Traditional Healthcare Media

Earn Media from Earned Media Strategy

Earning Media in Changing Media Landscape

earn media from earned media strategy - marketing your hospital.

There was a time when the media strategy for increasing brand awareness of your hospital revolved around earned media. How many media pickups did your press release earn, and what was the ad value? It all seemed so simple then.

The times, how they’ve changed. Social media came roaring in to wedge its piece of the communications pie. Suddenly, three media categories made way for a fourth and a new acronym emerged—PESO: paid, earned, shared and owned media.

Amid this shakeup, along with shrinking newsrooms, earned media often seems undervalued. However, don’t overlook the value of a front page headline or lead story on the 6 p.m. newscast.

The playing field may have changed. But, with a few strategy changes, earned media can still drive brand influence, reputation and growth. Here are four changes you can make when crafting your strategy to earn media coverage.

1. Change the pitch

Keep pitches brief, to the point and relevant. Long, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approaches all but guarantee one result—delete.

Despite shrinking newsrooms, smaller staffs don’t equate to fewer responsibilities. Reporters continue to produce more content and with quicker deadlines.

State the most important facts in the first couple of sentences. Seasoned journalists need no more than 150 words to decide if there’s a story. Avoid technical, medical jargon. Keep it simple by distilling information into layperson terms.

Consider deconstructing the pitch. Instead of starting with what your healthcare organization wants to push to the media and the public, start with the journalist in mind. Then tailor a pitch to that particular reporter. Media-first pitching relies on finding exactly the right journalist to deliver your story to a specific audience rather than crafting the story first and trying to retrofit it for everyone on your media list.

2. Change the delivery process

Streamline the pitch process to better capture a reporter’s or assignment editor’s attention. Copy and paste press releases or advisories into an email. Limit attachments. Make assets easy—no extra passwords or email confirmations. Additional steps can eliminate interest in your pitch.

Know the media outlet and who you’re pitching for earned media. Developing relationships with reporters, as well editors and producers, is 50% of the challenge. Following outlets as well as individual newsroom staff keeps you informed about trending topics and areas of interest.

Offer options with your pitch. Provide evergreen topics along with last-minute story ideas. When doing this, make sure you’ve lined up sources, facts and other assets to prevent delays that could impact your credibility.

Deliver everything on a silver platter—experts, images, videos, factsheets, stats, research and even graphics.

3. Change who you’re pitching

Journalists depend on credible outside sources to add credibility to their stories. In crafting your media pitch, identify internal experts who can provide valuable knowledge and insights while also speaking to a mass audience.

A report from the University of Texas at Austin Center for Media Engagement reveals that journalists and scientists generally trust each other. Don’t overlook internal scientific voices. Presenting your hospital administrator or CEO to address economic challenges for healthcare is appropriate. However, when a reporter reaches out for information about the latest COVID variant, they want a physician to address the topic.

Being presented by the media as a thought leader in your community raises awareness of your brand. It also helps to build the reputation for individual experts and service lines. Having one of your oncologists featured in a front-page story about rising cancer rates among younger people in reaction to the Princess of Wales announcement can make a powerful statement for your cancer center.

4. Change the ROI conversation

One challenge that marketing departments have when defending the value of earned media often hinges on ROI. To change that conversation, help the C-suite to understand the value of earned media in raising brand credibility and reputation over time rather than measuring immediate return on investment.

Consumers still trust earned media over paid because it’s impartial and objective. Earned media—particularly with today’s crossover among print, video-broadcast, digital and social media platforms—greatly expands the reach of messages. Analytics tools and media monitoring software also make earned media more measurable, which helps to address ROI questions.

Even with the plethora of new technology and communication channels, continue to embrace earned media as a driver of brand influence and growth.

Media Mix 2020, Part 2: Is Direct Mail Dead?

Are television ads, direct mail, and digital display ads worth the investment? Marketing Your Hospital explored where hospital marketers should spend their marketing dollars in 2020. We’ll share what we found in this three-part series. In this second part, we take a closer look at direct mail. And be sure to check out Part 1: Is TV advertising dead?

In our first Media Mix 2020 post, we discussed the value of television advertising, even in the wake of digital recording and online streaming. But what about direct mail? Like TV advertising, direct mail is costly, while email blasts are cheap. Is direct mail worth the paper it’s printed on? Yes, yes, yes.

direct mail and letters piled high in a mailbox
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Media Mix 2020, Part 1: Is TV Advertising Dead?

Are television ads, direct mail, and digital display ads still worth the investment? Marketing Your Hospital explored where hospital marketers should spend their marketing dollars in 2020. We’ll share what we found in this three-part series. First up is TV advertising.

When was the last time you watched a commercial on television? If you can’t remember, you’re probably not inclined to spend a dime of your 2020 hospital marketing budget on TV advertising. No one will see them! Well, it turns out, that’s far from true.

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media buying strategy

Hospital Marketing: Media Buying Negotiations

As any hospital marketing director knows, media buying is essential to the success of a marketing campaign. But one overlooked skill in buying media is negotiation.

Negotiating is key because ad budgets are limited, and the better the rates you can get for your placements, the more reach you can effectively generate. Also, advertising space is not unlimited, which creates a need for negotiating and being selective when choosing channels.

Here are tips for negotiating during your media buying process to get the best deals from your vendors.

Negotiating Radio and Broadcast

Generally, rates for radio are negotiable because there is a fixed amount of inventory. Competition drives prices for these rates up; a lack of competition pushes them down. Fortunately, there is usually a wealth of radio outlets in a given market (if it’s large enough), which means you will more than likely have several chances to reach your target audience. This helps you because you can play one station against another and get lower rates.

For broadcast, that same principle applies. Another principle is timing. Since many broadcast outlets publish their fall schedules in May, buying at that time can give you special deals and packages in an effort to convince you to pay early in the year.

Negotiating with Print

Print is a different animal than broadcast and radio because there are few opportunities to negotiate on rate. Rather, what you’re negotiating for is what comes with your buy i.e., other services they can include, such as additional ads, special positioning, reader response cards, free color, and so on.

Since many print outlets are now also digital outlets, there are even package deals with their online properties and ad networks that can be negotiated for. (Often this works in reverse, too; if you are placing ads digitally with them, they often offer special incentives to place ads in the print edition as well.)

Hiring a Hospital Marketing Agency

The best all-around negotiating advice is to leave it to the professionals who negotiate regularly with media buying representatives at outlets. Agencies are advantageous for hospitals because they not only have experience, but also have established relationships with outlets over the years that can be used to your advantage.

Managing media and ad buying is not easy. Hire an experienced hospital marketing agency to help you develop your marketing network and manage your media purchases. Learn how with Jimmy Warren at TotalCom Marketing today!

radio marketing

Listen To This! Radio is Still Effective for Hospital Marketing


Like most traditional media, radio marketing has certainly faced increased competition. New media options like Pandora, Spotify, Sirius XM, iTunes Radio and a host of others continue to chip away at radio’s once-exclusive domain.  But traditional radio is still a good media choice for marketing your hospital.

Radio is available at home, in the car, at the office and on the go. Even with all of the new audio options, it still dominates in-car listening. And most important to healthcare marketers, the radio listening habits of Baby Boomers has changed the least of any demographic group.

 

Other benefits of including traditional radio in your hospital marketing mix:

 

Targetable

  • Diversity of station formats allow advertisers to target specific audiences. For example, Top 40 typically has a young female audience and provides a vehicle for promoting your hospital’s OB/GYN services. The Oldies format, which attracts listeners over the age of 60, can be effective for reaching prospective attendees of your upcoming Health Fair. News Talk and Sports programming offer opportunities to reach an audience for Sports Medicine and Spine.
  • Radio allows you to reach key marketing areas. Use audience delivery data to determine the stations with the most listenership in your hospital service area by zip code, city, county, or groups of counties.

 

Reminder Medium

  • For brands that are known, radio is effective as a “reminder” medium.
  • When part of a multi-media mix, radio commercials increase recall of your hospital’s television, newspaper and Internet ads.
  • Radio is a good driver to your hospital’s website or social media channel.

 

Influential

  • Radio personalities are influential.
  • 55% of respondents of a recent study stated that testimonials for healthcare or medical services given by their favorite air personality made the respondents trust that product or service. (Source: Radio Advertising Bureau F.C.T Report on Healthcare, 2014)

 

Engaging and Emotional

  • Radio stars in the theatre of the listener’s mind.
  • Voices, music, and sound effects in a well-written radio commercial can evoke powerful emotions.
  • Emotional events like babies born and lives saved are part of your hospital’s story. Radio can take listeners on your journey.

 

Inexpensive

  • Prospective patients need to be exposed to your message multiple times. The relatively low cost of commercials allows for frequency in your schedule.
  • Affordable production means ads can be tailored to the format’s audience. Your branding commercial on the Hispanic station should not be the same one you air on the Country station.

 

Quick Turnaround

  • Quick production and scheduling means you can adapt to events in your marketplace.
  • If a local emergency creates a need for blood, radio commercials can drive donations.

 

Nationally, radio advertising revenues have declined, but local stations are actually seeing increases in their share of local ad budgets. Radio continues to be an effective advertising medium for many local businesses including hospitals.

If you would like to discuss ways to make radio work for your hospital, contact the radio experts at TotalCom Marketing.

 

ABOUT JIMMY WARREN
Early to bed, early to rise, work like crazy and advertise! Jimmy Warren is president of TotalCom Marketing Communications and has over 30 years experience helping all kinds of businesses build a strong brand. A large portion of that experience has been helping hospitals and healthcare organizations. He loves the ‘weird’, interesting and extremely talented people he gets to work with every day – that includes co-workers and clients. Outside of work he enjoys his grand kids, traveling and any kind of good ole fashion Alabama sports. Roll Tide!

traditional advertising

Marketing Your Hospital with Traditional Media in a Digital Media World

Digital and Social Media are Important for Marketing Your Hospital. But What About Traditional? Is Traditional Media Still Relevant?

There is no doubt that you need to implement a digital marketing strategy for your hospital, but don’t neglect the traditional advertising that is tried and true.

 

Consumers Trust Traditional Advertising

According to a recent Nielsen survey, newspaper ads are still the most trusted form of paid media in North America.

In fact, over half of those who participated in the survey said they trust traditional channels of advertising such as newspaper, TV, radio, magazines and billboards.

On the flip side, over half of the participants said they did not trust the new media platforms, including social media,online searches and videos, and banner ads. While digital advertising is pervasive in our culture, it is not yet considered as trustworthy as traditional advertising methods.

In short, to build trust you need to utilize traditional advertising in conjunction with new digital tactics to effectively market your hospital.

 

Consumers Still Use Traditional Advertising

Most people engage in some sort of traditional media use every day. They listen to the radio on their morning commute, read the billboards they pass as they are stuck in traffic on the drive home, watch TV to relax in the evening and read their favorite magazine while waiting to pick up their child from soccer practice.

Sure, traditional media consumption has declined in recent years, but we are constantly surrounded by, and still consume it. Historically, mass media reach was at such stratospheric levels, that even with the decline experienced over the past few years, there continue to be thousands in our markets who are still watching, listening, and flipping printed pages.

 

Demographic Match

The 50 plus audience remains a heavy consumer of traditional media.  While they are comfortable with and use the internet and social media, Baby Boomers still rely heavily on traditional media channels for news and entertainment.  And it’s no secret that this audience is an important demographic for healthcare marketers.

 

With Traditional Advertising You Are In Good Company

Some sources would (wrongly) have you believe that traditional advertising is dead. If that is so, somebody needs to tell the marketing team over at Apple.

Apple consistently uses traditional media to promote their products. Google also has a track record of relying on traditional advertising to showcase their latest technological offerings.

Perhaps one of the most telling signs that traditional advertising remains significant is that Facebook is now utilizing traditional ads to promote their website! The popular social media site has purchased TV spots and outdoor media in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Facebook is a digital age powerhouse, but still recognizes the need for traditional advertising.

If Facebook needs it, chances are your hospital does too.

Need help getting back to the basics with traditional media marketing? Call Jimmy Warren.

ABOUT JIMMY WARREN
Early to bed, early to rise, work like crazy and advertise! Jimmy Warren is president of TotalCom Marketing Communications and has over 30 years experience helping all kinds of businesses build a strong brand. A large portion of that experience has been helping hospitals and healthcare organizations. He loves the ‘weird’, interesting and extremely talented people he gets to work with every day – that includes co-workers and clients. Outside of work he enjoys his grand kids, traveling and any kind of good ole fashion Alabama sports. Roll Tide!

Television Ads for Healthcare: Are They Still Effective?

Don’t Eulogize Television Yet – It’s Alive and Well

In today’s rapidly changing media landscape, the rise of social media and digital platforms often leads to discussions about the decline of traditional media, particularly television. You might hear that healthcare marketers are abandoning television ads in favor of online channels. But before you dismiss television ads for healthcare, consider this: TV remains a powerful medium with unique advantages.

It’s true – linear TV, the traditional broadcast method, has declined in popularity over the last few years. However, this doesn’t spell the end for television. A recent Nielsen survey found that audiences streamed 21 million years’ worth of video in 2023, a 21% increase from the prior year.

Audiences may be consuming television differently now, with viewers increasingly turning to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ to watch their favorite shows on demand. Despite this shift, the audience for television content remains strong. This evolution is particularly important for healthcare marketers. Television ads for healthcare, whether delivered through traditional broadcasts or streaming platforms, are still among the most effective ways to build a brand and create an emotional connection with potential patients. The combination of sight and sound in TV ads remains uniquely powerful, delivering messages that resonate deeply with viewers across all platforms.

As healthcare marketers adapt to the changing media landscape, one effective strategy is to repurpose television ads for paid social media campaigns. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube offer the opportunity to extend the reach of your television ads by targeting specific demographics and interests. By tailoring the original TV content to fit the format and audience of social media, healthcare marketers can maximize the impact of their advertising efforts. This approach not only reinforces the brand message across multiple channels but also ensures that the ad resonates with viewers who prefer consuming content online.

Yes, a media buyer has to be more creative, dig deeper, know the target audience and understand how consumers watch television. It’s not as easy as just buying the major networks anymore. Today it is more of a science . . . and an art. But for those who do it well, the rewards are still there.

Five hours a day average time spent watching television – and it’s primarily for entertainment. Don’t make funeral plans yet. There’s a lot of life left in television.

The more curious question is how do people find five hours a day to watch television?      

TotalCom is a full-service marketing agency helping brands like yours tell their story to the right audiences. Email Lori Moore or call TotalCom Marketing Communications at 205.345.7363 to learn more about how we can help you tell your story.