4 takeaways from the MASHSMD 2024 Annual Conference

This May, we attended the MASHSMD Annual Conference in Richmond, Virginia. This conference brought together healthcare marketing professionals from across the Mid-Atlantic. Data, AI, research, and digital marketing were big topics this year that certainly resonated with us. Here are our four favorite takeaways from the conference.

Your brand is bigger than you think

To kick off day one of the conference, Smith & Jones healthcare marketing strategist Paul Fahey presented on branding beyond advertising and explained how branding extends through every touchpoint in the patient journey. These touchpoints include everything from the billboards patients drive by to your hold music when they try to book an appointment to parking and walking into your building. Even the little things marketing people rarely have to consider, like a dead plant in the waiting room. What message is that giving off to a patient who walks in?

With so much competition, we cannot fumble the ball so close to the endzone. That’s why branding is the job of every person who works for your organization, not just the marketing team. You must instill in all employees a sense of pride and purpose. They should feel like they’re making a difference–because they are.

Don’t be afraid to ask for reviews!

If you’re not paying attention to your organization’s reviews and star ratings on Google and elsewhere, you could be missing out on a massive brand-building opportunity. According to Chris Haas from rater8, reputation SEO can improve brand awareness, trust, and visibility to edge out competitors, boost patient volume, and attract strong doctors and employees.

While many organizations might be hesitant to ask for reviews because they’re afraid of people posting negative feedback, the truth is people who are unhappy with you are already posting negative reviews. However, most people who have perfectly enjoyable experiences won’t remember to go out of their way to write a positive review. That’s why prompting them with an email or text shortly after an appointment is so effective at increasing positive reviews.

Don’t let AI strip your authenticity

Lacey Reichwald of Aha Media Group spoke on AI content for healthcare marketing. She emphasized that while AI can be used to replace repetitive or tedious tasks and give you ideas for content, it should not be used for consumer-facing writing. She explained that AI strips content of authenticity and does not have emotional intelligence. And what are healthcare stories all about? Emotions and authenticity.

In Steve Koch’s presentation on understanding consumer decision-making, he explained that human brains make emotional decisions faster than rational (analytical) decisions. Therefore in healthcare, we must still lead with emotion, and this will be even more important as emotionless AI content floods the web.

Have a social media crisis communications plan ready

Finally, we learned about a fascinating case study on healthcare crisis communication. Maternity nurses created a TikTok video talking about their maternity “icks” (saying no-so-nice things about their patients), and it went viral. The hospital’s small social media team wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of angry comments and messages thanks to this video. So they won’t be caught off guard in the future, they created a crisis blueprint including:

• Decide if you’re going dark (stop publishing on social media)
• Decide if you’re releasing a statement
• Establish who and how you’re responding to questions
• Assign someone to moderate comments (and delete inappropriate comments)

They also updated their employee social media policy, including do’s and don’ts. Social media is a powerful tool. And your employees are the biggest representatives of your brand. Younger employees, especially, must be educated that what they post online matters. It can have real-life consequences, even if they think it’s just a funny joke.

What were your favorite takeaways from the conference? Connect with Smith & Jones on LinkedIn to join the conversation and stay updated with future conference updates!