Top three things hospitals should look to improve in 2016
President of Smith & Jones talks marketing best practices
The hospital industry is becoming increasingly competitive; we’ve witnessed a shift in our clients’ desire and ability to spend money in order to win market share and justify ROI. Hospital folks hoping to engage patients and increase awareness in 2016 are looking to invest in marketing automation, online scheduling, and telemedicine. If there isn’t any wiggle room in your budget to try something new this year, then we believe you can work to improve your current marketing and still receive great outcomes.
Consider the following:
User engagement
Since drive-to-web is a leading strategy right now, your hospital or healthcare system should look to engage users the moment they land on your homepage. When we updated Smith & Jones’ website, we found that video works great in terms of grabbing a user’s attention. This is especially true for consumers navigating your homepage for the first time and for no particular reason. It’s hard to capture their interest without something that catches their eye. That’s where video comes into play.
Quality over quantity
Focus on your inbound marketing content. Long gone are the days when hospital marketers needed to write lengthy and ubiquitous pieces of content to rank high in search. If you want to compete today, it’s better to be focused on writing quality content that is ten times better than your competitors. Interview your best doctors, nurses and other professionals of your healthcare facility and generate useful copy that is helpful to readers. Short copy (such as blog posts) is usually best for casual visitors, and long pieces of content ( such as articles or newsletters) are usually best for late-stage prospects.
Take care of your community
Population health is looming, yet hospitals are still fighting for volume. That focus needs to change in order to adjust to this approach to healthcare. You can start by addressing community health issues within your population (smoking, obesity, teen pregnancy). Utilize social media to share tips and talk prevention. Run free health assessments at local clinics or healthcare fair and use direct mail to remind people about cancer screenings.
Or, your marketing department can shape an entire campaign around a population health issue. For example: if your cancer center specializes in breast health, during breast cancer awareness month, bring special attention to mammograms. This is a form of return on community and is certainly a trend to look out for this year. It may seem counter-intuitive, but promoting wellness and screenings can actually improve downstream revenue. If an illness is caught earlier on, it’s likely that patient will receive treatment at your facility.
If you have further questions or concerns about your hospital’s marketing, click here to schedule a free 30-minute appointment with me. I’d love to hear from you.