The majority of patients and about half of all doctors search the Internet for healthcare and medical information. But—marketing professionals take note—the reference tool of choice of digitally demanding patients is the relative newcomer, “Dr. Wikipedia.” “Wikipedia is the single leading source of medical information for patients and healthcare professionals,” according to a report about […]
Of the thousands of hospital or healthcare videos, few will ever “go viral.” But nearly all online videos that hit the big time circuit—being shared and shared again—will be fueled by emotion. It’s emotions that make marketing campaigns get noticed, attract viewers and go viral, according to research reported by the Harvard Business Review (HBR). Viral […]
Eight out of ten times (probably more), the Internet is where the first encounter between a doctor and a prospective patient occurs. But it doesn’t stop there. Long before an individual selects a healthcare provider, hospital or facility for their medical needs, they often begin their decision journey with online due diligence. And when providers […]
By Stewart Gandolf, MBA, CEO, Healthcare Success The Internet and social media presence of a physician is the sum of what most prospective patients know about you and your professional reputation. Here’s the “why-and-how” about using these tools to your marketing advantage. You’ve heard at least a dozen reasons why physicians dismiss—or steer a cautious […]
Physicians have been quick to embrace online technology personally, but on the practice and profession side, they have approached social media, blogs, email (and sometimes Internet marketing) slowly and with an understandable measure of caution.
If you track the evolutionary and revolutionary changes of the Internet you’re probably wondering—or a bit confused—about Facebook’s new “Graph Search”…and what it will mean for healthcare marketing. Facebook, the king of social media, is challenging business rival Google, the king of online search. Although Graph Search is in what Facebook officially terms “a very […]
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, […]
Does anyone still need to be convinced that Pinterest should be part of your hospital marketing plan? The typical objections might be that this social media platform is still too new…it may not deliver any value…or they’re still in a beta test phase. A conservative approach to online fads and fancies is reasonable. (This morning’s […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
One of the most intelligent and insightful physician practice marketing assessments of social media that we’ve seen comes from Kansas City (MO) pediatrician Dr. Natasha Burgert. She committed herself to a one-year project to see if social media would enhance or distract from her pediatric practice. Fast forward to today. After 12 months of using […]
