Have you heard the one about the toothbrush and the mobile phone? The nearly-fabled statistic observes that: Among the six billion people on the planet, 4.8 billion have a mobile phone while only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush. (AdAge) The counterpoint is amusing, but it's a serious reminder that a mobile strategy needs to be […]
[Case Study] There’s a lot to like about Sutter Health System’s interactive website for women. From a consumer perspective, MyLifeStages.org is a robust and highly useful health and wellness resource for residents of the Sacramento, CA community and Northern California. In fact, it’s been repeatedly recognized as one of the nation’s best consumer health websites. […]
If you think 2012 was fiercely competitive year, savvy healthcare marketing plans might want a new Kevlar wrapper. But they definitely will need to be more aggressive about Internet marketing in 2013. Healthcare delivery is reinventing itself, the consumer/patient new empowerment, competition has shifted dramatically, and “patient experience” is the watchword. I could go on, […]
The collection of marketing insights that we posted a few weeks ago was well received. We called these medical marketing nuggets “Twisdom.” Our previous article, which is linked at the bottom of this page, inspired some of our readers to submit a few more thoughtful gems.
Think of Google's search page as a gateway to your healthcare website. And since the majority of online searches for information begin with Google, it’s helpful to know a bit about how the search giant “thinks.” Ultimately, creating a high quality online presence that Google prefers will help give your hospital, medical practice or facility a […]
Internet advertising terms can be a bewildering forest of initials, tech-talk and shorthand. For some healthcare providers it’s a strange vocabulary that’s essential to successful online advertising that brings new patients to your doorstep. Fortunately, it's easy to master. Why Internet advertising? Patients and prospective patients—the target audience—are online. The search for health and healthcare […]
You’re familiar with the social media marvel Twitter. With about 250 million active users (and another 250 registered users), Twitter is a well-known cultural phenomenon. Just about everyone has seen it. Tons of people are using it. And as a medical marketing tool, Twitter is second only to Facebook among the most popular social networking […]
Here are some (relatively) easy and (generally) non-technical SEO tips that everyone can use for better healthcare marketing results. Everyone appreciates that proper Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vitally important to being found online and makes for more successful healthcare marketing. But a techno-talk vocabulary of “title tag,” “Googlebot,” or phrases beginning with “meta,” tends […]
It seems that our recent post, If We Trust Doctors with Sharp Instruments, We Can Trust Them with Social Media, ignited some lively discussions among healthcare marketing professionals on LinkedIn. As a bit of background, the big idea behind our “If We Trust Doctors” post is that social media has taken a leadership role in […]
On the surface, a medical marketing email campaign is appealing, in part, because it is immediate and low cost. The proliferation of high-speed Internet connections, computers, laptops, smartphones and other mobile devices rapidly connect healthcare providers and hospitals with constituent audiences. Although a single email is fairly simple, creating a successful email marketing effort with […]
Those of us who know (or know of) Ed Bennett have to applaud his pioneering work in creating and maintaining the Hospital Social Network List. His work during the past few years resulting in the highly informative list—a giant scoreboard really—of hospital social media resources around the nation. For professionals in hospital marketing and communications, […]
Our Big Book of All Things Marketing has a page devoted to the symbiotic relationship between content marketing and healthcare. Few strategies and tactics in healthcare marketing combine as easily and appropriately. Here’s why “content” and “healthcare” are natural marketing partners. And why Content should be a key ingredient in the marketing plan for hospitals, […]
OK, let’s just say we borrowed our headline from Lee Aase, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. (It’s flattery, not plagiarism, when the role model is the Mayo Clinic.) Our point is that social media has taken a leadership role in healthcare marketing, and while some doctors remain distant to the idea, […]
We'd like to hear about your experience with Facebook ads. The popular social media giant is experiencing considerable challenges in rolling out its advertising revenue model. By many accounts its present form seems to be a Facebook Fail. Has that been your experience? Holy Timeline, Zuckerberg Fans! Healthcare and hospital marketing and advertising will want […]
The digital and technological tools of healthcare marketing are increasing in importance and opportunity. And, if you haven’t done so lately, right now is probably a good time to weigh your “connectivity goals” against the technical nuts and bolts needed to get the job done.
You might have the impression that "content marketing" buzzed its way into popular use a digital minute ago. In the "buzz-vocabulary" of healthcare marketing it's a timely (but not-so-new) topic. Content marketing is a natural fit for many hospitals and healthcare providers. It's a means to speak to people and provide them with useful and […]
This is an installment in the Healthcare Success series about how the significant changes in Google Search impact healthcare marketing and advertising, and what medical practices and hospitals need to know as the online search giant changes the rules. Think of it as "Facebook Friends" for Google...only much bigger and more important. Google, the undisputed […]
How to take advantage of online social media The explosion of social and community centered websites is an Internet evolution that seems to be everywhere. But approach with care. These are upper-level marketing tools for some healthcare organizations, group and individual practices, hospitals and businesses. This is the second in a series of articles about […]
The search engine giant Google made its fortune by finding things online. Google dominates the world of Internet search in a way that "dominate" doesn't seem like a strong enough description. In reality, if Google doesn't find and list your website on the first page or two of search results, you are destined to be […]
The virtual environment of social media is growing in importance as a vital connecting point. Social media is the online environment where consumers (prospective patients) evaluate healthcare providers, and make decisions about their health, medication and hospitals. A new Health Industries Group/PwC study declares “Social media is changing the nature of healthcare interaction, and health […]
Sometimes it’s doubly curious to discover valuable medical marketing lessons and useful tools in…well, curious places. For example, one of the most articulate business cases we’ve read recently originated in Vienna, Austria, and it’s not about healthcare. Remarkably, author Dan Taylor offers a business-smart discussion of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and the value of analytics—without […]
If you don't already have a "visual marketing strategy," your healthcare branding message could be quickly slipping behind the power curve. This is more than an exercise in graphics; some see it as an important trend for healthcare marketing. Healthcare providers, hospital marketing executives and medical advertising pros need to leverage the new emphasis on […]
Puppy dogs (and kittens) are cuddly cute. Babies (and kids) are scene-stealers. But in healthcare marketing, there's nothing more convincing-and downright effective-than an excellent testimonial. Sorry canine cuteness, but testimonials have been called "the single most powerful marketing tool." They are a close relative to word-of-mouth advertising, and they are effective in "closing the sale" […]
If you don’t have a mobile strategy for your healthcare marketing, your online presence may have disappeared from view. The critical question is: Is your medical, dental or hospital ready for the “small screen?” Just when you thought your healthcare marketing website was completely functional, along comes an overpowering wave of smartphones and mobile devices. […]
We don't always agree with Arianna Huffington, but as a digital media observer, publisher and thought leader, she is spot-on in recognizing how online media has changed from mainly "presentational" to truly "conversational." In her words, "This is the golden age of engagement." The president and editor in chief of the Huffington Post Media Group described digital […]
Hospitals—at least some hospitals—have a reputation for being laggards on the technology adoption curve. There's some truth to that; after all, big medical devices have a big price tag and six- and seven-figure capital investments don't happen weekly. But the truth is that many hospitals and group medical practices have discovered new ways to apply […]
Keeping your healthcare website content fresh pays-back in marketing dividends Healthcare marketing websites for organizations and practices of all types need to be maintained with regular changes for maximum effectiveness. It's a web-savvy rule that applies across the board for hospitals, manufacturers, physicians and surgeons, dentists, pharmaceuticals...virtually everyone. Here are the four main benefits that […]
Email, as a healthcare marketing tool, has a lot going for it. It's inexpensive. It's fast. And it can be highly effective. Email also has a lot of things working against it. It's easily ignored. It can be filtered as spam. And it just might not communicate at all. Arguably, the most important part of […]
The buzz around that “new” social media site Pinterest (the virtual pinboard where you “pin” things of interest) has been explosive in the past few weeks. But like many “overnight sensations,” this emerging technology has actually been around for a couple of years. Some medical and dental practices, hospitals, healthcare marketing professionals and health-condition-specific ePatients […]
As recently as a year or so ago we probably couldn’t offer a post about the many and various ways that doctors were using social media tools in their medical practice marketing. Outside of the Innovators and Early Adopters, not much could be reported. At best it would have been a short article. But the […]
It’s entirely possible that you missed the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) officiously titled draft guidelines about social media marketing and communications: Guidance for Industry: Responding to Unsolicited Requests for Off-Label Information About Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices. Please stick with us for a minute on this one. This topic isn’t just for pharmaceutical and […]
A first-time visitor to your healthcare website knows very little about you. And what they find—or don't find—will be their "first impression" of you and your brand. The problem is that many are either out of date or out of touch, and the patient experience never has a chance. The first impression is also the […]
It's been all of a couple months since we previously wrote about the many Ways iPads Are Changing Hospital Marketing and PR. Apple doesn't send us their official sales numbers, but reliable estimates have it that millions of iPad 2 tablets have been shipped during these last 90 days. As we write this, by calendar year end, […]
We have yet to find an online physician and medical practice rating system that is "perfect." Are you aware of how you rate on HealthGrades.com, or ratemds.com, or Vitals.com, or any of the dozens of other physician rating websites that populate the Internet? If someone has taken the time to post a comment, does it […]
The Mayo Clinic Social Media gathering earlier this month made the kind of “thought leader” splash that you might expect. Mayo Clinic is a first class organization, and not surprisingly, much of the inspiring chatter and posts about social media was easily found on…well, various social media channels. The Twitter stream flowing from the Mayo […]
The increasing number of healthcare provider and private practices that have launched a social media presence are likely to find that Facebook Fans can be fickle. A report by DDB Paris has it that two out of five Facebook (FB) users will change their mind and click the “unlike” link on a brand page. Their […]
What does a Twitter-based contest at the University of Iowa have in common with hospital marketing? For Tweet success, be sharp. The college essay readers at this institution were so overwhelmed with seeing students’ heavily edited essays from their parents or plagiarized essay themes that they did something a bit drastic. They created a full […]
Editor's Note: Healthcare Success was pleased to contribute to this feature profile of Magna Health Systems for publication in SurgiStrategies magazine. This article provides a close-up look at the marketing activities at one of Chicago's leading outpatient surgical centers, examining their work with and for surgeons, as well as their weight loss outreach direct to […]
We applaud the podiatrists—and other professionals—that have embraced social media to market their practices. Many are so eager to hop on the digital bandwagon that some folks are beginning to ask, “Is it time to scrap traditional media advertising?” Our answer is an emphatic “No!” Used to their best advantage, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other […]
Patients are increasingly technically oriented and equipped, and they want to open the door to digital communications with their doctors, according to InformationWeek Healthcare. And that only makes sense for a general public that is largely broadband-installed, smartphone-equipped and increasingly involved in their own healthcare decisions. What’s new about this situation is that InformationWeek reports […]
One of the grand frustrations about the “world wide web” is that your medical marketing website might be found online by someone who is two hundred miles away and not by a prospective new patient who lives in your neighborhood. The first individual is not a prospect because of the distance. They’ll search again for […]
When we compiled a list of reasons why people won’t “follow” someone on Twitter, we nearly ran out of paper. Twitter is an immensely popular social media, and for many hospital social media efforts, it can be a highly useful tool. Ask your followers about what they like and don't like and you're bound to […]
Editor's Note: Here's another installment in our continuing series of articles about social media and healthcare marketing. The professional networking site, LinkedIn, is coming of age with over 100 million users. Here are ways to get the most benefit from your LinkedIn pages. It's a low cost, high visibility platform to showcase the personal brand […]
It's the woman who makes the healthcare decisions in most households. That fact hasn’t changed much over the past few years. Estimates have it that eight out of 10 times, it’s the woman, wife, mother who is the keeper of the family health choices for spouse, children and herself. The the “mom” sector has been […]
We see a ton of healthcare, medical marketing and hospital websites in our work. We review them, we critique them and we provide advice how to improve them. And sometimes it’s downright frightening what we find. Perhaps the scariest moment is when we discover a provider or healthcare organization that has no website at all. […]
This is another segment in our continuing series of articles about effective social media and healthcare marketing. Survey information about Facebook user motivations to LIKE a company, brand or association leads to six useful tips in reaching and engaging patients and the public through effective social media.
Editor's Note: This is a further installment in our continuing series of articles about social media and healthcare marketing. YouTube, and other video content sharing platforms, represent a low cost, easy to use and highly effective communications tools to engage and inspire your medical and healthcare marketing audience. The enormous popularity of YouTube makes it […]
Social media is a means for patient and provider to interact, to humanize institutions, to learn from each other and to support a patient-centered system. It is a means to speak, listen, understand and begin a relationship. Social media isn't just for socializing, in the frivolous and inconsequential meaning of the term. In fact social […]
The most neglected healthcare provider marketing opportunity, and how to break the habit Email is the communications means of choice for many individuals, but it's a surprisingly neglected strategy that never gets off the ground for the simple lack of opt-in email addresses. Here are seven easy ways to build a permission-based contact list and […]
Even in the nicest of “waiting rooms,” who really wants to wait for medical services…or anything else for that matter? And if reducing wait times for medical services is a key to improving patient satisfaction, doctors' offices can now follow hospitals in communicating wait times to patients. To illustrate, we can all relate to the following […]
