Nancy Siniard

Healthcare Marketing: Forget the Tech and Focus on the Idea

160353810Consumers aren’t moved by all the data we can use to find and use to communicate with them.  Instead they still want to be moved. They want emotional connection.

This blog  was actually borrowed from comments made by Procter & Gamble Global Brand Building Officer Marc Pritchard as he spoke to the 4As annual conference.  I used it because I think he’s onto something.

More and more we are being driven by data.  We have so much at our disposal.  No wonder it’s referred to a “Big Data.”  And marketing professionals, including those in healthcare, are making decisions and developing marketing plans based on the data.  But too many times I’m afraid that leads to creative that is mediocre at best.  We run the risk of being devoid of the big idea that connects rationally and emotionally with the consumer.

Data can help avoid risk or help improve our odds.  Data can provide insight or sometimes confusion.  But data doesn’t tell you to put an actor around a group of kids and interview them (AT&T), or develop a campaign around the line “The man your man could smell like” (Old Spice).  Procter and Gamble’s “Moms have the best Jobs” television spot was not inspired by data.  And neither was “Just Do It,” “Got Milk,” “Think Differently,” or “Think Small.”

Consumers are moved by emotions.  Brands connect with consumers with emotion.  And that’s no truer than in healthcare marketing. In a world where we have so many ways and so much power to connect with consumers we cannot just pour our message into as many channels as possible.  That’s just noise.  It’s the power of an idea that separates you from the numbness.

Christoph Becker, writing for Adweek put it very well when he stated, “For an idea to have value in the world of marketing communications it must make you feel; it should provoke laughter, touch a nerve and create excitement for a brand. There should be generosity of spirit in what we do. Even if we have messages for the head, we should always seek to gain entry through the heart. To be humanly relevant our work should be founded on emotion.

He continued, “the challenge is to remember this truth: our laughing, crying, loving, loathing, silly, serious emotional minds are always in charge. This is something the most successful—and iconic—businesses understand instinctively.”

As healthcare marketers we have so much information at our disposal.  And we should use it to sharpen our focus and hone our efforts.  Yet never forsaking the pursuit of that emotional connection that far exceeds ordinary communication with consumers.

I will conclude with Becker’s final comments,

“There has never been a better time to reach our customers, but we have a choice. We can use all the technology and channels at our disposal merely to amplify our messages to the point of noise. Or we can use those gifts to give life and purpose and never-ending expansiveness to our ideas, to reach people in ways that matter, to ignite emotions.  That’s my dream.”

 

Healthcare Marketing: A Picture Really is Worth a Thousand Words

Hospital Digital ImageToday’s culture is extremely visually oriented.  So hospital brands should have a visual story.

Today people are stimulated by visuals.  This is not to discredit or minimize great copywriting but our world has become visually oriented.  Practically everyone has a camera phone and most people are using them.  And sharing their photos.  It can certainly be seen in the rapid rise of photo-centric social platforms.  To prove the point, Facebook reached 100 million users in 4 years but it took Instagram only 10 days to attract 10 million users.

And science supports this premise.  Humans actually process visuals 60,000 times faster than text.  Our visual sensory abilities are powerful.

And we know visuals can affect us emotionally.  How many photographs have you seen that immediately elicits a strong emotional reaction?  Immediately.

So what is your hospital doing to tap into this image-obsessed culture?  Does you hospital have a visual story?  It would be advantageous for your hospital to communicate with your audience through imagery.  Consumers not only want to hear what your brand stands for but they also want to see it.

Social media provides the perfect medium to create and maintain a visual brand story for your hospital.  Writing for The Agency Post,  Megan O’Malley, an account planner at VMI states, “… it’s the thoughtful, sincere and consistent visual story dispersed socially that builds a relationship.”

There are three important factors to consider when creating a visual brand story for your hospital.

1.    Understand your brand

What makes your hospital unique?  And as O’Malley suggests, don’t ask: What does your hospital do?  But go deeper and ask: Why do you exist?  Why should the consumer care?  What is your higher purpose?  From this information you should be on tract to begin create the visual story of your hospital.

2.     Be consistent

Your hospital’s story is ever evolving and never-ending.  So should be your visual story.  You must be consistent in continually telling your story.  Gaps, holes and interruptions cause the consumer to lose interest and the continuity of the story.

3.     Do it well

You are writing a visual story about your hospital.  And just like a written story it should be done well.  You wouldn’t tolerate bad grammar poor sentence structure and sloppy writing if it were a written story.  Neither should you accept poor quality for your visual story.  It’s your hospital’s brand that you are portraying.  It should be done well.

Consumers are becoming more and more visually oriented.  Your hospital’s brand cannot reach it’s full potential without the use of visuals.  It’s not easy.  But there are huge payoffs for those hospitals that do it well.

Healthcare Marketing: What is Your Color?

Color impacts what consumers think and how they respond to your brand.

What color is your hospitalThe science of color has always been fascinating to me.  How people respond to certain colors and how different colors make them feel.  Not only is it interesting, it can also affect how people feel about your brand and even how they respond to your brand.  Different colors evoke different emotions and feelings. And different colors get different levels of attention.

As healthcare marketers, it’s important to know the science of color.  What colors are associated with health and wellness?  What colors are more likely to affect the response we are tying to obtain?  Yeah I know, yet another thing healthcare marketers must know and understand.  But we need every edge or advantage we can get.  Understanding the psychology of the consumer’s mind is one thing healthcare marketers should study and understand as much as possible.  And the science of color is part of that psychology. 

Leo Widrich, co-founder of Buffer, wrote an article for Fast Company, Why Is Facebook Blue?  The Science Behind Colors In Marketing. It’s interesting, informative and entertaining.  The link to the article is below.  I think you will enjoy the read.

http://www.fastcompany.com/3009317/why-is-facebook-blue-the-science-behind-colors-in-marketing

Healthcare Marketing: 7 Rules for Hospital Crisis Management

At some point your hospital will face a crisis.  Follow these tips to successfully navigate the situation.

Every organization faces a crisis of some sort from time to time.  Social media has certainly increased the likelihood of a problem becoming a crisis.   There are now so many venues where news of the crisis can be spread and an abundant number of ways consumers can weigh-in on the crisis.

Deborah Budd, writing for Second Wind  provided some very valuable insight into crisis management that is worthwhile to share.

When your hospital faces a crisis, here are seven rules to follow:

1.    Don’t hesitate

It’s foolish to think the crisis will go away.  Most of the time it won’t.  The internet and social media almost guarantee it won’t unless responded. Get in front t of the situation as much as possible. Acknowledge the situation and state that you are looking into it and will be back with more information when it’s available.  This establishes you as a source for information rather than a target.

2.    Stick to the plan

It’s not easy but there can be a good result. Any crisis is uncomfortable and tense.  But handled well it can increase stakeholder loyalty and enhance your hospital’s brand.  Stick to the communications plan and see it through.

3.    Silence is a loud message

Any information void will be filled with something.  And usually it’s not good.  The negative press and social media comments will become worse until you provide a reasoned and rational response

4.    Respect those affected

Always acknowledge and respect those adversely affected.  People want to know your hospital is acting to correct the problem that has occurred.

5.    Don’t use data or facts to minimize the situation

Facts and data are only useful as much as they align with the concerns created by the crisis.   Focus on those affected and use data as background.

6.    Never ignore inquiries

“No comment” usually creates the perception of guilt.   It’s much better to respond with “I don’t have answer but I’ll get back with you as soon as I do” or “here’s how we’re handling things now.”  Never refuse to answer.

7.    Never lie and don’t hide the negative stuff

In the end, integrity is the most important thing.  Hiding the truth or not owning up to it will make matters worse.   You earn credibility by being honest and sincere.

The day will come when your hospital is faced with a crisis.  How you handle it will determine how your band is perceived.  Handled appropriately and professionally will go a long way toward minimizing the crisis and making your brand even stronger.

Healthcare Marketing Management: 8 Core Beliefs of Extraordinary Bosses

80621090The best managers have a fundamentally different understanding of workplace, company, and team dynamics. See what they get right.

This blog usually addresses marketing issues or ideas relevant to healthcare and hospital marketers.  But realizing that most healthcare marketers also supervise others I think the thoughts here can be very helpful.  Because being a great boss is just as important as understanding marketing strategy and principles.  To be the best you can be, to get the most out of those you supervise and to create an environment of excellence, you must also know what qualities are required to be an outstanding boss.

So I share this article written by Geoffrey James for Inc Magazine

A few years back, I interviewed some of the most successful CEOs in the world in order to discover their management secrets. I learned that the “best of the best” tend to share the following eight core beliefs.

1. Business is an ecosystem, not a battlefield.

Average bosses see business as a conflict between companies, departments and groups. They build huge armies of “troops” to order about, demonize competitors as “enemies,” and treat customers as “territory” to be conquered.

Extraordinary bosses see business as a symbiosis where the most diverse firm is most likely to survive and thrive. They naturally create teams that adapt easily to new markets and can quickly form partnerships with other companies, customers … and even competitors.

2. A company is a community, not a machine.

Average bosses consider their company to be a machine with employees as cogs. They create rigid structures with rigid rules and then try to maintain control by “pulling levers” and “steering the ship.”

Extraordinary bosses see their company as a collection of individual hopes and dreams, all connected to a higher purpose. They inspire employees to dedicate themselves to the success of their peers and therefore to the community–and company–at large.

3. Management is service, not control.

Average bosses want employees to do exactly what they’re told. They’re hyper-aware of anything that smacks of insubordination and create environments where individual initiative is squelched by the “wait and see what the boss says” mentality.

Extraordinary bosses set a general direction and then commit themselves to obtaining the resources that their employees need to get the job done. They push decision making downward, allowing teams form their own rules and intervening only in emergencies.

4. My employees are my peers, not my children.

Average bosses see employees as inferior, immature beings who simply can’t be trusted if not overseen by a patriarchal management. Employees take their cues from this attitude, expend energy on looking busy and covering their behinds.

Extraordinary bosses treat every employee as if he or she were the most important person in the firm. Excellence is expected everywhere, from the loading dock to the boardroom. As a result, employees at all levels take charge of their own destinies.

5. Motivation comes from vision, not from fear.

Average bosses see fear–of getting fired, of ridicule, of loss of privilege–as a crucial way to motivate people.  As a result, employees and managers alike become paralyzed and unable to make risky decisions.

Extraordinary bosses inspire people to see a better future and how they’ll be a part of it.  As a result, employees work harder because they believe in the organization’s goals, truly enjoy what they’re doing and (of course) know they’ll share in the rewards.

6. Change equals growth, not pain.

Average bosses see change as both complicated and threatening, something to be endured only when a firm is in desperate shape. They subconsciously torpedo change … until it’s too late.

Extraordinary bosses see change as an inevitable part of life. While they don’t value change for its own sake, they know that success is only possible if employees and organization embrace new ideas and new ways of doing business.

7. Technology offers empowerment, not automation.

Average bosses adhere to the old IT-centric view that technology is primarily a way to strengthen management control and increase predictability. They install centralized computer systems that dehumanize and antagonize employees.

Extraordinary bosses see technology as a way to free human beings to be creative and to build better relationships. They adapt their back-office systems to the tools, like smartphones and tablets, that people actually want to use.

8. Work should be fun, not mere toil.

Average bosses buy into the notion that work is, at best, a necessary evil. They fully expect employees to resent having to work, and therefore tend to subconsciously define themselves as oppressors and their employees as victims. Everyone then behaves accordingly.

Extraordinary bosses see work as something that should be inherently enjoyable–and believe therefore that the most important job of manager is, as far as possible, to put people in jobs that can and will make them truly happy.

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Which ones should you address? Which one is priority? What action steps will get you there?

Healthcare Marketing: Do Consumers Prefer Digital or Traditional?

Digital or traditional media? Consumers prefer one but marketers the other.

New mediums and vehicles show up practically every day.  And as healthcare marketers we are always looking for an edge.  Something to create an advantage over our competitors.  And like other marketers, we are exploring digital options more and more.  And why not?  That’s where consumers are.  On the internet, on social networks, on blog sites and hundreds of other places that are digital.  But is that where are emphasis should be?vintage radio

A recent study by Adobe found that 51% of marketers now believe online advertising as more effective than traditional forms.  And although, the percentage of healthcare marketers may not be that high, we have certainly given it a lot more attention over the past few years.  But the surprising part of the study found that almost 70% of consumers identified TV adverting as the most effective.  Consumers preferred traditional advertising to digital by a large margin.

EMarketer, commenting on the Adobe study, noted that marketers prefer digital because it’s more easily measureable.  But it’s important not to confuse measurability with effectiveness.

But even this creates challenges.  Traditional mediums have become increasingly fragmented.  Just look at television, with the proliferation of cable channels and the option to view TV programming on-demand at later times than the original airing and the use of PCs and mobile devices to consume TV content.  And even those who are watching on a traditional television set, it is estimated that 77% of them are multi-tasking by simultaneously using a PC, a tablet or a smart phone.

So the challenges are enormous.  But the study from Adobe would suggest we should not abandon traditional mediums.  The study found that what consumers really want is to be told a unique story and not just to be sold.

As healthcare marketers, the challenge is to understand consumer preferences and their media habits as well as media and device fragmentation.  And with that information discover how to effectively tell smart and compelling brand stories across multiple channels.  It’s the combination of creatively using multiple media channels to drive home our brand’s story and make it meaningful and memorable that will be most effective.

6 Tips for a Successful Healthcare Blog

If your healthcare organization has a blog, here are tips to make your efforts more effective

Online BlogHospital marketers are slowly adopting blogging as a way to connect with consumers, opinion leaders and the media.  Although there has not been widespread use of blogs by healthcare organizations more and more are considering it and even trying it.

My friend Michael Gass, a new business consultant, author of Fuel Lines and a blogging advocate offers 6 tips to those who blog.

1.    Write a lot

To be a successful blogger, one must write a lot.  The more posts, the more traffic.  More content also increases the opportunity to re-purpose content through other platforms.

This may be a discouragement for some who are considering establishing blogs. It requires time.  Lots of time.  And unless there are the resources adequate to develop and write content, blogging may not be an effective tool for your organization.

2.    Be consistent

There must be a reason for people to keep coming back for our blogs.  Unless there is consistently new content people will stop looking for it.  There must be a steady stream of useful content for blogging to be effective.

3.    Be concise

People are busy.  People consume information in some bytes.  So make the blog easy to read and easy to scan.  Frequently use bullets and numbers.  Eliminate the puffery.

4.    Use analytics

Know what your readers like and care about.  It is all about them, isn’t it?  Examine which titles and topics are read the most.  Know where people are coming from and what search terms they are using.  This will tell you what to write about.

5.    Use writing to learn

Writing invigorates.  It forces you to think, to learn.  There may be some truth to the saying, “you don’t know what you know until you write it down.”

6.    Keep focused

Narrow the focus for the blog. Be narrow and deep instead of wide and shallow.  Know your audience, what you want to communicate, what your audience is interested in and the key words you want to dominate for search.

Blogging is not easy.  It takes work, thoughtfulness and research.  It requires consistency. Each healthcare marketer will have to decide if it’s right for your organization.  If you decide that it is, it’s important to do it well.

 

Healthcare Marketing: Increase Your Hospital’s Reach on Facebook with Paid Ads

Paid advertising on Facebook reaches five times more consumers than organic content.

paid social media strategyThere are two ways to reach consumers on social media- paid media and earned media. Organic (earned) media is extremely valuable for any brand.  It s a way to engage consumers, enhance brand perception and build loyalty.  But a new study from Facebook and comScore indicates that paid advertising on Facebook can dramatically increase your reach. Among the top 100 brand pages on Facebook, those using paid advertising reach an audience that is 5.3 times larger on average, the study found.

As reported by Matt Kapko for ClickZ, comScore looked at how major brands used paid media to extend their audience five times over their organic audience in one week. Some brands were able to extend the reach of a single post or other piece of content by more than 100 times with paid media, according to comScore.

Paid advertising on Facebook can be used by healthcare marketers to cast a much wider net and reach a much larger audience.  Facebook ads, or paid media, will reach “slightly lighter” Facebook users than organic content, comScore concluded. Paid messages were 30 to 60 percent more likely to reach users that have liked 100 or fewer pages. Similarly, paid messages were 17 to 32 percent more likely to reach users who hadn’t posted a status update in the past 28 days, the study confirmed.

With media planning, whether its TV or print or Facebook, traditional or non-traditional advertising it’s always desirable to reach those lightweight users. You’re reaching more lightweight users when you’re paying because you’re ensuring you get in front of those users.

Ad campaigns that are focused on reach, reaching a larger number of people, are usually more desirable.  And the study from comScore indicates that paid advertising on Facebook can significantly expand our reach.

Many healthcare marketers have spent hours trying to decide the value of social media and whether it’s worth the time and effort.   And that is still being debated.  However Facebook advertising can be an excellent way to reach users of social media.  Even the light users of social media. 

A word of caution is needed.   Using Facebook advertising effectively requires significant thought and work as well.  You are very limited in what you can say in a Facebook ad.  It’s very much about like outdoor.  Words are limited.  The message must draw attention and communicate something meaningful.  And if the Facebook ad is successful piquing interest there must be more information provided by a landing page or micro site that can provide more information and close the deal.