Despite poet John Donne’s insistence that no man is an island, the healthcare marketing world can seem pretty isolated.
Reconnect, recharge and get inspired with fellow healthcare marketers at the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) Fall 2011 Conference.
Working off the theme “Changes in Altitude,” this year’s fall CHPRMS conference offers a galvanizing gathering of industry leaders and newcomers alike, set amid the inspiring heights of the mountains surrounding Asheville’s historic Grove Park Inn.
Scheduled for Dec. 7-9, the conference agenda is sure to offer something for everyone with topics that range from the reality of political correctness and planning innovation to how to deftly navigate CEO issues or capitalize on marketing with micro campaigns. Click here for the full conference agenda.
The fall CHPRMS conference is a joint meeting with the Carolinas Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. So, in a word, it offers more bang for your buck with an even larger knowledge base and expanded networking opportunities within the industry.
We’ll be at the conference and connecting with all of you along the way to share the educational excitement. Join us! Click here to register >>
Next week we’ll post an exclusive podcast with CHPRMS President Margaret Gregory, senior director of marketing and public relations at Piedmont Medical Center. She’ll address the inspiration behind this year’s fall conference, what attendees can look forward to and why such a gathering is so critical to the industry today.
Don’t miss out! Register today and subscribe to Creative Triage for conference updates!
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 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.
Content management system (CMS) websites offer your physicians the ideal solution for a branded website with the added ability to manage the site’s content.
What is a CMS? A content management system uses software and a database to manage and organize website content. Sites may be developed from scratch or built from a variety of available templates and then customized. The greatest benefit is the software’s user-friendly interface, which allows content to be easily added and edited without learning HTML or other coding languages.
Why should you use a CMS?
- No technical expertise is required. Individuals with average knowledge of word processing can add content, videos, photos, pages and links directly into the professionally designed CMS template.
- It is ideal for a collaborative environment. Users may simultaneously add or edit content simply by logging in to the “backend” of the website, where the content is stored. A CMS is optimal for a hospital or large practice where multiple people will be assisting in the upload of content.
- Better ranking on SEO. Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the process of improving your site’s visibility on the web by optimizing it for search engines. Most CMS have plugins or features to assist with SEO. Updating your site frequently with relevant content will also make it more visible to search engines.
- You can make changes immediately. You can effortlessly update your site with no delay. The moment you publish content to your CMS, it appears on your live website. Keep the community up-to-date on your practice’s awards, press releases, classes, announcements and media content.
- It will save lots of money. A well-designed CMS practice website template can help hospital marketers maintain branding by making it easy to share the template design with affiliated practices, creating a cohesive look. This lowers costs, as modifications can be made without the need of outside vendors or web experts.
- Security. The site administrator can manage what content is editable by other users or approved “authors.” This provides your content more protection from many standard website attacks.
- Social media integration – Your website can be easily linked to social media sites such as Twitter or Facebook, which allows practices to reach a broader audience of patients.
When you use an agency to set up and design your CMS template, you benefit by producing and establishing a branded look for your web presence, which can then be applied to affiliated practices. You will save time and money with the ability to easily add and edit your own content.
Examples of sites created using a CMS:
- Ovarian Cancer National Alliance – This organized and content-rich site was built using WordPress as a CMS. Check out this article on using WordPress to build your hospital website.
- Let’s Get Healthy For You! – This fun and clean design was also done using WordPress as a CMS.
- Baron Therapy – This creative and informative therapy services site was built using Joomla! as a CMS.
- Spine Health – Another content-heavy site, this one was built using Drupal as a CMS.
Physician practice websites will increase your community hospital practice’s visibility, build its reputation in the community and give your marketing budget the most value for every dollar spent.
The Internet is an absolutely essential tool for physician practices. I am amazed at how many rural practices that I talk to who have virtually no web presence.
Online Healthcare Empowers Consumers. Your practices need websites to acquire patients in an increasingly tech-savvy world.
In order to build a bridge between healthcare providers and patients, a website must also project the right image to your target audience. The appearance of the practice website and the information it presents greatly impact your visitors’ first impressions of your services. Their initial perceptions are completely in your control. How do you want your practice to be seen to the public? As reliable, modern and informed? As friendly, warm and welcoming? Build your site to reflect your practice.
As healthcare marketers, we talk a lot about mobile and social media campaigns, QR codes and email communication. None of these are effective if we have no coherent destination or website to which we can direct patients.
Developing your practice website is the first and most effective form of communication today!
Essential website content:
- A short description of your practice and specialties
- Physician biographies and certifications
- Personalized facilities and staff photos
- Explanations of procedures and services
- Before-and-after case studies showcasing your skills
- Hospital affiliations
- Office hours, office policies and accepted insurance plans
- Directions and maps to the practice
- Patient education articles
Getting ahead of the competition:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Social media integration
- EMR patient portal
- Physician videos
- Electronic patient forms
- Interactive maps and driving directions
- Patient education videos
Successful Practice Websites:
- Desert Institute for Spine Care – Physician videos, Patient education videos, Patient forms
- Cardiovascular Longevity’s MyEliteHealth – Patient Portal Integration, Patient forms
- Dr. Cooper-Lall – A dentist who understands the power of social media
As a mom and healthcare shopper, I take charge of my family’s health. Healthcare consumers go online for an increasing variety of healthcare information including looking for their doctors.
A website for your practice is more than just a way to “keep up” with your competition – it’s a way to get ahead.
With social media on the rise, people are increasingly looking to it for health information. How can your community hospital benefit from this trend? Learn how to utilize your hospital’s Facebook page.
Some items that traditionally lived on your hospital’s home page should now be shifted to Facebook, according to a post from the Conduit blog.
Four Things to Move to Facebook:
- Fan Community – Though branding options are somewhat limited on Facebook, it is an ideal place for your fan base. Community members have the option to “like” your page and show their appreciation and loyalty. Everyone can interact by posting on and participating in your hospital’s wall discussions.
- Upload your logo to reinforce your brand!
- Post frequently. According to a study by Verasoni Worldwide and Simon Associates, only 40 percent of the hospitals surveyed posted daily.
- Advertise events and activities. In addition to using the standard methods (print ads, emails and direct mailers) for event promotions, try creating a Facebook event and promoting it on your page. Or, try Facebook advertising.
- Photos & Videos – Invite everyone to engage on a personal level by viewing uploaded photos and videos of your hospital and events. Give fans the power to upload their own pictures.
- Special Offers – Offer incentives for “liking” your Facebook page by giving followers exclusive promotions and offers.
- Polls & Surveys – Use Facebook Questions and polling to learn more about your community’s needs and how your community hospital can meet them. Learn about creating polls on Facebook.
According to a study by the National Research Corp., 41 percent of U.S. residents say they use social media as a healthcare resource, the majority of them turning to Facebook.
Common social media uses:
- To view health education videos
- For diet and exercise tips
- To learn about upcoming health events
- To study disease awareness
- For health statistics
- To connect with others with similar ailments
- For support groups
Successful Hospital Facebook Pages:
- CHOC Children’s - View Page: This California-based hospital has successfully acquired over 23,000 “fans” — and without adding any fancy customizations to the page. Frequent status updates, YouTube channel integration, photo uploads (over 16 albums!) and multiple link postings invite community engagement, so that community members have also uploaded many photos and videos.
- OSF St. Francis Medical Center - View Page: This medical center in Illinois has utilized the discussion board, event postings, image uploads and YouTube videos to invite community involvement. With nearly 3,000 fans, it is clear from the active wall postings that community members do not hesitate to interact with the fan page.
- Presbyterian Hospital – View Page: Located in North Carolina, Presbyterian Hospital integrates its YouTube channel as well as its Twitter feed. With frequent status updates and photo uploads, it encourages community engagement additionally through the use of a custom “Give Back” donation tab.
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.
- 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
- 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.
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!
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.
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.
