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.

The Pitch for the 2013 Addy Awards

Ten Adams had the opportunity to see how our work stacked up against the competition last Friday night at the 2013 American Advertising Federation’s ADDY Awards. This year’s theme involved yet another AMC original television series, The Pitch, offering companies in the Tri-State a chance to compete head-to-head for recognition for their work in advertising. Ten Adams was honored with eleven Addy Awards for hospital advertising campaigns for The Christ Hospital Health Network in Cincinnati, OH, St. Mary’s Health System in Evansville, IN, and Logansport Memorial Hospital in Logansport, IN, as well as self-promotional work. The AAF’s annual Addy Awards recognizes the best and brightest advertising representatives of true creative excellence from media and companies of all types, sizes and locations through the organization’s advertising clubs and districts. Ten Adams was honored with a Judge's Choice award for The Christ Hospital Health Network Campaign. “I chose that campaign because the concept resonated with me personally, which is the first sign of an effective campaign. Hospital marketing is typically an inward expression; you see a lot of marketing that communicates who the hospital is and what they offer. They talk to themselves a great deal. This campaign aimed to buck that trend by bringing the hospital to the community rather than bringing the community to the hospital. The strategy feels genuine and the execution solid. I felt the concept authentically and that emotion is the calling card of quality communication.” - Stefan Mumaw Ten Adams was honored with golds for The Christ Hospital Health Network TV Campaign and for the overall campaign. Two silvers were awarded for self-promotional work - Ten Adams’ Muscle Ad and the Brains AND Beauty promotional video.  One silver was awarded for St. Mary’s Health System – Heart “Choices” TV Spot and another for the Logansport Memorial Hospital Newspaper Campaign – “Well and Good”. As for the bronzes, all were awarded for self-promotional work – the Merry + Bright Campaign and Christmas card and the Ten Adams promotional campaign and Tervis tumbler. [view winners here]  A special thanks goes out to our clients for letting us create outstanding work!

Advertising Webinar: 12/13 at 3pm EST

Healthcare advertising does not have to be bland or undifferentiated.  It does not have to translate to pictures of sick people, equipment or doctors. We’ve all been there… “Where’s the photo of the equipment?” “We are not showing the doctor.” “The logo isn’t big enough!”  “The patient doesn’t look sick enough.” …on and on and on. Sound familiar? If so, you may be in need of some serious help! If not, what we have found at Ten Adams is that a lot of healthcare advertising isn’t necessarily bad. It just does not stand out, causing consumers to pass over it. So, how do we stand out in a sea of sameness? Join Ten Adams for an hour long webinar on December 13th at 3 PM Eastern to discover how to: Reinforce the value of dynamic creative ideas while evolving your brand and brand architecture Use the right mix of media to get your message noticed Track results to know if marketing is working FEATURED SPEAKER: Kris Laufer, Vice President Creative, Ten Adams Kris joined the Ten Adams team in 1992, and has more than 25 years of creative experience in the advertising industry. The past 15-plus years have been focused solely on healthcare marketing. As Creative Director, Kris leads the award-winning creative team at Ten Adams’ in developing campaigns aligned with research and strategy. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to evolve a brand through good, solid creative ideas delivered with the right mix of media to get your message noticed. Space is limited. Register here to hold your spot.

Webinar: The Missing Link Between Strategy and Performance

Does your strategic plan look great on paper but fall short on execution? According to a recent Booz & Company survey of 1,800 organizational leaders, including more than 480 C-suite executives, leaders feel a high level of frustration associated with strategic execution. They indicated that devising strategy is less than half the battle, with effective execution of chosen core strategies posing a more significant challenge.  We all recognize that business leadership today is more difficult and demanding than it’s ever been before.  Effectiveness in today’s healthcare organization demands strong, insightful strategy.  But, more importantly, your organization must have the operational capabilities to effectively execute your strategy.  It is not the development of the strategic plan which stifles most healthcare leaders today.  Rather, it is their ability to foster, nurture, grow and leverage the right set of organizational capabilities--by that we mean the processes, tools, knowledge and skills necessary within the organization to effectively act upon a strong, focused results-orientation. This often unacknowledged shortcoming in strategic execution is suggested to be the “missing link” in the chain of leadership disciplines which connect a bold strategic vision to decisive performance in the marketplace. Join Ten Adams on Thursday, June 28 at 3pm EST to find out why 70% of business failures are not a result of bad strategy but rather bad execution.  In this 30 minute webinar, we will show you: Realities of Strategic Development in Today's Healthcare Environment The Value of Strategic Coherence The Importance of Capabilities-Driven Strategy How to Create a Strategy Map Ten Keys to Successful Strategic Execution Don’t miss this opportunity to take a deeper look at how the changing landscape of today's healthcare environment is affecting strategic development and learn how to identify the keys to success and the warning signs of failure in strategic execution.  Space is limited. Register here - to hold your spot.