The Biggest Risk in Healthcare Marketing: Standing Still

For decades, healthcare marketers could get away with running the same playbook year after year. Media budgets were steady, patient behavior was predictable, and the channels you relied on didn’t change much.

That era is over.

Consumers are moving faster than ever. Privacy regulations are cutting deeper every quarter. And the platforms that once offered precision targeting are stripping away your options without notice. What looks “fine” on paper today may already be losing you patients tomorrow.

In the words of Craig Blake and Laurin Bobo, two healthcare marketing experts at performance marketing agency, Amsive, "standing still is no longer safe."

The Ground Is Shifting Under Healthcare Marketers

Think about the last five years. Meta dominated ad spend, until TikTok started capturing younger audiences. Now TikTok’s grip is loosening as patients turn to Reddit, Discord, and other niche communities. By the time most healthcare organizations catch up, the audience has already moved on.

At the same time, privacy laws are rewriting what’s possible. Audience targeting that once felt basic, like age or condition-based targeting, are now off-limits. Platforms are offering fewer answers just as boards and CFOs demand more proof of ROI.

The result? Even campaigns that appear to perform well are often eroding reach and return behind the scenes.

Rethinking the Media Mix

One of the most dangerous assumptions in healthcare marketing is that upper-funnel channels are "just brand spend." The data proves otherwise.

Take connected TV (CTV). When patients are exposed to a CTV ad, they’re three to five times more likely to convert after a search. That halo effect is measurable, not theoretical. In fact, St. Elizabeth Healthcare saw a 92% increase in search conversions after investing in a full-funnel approach that included CTV and display at the top, social and YouTube in the middle, and search at the bottom.

This kind of diversification is no longer optional. Healthcare organizations that cling to bottom-funnel channels alone are leaving real results on the table.

Why Testing Can’t Wait

Another trap: assuming that certain platforms "aren’t for" older patients. The truth? Sixty-five-year-olds are online, streaming content, scrolling feeds, and listening to podcasts.

That means your patients are everywhere, and if you’re not experimenting, you’re falling behind. A dedicated testing budget isn’t a luxury anymore—it’s survival. Even small experiments can uncover high-performing channels your competitors haven’t discovered yet.

From Risk to Opportunity

Yes, privacy constraints make this harder. Yes, perfect conversion tracking is gone. But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. It means you need new ways to measure intent, close the loop, and make confident decisions without trading away patient trust.

The organizations that embrace agility—those willing to rethink, retest, and reallocate—will be the ones defining the next healthcare marketing playbook.

The ones that don’t? They’ll be left behind.

To see how leading organizations are adapting and turning today’s risks into tomorrow’s growth, download our guide, The Evolving State of Healthcare Performance Marketing.