When finalizing your annual marketing strategy, consider how important the digital experience has become to patients, remember that content is still king, and understand that you can make your organization speak powerfully to larger social issues.
At the end of last year, I looked back on all of the groundbreaking work hospital marketers did in 2015 and used those examples to form five areas to focus on in the year ahead. Now, as January wraps up, it's time to solidify your marketing vision and goals for 2016.
To continue looking forward, I've examined a whitepaper, from Troy, NY-based marketing communications agency, Smith + Jones, and boiled down its 10 predictions into three actionable goals to complete in coming months.
The New Year may be in the rear view, but it's never too late for resolutions.
1.Prioritize Digital Experience as Much as Patient Experience
In 2016, odds are that a new patient's first interaction with your organization is going to be online, whether through your website, mobile site, or an ad. And all three of those interactions should be considered equally.
Let's look at the digital advertising experience first. Think about the last time you saw an ad on Facebook or Google that didn't apply to you?maybe it was geared toward a different age group or a person in some other field of work. Chances are it made you think a little bit less of that brand.
These days, ads that aren't specifically targeted to you are almost offensive because consumers know advertisers have all of their information at their fingertips. Mass marketing is essentially dead.
"Instead of broad digital campaigns, healthcare organizations will run mini campaigns targeted to niche audiences," Smith + Jones states. "These campaigns will nurture leads by collecting data and sending prospective patients personalized messages to drive conversions. The healthcare industry has had the technology to collect data about its patients, but 2016 is the year that it will no longer have a choice on whether to manage and make use of that data to fuel marketing campaigns."
Once your targeted ad drives a prospective patient to your website, it's up to hospital marketers to ensure that their first digital experience is as welcoming as your staff when they first walk through the hospital doors.
"Healthcare consumers want websites that are responsive, clean, and easily navigable," the whitepaper reads. "They want to find a new primary care doctor, schedule an appointment, and find directions to the practice, all while standing in their kitchen on their mobile phone and blending a breakfast smoothie with their free hand. If your hospital can't deliver this experience, a competitor will."
2.Step Up Your Content Game
You may have noticed that content marketing has been featured more frequently in this space, and that's because it's effectiveness continues to grow. As a result, hospitals are generating more content than ever before, which means yours have to rise above the rest.
To do so, stop thinking about content in a vacuum?it's all about context.
"This means that your hospital must create specific content for each social platform," the Smith + Jones whitepaper states. "Think of the mindset of your audience on each social platform. For example, patients are on Facebook to catch up with friends and family members, they're on Tumblr to laugh at GIFs, they're on Pinterest to find things they aspire to have or accomplish, and they're on Instagram to see pretty pictures. Tailor your content to the context and psychology of each social channel."
Once you've done that, it's time to get straight to the point. Brevity isn't only the soul of wit?it's the key to impactful content marketing.
"Consumers today are more likely to do little bits of research during breaks in their day, rather than sit down with a block of time to conduct extensive research. Help your prospective patients conduct bite-sized chunks of research with executive summaries of main points," the whitepaper reads.
"Keep in mind that old saying for speeches and essays: Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Adopt that practice with all online content, from blog posts to videos to emails. This will allow patients to determine if a piece of content is worth their time to consume it in entirety."
3.Maximize the Halo Effect
When finalizing your marketing strategy, consider how your organization can speak to larger social issues to maximize the halo effect or, as Smith + Jones puts it, "return on community."
"[H]ealthcare brands can address the issue of obesity or childhood vaccinations in an attempt to educate its community on preventive medicine, reduce the number of expensive ED admissions, and improve population health," the whitepaper states.
"This is called a return on community, or ROC, and in turn, can help improve a hospital's ROI. Consumers respond well to messages of positivity that demonstrates an organization's culture over its specific products or services. Healthcare organizations can take this trend to the local level in 2016."
Some forward-thinking organizations have built ROC initiatives into their brand promise. Kaiser Permanente, for example, makes a nod to social issues by representing a diverse group of patients in its Thrive campaign.
Work these three strategies into your marketing plan and you'll be on track for successful 2016.
Marianne Aiello is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.