Lori Moore

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.

The Power of Brand Storytelling in Healthcare Marketing
Text overlay says "The power of brand storytelling in healthcare marketing." image features a smiling nurse facing an elderly male patient.

An efficient and effective way to build a brand is by telling a good story. Authentic experiences, testimonials, and success stories help humanize your healthcare brand and connect emotionally with audiences.

How Storytelling Elevates Your Healthcare Brand

Storytelling plays a significant role in boosting your healthcare brand in several ways:

  1. Emotional Connection: Brand storytelling can evoke emotions and create connections with audiences. In healthcare marketing, this emotional connection helps patients feel cared for, understood, and supported.
  2. Engagement: Brand storytelling captivates attention and engages the audience more effectively than facts and figures alone. With compelling stories, you can capture the interest of the target audience and keep them engaged with the message.
  3. Education: Brand storytelling can educate patients about health conditions, treatment options, and preventive measures. Through storytelling, complex medical information can be simplified and made more relatable to the audience.
  4. Building Trust: Trust is essential in healthcare, and brand storytelling helps build trust between providers and patients. Sharing authentic narratives about patients’ experiences or the expertise of their providers can foster credibility and trust.
  5. Inspiration and Hope: Healthcare stories can inspire and provide hope to patients and their families. Stories of successful treatments, recovery journeys, or individuals overcoming health challenges instill optimism and motivate others.
  6. Differentiation: In a crowded healthcare market, brand storytelling helps brands differentiate themselves from competitors. With unique stories highlighting their values, mission, and commitment to patient care, healthcare providers can stand out from the crowd and attract patients who resonate with their narrative.

Overall, storytelling in healthcare marketing humanizes the brand, creates connections, and delivers important messages in memorable and impactful ways. From videos on websites and social platforms to ad campaigns featuring personal narratives, position unique and interesting storytelling at the heart of your healthcare brand strategy.

Every story starts with a hero, and that hero is the patient—not the brand. Consumers have long sought authenticity, with 88% of them using it as a measurement in deciding what brands they support. Real and authentic interactions are key to capturing an audience, building community and creating brand loyalty.

Whether storytellers are patients, physicians or even executives, they should share genuine narratives rather than brand platitudes. You want the viewer, reader or follower to connect emotionally with the story and storyteller.

Share stories across all digital channels, along with public relations tactics and owned outlets such as the brand website, blogs and podcasts. Here are ways to maximize the impact of storytelling for healthcare brands.

Share brand stories on social

Stories are best shared on social as videos, so know your audiences. With more than 1.6 billion users worldwide, Instagram remains popular across all age groups. Gen Zs visit TikTok more often, but they still rank Instagram among their favorite channels, as do Millennials. The platform also attracts 47% of Gen X-ers and about 25% of Baby Boomers using social media.

Facebook and YouTube are better options for targeting older audiences. With 3 billion monthly users, Facebook attracts more than any other social app. Boomers and Gen-X’ers make up the highest percentage of its audience.

YouTube reaches across generations—Gen Z, Millennials, Gen-X’ers and Baby Boomers, who rank it as their second favorite media app behind Facebook.

TikTok is the platform for Gen Zs. Despite actions from Congress, TikTok isn’t expected to disappear anytime soon. The 21st Century Act gives ByteDance nine months to close a deal with a new owner. That may be delayed by extensions and court cases.

Keep stories short

Even the best stories are best shared as micro-content—snackable, bite-size messages that can be consumed quickly. Generally, keep it under 30 seconds, whether video or text post. Save long content for websites, blogs and podcasts.

A fairly new marketing tactic is to leverage micro-moments. These help capture fleeting moments of consumer attention. In these touch points, consumer interest intersects with the digital realm.

Healthcare marketers can capitalize on micro-moments when trending topics such as Princess Katherine’s cancer and actress Christina Applegate’s multiple sclerosis dominate news cycles. If you have patient stories that touch on timely issues, push the content to satisfy consumer interest.

Leverage stories through earned media.

Don’t overlook media relations when you have an interesting story to tell. Journalists are basically storytellers. In today’s multi-media landscape, they have multiple platforms for sharing stories, as they’ve morphed into journo-influencers.

Despite criticism of the media, research shows that 90% of consumers have faith in earned media. Placing a story with a local print or broadcast journalist can increase brand credibility, reputation and audience engagement.

Keep in mind that newsrooms continue to shrink while journalists’ responsibilities increase. Marketing strategists who carefully craft a story, capture assets and build strong relationships with media contacts have more success placing stories.

Human stories and human connections help humanize your healthcare brand.

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.

Why Hospitals Need an Effective Crisis Communication Plan

From Cyberattacks to Netflix – Control the Narrative During a Crisis

Why hospitals need an effective crisis communication plan

Healthcare can’t seem to catch a break. From pre-pandemic when a nurse shortage impacted hospitals across the country through the crippling challenges associated with COVID-19, the crisis never ends. As soon as you began settling into a new normal, a plethora of new worries sets in.

Physician shortages; mental and behavioral health crisis; technology—solution or roadblock—all add to the anxiety. Looming ominously over the industry is the real and present danger of cyberattacks—up 141% from 2022 to 2023— and ransomware. According to the American Hospital Association, ransomware attacks targeting US hospitals have increased by more than 300%.

With ever-present phone cameras, there is also the concern of privacy invasive images showing up on social media or, even worse, streaming online. The possibility of a hospital being the subject of a documentary such as Netflix’s “Take Care of Maya” makes it crucial to have a crisis communication plan in place.

For healthcare marketers, control over many threats is limited, but you can be prepared to quickly control the narrative and avoid a reputation crisis.

Preparing for a crisis.

Predicting a crisis can be difficult given the inherent element of unpredictability in crises. You generally don’t know what and when one is going to happen until it happens. Who could have anticipated a pandemic that brought the world to standstill for nearly two years?

Not that we want to become pessimistic, gloomy Eeyore, but being prepared with a crisis communication plan helps you control the narrative rather than other way around.

Most healthcare systems have crisis and emergency communication plans. If your hospital has one, when was it last updated? Revising a crisis communication plan rarely tops the priority list—unless there’s an active crisis, and it’s already too late. Despite COVID-19 bringing the world to a standstill, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) hasn’t updated its CERC Crisis + Emergency Risk Communication manual since 2018.

Whether a natural disaster, contagion outbreak or ransomware attack, be prepared to quickly disseminate information to your employees, patients, the media and community. Clear, reliable communication is key to keeping people calm, organized and safe and to continuing hospital operations while weathering the crisis. How an organization handles a crisis directly impacts its reputation.

When developing a crisis communication plan:

  1. Identify the core crisis team; list cell phone numbers, email addresses, video conference links and digital channels where team members can access updated information. Provide hard-copy manuals in case of power or Wi-fi outages.
  2. Plan a crisis response strategy. Keep it general to cover various scenarios.
  3. Plan to act quickly and strategically and in lock-step with the emergency plan for your hospital when a crisis occurs.
  4. Plan to conduct a post-crisis communication analysis and immediately update your plan with lessons learned. Conduct mock crisis exercises annually.

Following the 5 Cs of crisis communication.

When building and executing a crisis communication plan, keep these 5 Cs in mind:

  1. Concern. Audiences respond to human language, not corporate speak. Communicate with empathy and concern.
  2. Commitment. Let your audience know what steps the organization is taking to resolve the crisis and changes to prevent the same crisis in the future.
  3. Competency. Ensure internal and external audiences that the organization is doing everything possible to protect their health and safety.
  4. Clarity. Don’t assume; don’t guess; don’t speculate. State the facts, even if those need to be clarified in follow-up responses.
  5. Confidence. Communicate with confidence to inspire confidence and trust in  your audience.

Executing when a crisis occurs.

Being prepared helps you communicate efficiently and quickly when an incident occurs. In doing so, your hospital can concentrate on mitigating or correcting the situation, protecting patients and employees, and continuing operations. While you can’t predict how the crisis may impact your brand reputation, following proactive best practices can help elevate the organization during a crisis.

  1. Assemble the core crisis team and act quickly.
  2. Gather all possible facts and define the severity of the crisis.
  3. Prepare a holding statement if more time is needed to clearly identify the crisis.
  4. Draft three key messages—clear, concise and consistent.
  5. Identify internal and external stakeholders. Communicate to employees first; you don’t want them to find out about a crisis from outside the organization.
  6. Be honest and transparent.
  7. Stay calm, even when facing a storm.
  8. Schedule debriefs with the core team to adjust plans as needed during the crisis and afterward to prepare for the next inevitable crisis.

Advance planning provides you with tools to control the narrative during a crisis, which helps protect your audiences and minimize damage to the organization’s reputation.

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.

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How to Choose a Brand Name: Strategies for Healthcare Brands

The Importance of a Name in Healthcare Marketing

In the evolving and competitive healthcare industry, the question of how to choose a brand name for healthcare facilities is increasingly crucial. It’s not just about a label; it’s about crafting an identity that resonates with patients and stands out in a crowded market. The right name can significantly influence patient choice, setting the tone for the entire patient experience. Today’s healthcare market demands more than just traditional advertising methods. A healthcare facility with a strategically chosen name often wins the game.

First Impressions Matter in Healthcare Branding

A well-chosen name creates a powerful first impression for your healthcare brand. It goes beyond mere words; it conveys a message about the care and services offered. Hospital names that evoke medicine, health, longevity, and care are more appealing to potential patients. This is especially important in today’s fast-paced world, where decisions are often made quickly based on initial impressions. The choice of name can be a deciding factor for a newcomer seeking medical attention, making it crucial for healthcare marketers to select names that emphasize wellness and patient care.

Building Trust and Reputation Through Naming

The name of a healthcare facility plays a significant role in building trust and reputation. It’s the first point of contact with the community and sets expectations for the level of care and expertise provided. Patients often associate a hospital’s name with the quality of care they expect to receive. This trust is vital in a field where choices can have significant implications for health and well-being. Therefore, when rebranding or choosing a name for a new facility, it’s essential to consider how it will impact the trust and reputation that the facility has built or aims to build.

Evolution of Hospital Names and Branding Trends

The healthcare industry has seen significant changes in recent decades. In response to growing consumer-demand for convenience, hospitals spent years of time and millions of dollars rebranding to “health systems” and incorporating a wider range of care facilities and services. The business model for these health systems evolves yet again as they ad ancillary retail pharmacies, urgent care clinics, telehealth, at-home health platforms and more. The word “System” is being dropped for just “health” in the name.

Simplification and Clarity in Healthcare Brand Names

In the current media environment, where consumer attention is fleeting, simplifying healthcare brand names has become more important than ever. A simple, clear, and memorable name can significantly impact a healthcare facility’s market presence. It’s not just about being catchy; it’s about being accessible and easily recognizable. This simplification helps in cutting through the noise of the media landscape, making healthcare brands more visible and memorable to potential patients. A crucial aspect of choosing a brand name, especially when rebranding or launching a new healthcare facility, is selecting a name that reflects the public image and resonates with the intended audience.

Key Standards for a Successful Healthcare Brand Name

When considering how to choose a brand name in healthcare, it’s essential to ensure the name meets several key standards. It should convey trust and reputation, indicating a reliable and high-quality care provider. It should also communicate credibility and expertise, especially if the hospital specializes in certain medical services. Additionally, a good healthcare brand name should reflect accessibility and convenience, signaling to patients that care is readily available and tailored to their needs. Balancing these elements is essential for creating a name that not only attracts attention but also fosters a lasting relationship with patients.

Conveying Credibility and Expertise

In healthcare branding, a name that conveys credibility and expertise can be a significant differentiator. This is especially crucial for facilities specializing in specific areas of medicine. A name that reflects a facility’s unique strengths and areas of expertise can help patients quickly identify the most suitable place for their specific healthcare needs. This aspect of naming is about more than just marketing; it’s about guiding patients towards the best possible care and enhancing the overall healthcare experience.

Reflecting Accessibility and Convenience Through a Brand Name

In today’s fast-paced world, accessibility and convenience in healthcare are more important than ever. A brand name that suggests ease of access, such as walk-in availability or a wide range of services under one roof, can be incredibly appealing to patients. This aspect of healthcare branding is about communicating a commitment to patient-centered care, where convenience and accessibility are prioritized to meet the needs of the community.

Emotional Connection and Patient Perception

The emotional impact of a healthcare brand name cannot be understated. A well-chosen name can reduce the anxiety and stress associated with medical visits, creating a perception of comfort and care. This emotional connection is crucial in healthcare, where the patient experience is as important as the medical care itself. A name that resonates emotionally with patients can enhance their overall experience, fostering a sense of trust and comfort from the very first interaction.

The Comprehensive Impact of a Well-Chosen Name

Mastering how to choose a brand name in healthcare is a vital component of effective healthcare marketing. It’s more than just a strategy; it’s a crucial aspect of how patients perceive and experience care. The right name encompasses trust, credibility, accessibility, and emotional comfort, contributing significantly to the patient’s journey and the overall success of a healthcare facility.

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 see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

Marketing Healthcare Like A Retailer
Marketing healthcare for retailer

Retail Healthcare – The Future of Healthcare Marketing

At the HLTH 2023 event in Las Vegas, talk about innovation, disruption and AI dominated, signaling a changing landscape. Major corporations unveiled new retail healthcare services to reshape the industry. Competition is no longer just the hospital across town. Now, with innovative healthcare disruptors emerging, legacy healthcare models need to adopt retail marketing strategies to stay ahead.

A New Wave: Non-Healthcare Brands Diving into Retail Healthcare

Historically, brands like Uber were synonymous with transportation, and Instacart with grocery delivery. But the lines are blurring.

Uber & Lyft are among the latest non-healthcare providers to jump into the fray. Rideshare users can now book more than just a ride to the airport or restaurants. By offering non-emergency medical rides for seniors and ensuring deliveries of essentials, they’re tapping into a market ripe for direct-to-consumer healthcare solutions.

Instacart, one of many food delivery services that gained popularity during the pandemic, has expanded its partnership with a number of hospitals and health systems to offer patients access to nutritious food delivery programs.

Instacart Health’s “food as medicine” services include virtual food storefronts with dietary recommendations from providers. One co-branded Medicare Advantage plan includes $50 to $100 quarterly Instacart stipends for eligible seniors.

Retail Healthcare: Beyond Traditional Boundaries

It’s not just direct-to-consumer startups getting in on the retail healthcare trend. Traditional retail stores like Dollar General are launching their own venture into the healthcare industry.

Taking medicine directly to consumers is the strategy behind Dollar General’s DocGo mobile clinics. The mobile clinics are located in parking lots of Dollar General, the nation’s largest retailer with more than 19,000 stores. Targeting largely rural areas, DocGo clinics cater to patients needing urgent or primary care. Private insurance, Medicaid and Medicare are accepted. Self-pay rates start at $69.

Other retail giants also provide convenient patient entry points where patients shop. Costco offers its members $29 virtual primary care visits through a partnership with healthcare marketplace Sesame, billed as a direct connection to providers with no insurance markups or hidden costs. Walmart, Best Buy, Amazon, CVS and Walgreen’s all continue to expand healthcare offerings.

A few key takeaways emerge from direct-to-consumer healthcare marketed by non-healthcare companies—convenience, transparency and customer service, all benchmarks of direct-to-consumer retail.

The pandemic shifted patient-centered care to patient-empowered care. Consumers want to order and pay for food with a tap on an app. They want items delivered the next day. They want questions answered immediately and problems solved promptly.

However, consumers don’t want to click exhaustively on a healthcare website for information, waste time on an automated menu tree or be unable to get an appointment for weeks when they’re sick now. And the empowered patient certainly doesn’t wait in a waiting room for hours before seeing their doctor.

Healthcare disruptors market convenient, quick access through one point of entry. How can you compete? Start thinking—and marketing—like a retailer.

Retail Marketing Strategies for Healthcare

Creating a Winning Patient Engagement Strategy: The Patient-empowered approach

Draw inspiration from retail marketing that focuses on the customer. Prioritize patient needs and preferences at the initial point of contact to give them a more personalized experience that fits their needs.

Data-driven Healthcare Marketing

Retailers use data to analyze customer behavior and preferences. Do the same by leveraging analytics to segment patient populations, target specific demographics and customize messaging. Healthcare organizations can leverage free tracking tools such as Google Analytics and Meta Pixel. However, be cautious of what info you collect and where tracking pixels are placed on your brand’s website. Your marketing strategies must still follow relevant HIPAA guidelines.

Direct to Consumer Healthcare: Prioritizing Customer Service

Retailers create positive in-store and online experiences to make customers feel welcome, comfortable and appreciated. Nordstrom’s legendary customer service is: “Rule #1. Use best judgment in all situations. There will be no additional rules.”

Make your patients feel just as warm, comfortable and welcome by streamlining processes, reducing wait times and keeping the facility clean and organized. Know their names and demonstrate that you care.

Retail Healthcare’s Convenience & Accessibility

Retailers, whether Amazon Clinic’s virtual health visits or the CVS “super app” that combines benefits, healthcare delivery and retail channels in one platform, understand convenience and accessibility. Promote telemedicine services, extended hours, easy appointment scheduling and anything else you’re doing to make healthcare easier and more convenient for patients.

Healthcare Disruptors: Branding and Positioning

Differentiate yourself by highlighting what you offer that patients don’t get from the competition, whether it’s another hospital, the big-box pharmacy or online options.

Retail-inspired Healthcare Digital Marketing Tactics

Promptly at 7 a.m. each day, retail offerings flood most email boxes. BOGO; 50% off today; holiday fares slashed. Retailers make it easy for you to spend lots of money in minutes. Healthcare marketers can also utilize digital marketing to reach and engage patients effectively with messages tailored to their specific interests based on data.

Enhancing Patient Trust: Online Reviews and Ratings

Retailers actively manage their online reputations by encouraging satisfied customers to submit online reviews and ratings. Would you dine at a restaurant with consistent bad reviews or book a rideshare driver who has less than four stars? Healthcare providers and marketing teams can proactively ask patients to leave reviews. More importantly, respond to feedback whether positive or negative.

Healthcare Loyalty Programs: Rewarding Commitment

Think about the loyalty cards in your wallet or on phone apps. 150 stars for a free coffee. Bonus points for shoe discounts. Invitations to exclusive in-store events. Healthcare loyalty perks might include wellness programs, discounts on products offered by a provider or exclusive concierge services for long-term patients. It’s all about making the patient feel special.

Striving for Healthcare Pricing Transparency

Retailers typically provide clear pricing and transparent information about products.  However, healthcare pricing can remain a mystery until the bill comes. Strive for pricing transparency to help patients make informed decisions.

By thinking like a retailer and adopting retail marketing strategies, healthcare organizations can improve patient engagement and satisfaction, which ultimately result in better patient care.

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 see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

Reputation Management in Healthcare: The Key to Correcting Misinformation

Reputation management is pivotal for hospitals and healthcare systems. Its effectiveness directly impacts the quality of healthcare services and ensures patient trust. Without a credible reputation, everything else pales in comparison. Quality scores, the latest technology, physician reviews, and patient experiences all matter. Addressing and correcting misinformation, especially in today’s digital age where rumors can spread rapidly, is a critical component of reputation management in healthcare.

A hospital’s reputation is a mirror of its medical proficiency and its unwavering dedication to patient care, safety, ethical standards, and overall community health. In the face of challenges, such as the recent pandemic, the importance of reputation management was further underscored. Unverified statements rapidly transformed into widely accepted facts, illustrating the urgency of debunking myths in healthcare.

Ultimately, a hospital’s reputation serves as a cornerstone for building lasting relationships with patients and the broader healthcare ecosystem, ensuring continued success and community support.

Addressing Sources of Misinformation in Healthcare

Effective reputation management in healthcare mandates a keen focus on the sources of misinformation. Whether managed internally or externally, social media channels require vigilant monitoring to identify and rectify misinformation that might sway your audience.

A recent study by researchers at the Ohio State Comprehensive Cancer Center evaluated 500 popular TikTok posts associated with five hashtags related to gynecological cancer. These posts garnered over 466 million views, yet a staggering 73% of the content was found to be inaccurate.

While social media’s reach can be a boon for healthcare marketing, circulating misinformation, especially about critical subjects like cancer or vaccinations, can detrimentally impact health outcomes. By actively tracking misinformation, marketing teams have the chance to rectify false information, bolstering the hospital’s reputation and highlighting its community value. This proactive approach also empowers healthcare providers to discuss trending misinformation with patients, bridging trust gaps and enhancing the overall patient experience.

Misleading Information’s Impact on the Healthcare Industry

The repercussions of misleading information extend beyond just medical protocols and outcomes. Patients, especially those battling conditions like cancer, juggle myriad challenges. For them, comprehensive discussions with their care team can allay concerns, fostering trust and nudging them to seek professional guidance over internet-based sources.

Platforms like TikTok, popular for light-hearted content, can unfortunately be breeding grounds for misinformation. Thus, reputation management also involves monitoring other social channels, podcasts, audio platforms, and even traditional media to a certain extent.

The Role of Influencers in Reputation Management and Misinformation

In the realm of reputation management, it’s essential to recognize the influence celebrities wield, especially when they venture into providing healthcare advice.

From celebrities promoting the latest wellness products to figures like the Kardashians endorsing new medical treatments or procedures, their vast outreach can often mislead the public. Consumers, captivated by these endorsements, might hastily follow such advice without consulting a medical professional. For healthcare marketers, it’s pivotal to address such celebrity-driven narratives and guide the audience toward informed, professional advice.

Who Do Audiences Trust for Health Information?

In our digitally connected era, online reviews and social media significantly shape public perception. Effective reputation management leverages these platforms to promptly address negative feedback, accentuate hospital strengths, and underscore a commitment to patient well-being.

Interestingly, the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals a diminished trust in media, especially social media, with only 44% of respondents placing their trust in social media platforms. In contrast, the healthcare sector enjoys a 70% trust rating, and scientists are trusted by 76%. A 2023 Gallup poll further indicates that despite a generalized skepticism among Gen Z towards major US institutions, their trust in science remains over 70%, and more than 80% express trust in the medical system to varying degrees.

These trust metrics offer healthcare marketers a golden opportunity: position medical professionals to counteract misinformation, thereby enhancing and preserving the institution’s reputation.

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 see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

The Power of Authenticity in Branding During Economic Downturns

In the face of global challenges, such as the recent tridemic (COVID, RSV and flu), the role of authenticity in branding has never been more critical. While these healthcare crises are managed through medical interventions, the economic strain on consumers is palpable. This period, however, offers a unique opportunity for brands to connect genuinely and elevate their image authentically.

Branding becomes more critical during troubled economic times. However, remember three main points:

  1. Your brand is everything that people experience about you and that makes them want to utilize your facilities and your services.
  2. Your brand is how others see you, not how you see yourself.
  3. Keep your brand authentic.

Consumers have clamored for authenticity since the start of the pandemic with 88% of consumers saying authenticity is important when deciding on brands they support. They don’t care about platitudes or superlatives. They want to know how you intend to care for them and then to experience the care you promise.

Authenticity in branding, simply defined, refers to the quality of being genuine, real, and true to one’s principles, values, and identity. When it comes to branding—particularly when increased day-to-day costs are on everyone’s minds—authenticity ranks as one of your most valuable and powerful attributes.

Here are five ways that authenticity in branding can elevate brands in an economic downturn or anytime:

  • Builds trust. When a brand consistently delivers on its promise and presents itself openly and honestly, consumers are more likely to trust it. Accolades and tone-deaf messages fail to inspire safety, trust, and credibility. Instead, messages that provide patients with free community resources, reiterate the value of prevention, and offer cost-conscious programs benefiting their health go a long way to instill trust by prioritizing their health and wellbeing.
  • Differentiates from competitors. In a crowded marketplace, especially with competition on all sides, authenticity can set a brand apart from competitors. Authentic brands’ unique stories, missions, and core values help them stand out.
  • Attracts a loyal customer base. Authenticity fosters a connection between brand and customer. These connections occur at every touchpoint—from your social media content to interactions with your customers. When consumers feel genuine connections, they become loyal advocates who promote your brand to others. To elevate the consumer experience, ensure that your brand reflects your core values and that employees are aligned with those same core values. If you promise exceptional service, do your best to treat customers like they’re your only customer.
  • Elevates brand image. An authentic brand is usually perceived as more credible and reputable. However, achieving that status doesn’t happen overnight. FleishmanHillard’s study showed that brands needed to act to meet consumer expectations. About 95% of the industries studied did not meet expectations of providing their customers with better value. Credibility and authenticity typically go hand in hand to elevate your brand image.
  • Increases perceived value. Authentic branding elevates your brand and can elevate the perceived value. When consumers trust and believe in the brand, they are often willing to pay more for services or procedures even during economic downturns.

While many brands talk about authenticity, it’s crucial to truly embody it. Authenticity in branding helps achieve brand trust and credibility. Authenticity helps elevate your brand by connecting with audiences on a deeper level, creating stronger bonds, and driving business even during challenging economic times.

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 see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

Short-term Marketing Plans Are the New Normal

One of the biggest lessons of 2020 was learning to pivot. Change is now the normal in healthcare. This makes creating long-term marketing plans challenging. Instead, it’s more efficient to implement short-term plans and revisit strategy, goals and objectives mid-year to determine what’s working and what’s not.

With the calendar year more than halfway over, two marketing tactics on everyone’s minds are artificial intelligence (AI) and Threads. If you haven’t already, give both a try. With 100 million users joining Meta’s Threads app in less than five days, it’s the fastest-growing social media platform in history. While no one is predicting Twitter to disappear anytime soon, the competition might bring order to its chaos.

No technology since the launch of the internet has generated as much excitement as generative AI. In two months, ChatGPT also had 100 million users. Instead of fearing it, become familiar with its capabilities. Use it to kickstart a revised marketing plan. As the adage goes, “You won’t be replaced by AI; you’ll be replaced by someone using AI.”

While fine-tuning plans, consider four primary audiences and their expectations:

  • External audiences—patients/consumers
    • Internal audiences—employees/physicians
    • Media
    • Marketing team

What Consumers Want

According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, consumers overwhelmingly distrust government, media and institutional leaders. However, trust in healthcare remains stable at 70%.

Healthcare marketers can strengthen that trust, primarily by listening to patients. Understand what they want and expect at different stages of their care journey. Conduct surveys, hold focus groups and monitor online conversations. Ask for consumer input and then deliver on the feedback.

Convenience and customer service expectations also remain high with consumers. Industry statistics show that customers who experience excellent customer service are three times more likely to recommend that brand to others. However, 66% of consumers say a bad interaction with customer support can ruin their day, and 73% of them are likely to switch to a competitor.

The pandemic prompted people to seek social interactions where they feel safe and comfortable—like Norm walking into Cheers “where everyone knows your name.” Review where you can increase personalized experiences. Customize content, emails and campaigns to individuals. Audit touch points to ensure that you’re responding quickly to requests and implement convenient one-click processes wherever possible.

What Employees Want

Few workforces have been hit harder than healthcare over the past three years. Weathering shortages, burnout, the great resignation and quiet quitting, hospital leaders increasingly look to marketing departments to help reengage employees. In a recent survey of 500 human resource leaders, 52% want marketing involved in employee experience programs to help drive market perception.

Communication departments can help create clear, targeted messages that resonate with internal groups. Analyze messages carefully to deliver what audiences want to hear. Just as asking for patient input, ask for feedback from internal audiences. Listening to employees has dual benefits—they can also tell you what customers want and how to get there.

Use internal marketing campaigns to promote employee benefits such as on-site wellness rooms, mental health resources, recognition programs, additional PTO or other initiatives that prioritize their well-being.

What the Media Wants

The importance of trusted public health communication has never been more critical. The newest pandemic is disinformation, which could become a bigger challenge with misuse of AI. For communications teams, building partnerships with the media is beneficial for both sides and particularly for the public.

Journalists want to hear from communications professionals. According to the 2023 Cision State of the Media report, they believe the most trusted sources of information are major newswires and press releases.

Maintaining credibility as a trusted news source is among their top priorities, as is ensuring accurate content and addressing issues in the community.

Here are some tips for maintaining productive relationships with media contacts:

  • Position physicians, hospital leadership and other spokespersons as credible experts.
    • Leverage market data—original research, trends, polls, surveys—to make yourself indispensable to them.
    • Monitor social media for trending topics that you can localize; they’re using social listening as well.
    • Email pitches and releases; don’t pitch on their social channels.
    • Know reporters’ beats and audience; irrelevant pitches get you blocked as does aggressive outreach and follow-up—once is enough.

What the Marketing Team Wants

As with other target audiences, monitor the needs and expectations of your own marketing department. There are lots of shiny objects bouncing around. Pick one or two major priorities and concentrate on improving marketing efforts in that area.

Not surprisingly, research shows that 80% of marketing professionals want to improve and streamline internal operations. Does your current budget include project management platforms and automation to do this? If not, spend time with the team to review recommendations for tools that benefit everyone. Otherwise, segmented platforms that make one person’s job easier can negatively impact others’ workload.

Producing marketing content faster, larger staffs, bigger budgets and managing expectations typically top the wish list of every healthcare marketing department. In the meantime, while heading into the last part of the calendar year, revisit strategy, goals and objectives to make sure marketing efforts connect with the healthcare system’s mission, vision and goals. There’s always next year to ask for more budget.

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 see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

Tweak Paid Social Strategy to Improve Performance

With the multitude of social channels and options, continually fine-tuning your paid content strategy increases the chances of reaching target audiences. Effectively adjusting the strategy requires constant analysis of audience segments—what they’re reading, viewing and sharing—and tracking performance.

Everyone complains about not seeing posts from their friends, while having to scroll through one sponsored post after another. SurveyMonkey reports that 74% of respondents to a recent survey say they’re tired of social media ads.

However, paid content and social ads aren’t going away. The best way to make it work for your hospital is to post, boost or sponsor relevant content that followers want, answers their questions and prompts them to learn more. They don’t want feel-good brand messaging. They want to know symptoms of the latest Covid variant, how to reduce their stress, warning signs of stroke—messages important to their health.

When tweaking your paid social content strategy, keep these five points in mind:

1. Social media is where audiences spend their time.

Facebook and Instagram users log in more than six times each day. While users say they don’t like sponsored content and ads, they still engage with it. As many as 51% of Facebook users admit to having clicked on an ad with nearly half having bought something after seeing the ad.

2. Use social media statistics to inform your ads strategy.

Despite slower growth for some platforms, social media is still growing. Some five billion people across the world use social media, and the US emerges as the world’s largest social media advertising market. Ad spending is projected at nearly $270 billion in 2023, with social video advertising expected to reach nearly $80 billion in 2024.

However, keep in mind that user trust in all social media platforms declined in 2022 with Instagram experiencing the biggest digital trust drop. The verdict is still out on Twitter.

3. Know where audiences spend their time.

Before adjusting paid social strategy, identify your target audiences and where they spend their time. Here are some recent stats from the major channels.

Instagram

Fourth most popular social media platform; #1 downloaded app; 61% of advertising audience age 18-24—ideal for reaching Gen Zs and Millennials; advertising audience skews slightly more male at 52.4%.

Facebook

Nearly 3 billion monthly active users; ads reach more than 62% of all Americans ages 13+; almost 49% of users between age 25-44; Facebook Stories ad audience reach more than double the Reels audience.

Twitter

Despite the turmoil,still had nearly 64 billion monthly visits as of October 2022; more than 74% of ad audience identifies as male—viable channel to reach male audiences about prostate cancer screenings or other male-specific health messages.

LinkedIn

900 million members worldwide; top platform for career-oriented professionals; ideal channel for recruiting staff, with potential ad reach accounting for nearly 17% of total internet users.

YouTube

Top video-sharing site with potential reach of 2.5 billion users; 36% of users age 18–34 years old, 29% over 45; ad audience skews 54.3% male; almost 60% of viewers say YouTube ads are more relevant to their interests than those on television or streaming services.

TikTok

Potential ad reach of almost 110 million users in the US; active users view channel an average of 1.5 hours daily; 37% of ad audience female age 18–34 and 33% male in same age category. Two out of three shoppers on the platform say they are inspired to buy something even when they’re not actively shopping.

4. Keep content conversational.

Whether organic or sponsored, you gain the most leverage with audiences by delivering well-crafted content. Make sure the words, graphics or video resonate with users on the specific platforms. The message you craft for Facebook, with an older audience, differs from one to post on Instagram. All content across all platforms should be conversational. You leverage brand recognition with a broader audience by engaging with them through authentic content.

5. Improve performance by improving your ads.

For paid social to resonate with target audiences, take the user experience into account. Carefully critique the ads or sponsored content for frequency of placement, relevancy and diversity. More than half of social media users say that diversity in ads matter. Reflect your audiences in what you’re selling.

Remember the trust factor and deliver honest, accurate claims. Don’t overstate or inflate. Keep messages consistent with users’ experiences with your facility. 

By effectively adjusting social ad strategy and carefully tracking performance, you can reach a broader audience and target messages to what they want and expect from your healthcare brand.

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 see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.

Data Drives Healthcare Marketing Efforts

Healthcare Marketing—It’s All About the Data

When developing marketing strategies, healthcare organizations typically use data-driven approaches that leverage quantitative and qualitative research and reports to gain insights into the market, along with patients’ needs, preferences and experiences.

Along with internal snapshots gained from patient surveys, reviews or focus groups, also consider external data from healthcare industry reports, competitor analyses and consumer trends. This information helps you predict changes in the landscape. If one thing remains constant in healthcare marketing, it’s change.

Gaining a deeper understanding of what’s going on beyond the immediate healthcare industry is beneficial to developing targeted campaigns that resonate with patients, other stakeholders, internal audiences and the community.

What journalists think.

Among the stakeholder groups vital to marketing success are the media—what they think, how they’re responding to their changing industry and healthcare coverage.

A State of Journalism 2023 survey of more than 2,200 journalists—mostly US based—reveals what drives journalists’ decisions. Among major findings that can impact your earned media strategy are:

  • Most respondents primarily work online with about half also working in print; print-only journalists make up 6% of those surveyed, and TV- and radio-only drop lower;
    • The number of journalists likely to respond to a pitch is up slightly from 2022 but still only 29%; they don’t respond to pitches because of irrelevant topics, lack of personalization and timing;
    • Most journalists receive up to five pitches a day and some more than 250 a week depending on the market;
    • Shareable stories influence coverage with 66% saying they actively track the number of times their stories are shared on social media; what makes stories shareable—trending topics, pitches with images or infographics, exclusivity (76%), and localized topics relevant to target audiences;
    • Journalists responding to a pitch depends on how you pitch—92% want to be pitched one-on-one by email; 21% prefer to be pitched on Monday, and 55% don’t have a day-of-the-week preference; 61% want to be pitched before noon; 88% prefer pitches of 300 words or less; 45% says one follow up 3–7 days later is ideal;
    • While half of the journalists admit they’ve considered leaving Twitter, 90% use the platform to follow news, 78% to promote their own work and 69% to find sources;
    • Only 25% of responding journalists cover healthcare; 10% wellness and fitness;
    • Millennials (57%) are the media’s top target audience, followed by Gen X (52%), Boomers (43%) and Gen Z (41%).

What CEOs think.

A Communications Benchmark Executive Summary 2023 shows despite some progress since post-2020, gaps still exist between the C-Suite and communications teams.

The poll of some 1,000 communications leaders suggests that C-suite executives now task communications teams with more than branding, creative, content strategy and public relations. Marketing teams often oversee diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. This new area of responsibility also has a new descriptor—”mixternal” communications.

Major findings from the poll include:

  • CEOs increasingly focus more on measurement and expect comms teams to create and deliver uncomplicated, accurate and persuasive messaging;
  • Trust gaps between executive perceptions and employee and consumer perceptions are significant—87% of execs think consumers “highly trust their companies” compared to 30% of consumers who do, and 84% think their employees “highly trust their companies” while only 69% of employees say they do;
  • Many C-suites now want marketing and communications initiatives to include recruitment, retention and employee wellness; they understand the need to recruit and retain talented communicators and marketing professionals with the skill set to recruit and retain employees to other departments;
  • Communications teams again find themselves bridging the gap between C-suite and employee perceptions—54% of leadership and only 39% of employees say diversity is a priority for the organization; 56% of employees think executives care about their well-being, while 91% of the C-suite say employees would say well-being is priority.

What marketing communications teams think.

In 2020, the word “pivot” drove healthcare marketing strategies. COVID-19 may no longer be officially designated as a pandemic, but “pivoting” continues.

A recent survey reveals some of the top challenges expected by marketers in 2023:

  • Generating traffic and leads—Changes to privacy and cookie tracking have sent marketing teams, particularly in healthcare, scrambling for alternate ways to generate leads. The plethora of content channels and changing trends as well as fickle consumer preferences add more hurdles to producing measurable metrics.
  • Hiring top talent—The Great Resignation and remote work prompt concerns for hiring, retaining and training marketing teams. Being skilled writers or creative designers are no longer the most desired skills for marketers. According to a LinkedIn report, they also need technology, business management, research and analytical skills. As it turns out, comms professionals do need to know math!
  • Marketing plan pivots—Actually planning to pivot is considered the top challenge to 17% of survey respondents. One lesson that 2020 taught is to plan for the unexpected. Otherwise, performance metrics, budgets and market preference are at risk. When developing campaign strategy, always keep another option on the table.
  • Securing budgets—The ask from marketing departments for more budgets, more staff and more pay now expands to requests for technology upgrades, professional development and ongoing training. Healthcare marketing budgets have not made a comeback since 2019 when healthcare marketing spending peaked at $12.3 million. Overall, budgets are expected to decline by 8% in 2023.

While challenges have increased exponentially over the past three years, tracking data and trends and staying prepared for the next “big thing” or crisis can help you develop smart, agile healthcare marketing strategy.

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 see how TotalCom may be the right fit for you.