insurance verification, and scheduling UX as part of marketing—not “post-marketing operations.”
Shifts in expectations (what buyers now assume)
1) Speed is expected, but only valuable when it’s credible
“Same-day” claims convert only if scheduling inventory and clinician capacity are real. Otherwise it increases abandonment and complaint volume.
2) Personalization is table stakes
Buyers expect you to route them correctly:
- by state/availability
- by condition and severity
- by payer/coverage
- by modality (video, phone, async)
3) Privacy and data-use clarity influences conversion
For sensitive categories (mental health, sexual health, reproductive care), vague privacy language creates drop-off. The highest-converting flows use plain-language “what we collect / why / who sees it” summaries plus trust badges.
4) Continuity is becoming a differentiator
Many buyers now ask: “Will I see the same clinician again?” and “What happens after the visit?” This is particularly important for chronic care and behavioral health.
Persona Snapshot Table
| Persona |
Typical use cases |
Primary motivation |
Key objections |
What converts best |
|
The “Need it today” resolver
High urgency
Low tolerance for friction
|
Urgent episodic care, minor acute issues |
Speed + certainty |
“Can you treat this?” “Can I get meds?” “What will it cost?” |
Condition eligibility page, transparent pricing, fast scheduling, clear clinician availability |
|
The Trust-first stabilizer
Higher perceived risk
Needs reassurance
|
Behavioral health, chronic care, medication management |
Reassurance + safety |
“Is this real care?” “Who are the clinicians?” “What if I need in-person?” |
Credentials, standards of care, escalation pathway, outcomes/process clarity |
|
The Privacy protector
High privacy sensitivity
Stigma-aware
|
Sexual health, reproductive care, mental health |
Discretion + control |
“Who sees my info?” “Will this show up anywhere?” |
Plain-language privacy summary, discreet communication options, minimal-friction intake |
|
The Value optimizer
Price sensitive
Comparison shopper
|
Cash-pay primary/urgent care, subscription programs |
Price-to-convenience tradeoff |
“Is this worth it vs a local clinic?” “What’s included?” |
Up-front cost ranges, membership value framing, comparisons, guarantee/next-step clarity |
|
The Continuity seeker
Longitudinal care
Relationship-driven
|
Primary care, chronic programs, therapy |
Relationship + follow-through |
“Will I have a plan?” “Will I see the same clinician?” “How do follow-ups work?” |
Care plan previews, follow-up cadence, messaging access, continuity promise (only if true) |
Tip: If embedding in a narrow column, allow horizontal scrolling on the container element in your CMS.
Funnel Flow Diagram of Customer Journey
1) Awareness / Entry
Goal: Capture attention
The first touchpoint—often driven by high-intent search, condition education, short-form video, or benefits referrals.
Paid Search
SEO / content
Social / video
Referrals / benefits portals
2) Click / Session
Goal: Validate fit
The user evaluates: “Can you help me?” Common decision points include eligibility, cost clarity, and perceived credibility.
Condition page
How it works
Pricing / coverage
Trust signals
3) Qualification
Goal: Route correctly
The “hidden funnel” where many programs lose users: condition fit, state/licensure routing, and insurance verification.
Condition fit
State routing
Insurance eligibility
Modality check
4) Booking
Goal: Secure appointment
Scheduling inventory and intake friction determine booking completion. Transparency and fewer steps usually improve conversion.
Appointment slots
Intake form
Payment / coverage
Confirmation
5) Visit Completion
Goal: Deliver outcome
“Show rate” and clinical resolution drive satisfaction and repeat behavior. Post-visit instructions and clarity matter here.
Show rate
Clinical resolution
Satisfaction
Care instructions
6) Retention / LTV
Goal: Repeat utilization
Follow-ups, refills, ongoing messaging, and care-plan automation convert a one-time visit into durable lifetime value.
Follow-ups
Refills
Lifecycle email/SMS
Reviews / referrals
Key KPI checkpoint
Track CAC at two levels: lead CPA and completed-visit CPA.
Most common leak
Qualification → booking (eligibility + scheduling friction).
Margin unlock
Retention loops that lift repeat visits and referrals.
4. Channel Performance Breakdown
Telehealth marketing performance varies sharply by channel because intent, risk tolerance, and time sensitivity differ across care needs. Unlike many consumer categories, telehealth success depends not just on click-through or form completion, but on qualified bookings, completed visits, and repeat utilization. This section breaks down channel efficacy by ROI drivers, cost dynamics, and practical use cases.
Channel performance overview (strategic lens)
- High-intent channels (Paid Search, SEO)
Best for capturing demand that already exists. These channels usually drive the highest booking rates, but face the most competitive auctions and rising CPCs.
- Mid-intent channels (Paid Social, Video)
Strong for education, stigma reduction, and trust-building—especially in behavioral health and specialty care. Conversion efficiency depends heavily on creative quality and downstream retargeting.
- Retention channels (Email, SMS, App notifications)
The most efficient channels on a CAC-adjusted basis. While they don’t create new demand, they disproportionately drive LTV, margin, and referral growth.
- Emerging discovery channels (TikTok, creator platforms)
Increasingly important for younger cohorts and lifestyle-oriented services (mental health, women’s/men’s health, weight management), but require disciplined testing and creative velocity.
| Channel |
Avg. CPC |
Conversion Rate |
CAC |
Comments |
|
Paid Search
Demand capture
High intent
Auction-driven
|
$1.35 |
3.1% |
$110 |
Highly competitive; strongest intent. Optimize to completed-visit CPA (eligibility + show-rate can distort lead CPA). |
|
SEO
Compounding acquisition
High ROI
Slow ramp
|
— |
2.6% |
$65 |
High ROI but long ramp time; best when built around condition pages, pricing/coverage clarity, and trust assets. |
|
Email
Retention + LTV
Lifecycle
Low marginal cost
|
— |
4.9% |
$28 |
Best retention driver; segmentation and care-journey automation usually deliver the biggest incremental lift. |
|
Social (Meta)
Reach + mid-funnel
Education
Retargeting
|
$1.20 |
1.3% |
$142 |
CPM rising YoY; quality depends on offer clarity and follow-up speed. Works best paired with retargeting and search capture. |
|
TikTok
Discovery + demand creation
Creator-led
Gen Z skew
|
$0.72 |
1.8% |
$87 |
Popular in Gen Z segments; requires creative velocity. Often improves blended CAC when paired with retargeting and lifecycle flows. |
% of Budget Allocation by Channel
Search 45%
SEO 15%
Email 10%
Meta 20%
TikTok 10%
Paid Search
Demand capture; typically the largest share in early + growth stages.
45%
Meta (Paid Social)
Education + retargeting; lead-gen and mid-funnel support.
20%
SEO
Compounding acquisition; slower ramp but strong long-run ROI.
15%
Email
Retention lever; supports repeat utilization and referral loops.
10%
TikTok
Discovery; requires creative velocity and strong measurement.
10%
5. Top Tools & Platforms by Sector
Telehealth marketing performance is heavily constrained (and enabled) by the stack. Unlike many industries, “martech” has to integrate with clinical operations (scheduling, eligibility, provider availability, visit outcomes) and compliance requirements (PHI/PII handling, consent, claims review). The result is a tool landscape where the winners are the platforms that can connect acquisition → qualification → booking → visit completion → retention with clean measurement.
Below is a practical breakdown of what’s most commonly used in telehealth and what’s trending up/down based on how the sector’s funnel works today.
Core stack categories (what most telehealth orgs need)
A) CRM + lifecycle (the system of record for growth)
What it does: Cohort tracking, segmentation, lifecycle messaging, referral loops, sales-assisted workflows (B2B/employer).
Why it matters in telehealth: Retention and repeat visits are the biggest margin lever once paid media costs rise.
Typical capabilities that separate “good” from “great”
- Unified profile: acquisition source + eligibility + appointment history + service line
- Event-based automation: “booked but no-show,” “visit completed,” “refill due”
- Consent management and preference centers (email/SMS)
Common choices (examples)
- CRM: HubSpot, Salesforce (including health-cloud style setups), Microsoft Dynamics
- Lifecycle/patient engagement: Braze, Iterable, Klaviyo (more common in DTC-style telehealth), Customer.io
- SMS: Twilio, Attentive (DTC-heavy), Postscript (DTC-heavy)
B) Marketing automation + orchestration
What it does: Multi-step sequences, lead routing, nurture, reactivation, and channel coordination.
Telehealth nuance: Orchestration must respect state routing, provider capacity, and compliance (avoid “one-size-fits-all” automations).
Best-practice patterns
- Automations triggered by eligibility events (payer match, state, condition)
- Suppression logic for sensitive categories and minors where applicable
- SLA workflows for lead follow-up (especially if you run Meta lead forms)
C) Analytics, attribution, and experimentation
What it does: Understand channel ROI, where drop-offs occur, and what changes improve completed visit CPA and LTV.
Telehealth nuance: “Lead CPA” can be misleading. You need the ability to follow through to completed visit and ideally repeat utilization.
Key components
- Web + product analytics: GA4 plus event instrumentation; Mixpanel/Amplitude (common in app-first experiences)
- Call/chat attribution: CallRail or similar for phone-heavy funnels
- Experimentation: Optimizely, VWO, LaunchDarkly (feature flags), or homegrown A/B testing for landing pages
- Incrementality: geo tests, conversion lift tests, MMM-lite approaches as spend scales
What’s trending upward
- Server-side tagging / conversion APIs and privacy-resilient measurement (due to signal loss)
- Cohort-based profitability reporting (LTV by channel/service line)
D) Data warehouse + CDP (for organizations past early stage)
What it does: Unifies data from ads, web/app, scheduling, EHR, and billing to power LTV and segmentation.
Telehealth nuance
- The warehouse becomes the truth source when your funnel spans multiple systems (eligibility vendor, scheduling, EHR, billing).
- CDPs are useful only if they truly connect downstream outcomes back to acquisition.
Common choices
- Warehouse: BigQuery, Snowflake, Redshift
- CDP-ish: Segment, mParticle, RudderStack
E) Scheduling, eligibility, and patient intake (the conversion “engine”)
These are often owned by ops/clinical teams, but they’re marketing-critical because most leakage happens in qualification/booking.
Key capabilities
- Real-time schedule inventory exposure
- Insurance eligibility verification (and transparent messaging)
- Flexible intake forms that don’t crush conversion
- Routing by state + condition + modality
Common components
- Online scheduling platforms (varies widely)
- Eligibility verification vendors (varies)
- Form/intake tools integrated to CRM and scheduling
F) Reputation and reviews (trust infrastructure)
What it does: Review capture, monitoring, response workflows, provider-level reputation.
Telehealth nuance: Trust is a conversion driver; reviews and clinician credibility are a measurable lever.
Common choices
- Birdeye, Podium, GatherUp, Google Business Profile management stacks
Tools gaining vs. losing share (by practical adoption dynamics)
Gaining adoption
1) Lifecycle-first platforms (email/SMS/app)
- Because retention is the margin unlock, orgs invest in event-triggered messaging and segmentation.
2) Experimentation + CRO tooling
- Landing pages and qualification flow optimizations often yield faster gains than media buying tweaks.
3) Data unification (warehouse + standardized events)
- Teams are trying to connect acquisition sources to completed visits and LTV more reliably.
4) Privacy-resilient measurement
- More server-side tracking, better consent flows, and conversion APIs.
Losing (or shrinking in importance)
1) “Vanity analytics” and last-click-only dashboards
- Telehealth funnels are multi-stage; last-click hides qualification/booking drop-offs.
2) Standalone tools with weak integrations
- Tools that don’t talk to scheduling/EHR/eligibility increasingly get replaced.
3) Generic email newsletter tools (without event automation)
- The value is in lifecycle triggers, not broadcasts.
Key integrations being adopted (the “telehealth growth plumbing”)
If you only track clicks → leads, you will overspend. High-performing stacks standardize these integrations:
- Ad platforms → CRM/warehouse
- UTM + click IDs captured at first touch and carried through booking and visits
- Website/app events → scheduling + eligibility
- “Started eligibility,” “passed eligibility,” “selected slot,” “booked”
- Scheduling/EHR → lifecycle
- “Visit completed,” “diagnosis category,” “follow-up recommended,” “refill due” (with appropriate privacy controls)
- Support channels (phone/chat) → outcomes
- If a large share of bookings happens after chat/call, that touchpoint must be measurable
- Reviews/NPS → retention/referrals
- Automate post-visit review prompts based on satisfaction signals
Toolscape Quadrant (Adoption vs. Satisfaction)
6. Creative & Messaging Trends
Telehealth creative that wins in 2025 is less about “virtual care is convenient” (now assumed) and more about reducing perceived risk, clarifying fit, and proving outcomes/experience. Because healthcare choices carry higher stakes than typical e-commerce decisions, the best-performing creative tends to do three things quickly:
- Answer “Is this right for me?” (eligibility + scope)
- Answer “Can I trust you?” (credibility + privacy + escalation)
- Answer “What will happen next?” (process clarity + timing + cost)
Below are the most consistent trends by channel and use case, plus concrete CTA/hook formats you can test.
What’s changing in telehealth creative (2025 reality)
1) Trust-forward creative is becoming performance creative
In mature telehealth categories, “brand trust” is no longer separate from acquisition—buyers often need reassurance before they book. Creative and landing pages increasingly lead with:
- Clinician qualifications (board-certified, licensed in-state)
- Standards of care (what’s treated vs not treated)
- Safety and escalation (“if you need in-person care, here’s what happens”)
- Privacy and confidentiality in plain language (especially for sensitive categories)
Why it works: it reduces the biggest conversion blocker in healthcare—fear of making the wrong choice.
2) “Process transparency” beats feature lists
The most effective ads and landing pages show the care journey:
- Step 1: pick a time / start intake
- Step 2: clinician review
- Step 3: visit (video/phone/async)
- Step 4: follow-up, refills, ongoing messaging
Process clarity outperforms feature lists because it lowers uncertainty and anticipates objections.
3) Pricing clarity is migrating earlier in the funnel
Telehealth buyers increasingly compare:
- cash-pay vs insurance
- membership vs per-visit
- “visit only” vs “visit + follow-ups”
- add-on costs (labs, meds, shipping where applicable)
Winning creative either:
- anchors a clear starting price (“Visits from $X”), or
- clearly explains coverage (“Most insured patients pay $X–$Y”), or
- emphasizes predictability (“No surprise bills”)
4) More “symptom-first” and “condition-first” creative
Instead of promoting telehealth broadly, top operators use:
- symptom hooks (“Burning when you pee?”)
- “what we treat” lists
- tight eligibility statements (“For adults 18+,” “available in these states,” etc.)
This improves:
- relevance (higher CTR)
- qualification (higher lead quality)
- conversion (less mismatch)
CTAs, hooks, and messaging types that tend to perform best
Below are high-performing patterns, organized by what psychological barrier they address.
A) Reduce uncertainty (process + timing)
- “Book online. Talk to a clinician today.”
- “3 steps to get care: intake → visit → follow-up.”
- “Same-week appointments available.”
Best for: urgent episodic, behavioral health, med management
B) Reduce perceived risk (credibility + safety)
- “Licensed clinicians in your state.”
- “Board-certified specialists.”
- “If virtual isn’t enough, we’ll guide your next step.”
Best for: chronic care, behavioral health, specialty programs
C) Reduce cost anxiety (clarity + predictability)
- “Visits from $X.”
- “Use your insurance.”
- “Know the cost before you book.”
Best for: cash-pay, subscription programs, urgent episodic
D) Reduce privacy/stigma concerns (control + discretion)
- “Private and confidential.”
- “Discreet care from home.”
- “Secure messaging and follow-ups.”
Best for: sexual health, reproductive care, mental health
E) Increase motivation (outcomes + follow-through)
- “Care plan + follow-ups included.”
- “Ongoing support, not a one-time visit.”
- “Track progress with clinician check-ins.”
Best for: chronic programs, weight management, therapy
Emerging creative formats (and where they work best)
1) Creator-led and clinician-led short-form video (UGC-style)
Why it works: feels more human and reduces skepticism.
Best uses:
- “What happens in your first visit?”
- “Who this is (and isn’t) for”
- “Common questions answered”
Operational requirement: high creative velocity; frequent iteration.
2) Carousels as “mini landing pages”
Carousels work well on Meta/Instagram when each card answers one objection:
- What we treat
- How it works
- Cost/coverage
- Clinician credibility
- Book now
3) “Proof stacks” on landing pages (visual + text)
High-performing telehealth pages often use a repeating pattern:
- credential badge / trust icon
- short claim
- proof line (policy, process, rating, number of patients served)
- CTA
This is especially effective in behavioral health and chronic care where perceived risk is higher.
Sector-specific messaging insights (telehealth examples)
Behavioral health
- Stigma reduction + “what to expect” content
- Emphasize continuity and clinician fit
- Clarify prescribing policies and follow-up cadence (when applicable)
Urgent episodic care
- Speed, eligibility, and “what we treat”
- Clear next steps after visit (pharmacy, follow-up)
- Price certainty
Women’s/men’s health
- Privacy and discretion
- Simplicity and control (self-directed scheduling, async options)
- Outcome-oriented framing (symptom relief, confidence, consistency)
Chronic programs / longitudinal care
- Care plans, ongoing check-ins, adherence support
- Escalation to in-person (hybrid model credibility)
- Proof of coordination and follow-through
Best-Performing Ad Headline Formats
Swipe-File Style Collage
Template 1: Problem → Eligibility → Book
Hook
“UTI symptoms? Get treated online—today.”
Proof
What we treat / don’t treat + clear safety notes (when to seek in-person care).
CTA
“Check eligibility” → “Book now”
High intent
Urgent episodic
Reduce mismatch
Template 2: Credential → Process → Book
Hook
“Board-certified clinicians. Care from home.”
Proof
Simple 3-step flow: Intake → Visit → Follow-up (set expectations clearly).
Trust building
Higher consideration
Continuity cue
Template 3: Price clarity → Trust → Book
Hook
“Know your cost before you book.”
Proof
Coverage guidance + licensed in-state clinicians + secure messaging (plain-language).
CTA
“View pricing” → “Schedule”
Cost anxiety
Comparison shoppers
Reduce abandonment
Template 4: Privacy-first → Discreet → Book
Hook
“Confidential care from home.”
Proof
Private intake + discreet communication + clear “who sees what” data-use summary.
Sensitive categories
Stigma-aware
Trust & control
7. Case Studies: Winning Campaigns (last 12 months)
Below are 3 telehealth-adjacent campaigns with publicly reported, non-speculative signals (engagement rankings, disclosed partnerships, and spend estimates) and a breakdown of channel mix, goals, observable results, and why it worked.
Campaign 1: Hims & Hers — Super Bowl “Sick of the System” (Weight-loss category)
Primary goal: Mass awareness + brand positioning (affordability/access), with downstream demand capture in search and direct.
Channel mix: National TV (Super Bowl) + heavy social conversation/engagement + search capture and retargeting halo.
What’s publicly observable
- The campaign generated top-tier engagement vs. other Super Bowl advertisers, per industry reporting (ranked in the top 10 for engagement across categories). (Fierce Pharma)
- The ad also triggered public scrutiny/controversy around category claims, which is relevant because in healthcare the “earned attention” effect can boost short-term demand but raise compliance and brand-risk costs. (ABC News, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal)
Why it worked (strategy, not hype)
- Category tension → attention: The creative framed a strong “system critique” narrative that is highly shareable, lifting earned distribution beyond paid impressions. (The Wall Street Journal, Fierce Pharma)
- Demand capture synergy: Telehealth products convert disproportionately through high-intent search, so a mass-reach spike can be monetized if search and landing pages are prepared (availability, eligibility clarity, pricing transparency).
- Polarization is a lever with a cost: In regulated categories, engagement isn’t “free”—it increases the importance of claims substantiation, safety framing, and escalation pathways (to avoid downstream trust erosion). (ABC News, The Washington Post)
Campaign 2: Ro — Celebrity patient-ambassador campaign (GLP-1 program)
Primary goal: Normalize category + widen addressable audience + reduce stigma; increase consideration for medically supervised weight-loss programs.
Channel mix: PR + mass media coverage + multi-channel paid (implied by “national marketing campaign”) + social amplification.
What’s publicly observable
- Ro announced Serena Williams as an ambassador for its weight-loss treatments and described it as a national marketing campaign. (Reuters, EMARKETER)
- Separate reporting also describes Ro’s use of celebrity ambassadors (e.g., Charles Barkley) to educate and raise awareness around GLP-1s. (Fierce Pharma)
Why it worked (strategy, not hype)
- Reframes “who this is for”: Using an elite athlete/mother narrative broadens the “identity fit” of GLP-1 support beyond stereotypes, which can expand the top-of-funnel. (EMARKETER, Reuters)
- Trust transfer in high-risk decisions: In healthcare, perceived risk is high; credible spokesperson storytelling can reduce friction—especially when paired with clear “what happens next” process messaging.
- PR-to-performance bridge: PR spikes tend to decay fast unless you pair them with search capture and retargeting built around eligibility, pricing/coverage, and clinician credibility.
Campaign 3: BetterHelp — Podcast dominance during Mental Health Awareness Month (Teletherapy)
Primary goal: Always-on demand capture for therapy; scale reach with “trusted host” endorsements and high-frequency placement.
Channel mix: Podcast host-read ads + category flighting tied to seasonal intent (Mental Health Awareness Month) + likely retargeting and search support.
What’s publicly observable
- BetterHelp led podcast ad spending in May 2025 (Mental Health Awareness Month) according to Magellan AI-based reporting. (Radio Ink, Barrett Media)
- Independent podcast ad ranking data also shows BetterHelp at/near the top with multi-million dollar monthly spend estimates (example: October 2025 estimate cited). (Podscribe)
Why it worked (strategy, not hype)
- Channel-audience fit: Podcasts excel when trust and nuance matter; therapy is a high-consideration decision where host credibility can outperform generic display impressions. (Radio Ink, Barrett Media)
- Seasonal intent stacking: Concentrating spend during high-salience moments (like awareness months) can improve response rates and organic lift—if your onboarding and matching flow is friction-minimized.
- Attribution reality: Podcast impact is often undercounted in last-click models, so BetterHelp-style strategies typically require measurement via branded search lift, geo tests, and intake cohorts.
Campaign Card Template: Before/After Metrics and Creative Used
Before Campaign
CAC (Completed Visit)
$___
Conversion Rate (LP)
___%
Booking Rate (Eligible → Booked)
___%
Monthly Visits (Completed)
___
Baseline
Pre-test
Control period
After Campaign
CAC (Completed Visit)
$___
Conversion Rate (LP)
___%
Booking Rate (Eligible → Booked)
___%
Monthly Visits (Completed)
___
Test period
Post-launch
Cohort tracked
Creative Used
Headline format
Problem-first / Trust-first / Cost clarity / Process clarity / Privacy-first / Continuity
Primary hook
“_____” (what you lead with in the first 2–3 seconds / first line)
Proof elements
Clinician credentials • eligibility clarity • pricing/coverage • privacy summary • escalation pathway
CTA + channels
CTA: “_____” • Channels: Search / Meta / TikTok / Email / SEO / Podcast
Key Takeaways
What changed?
Which message pillar, format, or funnel step moved? (e.g., eligibility pass-rate, booking completion, show rate)
Why it worked
Which buyer anxiety did it reduce? (fit, trust, cost, privacy, continuity) and what proof made it believable?
What to replicate
Repeatable assets: landing module, creator script structure, retargeting sequence, lifecycle trigger.
What to avoid next time
Overpromises, unclear eligibility, missing pricing cues, mismatched routing, weak post-booking reminders.
Learnings
Next test
Rollout criteria
8. Marketing KPIs & Benchmarks by Funnel Stage
Telehealth funnels are longer and more fragile than most consumer categories because eligibility, scheduling, provider availability, and trust all sit between click and revenue. As a result, best-in-class teams do not optimize to a single metric (like lead CPA). Instead, they monitor a stacked KPI set across the full journey—from first exposure to repeat utilization.
Below is a benchmark framework you can use for planning, diagnosing leaks, and setting realistic targets.
KPI Benchmarks Table
| Stage |
Metric |
Average |
Industry High |
Notes |
| Awareness |
CPM |
$11.50 |
$23.00 |
Varies widely by platform, targeting, and seasonality; healthcare moments can spike CPMs. |
| Awareness |
CTR |
2.1% |
4.8% |
Above ~3% often indicates strong message–market fit (confirm with downstream quality). |
| Consideration |
Landing page conversion |
8.2% |
18.4% |
Eligibility clarity and pricing/coverage transparency are the biggest variance drivers. |
| Consideration |
Eligibility pass rate |
55–65% |
75%+ |
Low pass rates inflate CAC even if CTR and lead volume look strong. |
| Conversion |
Booking rate (Eligible → Booked) |
45% |
65%+ |
Highly sensitive to scheduling UX, slot availability, and follow-up speed. |
| Conversion |
Show rate (Booked → Completed) |
70% |
85%+ |
Reminders (SMS/email), wait times, and clear prep instructions typically drive the lift. |
| Conversion |
Cost per completed visit |
$95–$140 |
<$75 |
Depends heavily on service line and acuity; compare within like-for-like cohorts. |
| Retention |
Email open rate |
26.7% |
44.9% |
Segmentation and care-context relevance are key; avoid “newsletter-only” programs. |
| Retention |
Repeat visit rate (60 days) |
18.3% |
35%+ |
High in longitudinal models (therapy/chronic); naturally lower in episodic care. |
| Loyalty |
Referral rate |
6–10% |
15%+ |
Driven by satisfaction, trust, and strong post-visit prompts at the right moment. |
Funnel Chart
Eligible rate: 10.0%
Booking rate (of eligible): 50.0%
Show rate (of booked): 76.0%
Repeat rate (of completed): 26.3%
9. Marketing Challenges & Opportunities
Telehealth marketers are operating in a uniquely constrained environment: regulated messaging, sensitive data, fragmented state rules, and worsening measurement signal loss—at the same time that consumer demand and competition keep rising. This section lays out the most material headwinds and the highest-leverage opportunities, with a focus on what changes your channel mix, creative strategy, and measurement design.
Rising ad costs and auction saturation
What’s happening
- Core “high-intent” keywords (urgent care, therapy, GLP-1/weight-loss, dermatology) are crowded, pushing CPCs up and compressing margins.
- Paid social CPM inflation continues for healthcare advertisers because targeting is constrained (sensitive categories) and creatives fatigue faster.
Why it matters in telehealth
- High-intent channels still work, but “scale” increasingly means finding incremental intent (new symptom clusters, adjacent use cases, geo/service-line expansion) and then protecting economics with conversion-rate and show-rate improvements.
- Any leakage in eligibility → booking → completed visit turns into a direct CAC penalty.
Opportunity
- Treat eligibility and booking UX as “media multipliers.” A 10–15% lift in booking completion or show rate often beats a 10–15% CPC reduction.
Privacy and regulatory shifts: cookies, trackers, and “non-HIPAA” health data
A) Third-party cookies and measurement signal loss (still relevant even with Google’s timeline changes)
Even though Chrome’s approach to third-party cookies has shifted over time, Google Ads continues to push “durable solutions” and privacy-oriented measurement, and large portions of traffic already behave “cookie-light” due to Safari/Firefox and consent friction. (Google Help, Digital Commerce 360)
Practical impact
- Attribution gets noisier (especially for social/video).
- Retargeting pools shrink.
- Frequency management becomes harder across properties.
Opportunity
- Move toward first-party data (email/SMS opt-ins, logged-in experiences), conversion APIs, server-side tagging, and cohort-based ROI tracking.
B) HIPAA marketing constraints (and where teams trip up)
HIPAA’s Privacy Rule treats certain uses/disclosures of PHI for marketing differently and often requires individual authorization, with limited exceptions. (HHS, eCFR)
Common marketing risk patterns
- Using PHI in testimonials/case studies without proper authorization
- Ambiguous consent language for downstream outreach
- Vendors touching PHI without appropriate agreements/controls
Opportunity
- Build a “compliance-forward” creative and data pipeline: plain-language privacy summaries, explicit consent capture, suppression logic, and audited vendor flows.
C) State consumer health privacy laws (beyond HIPAA)
A major structural challenge is that many digital health journeys collect data that may fall outside HIPAA, and states are filling that gap. Washington’s My Health My Data Act is a prominent example establishing broad protections for “consumer health data.” (Washington State Legislature, Goodwin Law)
Practical impact
- More constraints around tracking, sharing, and consent for health-related data.
- Increased operational load: jurisdiction-aware notices, consent, and vendor governance.
Opportunity
- Competitive differentiation: “privacy as a trust feature” can improve conversion for sensitive care lines (mental health, sexual/reproductive health).
D) FTC scrutiny on health apps and data handling
The FTC updated the Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) to strengthen protections for users of health apps/devices and to keep pace with digital health information flows. (Federal Trade Commission, Wilson Sonsini)
Practical impact
- Higher expected standard for breach readiness, disclosures, and vendor oversight—especially for app-like experiences not covered by HIPAA.
Opportunity
- Treat breach readiness as a marketing enabler: fewer disruptions, fewer trust-damaging incidents, and stronger partner confidence (employers/payers).
AI’s role in content creation and ad personalization
Challenge
- AI increases content velocity but can increase compliance risk (overclaims, ambiguous medical promises, inconsistent disclaimers).
- Personalization can drift into “creepy” territory fast in healthcare.
Opportunity
- Use AI where it’s safest and most measurable:
- Creative variations built from approved claim libraries
- FAQ and eligibility content generation with clinician review
- Call summarization + intent tagging for funnel analytics
- Lifecycle personalization based on non-sensitive behavioral events (not inferred conditions)
Organic reach decay and the “zero-click” reality
Challenge
- Search and social surfaces answer more questions directly, reducing clicks.
- Health content is more likely to be de-ranked if it lacks credibility signals (expert review, citations, clear authorship).
Opportunity
- Shift from “traffic content” to “decision content”:
- Eligibility pages (“what we treat / don’t treat”)
- Pricing/coverage explainers
- What-to-expect and process clarity
- Trust pages (clinical review, credentials, escalation pathway)
Risk/Opportunity Quadrant
High Risk / High Opportunity
Invest with governance and measurement
High Risk / Low Opportunity
Constrain, test carefully, or avoid
Low Risk / High Opportunity
Prioritize and scale
Low Risk / Low Opportunity
Deprioritize unless strategically necessary
First-party data & server-side tracking
Lifecycle retention & CRM
Opportunity scoring
Expected impact on completed-visit CPA, retention (repeat visits), and net revenue per patient.
Risk scoring
Compliance exposure, data/consent complexity, operational dependency (availability, routing), and measurement uncertainty.
10. Strategic Recommendations
These recommendations are designed for telehealth operators facing (1) fast category growth but (2) rising acquisition costs and tighter privacy constraints. The playbooks below assume you’re optimizing to completed visits and retention/LTV, not just lead volume.
Strategy by company maturity
A) Startup (prove unit economics; avoid “funnel vanity”)
Primary objective: Get to a repeatable, profitable acquisition loop for 1–2 service lines.
Playbook
- Anchor on high-intent capture first: Paid Search + conversion-optimized landing pages + scheduling clarity. Search costs have trended up over multiple years, so you must win on conversion, not bids.
- Build one “decision-content” SEO cluster: “What we treat / don’t treat,” “How it works,” “Pricing/coverage,” and “What to expect.” (This is where trust + qualification happens.)
- Instrument the true funnel: click → eligibility pass → booking → completed visit → repeat within 60 days. If you can’t attribute to completed visits, you’ll over-invest in low-quality leads.
Minimum viable stack
- Web analytics + event tracking + a CRM/lifecycle tool (email/SMS)
- Basic consent and privacy-safe measurement (server-side tagging/conversion APIs) to reduce signal loss risk as you scale
B) Growth (expand channels; lift conversion + show rate; start LTV optimization)
Primary objective: Scale volume while keeping completed-visit CAC stable (or improving) via funnel integrity.
Playbook
- Add paid social for demand creation + retargeting, but measure it through cohort outcomes (completed visit, repeat). Social can be undercounted in last-click models when cookies/consent reduce signals.
- Build a lifecycle engine (email/SMS) for show-rate and follow-ups. Healthcare/medical email open rates can be very strong (e.g., MailerLite reports ~43.75% benchmark for “Medical, dental, and healthcare”).
- Introduce structured experimentation: A/B test (1) eligibility messaging, (2) pricing clarity placement, (3) scheduling visibility, and (4) “what happens next” modules.
What to optimize first (highest ROI sequence)
- Booking rate (eligible → booked)
- Show rate (booked → completed)
- Repeat utilization / follow-up completion
These often produce bigger CAC improvements than chasing marginal CPC reductions.
C) Scale (defend margin; improve incrementality measurement; build trust moat)
Primary objective: Reduce blended CAC volatility and increase LTV through retention and trust systems.
Playbook
- Shift budget from pure acquisition into retention and brand-trust assets (reviews, clinician credibility content, care journey transparency).
- Adopt incrementality measurement (geo tests, holdouts, conversion-lift) because attribution becomes less reliable under privacy constraints and state consumer health data rules.
- Govern your data + marketing stack like a product: Reuters has highlighted privacy/compliance risk in telehealth growth areas (e.g., GLP-1 boom) and the need to map/limit trackers, update notices, and strengthen consent/vendor controls.
Where to invest by channel (based on what’s compounding vs. inflating)
1) Paid Search (keep as a core engine, but cap at marginal ROI)
- Search remains the most reliable demand capture, but rising competitive costs make conversion-rate work mandatory.
Invest when: you have strong eligibility clarity + scheduling inventory + fast follow-up.
De-risk: expand into symptom and “adjacent intent” clusters; build negative keyword hygiene; optimize to completed visit.
2) SEO “decision content” (highest compounding ROI)
- Treat SEO as conversion infrastructure, not just traffic acquisition.
Invest when: you can publish clinically reviewed, specific content tied to service-line conversion.
De-risk: focus on eligibility + process + pricing pages (the content that prevents mismatch and abandonment).
3) Lifecycle (email/SMS/app)
- Healthcare email benchmarks can be strong (e.g., “Medical, dental, and healthcare” open rates around the mid-40% range in some benchmark sets).
Invest when: you want cheaper growth via show-rate and repeat visits.
De-risk: strict segmentation; triggered journeys (no-show recovery, post-visit follow-up, refill/check-in).
4) Paid social / creator channels (Meta/TikTok)
- Best for demand creation + education + retargeting, but more exposed to measurement signal loss and privacy constraints.
Invest when: you have a strong creative testing loop and cohort measurement beyond last-click.
Creative and offer tests that are most likely to move the needle
High-confidence tests (telehealth-specific)
- Eligibility-first promise: “What we treat / don’t treat” above the fold + ad-to-LP matching
- Process transparency module: intake → visit → follow-up (reduces uncertainty)
- Pricing clarity earlier: “know cost before booking” or clear insurance guidance
- Trust stack: clinician credentials + privacy summary + escalation guidance (only if operationally true)
Measure success by:
- completed-visit CPA (primary)
- show rate lift (secondary)
- 30/60-day repeat rate (profit signal)
3×3 Strategy Matrix (Channel × Tactic × Goal)
| Channel |
Tactic to run next |
Primary goal it best supports |
|
Paid Search
High intent
Demand capture
|
Condition/symptom landing pages + eligibility clarity + schedule/slot visibility. |
Completed-visit volume at predictable CAC (optimize to completed-visit CPA, not lead CPA). |
|
SEO
Compounding
Trust
|
Decision-content cluster: treat/don’t treat + pricing/coverage + what-to-expect + process clarity pages. |
Lower blended CAC over time (compounding acquisition + higher on-site conversion). |
|
Lifecycle (Email/SMS)
Retention
LTV
|
Triggered flows: no-show recovery, post-visit follow-up, refill/check-in reminders, review/referral prompts. |
Show-rate lift + repeat utilization (LTV growth and CAC deflation). |
|
Paid Social (Meta)
Education
Retargeting
|
Education video + retargeting sequence + lead-to-book SLA (fast follow-up for lead forms). |
Mid-funnel demand creation + efficient retargeting (measure via cohorts, not last-click only). |
|
TikTok/Creators
Discovery
UGC velocity
|
Clinician/creator POV “what happens next” scripts + trust-forward claims + fast creative iteration. |
Reach younger cohorts + normalize category; lower blended CAC when paired with capture + retargeting. |
|
Partnerships
Trust transfer
Steady volume
|
Employer/benefits referrals + local provider referral loops + co-marketing with aligned brands. |
Lower CAC via trust transfer + durable acquisition channels less exposed to auction inflation. |
|
CRO/Experimentation
Conversion
Margin defense
|
A/B: pricing placement, trust module, intake length, scheduling visibility, eligibility-first messaging. |
Improve conversion efficiency and protect margins as CPCs/CPMs rise. |
|
Measurement
Attribution
Stability
|
Server-side tagging / conversion APIs + cohort reporting for completed visits and repeat utilization. |
More stable ROI measurement under privacy shifts; better budget decisions across channels. |
|
Compliance/Privacy
Governance
Trust
|
Tracker minimization + consent governance + vendor mapping + suppression rules for sensitive segments. |
Reduce regulatory/brand risk while maintaining performance; supports “trust as conversion” positioning. |
11. Forecast & Industry Outlook (Next 12–24 Months)
What’s most likely to change (and why it matters for marketing)
1) Demand keeps shifting from “telehealth as a modality” to “telehealth by use-case”
Telehealth is still in a high-growth phase globally (many major market forecasts cluster around ~20%+ CAGR through the next several years). (Grand View Research, Fortune Business Insights, Global Market Insights) Marketing implication: the winning growth model is increasingly service-line-specific acquisition (condition/symptom clusters, audience segments, and state/coverage routing) rather than broad “virtual care” branding.
2) Measurement will remain volatile—even without a clean, universal “cookie cliff”
Google’s plan for third-party cookies in Chrome has been in flux. Google Ads guidance has described a phase-out plan “planned for early 2025” (subject to regulatory concerns), but more recent reporting says Google won’t roll out a standalone cookie prompt and is maintaining current settings; UK regulators noted commitments tied to the original plan are no longer needed. (Google Help, Reuters, Reuters)
Marketing implication: you should act as if you’re already in a “partial signal loss” world (Safari/Firefox + consent friction + device shifts), and plan measurement around:
- first-party identifiers (email/SMS opt-ins, logged-in flows)
- server-side / conversion APIs
- cohort outcomes (completed visits + repeats) rather than last-click ROAS
3) State consumer health privacy enforcement becomes a budgeting variable
Washington’s My Health My Data Act (MHMDA) is a bellwether: the WA AG highlights it as a major expansion of consumer health data protections. (Washington AG Office) And legal activity is no longer hypothetical—commentary notes the first class action complaint filed under MHMDA in February 2025. (WilmerHale) Marketing implication: “data governance” moves from a legal back-office issue into a channel and martech constraint (pixels, SDKs, consent flows, vendor selection, and what you can do with health-related browsing signals).
Predicted shifts in budgets, tooling, and platform dynamics
Budget allocation (directionally)
- Up: Lifecycle/CRM (email/SMS/app) and conversion optimization (CRO) because they improve completed-visit economics without paying higher auction prices.
- Up: “Decision-content” SEO and provider-credibility assets, because they convert mid-funnel uncertainty into bookings and reduce mismatch.
- Stable to Up (but more scrutinized): Paid Search remains the most reliable demand capture, but budget growth will be gated by marginal completed-visit CPA.
- Stable to Down (as % of total): Broad paid social prospecting, unless you can measure incrementality and convert with strong qualification flows.
Tooling (what becomes standard at growth/scale)
- Warehouse/cohort reporting becomes more common so teams can tie acquisition sources to completed visits and 30/60-day repeat utilization.
- Consent + tag governance (vendor mapping, tracker minimization, server-side events) becomes table stakes in states with stronger health-data privacy regimes. (Washington AG Office, WilmerHale)
- Experimentation tooling (A/B testing + feature flags) gets budget because it’s one of the few levers that can reliably improve CAC when auctions inflate.
Expected breakout trends (12–24 months)
A) “Zero-click” decision support → fewer visits, higher conversion pressure
More patient questions will be answered on-platform (search/social), so traffic growth will slow even if demand is healthy. Teams will win by publishing (and promoting) assets that shorten the decision:
- “What we treat / don’t treat”
- pricing/coverage clarity
- clinician credentials and safety/escalation pathways
B) AI-assisted creative velocity + stronger compliance workflows
AI will increase testing cadence (more variants, faster iteration), but healthcare advertisers will separate by who can do this without over-claiming or creating privacy risk. Expect “approved-claims libraries” and clinician-reviewed content pipelines to become common operating practice.
C) Service-line specialization and routing sophistication
Telehealth marketing will look more like performance healthcare operations:
- state routing, payer/coverage logic, provider availability
- eligibility-pass optimization as a creative + landing-page goal
- operational SLAs (lead response time, booking friction, reminders) treated as marketing KPIs
Expected Channel ROI Over Time
150
140
130
120
110
100
90
0months
6months
12months
18months
24months
Lifecycle (Email/SMS/App)
Indexed ROI path: 100 → 110 → 120 → 130 → 140
SEO (Decision Content)
Indexed ROI path: 100 → 105 → 115 → 130 → 150
CRO / Experimentation
Indexed ROI path: 100 → 108 → 115 → 120 → 125
Paid Search
Indexed ROI path: 100 → 102 → 103 → 104 → 105
Paid Social Prospecting
Indexed ROI path: 100 → 98 → 95 → 92 → 90
Innovation Curve for the Sector
0–6 months
Server-side events + conversion APIs become default for growth teams.
Eligibility-first landing modules roll out widely (treat/don’t treat, state/coverage fit).
Vendor mapping + consent governance expands (tracker minimization and safer attribution).
6–12 months
Cohort profitability reporting becomes common (completed visits + repeat utilization).
Incrementality testing expands beyond the largest operators (geo tests, holdouts, lift tests).
Creative ops formalize: approved-claims libraries + review workflows + versioned disclosures.
12–24 months
Channel mix shifts toward compounding engines (SEO + lifecycle + CRO) vs auction-heavy prospecting.
Paid social becomes more “creative + community + retargeting” than broad DR prospecting.
Category leaders differentiate with “trust at scale”: transparent process + privacy-forward messaging.
12. Appendices & Sources
Primary and high-value sources (hyperlinked via citations)
A) Market sizing, growth, and adoption signals
- Fortune Business Insights – Telemedicine market size (2024 value, 2025 projection, 2032 projection, CAGR). (Fortune Business Insights)
- Global Market Insights – Telemedicine market size and forecast (2024–2032, CAGR). (Global Market Insights Inc.)
- HHS Telehealth Trends – Medicare FFS and HRSA health centers telehealth usage stats (e.g., Medicare FFS 2024 utilization). (telehealth.hhs.gov, telehealth.hhs.gov)
- CMS – Medicare Telehealth Trends Snapshot (claims-based reporting through March 31, 2024). (CMS Data)
- MedPAC – Telehealth in Medicare status report (policy context and utilization framing). (MedPAC)
- McKinsey – “Telehealth: a quarter-trillion-dollar post-COVID-19 reality” (spend-shift framing and model evolution). (McKinsey & Company, Alliance for Connected Care)
- McKinsey – Virtual health access and adoption context (“closing the digital divide”). (McKinsey & Company)
B) Privacy, measurement, and regulatory environment (marketing-relevant)
- Washington State Attorney General – Background and framing on the My Health My Data Act (MHMDA). (Washington AG Office)
- FTC – Joint statement on the updated Health Breach Notification Rule (Final Rule context). (Federal Trade Commission)
- Federal Register – Health Breach Notification Rule amendments (scope/definitions/notice modernization). (Federal Register)
- Reuters – Google opts out of a standalone third-party cookie prompt; keeps current settings (measurement environment). (Reuters)
- Reuters – UK CMA says Google’s online-ad commitments no longer needed (ties to cookie plans and market concerns). (Reuters)
- Reuters – State laws against geofencing and reproductive health data protections (illustrates state-level privacy direction). (Reuters)
C) Channel and campaign signals (creative + media mix examples)
- MailerLite – Email benchmarks by industry (includes “Medical, dental, and healthcare” open rate benchmark). (MailerLite)
- Fierce Pharma – Super Bowl advertising analysis including Hims & Hers engagement mention (campaign attention/earned media dynamics). (Fierce Pharma)
- Reuters – Ro enlists Serena Williams as ambassador for weight-loss treatments (telehealth brand building via celebrity patient ambassador). Reuters
- Ro press release – Serena Williams joins Ro (primary company announcement context). Ro
D) Marketing budget context (macro)
- Gartner press release – 2024 CMO Spend Survey: marketing budgets as % of revenue (macro constraint shaping channel selection). (Gartner)
Raw data used in visuals (for transparency)
A) “Healthy funnel” example values (illustrative)
- Clicks: 1,000
- Eligible: 100
- Booked: 50
- Completed: 38
- Repeat (60 days): 10
Derived rates
- Eligible rate: 10.0%
- Booking rate (of eligible): 50.0%
- Show rate (of booked): 76.0%
- Repeat rate (of completed): 26.3%
B) “Expected ROI over time” index values (illustrative, Today = 100)
- Lifecycle (Email/SMS/App): 100 → 110 → 120 → 130 → 140
- CRO / Experimentation: 100 → 108 → 115 → 120 → 125
- SEO (Decision Content): 100 → 105 → 115 → 130 → 150
- Paid Search: 100 → 102 → 103 → 104 → 105
- Paid Social Prospecting: 100 → 98 → 95 → 92 → 90
Glossary (telehealth marketing terms used throughout)
- Completed-visit CPA/CAC: Cost to acquire a customer who completes a visit (more meaningful than lead CPA).
- Eligibility pass rate: % of prospects who qualify (coverage, state, condition, medical criteria) after screening.
- Show rate: % of booked appointments that become completed visits.
- Incrementality testing: Methods (geo tests, holdouts, lift tests) to estimate true causal impact of marketing beyond attribution.
- Consumer health data: Health-related data that may fall outside HIPAA; often governed by state privacy laws (e.g., WA MHMDA).
- Server-side / Conversion APIs: Techniques to send conversion events directly from servers to ad platforms to reduce signal loss.
Additional references used (supporting / directional)
- Fortune Business Insights press release variant on telemedicine market sizing and CAGR (note: may differ slightly from the full report page). (Fortune Business Insights)
- HubSpot compilation of email benchmarks (secondary aggregation of multiple platforms). (HubSpot Blog)
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