Nursing staff, physicians, and executives can be a hospital or health system's best brand ambassadors. Don't overlook them when you're planning your next strategic marketing or advertising campaign.
While hospitals and health systems search for more likes and shares on Facebook and followers on YouTube and Twitter, they may be missing a ready and willing audience—their own employees.
But, more and more organizations are realizing that workers, whether they are clinicians, administrators, or volunteers, are some of the best brand ambassadors. Here are three recent examples of hospitals using their employees in marketing and advertising campaigns.
1. Tennova's Rebranding Campaign
Created in 2011 when Health Management Associates (HMA) bought Knoxville, TN–based Mercy Health Partners, this six-hospital system was renamed Tennova. But, instead of just announcing the new name with a press release, HMA used it as an opportunity to kick off a full-scale branding multimedia branding campaign that featured physicians, chaplains, and volunteers in its ads.
Jera Sangworn, marketing and communications manager for HMA's Tennessee Division, says using employees in the elevator wraps and billboards to announce the new name along with the tagline, "It's Good!" also helped longtime employees of the Mercy system accept the new name and new direction.
"It was a good opportunity to make sure they were involved in a lot of the advertising that we did because that's really important to us—to make sure that they come along side us." Getting your employees on board makes it easier for the community, and therefore patients to go along with you, too.
2. P4 Health at Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center
This campaign, launched at the end of 2012, was aimed at "4 P's" of health and wellness: Predictive, Preventative, Personalized, and Participatory, hence the name, P4 Health.
The effort was first introduced to the 17,000 faculty and staff at OSU Wexner via a microsite. The marketing staff said it was pushed out to employees so they could serve as an example to the community of living healthier and kicking bad habits.
Each time an employee pledged to be tobacco free, exercise, eat better, or reduce their stress, her name was placed on a large graphic that included other employees who had also pledged. Employees could also choose to remain anonymous, but the point was to show there is strength in numbers, and encouragement from fellow peers, even in a large system like OSU Wexner.
Employees who had made a pledge were also featured in YouTube videos produced to show support for participation in the P4 Health campaign. Engaging employees in this wellness effort shows the organization's commitment to the health of its employees and community.
3.Advocate Sherman Hospital's Heart Healthy Facebook campaign
To celebrate American Heart Month this past February, Sherman Hospital (formerly Sherman Health Systems) launched a daily heart health tip.
The 28 tips were pushed out daily in a Facebook post that featured a high quality photo of a hospital staff member holding up a brightly colored heart with the daily tip on it. Examples featured everyone from the CEO, who held up day 11's tip, "Eat your veggies," to a surgical nurse holding up day 23's tip, "Fiber Up."
Tonya Lucchetti-Hudson, director of public affairs and marketing for Sherman Hospital, says featuring the hospital's staff and volunteers helped patients relate better to the message that heart health was important. "It gave heart health a face," says Lucchetti-Hudson.
"When you have an actual person who is working at the hospital giving you a heart tip of the day, it makes it real, puts a face on it and makes it personal, and that's the perfect venue for social media because [you're] engaging at a very personal level."
Since the main venue for the daily tips was Facebook, the posts were shared, liked, and commented on by the staff member's own Facebook network, increasing the reach of the campaign. There are many other ways to engage and include the staff in marketing activities.
They are an untapped resource as potential blog writers, Facebook posters, but mainly, brand ambassadors. Show employees how committed you are to communicating with them, and they'll spread the message for you.
Jacqueline Fellows is a contributing writer at HealthLeaders Media.