Community Hospitals – Say “Yes” to Pinterest
September 25, 2012
According to Pinterest’s mission statement, “With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.” Healthcare and hospital services fall into such shared interests. Pinterest users are looking for healthcare tips, resources and answers. It’s time for your community hospital to jump on the bandwagon and say “yes” to Pinterest!
Why Use Pinterest?- Pinterest’s number of users has been rapidly growing. It has become the third most popular social network in the U.S. in terms of traffic.
- It’s free. To set up an account for your community hospital, click here.
- Pinterest does not have the same real-time urgency as other social networks. Though pins are “time-stamped,” they do not become irrelevant or outdated as quickly as Twitter “tweets” or Facebook posts.
- Pinterest centers on content engagement rather than user engagement. There is no pressure to post regular, witty comments or responses. Your followers do not expect personal interactions but instead anticipate content flow – pins and re-pins of interesting articles and resources.
- It’s a way to reach out to a certain demographic. With its visual appeal and more ambiguous user interactions, Pinterest has attracted a different audience than Facebook and Twitter.
- Who Uses Pinterest?
- Pinterest is a female-dominated social network ““ over two-thirds of users are female.
- The majority of users are middle class women between ages 25 and 34, but Pinterest also has a growing middle-aged following.
- Check out these 10 Pinterest infographics for more fun facts >>
- Successful Pinterest Users in Healthcare
- Cleveland Clinic
- Cleveland Clinic has tons of organized boards ranging from health facts to recipes to specific service lines.
- The only downside is nearly all the links are internal, linking to Cleveland Clinic’s website. It’s best practice to use external links to related sites.
- MD Anderson
- MD Anderson has a variety of resource pins, some of which link to external websites.
- Ragan’s Health Care News
- Ragan’s Health Care Communications News’ Pinterest account advertises itself as “your one-stop shop for health care communication news and training.” It has made itself a resource for other users.
- Though these are primarily all internal links, Ragan’s posts pull from and cite other websites, making it more acceptable.
5 Steps to Pinterest Success for Your Community Hospital >>
Using the iPad 2 to Make Videos for Your Community Hospital
November 10, 2011
With its built-in HD camera and easy-to-use interface, the iPad 2 makes it possible to shoot high-quality videos on the go. Learn how to make the most of your iPad 2 by adding a few accessories.
You’ve already taken the plunge, purchased the iPad and added it to your hospital’s list of technological assets. The iPad is perfect for a multitude of uses within your community hospital, from acting as a digital file keeper to being a quick reference tool, but how can you make the most of this portable and versatile device?
Use the iPad, with its sophisticated, built-in video camera, to replace other portable flip-style video recorders.
The iPad 2′s intuitive interface makes capturing video effortless. Simply open the default camera, toggle from the still camera to the video icon and press the red button in the center to start and stop recording. Voila! You have high definition video footage — and a large and clear screen on which to view it!
But there are limitations to the iPad. With its sleek design and rectangular shape, it’s hard to hold the iPad perfectly still while filming. The built-in microphone certainly picks up audio — but it also captures unwanted background noise — and the backside illumination sensor doesn’t provide enough light for low-light settings. Only basic editing, such as trimming your clip, can be done on the fly while you’re reviewing the clip.
To take full advantage of the iPad’s video capabilities, I would recommend a few tools.
The Essential Tools
- iMovie App ($5): This video editing application may be purchased from the Apple App Store. Significantly improve the editing capabilities of your iPad. Check out this video on editing using iMovie.
- The iMove app works with all video recorded from an Apple device — iTouch, iPhone or iPad.
- iPad 2 Movie Mount ($70): The Movie Mount is a special case which holds your iPad while you’re shooting video. The Movie Mount may be attached to a tripod for stable shooting. Video accessories — such as lights, lenses or microphones — may easily be attached to the case. It may be purchased online.
- LED Video Light: Consider purchasing an LED light such as this one with a hot shoe design, which will clip right into your Movie Mount. Lights range in size and price, depending on your needs.
- Camera Lens: The Movie Mount comes with a 37 mm screw fitting, which enables you to supplement the iPad with a variety of lenses. This will help you zoom in and focus more easily when shooting interview videos. I like this 37 mm lens.
- Shotgun Microphone: Use a shotgun microphone to improve your video’s audio.
Why Should I Shoot Videos?
- Audiences are moving online. Studies have shown that Americans spend an equal amount of time online as they do watching television. And of that time spent browsing the web, an average three-and-a-half hours per week are spent watching online videos.
- Online videos may elicit a response. A study from Burst Media found that 18.2 percent of online video viewers took some kind of action based on seeing an online video ad. And these are not just your young viewers “” older viewers were actually more likely to take action.
How Can I Use Videos for My Community Hospital?
- Introduce your staff or your hospital. Use the iPad to make a quick introduction video of your hospital staff, a new ward or new equipment. Make your patients feel more comfortable by allowing them to familiarize themselves with your hospital’s layout and doctors through your videos.
- St. Louis Children’s Hospital is using the iPad as part of its treatment regime to educate, distract and prepare its young patients. The iPad is used to educate the young patients about their health concerns as well as introduce them to hospital staff and provide entertainment.
- Explain procedures and capture patient testimonials. Make a video of a doctor explaining a procedure or interview patients who have undergone a procedure. Gain your community’s trust by openly discussing and demonstrating patients’ success stories.
- Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital and St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho are running pilot programs of an application for the iPad called Medical Video jLog, which uses short, interactive clips to explain common medical procedures. Patients can then view videos and patient testimonials.
- Create simple advertisements. Make your own video advertisements celebrating your hospital’s quality and community involvement and post them on YouTube!
Additional Resource: Check out this article on Ten Tips for shooting iPad 2 Video.
One Community Hospital’s Facebook Advertising Success
October 18, 2011
When your community hospital has a class, service or event targeting a certain demographic, it’s most effective to likewise tailor your advertising efforts. Learn how one community hospital used Facebook to do just that.
Rowan Regional Medical Center (RRMC), of Salisbury, NC, sponsored a “Ladies’ Night Out” event as an opportunity for local women to get to know their community hospital and physician practices while enjoying food, shopping and entertainment from local vendors.
Use our three simple steps for creating targeted online ads to follow the process as RRMC developed its successful advertising campaign:
- Determine your audience: This event was intended for local, adult women searching for healthcare.
- Choose an online venue that complements your needs:
- With more than 750 million active users, Facebook is one of the most popular sites for nearly every demographic. Its top users are ages 18 to 34.
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Facebook, with its wide appeal to adult women and its easy-to-create ads, was the perfect choice for this event.
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Design your art: ABZ Design helped RRMC create a simple ad for Facebook, targeted to women ages 21 and older living within 10 miles of the hospital.
Results
The Facebook advertising campaign generated 947 click thrus to a webpage about the event. “Ladies’ Night Out” was a great success, and it received rave reviews and nearly 400 attendees. The hospital succeeded in engaging the community, as many of the attendees scheduled mammograms or signed up for exercise classes. The hospital also raised money for the local United Way chapter.
Read more about the event campaign.
Facebook is constantly changing, adding features and growing. Keep informed about the changing Facebook landscape and know your audience to determine if a Facebook ad campaign is right for your hospital.
Branding Your Community Hospital’s Campaigns
October 14, 2011
Branding a campaign means more than just creating a logo. “Branding” encompasses the overall personality, look and attributes associated with your campaign. Learn about one community hospital’s branding successes that increased its neighbors’ awareness for quality healthcare right in their own “backyard.”
In today’s ever-developing, busy and media-rich world, it’s easy to get lost to consumers, especially when you’re up against a large neighboring hospital. But with a little extra effort, you can create a brand for your community hospital’s campaign to bring it more legitimacy and recognition.
Rowan Regional Medical Center (RRMC) of Salisbury, NC, recently launched two campaigns with distinctive and effective branding efforts. I was proud of my firm for helping RRMC establish recognizable faces for its campaigns.
Maternity Campaign:
To market its modern facilities and maternity center, RRMC launched a maternity campaign, complete with a branded style that was implemented on both the web and in print:
- ABZ Design developed a microsite for the Family Maternity Center. The site features videos of physicians, nurses and patients raving about the Center’s personable care.
- The site also acts as a resource for potential mothers and patients, providing information about maternity classes and pregnancy.
- The maternity branding was also utilized in print brochures and ads.
- Check out the videos and the campaign images!
75th Anniversary:
To celebrate its 75th anniversary, RRMC sought to involve the community in a big celebration. The ongoing theme of “CommYOUnity” was reiterated through a variety of advertising and merchandise.
- ABZ Design developed an iconic “75th balloon” which was coupled with “CommYOUnity” for the campaign’s branding efforts.
- From web ads and billboards to elevator wraps, light pole banners, T-shirts and stickers, this campaign’s widespread marketing efforts made it recognizable in the community.
- Check out the campaign with its variety of marketing products!
What Can You Do? Some Tips for Branding Your Campaign:
- Focus on three or four identifiable traits. Identify three or four traits that stand out about your brand, or in this case, your campaign, and then build your campaign’s platform around these traits for a more cohesive representation. What differentiates your services or programs from those of competitors? Read more tips about identifying your community hospital’s strengths and weaknesses in this article from Becker’s Hospital Review.
- Appeal to your audience. Tailor the look and feel of your campaign to your audience. Is it a somber cancer campaign? Is it an energetic pediatrics campaign? Is it an elderly services campaign? Every aspect — from the look and feel to your marketing strategies — should align with your intended audience.
- Stay up with the times. In order to maintain a competitive edge, your community hospital needs to be up-to-date with marketing technologies. The rise of Smartphones is rapidly making it essential to promote your campaign in a Smartphone-friendly fashion on the web, while QR codes are adding an interactive element and depth to traditional print design. Read more about hospital branding and technology in this article.
Optimizing Your Community Hospital’s Emails and Eblasts
August 16, 2011
Learn how to construct your emails and eblasts to get past spam blockers and display your content correctly. Efficiently communicate with your community hospital’s patient lists.
Follow the tips below to ensure proper delivery of your emails:
- Subject Line:
- Make your subject line both compelling and concise. Use an engaging description that can be read at a glance. You don’t want recipients driven off by an overly verbose title. Non-generic headlines will also help you get past spam filters.
- Keep it short. Most recipients will be using an email reader such as Outlook, which generally limit subject lines to 35 characters (including spaces) or less. Make your subject line less than 35 characters long to ensure that recipients see the entire headline.
- Avoid spam trigger words. Avoid using words tagged by spam filters, such as “cost,” “free,” “unsubscribe,” “sales,” etc. View this list of 100 spam trigger words and phrases to avoid.
- Eblast Design:
- Use fewer images. Spam filters check the image-to-text ratio, because often spammers use lots of images.
- Do NOT send image-only emails. For every graphic or image, include at least two lines of text (if not more).
- Many email readers block images, so be sure to set “alternate text” for each image (this text will display if the image is blocked). Make your headline and other important information text instead of embedding them into an image.
- Keep important content “above the fold.” If recipients open your eblast, they may not bother scrolling down, so keep the primary information at the top.
- Send a plain text version of your message. Most email marketing providers give you the option to send a plain text version of your eblast in case your stylized message is blocked.
- Use fewer images. Spam filters check the image-to-text ratio, because often spammers use lots of images.
- Deploying your eblast:
- Send your eblast at logical times. Set your eblast to deploy during normal working hours, preferably between Tuesday and Thursday. Send late morning to early afternoon to account for differences in time zones (if some of your recipients are in varied locations).
- Don’t deploy too rarely OR too frequently. Try to send an eblast at least once per month but not more than once per week. You want your community hospital to be in the minds of your recipients, but you don’t want to overwhelm them. See this article.
- Comply with the CAN-SPAM Act:
- If your email’s primary purpose is “the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service,” then comply with the following guidelines:
- Don’t use false or misleading header information
- Don’t use deceptive subject lines
- Identify the message as an ad
- Tell recipients where you’re located
- Tell recipients how to opt-out of receiving future email from you
- Honor opt-out request promptly
- Monitor what others are doing on your behalf
- If your email’s primary purpose is “the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service,” then comply with the following guidelines:
- Eblast Campaign:
- The Email Experience Council blog, which draws on expertise from various contributors to offer insight and advice about email marketing, discusses the real cost of building an email solution. The eec recommends outsourcing your email marketing to ensure your campaign is built in a timely manner, that it’s up-to-date and that your deliverability rate is kept high.
- Another post from the eec debates “best practices” in email marketing. The eec suggests that one cookie-cutter solution of how and when to send emails does NOT work for every company. Instead, the eec recommends determining your email strategy from concept to production: Test, Optimize, Execute.
- Are you capable of developing the process discipline necessary to execute the vision for your community hospital’s email campaigns? A little bit of work in planning and teamwork will pay dividends each and every time you launch a campaign.
How to Create a Facebook Ad for Your Community Hospital
August 15, 2011
For an ad that is simple, cheap and efficient, try Facebook! Market your community hospital’s events and services to targeted audiences.
Facebook offers easy ad placement in just four simple steps:
Design Your Ad: Upload a picture or icon and add text and a title. This is where an engaging title, concise and captivating body text and a simple, iconic image can work wonders.- Targeting: Facebook makes it easy to target your demographic. Choose the location (City, State or Country), age (anywhere from age 13 to 64), gender and interests, and then see Facebook’s calculated estimated reach.
- Campaigns, Pricing and Scheduling: Set your campaign schedule dates and your daily budget (you can adjust this at any time during the campaign). Decide whether to Pay per Impression (pay each time the ad shows up on a page) or Pay per Click (pay each time a user clicks on the ad). You can set the max price bid to pay per click or impression, starting at $0.01. Facebook makes a suggestion to help you set an appropriate price.
- Review and Submit: Once you have submitted your ad and Facebook has approved it, the ad goes live, and you can manage and review the ad’s reach, frequency, cost and number of clicks. To view this report, log into your Facebook account and click on “Advertising” at the bottom of the page.
Related Resources:
- Six-Step Blueprint for Branding on Facebook
- Additional tips and information from Facebook Advertising
Follow our three simple steps to learn how to create an online ad toward a targeted audience.
- Determine your audience: What demographic are you trying to reach? Think specifics — consider your audience’s age, gender, location and interests. Are you targeting young couples? Middle-aged men with heart problems? Families with infants? Once you have settled on an audience, you can better target your ad campaign.
- Choose an online venue that complements your needs: Keep your audience in mind as you select a site for your advertisement. What age group are you targeting? What sites does that age group visit the most frequently?
For instance, I think you will be surprised to see who is watching YouTube — check out this chart to see that in the U.S., the highest percent of users are ages 35 to 49.- As the chart to the right shows, Facebook also appeals to a variety of ages.
- When choosing a venue, consider your design resources. Some websites (such as YouTube) primarily accept interactive ads with Flash or video content. If you are limited to static designs, then stick to venues where static ads can succeed.
- Design your art:
- Review the specs: Check the measurements and ad sizes for your selected venue. You don’t want to invest the time in designing a web banner or web ad that is incorrectly sized.
- Static ads: For static ads, less is more. Use recognizable images and icons and limited text, and be concise. If the ad permits, reinforce your branding through the fonts, colors and logo.
- Interactive ads: Interactive ads, such as Flash pieces or short video advertisements, can be more involved and have more complicated specs than a static ad. However, in today’s fast-paced world, interactive ads are a valuable tool for engaging online users. Be sure you have a thorough understanding of the necessary requirements for an interactive ad. Many online sites will specify a maximum file size, set video player dimensions and determine file format requirements. Do your research!
- Consider your audience: Check out this article on designing for your audience.
- More tips: This article explains 7 Trends in Online Ad Design, offering tips on fonts, colors and sizes.
Where do I advertise?
- Facebook:
- How: In just a few simple steps, you can design your ad, set your target demographic (from age and gender to location and interests), choose your campaign dates and set a maximum daily budget.
- Where: The ads show up on the sidebar of the Facebook profiles of individuals who fall into your specified demographic.
- Why: With more than 750 million active users, Facebook reaches countless numbers of people every day. Facebook is a great place for simple, static advertisements.
- Google AdWords:
- How: Google walks you through step-by-step to set up your account to advertise within their network, which also includes their search partners’ sites. As with Facebook, you can set a target demographic and determine a daily budget. Create your text and/or image ads from provided templates (or upload your own) and choose keywords or phrases associated with your ad.
- Where: When people search on Google using one of your keywords, your ads may appear above or in the right column next to the search results, or on Google’s search partners’ sites as part of a results page, or on other relevant search pages. You can link it to a webpage with additional information.
- Why: Consistently ranked in the top search engines, Google is a giant in the cyber world. Google AdWords can bring you visibility on one of the most popular internet platforms and its broad network of partners.
- YouTube:
- How: Set up a Google AdWords account to manage your YouTube advertising campaign’s budget and targeted demographics. Choose to place an ad or use a promoted video.
- Promoted Video: Create the ad by uploading a video, then set keywords and categories related to your ad and lastly launch it to see your view counts. You can use demographic targeting, which pulls information provided from users’ YouTube accounts, to direct your ad to a certain age or gender.
- Where: Promoted videos are highlighted and featured at the top of search results within YouTube. For ad placement, you can also purchase many different spots within YouTube, from the homepage masthead to standard banner ad spots.
- Why: As of February 2011, YouTube had 490 million unique users worldwide per month. With users ranging from very young to old, we spend around 2.9 billion hours on YouTube in a month. Take advantage of these staggering statistics by promoting your hospital or service on YouTube!
- How: Set up a Google AdWords account to manage your YouTube advertising campaign’s budget and targeted demographics. Choose to place an ad or use a promoted video.
Setting Your Bid Rate:
- Bidding Against Competitors: The process of setting your bid rate for your ads is an ever-evolving science. Because of national competition for many key words in the healthcare field, you may find it cost prohibitive to buy search terms like “cancer” and will have to get more specific instead. You are bidding against pharmaceutical companies and nationally recognized medical centers for many of the high level terms, and they have much deeper pockets than the typical community hospital marketer. This is one of those times when a professional marketer or agency can be of tremendous value in getting you the most bang for your buck.
- Do Your Research: There are tons of other places to advertise on the web. Research your targeted demographic before selecting the perfect place to advertise. Use resources such as the chart below to determine which sites your targeted demographic is most likely to visit.
Using Interactive Maps for Your Community Hospital
July 6, 2011
A great resource for helping patients become oriented and familiar with your new or already-existing community hospital is an online interactive map. Help patients understand your hospital’s layout, features and services through this creative and engaging tool.
An interactive map could be a floor plan, aerial map or other creative representation of your hospital that users can click on and interact with to access more information. When developing this resource, think about your intention. What are you trying to show? Check out these hospitals’ successful maps for ideas:
Examples of Hospitals’ Interactive Maps:
- Phoenix Children’s Hospital: To accompany the opening of this new and elaborate children’s hospital, Phoenix Children’s Hospital also provides an intuitive and informative interactive map offering a breakdown of the sections of the hospital, complete with pictures and descriptions.
- Shands at the University of Florida: This interactive map gives users a thorough look at each floor of the Shands Cancer Hospital and Medical Center. Users can navigate either by floor or service and click on the interactive floor plans for more information and videos.
- Cleveland Clinic: This more simplistic approach shows an aerial map of the hospital’s campus. Users can click on the buildings for more information.
How do I build an interactive map?
If you have access to a designer and Adobe Flash, you can utilize your resources to develop a custom, interactive map. However, for the rest of us, there is online software to facilitate easy map making (without having to code anything). There are plenty of resources available online, but for a few ideas, try the following:
- MapsAlive advertises “interactive maps, floor plans and diagrams for your website.” There is also a free 30-day trial to test out the software, which is available on the MapsAlive website.
- iMapBuilder advertises “build interactive flash maps in minutes with no coding.” You can download a free trial or the actual software and browse a variety of example maps on the iMapBuilder website. Though there are examples of traditional country maps and Google maps, there are also more creative “virtual graphic” and “floor plan image” maps, which could be useful for your community hospital.
- Floor Planner offers “the easiest way to create floor plans.” You can view demos or sign up for the software on the Floor Planner website.
Tips for map making:
- Consider your audience. Will this map be for adults or children? If it’s an interactive map/game for children, then design everything (fonts, colors, layout) with them in mind. If it’s for adults, then likewise design accordingly.
- Consider the needs of the learner. The complexity and the amount of information presented should suit the needs of the learner. Don’t include superfluous information, but be thorough. Present data in an easy-to-manage and easy-to-understand format. Don’t use large blocks of copy or excessive descriptions. Use simple headings, labels and bullet points. If you must include lots of copy, use scrollbars on text boxes for maximum use of space. Read more about interactive multimedia and learning through this article.
- Be accurate. This may seem like a no-brainer, but make sure your map accurately depicts the hospital, from proportion to size and location. If your hospital is new and you are working from blueprints, check to see that you have up-to-date versions.
- Ensure intuitive navigation. Make it easy for users to figure out how to interact with your map. Use a “start here” to initiate interaction or include instructions in an obvious place.
- Make it mobile friendly. More and more people are using their Smartphones to access web content quickly. Note that Flash projects are often incompatible with iPhones and iPads, so consider using a software that provides an alternative script for mobile users. (MapsAlive advertises this capability). This article from Fierce Mobile Healthcare explains how a mobile application’s success is highly dependent on its easy functionality and interactivity.
Three Innovative Marketing Techniques to Celebrate the Opening of Your New Community Hospital
June 20, 2011
Introducing a new hospital to your community can be a daunting task. Making a memorable first impression is essential.
Jump-start your hospital’s success by mass-promoting it in a new and creative way. Tailor some of the following ideas to fit your budget constraints:
(1) FLASH MOB — Leaving a Lasting Impression
- A flash mob is a group of people who spontaneously gather in a public place and perform a random or unusual act and then disperse. One of the more well-known flash mobs is Frozen Grand Central Station in New York, where 207 individuals randomly froze for five minutes in Grand Central Station.
- Use a flash mob to creatively promote your new hospital. Other businesses have used flash mobs as a way to gather interest. For example, American Airlines organized a flash mob of 40 dancers in downtown Los Angeles to promote the launch of an expansion to their services.
- Be sure to follow best practices for holding a flash mob (yes, guidelines do exist!):
- Choose a public place where there will be a lot of foot-traffic.
- Because you will be representing your community hospital, gather appropriate permissions for use of the space as well as consent from participants in case a recording is published online.
- Capture the event with plenty of images and videos; post them on your website or social media pages to capitalize on the publicity.
- Encourage your new hospital employees to participate. You don’t have to choreograph an intricate and difficult dance routine. Think simple, like the Frozen Grand Central Station flash mob. Involving your own employees will keep costs down and create a fun, unifying event for the new hospital staff.
- For more tips, check out this blog post from ShellyStone Marketing.
(2) FOURSQUARE — A Fun Way for Patients to “Check In”
- Foursquare is a location-based social networking site available to users with GPS-enabled mobile devices. It is primarily a tool for letting friends know where you are and figuring out where they are. The Foursquare application allows users to “check in” at venues using text messaging or a mobile website. Each “check in” earns the user points, prize “badges” and eventually coupons.
- How can I use Foursquare for my community hospital? Give patients an incentive to use your hospital’s services by offering them Foursquare points or coupons for “checking in” to your hospital. Many companies are using Foursquare as a tool to increase public awareness about their businesses and services. Patients also have the option of leaving tips and comments about your hospital for others to see. If a person sees that many of his peers are “checking in” to your hospital and praising your promotions, maybe he will think twice next time he’s choosing a healthcare provider.
- Be aware that Foursquare limits its promotions to “places where people meet, socialize and linger.” Your hospital may not technically fall into that category, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use Foursquare! You can set up promotions outside of Foursquare and still advertise them therein. Check out this blog, which talks about the potential benefits of location-based social networks for the healthcare industry.
- What kind of promotions can you offer? Check out these 8 Foursquare Promotion Ideas, including ideas such as offering an incentive for first-time visitors (discount rate for visitors’ first check-up, free consultation, etc.)
(3) OPENING EVENT — Creating a Fun-Filled Day
- Bring your community together to celebrate your new hospital’s opening by making it a community event. Consider festivities such as live music, games, food, prizes or other entertainment.
- More than 3,000 people celebrated the opening of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles through an event that had everything from a 5k walk to a light show and special guests of a supermodel and actress. Although such an involved event is out of most hospital’s budgets, a simplified event can be equally fun and successful in promoting your hospital.
- Advertise your grand opening through traditional methods such as print ads and press releases as well as through social media and your hospital’s website.
- For more ideas on marketing your grand opening, check out this article.
QR Codes – or Quick Response Codes – bridge your hospital’s traditional advertising with ease into web rich content. Follow these five tips to best utilize the QR Codes for your community hospital’s marketing campaign.
Go mobile
Get your mobile site ready for all the attention it will be getting! Or at least get popular sections of your web site ready to direct your audience to.
- Motivate
Build responses by letting your audience know what’s in it for them. Scanning a code does require a few extra steps, so adding value to your campaign will make a huge difference.
- Know your audience
Your new QR Code audience is more tech-savvy than average. When making your first QR Code campaign, don’t hide the QR Code, make the code icon the centerpiece of the campaign. But for other audiences just learning about QR Codes, the QR Code might be included next to the contact information along with a simple explanation of how to scan the code. Finally, with 81 percent of doctors owning a smartphone, your next campaign targeting physicians can breath new life!
- Test
Work with a web specialist to ensure that the page your QR Code directs recipients to is displayed correctly on commonly-used platforms (Blackberry, iPhone and Android, etc).
- Be savvy
QR Codes are new territory and exciting innovation to enhance print communication. Encourage activity across different media, consider multiple types of information that you can deliver and think of unique applications to apply QR Codes to.
“That’s GREAT!” blog post offers 101 Uses for QR codes, including use on business cards, books and other published literature, billboards and even clothing. Look to other campaigns for inspiration to spice up your community hospital’s campaign.
