Hospital Marketing Journal

making a better impression tips to improve your digital marketing

by Brandon Scott Digital marketing is a critical ingredient for success when it comes to attracting patients, educating them about your service lines and converting them into customers. It augments your print, broadcast and outdoor advertising with highly targeted and highly personalized content that speaks directly to prospects and existing patients. Done right, digital marketing instantly captivates your audience, irresistibly drawing them in and making the kind of positive impression that inspires them to learn more.   It starts with great website design. We’re not talking about pretty here, although visual appeal is fundamentally important. We’re talking about “feel.” Your website has to convey your hospital’s personal side. Hospitals treat people, and there’s nothing more personal than healthcare. Besides, all purchasing decisions have an emotional aspect, including choosing a hospital, doctor or services. Demonstrating competence is critical, of course, but compassion and empathy win the day. So make your website less clinical. More personal. Great website design also includes spot-on SEO that ensures searchers find you easily. It includes obvious navigation, graphics that directly support your content topic and a clear call to action on every page to guide their decision-making choices.   Content that works is strategically planned. Everything you say or show online underscores the fact that customers can count on you. Web pages, your blog, email and social media work together to inform people about who you are as well as what you do. You’re using compelling stories and visuals to relate amazing patient experiences – the kind of caring care every prospective patient hopes to receive. You understand. You’re people, too. Content that differentiates your hospital and your people from the competition increases market share and develops life-long relationships.   Social media link you with patients and colleagues. Nothing is more multi-generational than social media, and sharing reinforces your brand. You can reach patients and also care-givers responsible for patient healthcare decisions. Social media posts are short and sweet. They’re eminently two-way, perfect for ongoing engagement. Offer links to your other content. Or health tips. Share photos that demonstrate wellness. Give a face and voice to your staff -- not just physicians but nurses, technicians, others that have patient contact. Your hospital’s “bedside manner” is a composite of interactions. Participate in a few carefully-chosen groups or circles or communities, too, to expand your professional development and generate referrals.   Mobilize your resources. Smartphones and tablets are becoming the search devices of choice, so you’re wise to directly target mobile searchers. They’re usually looking for practical information -- directions to your hospital or to some department, your doctor directory, how to make an appointment – rather than conducting lengthy research. Response rates to texting are impressively high. So target your mobile audience with  appointment or prescription reminders, information about wait times, upcoming classes, etc. Add QR codes to your print ads so readers can follow up instantly with a quick click of their mobile camera. And use geo-targeting. Mobile searchers tend to be nearby. Above all else, remember this: small screens require concise presentation that fits their format. So optimize your all your content specifically for your mobile audience. Make it easy, and they’ll love you for it. Digital marketing can do amazing things for your hospital. But only if you track and analyze your progress in meaningful ways. You’ll get valuable insight about patient needs and preferences. You’ll quickly see what’s working and what needs work to strengthen your marketing results. What does your digital marketing say about your hospital?

Content Marketing: 6 Tips for a Healthy Hospital

by Brandon Scott Content marketing connects your hospital to patients, their families and others who use your services. It extends your reach, making you more broadly visible to prospective customers. And all that helps grow your business and your market share, for a healthier bottom line. How can content marketing work for you? Be overtly helpful, not just informative. Content delivers added value when it allays fears, inspires, or simply generates smiles. It’s memorable when your audience learned something new. Or had an “ah ha” moment. Your content can teach customers about trending medical issues, help them become proactive about maintaining their own wellness, manage a chronic illness more effectively, understand an upcoming procedure or simply find a doctor.   Truly useful content builds credibility and authority, but when it also demonstrates your willingness to freely share your special tips and insight, it makes you seem more approachable. That strengthens comfort level and confidence.   Focus on them. You’ve heard this before, but we can’t stress it enough: content that doesn’t play to your audience’s needs and desires will simply fall flat. Leverage your earned authority for the benefit of those who follow you. This signifies clear intent and provides a solid engagement to educate and convert your audience.    Healthcare consumers aren’t one size fits all, so your solutions never should be either. And that means your content marketing topics, formats and delivery platforms must to be varied, too. Give them what they want, the way they want it. This incrementally builds stronger relationships based on trust.   Put them in the picture. A picture’s worth…well, you know. Your content should include lots of photos, especially those that feature people. Infographics are also great, because they can encapsulate a significant amount of information in a visually appealing and readily digestible presentation. They’re very simple to share, and you can use them in printed form, too.   And let’s not forget video. Short but packed with meaty information, videos are an excellent way to demonstrate your newest equipment, educate patients about an upcoming experience or teach at home techniques. Be the resource people can “check out” via YouTube and share with friends via links.   Spark the conversation. The end-user experience is so critical to your content development. Ask yourself “what would I do with the content as a consumer?” If your response feels uninspired, then a change should be made.   Often, the trick is to find the hanging fruit consumers are already talking about, then add your voice to the discussion. Follow-up with a simple question or challenge your audience can instantly comment on. This gives your content exponential value.   Everyone likes a good story. Stories illustrate your compassion as well as your competence. Real-life examples of your hospital at work underscore your specific value and humanize your brand. You’re not just some enormous institution. Real-life examples of your hospital at play – perhaps participating in a community project – demonstrate your value as a good neighbor. This shows you care enough to get out there and get involved.   Tell personal stories about your docs or other providers – Dr. Suzy Smith loves paddleboarding, John Doe, RN is a talented painter. These are real people, just like their patients. Relatable. Trustworthy.   Commitment + creativity spells success. Content marketing is a glorious opportunity to talk up the “little extras” that give your patients a better experience. Maybe it’s pet therapy. Or art therapy. Healthy cooking classes. Your new lightning-fast admission process. Or your new live-chat-with-a-nurse program.   Innovative thinking sets you apart from the competition, and people love it. They expect outstanding medical care, but they expect personalized attention, too. Content that tells how you’re making things more pleasant or convenient proves you’re patient-oriented.   You think you’re selling your hospital. But what you’re really “selling” is personal relationships. Content marketing can establish you as the premier, personalized resource for health and wellness. That’s branding you can count on to keep your hospital and your community healthy.

Hospital Advertising Needs a Shot in the Arm. STAT!

by Jon Headlee So much of hospital marketing is the same old...stuff. Boring. Expected. Physician-driven. Trite. We get it — you're close to home. Convenient. You have the most advanced technology. A robot. 95 doctors, who, amazingly, can all fit on one billboard. We've heard it before. You’ve heard it before. Who cares? Okay, maybe we're being harsh. But sometimes the truth hurts. And we’re here to take a stand — because, as hospital marketers, we're better than that. If we can’t clearly express what makes a brand different — and why that matters — then we’ll never grow out of the status quo. Communicating a brand isn’t about reciting a tagline — it’s about building something that lives and breathes the brand — through every interaction your hospital has with its people.   Selling The Expected? Don't Expect to Seal the Deal. Believe it or not, patients can actually choose where they want to go for care. So, to get people in the door, your hospital has to be seen as more than a high-quality (ugh — another ambiguous phrase) healthcare facility. Yes, patients want to be treated with brilliant minds and brilliant technology. And, yes, as marketers, we should make those points clear. But those points should only play a supporting role. Because the Oscar goes to the message that can wrap your patients in a warm blanket of confidence in your brand. After all, your competition is offering a lot of the same stuff. (And, sometimes, they're doing a better job.) So, put faces on your people. (Just please, don't squeeze all those faces on a single billboard.) Show off your softer side (but be transparent + believable). Give your audience a feeling about your brand — not just information about your brand.   Relatability + Credibility Builds Trust. So how do we do this? We think like our customer. We establish a common ground with them — before they need us. We get on their level. We are empathetic — and in the healthcare industry, it’s something we should all be pretty good at. When we do that — when we market the ‘why’ and not the ‘what’ — we are saying “I understand what you need and why you need it, so choose me.” We become a partner. We become a trusted resource. So, here’s the tough question for today — where does your hospital marketing stand? Soul search for a bit — if all that soul-searching produces feelings of sheepish anxiety or even a yawn or two, know this — no worries. So, you’ve got some work to do. But, the good news is, once you figure out the secret sauce of your hospital, you’re on the path to a great recipe that will out taste-test all the other bland hospital advertising we’ve been choking down all these years. And, remember, if you ever need help in the kitchen, we know some pretty good chefs.

Anatomy of a Photoshoot (Part Deux)

As we gear up to launch our new campaign for Riverside Medical Group next month, we thought we’d offer another behind-the-scenes peek at a Ten Adams photoshoot…and, of course, lessons learned along the way.     LESSON #1 — Doctors are different from you and I. (In this case, MUCH better dancers.) WHICH LEADS TO LESSON #2 — Music makes every job better. LESSON #3 — An unused wheelchair makes for a perfect camera dolly. LESSON #4 — It’s okay if your photographer looks like Andre Agassi. (As long as he doesn’t act like John McEnroe). LESSON #5 — Hospitals are home to many Instagram-able distractions. Oooh, shiny… LESSON #6 — Messages from home can make the long trips more bearable. LESSON #7 — Professional lighting brings out the poser in all of us. LESSON #8 — Healthcare marketing requires more heavy lifting than you might imagine. LESSON #9 — Anything can be fixed with duct tape. LESSON #10 — Sometimes doctors need a little TLC, too. LESSON #11 — A weeklong shoot means you should plan to leave with more than you arrived with. LESSON #12 — And, if you didn’t plan for that, see lesson #9 — duct tape. LESSON #13 — A good team moves in synchronicity at all times. LESSON #14 — And a good client knows how to make the job fun. LESSON #15 — Dinner on a photoshoot is not always fancy. LESSON #16 — You should always have several wardrobe options ready to go during a shoot. LESSON #17 — If you try to take pictures of your shoes on set, you’re probably gonna get busted. LESSON #18 — Sometimes everyone really is kung foo fighting. LESSON #19 — Life on the road is better with good folks by your side.

HEALTHCARE REFORM WEBINAR: 5/21 AT 1PM EST

If healthcare's "shifting value proposition" has you wondering, "What lies ahead?", then you're like most healthcare marketers today. As healthcare organizations develop new systems of care to improve health at a lower cost, the marketer's role is being reevaluated. Healthcare marketers are being challenged to think + perform at new levels to prove their value + ensure their place at the strategy table. In this 30-minute FREE webinar, Ten Adams considers these challenges — and how healthcare marketers can emerge stronger than before during healthcare reform. FEATURED SPEAKER: Scott Mosley Vice President of Strategy Ten Adams Scott has over 25 years of experience in healthcare marketing, having served as Vice President of Planning, Marketing and Communications with two major health systems before leading client strategy development at Ten Adams. In his current role, he provides strategic marketing counsel to healthcare clients, applying his experience, judgment and intuitive sense of the industry in helping Ten Adams deliver smart solutions tailored to the specific objectives of its clients. Don't miss this opportunity to discover how healthcare's changing landscape presents new challenges + opportunities for marketing leaders. Hold your spot today! Space is limited.