Tag Archives: content marketing

Social Media Update 2013: A good resource for healthcare marketers.

Posted on January 15, 2014 | 2 comments

Who’s being social?  Social Media Update 2013, a new survey from the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project, reveals that:

  • 73% of online adults now use a social networking site of some kind.
  • 71% use Facebook, up from 67% in 2012.
  • Facebook is the dominant social networking platform in the number of users, but users are diversifying; 42% of online adults use multiple social networking sites.
  • User profiles, demographics and engagement rates differ significantly across platforms. For example, Instagram users are nearly as likely as Facebook users to check in to the site on a daily basis; Pinterest skews toward women, higher education and income, while LinkedIn skews higher toward men in prime years.

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These are a few of the key findings and graphics on social networking site usage and adoption from Social Media Update 2013.  The study provides some great insights for your team to consider as they plan digital and content marketing strategies for 2014 – Who uses what platform?  How do they use it?  How often do they check-in?

Click here to browse through or download the full report.

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Posted in Content Marketing, Digital Strategy

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What are your content marketing plans for 2014?

Posted on December 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Content marketing continues to top the list of must-have capabilities for effective marketing operations.  Here’s a quick look at 2014 content marketing trends from the folks at Uberflip.

content infograph

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Posted in Content Marketing, Digital Strategy, Healthcare Marketing

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Great tips for writing healthcare content

Posted on August 19, 2013 | Leave a comment

When it comes to how consumers discover, engage and act on information about healthcare brands, content – in all its forms and sizes – is the reigning monarch.  This infographic from Media is Power illustrates 5 great tips to make content writing easier and much more effective.

medium_Five_Tips_For_Better_Business_Writing

Source for the Infographic.

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Posted in Content Marketing

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New webinar on attracting, engaging and retaining patients with content

Posted on April 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’m looking forward to moderating this webinar hosted by the Forum for Healthcare Strategists on May 21. We have two terrific presenters — and a hot, hot topic.

How to Attract, Engage, and Retain Patients with Content
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
11:30AM – 1:00PM (CDT)

Jessica Carlson

Jessica Carlson

With so many communication channels available to consumers today, the rules for marketers have changed. The focus now is on content marketing: creating and sustaining great conversations with the people who visit your websites and social media channels.

Hear how Sentara Healthcare leveraged the power of healthcare content marketing during its 28 Days of Heart campaign. Using combined techniques to pull content, a healthcare tool, and reconfigured information architecture, they were able to show clear results metrics in changing its approach to content.

Ahava Leibtag

Ahava Leibtag

Join Jessica Carlson, Digital Media Advisor, Sentara Healthcare, Ahava Leibtag, President, Aha Media Group LLC, and me on May 21, and learn how to:

  • Create a content strategy around a campaign
  • Set up a social media editorial calendar
  • Engage and nurture your audience with content
  • Analyze your data to improve campaign performance

Click here for more information and to register online.  The price for Forum members is $89 ($119 for non-members).

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Posted in Content Marketing, Digital Strategy

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Engaging healthcare consumers through content marketing

Posted on March 25, 2013 | Leave a comment

content marketing rxContent marketing is a hot topic for healthcare marketers.  And no wonder.  More than ever, healthcare consumers are seeking information, sharing healthcare experiences, exploring treatments and selecting providers online. And the vast majority of online health-related discussions take place without input from healthcare professionals.

A recent Pew Internet and American Life Project study revealed that 81% of U.S. adults use the internet and 59% say they have looked online for health information in the past year. Over a third of U.S. adults say they have gone online specifically to try to figure out what medical condition they or someone else might have.

Also consider:

  • 47% have looked for information about a doctor
  • 34% have read about someone else’s healthcare experience
  • 16% have consulted online rankings or reviews of providers

Professional Research Corporation’s (PRC) 2012 National Consumer Perception Study also found that one-fourth of healthcare consumers use the web to find a doctor, and 16% say that blogs and posted comments impact which physician or hospital they chose for care.

Content is about strategy, not just promotion

The challenge for healthcare marketers is having the right content in the right place at the very time that consumers are searching. To do this, they must develop a thorough understanding of how consumers discover, consume and share information on-line; and the role of search and social interaction across the consumer buying cycle.

The bottom line is that content marketing isn’t about self-promotion; it’s about engaging consumers through relevant information, resources and tools, discoverable at a time and place when they are most open to receiving messages.  It’s about building your brand and strengthening relationships at every point through the consumer decision-process. And encouraging your audience to act through strong calls to action with content that positions you as the preferred choice.

Learn more at PRC’s upcoming Webchat on content marketing

On Thursday, March 28, 2013, I’ll be joining Janna Binder, director of marketing and public relations for Professional Research Corporation (PRC), on a webchat to discuss the role and power of content marketing in healthcare. During the one-hour session, we’ll talk about how content marketing can engage healthcare consumers, build your brand, drive patient acquisition and cultivate customer loyalty. Key discussion points will include:

  • The role of search and social interaction in the healthcare consumer’s selection process
  • Where consumers discover, consume and share information
  • What constitutes relevant, valuable content, tools and relationships
  • How marketers can build content marketing plans

I hope you’ll join us. The 60 minute PRC Webchat starts at 1:00 pm central time. And, there is no charge for participation. Just click here for more information and online registration.

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Posted in Content Marketing, Digital Strategy, Healthcare Internet

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Want to Become a Better Writer?

Posted on November 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

A formula that works for just about anything . . . marketing, brand building, strategic thinking, planning, strategizing, design, sales, cooking, tennis . . . and yes, writing.

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer
Like this infographic? Get more content marketing tips from Copyblogger.

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Posted in Marketing Management, Public Relations

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Should You Bag Your Facebook Advertising?

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 2 comments

by Katie Adams, Corrigan Partners

Just days before Facebook’s scheduled $100 billion IPO one of the largest U.S. manufacturers has dropped all of its paid advertising on the social media site. GM made the decision to axe its $10 million advertising budget based on findings that paid ads on the site “had little impact on consumers.” Before rushing to join the crowd suspect of the relevance of social media, it’s important to note what the car giant said about how they plan to continue interacting with Facebook users. According to a Wall Street Journal article GM marketing chief Joel Ewanick said that GM is “reassessing our advertising on Facebook, although the content is effective and important.”

Did you catch that? “Content is effective and important.”

As chief marketing officers grapple with continued tight budgets and increasing demand for ROI it’s worth examining how you’re using social media as a marketing tool. First, focus on the main reason people use Facebook in the first place. According to the study “Why Do People Use Facebook?” by Boston University researchers Ashwinin Nadkarni and Stefan G. Hoffman, the two primary needs that Facebook satisfies for its nearly 1 billion users are (1) the need to belong and (2) the need for self-presentation. Conversely that means that Facebook is not viewed by the majority of its users as a way to find or buy services or products. So it stands to reason that if you are purchasing ad space on the social media site as a way of quickly generating sales you may be disappointed.

The question isn’t if Facebook is effective as a marketing tool, it’s how is Facebook MOST effective? Are you using the platform to its best marketing objective? GM has chosen to maintain its Facebook presence because it provides a powerful way to engage with customers and influencers as well as to have a pivotal presence in conversations about the industry and its own brand. But the company is aware that it can do that solely by providing CONTENT, not by purchasing paid ad space.

While GM’s decision may have prospective shareholders concerned it should be welcomed by chief marketing officers. GM’s insight should give you pause about your own organization’s position on Facebook as a marketing tool. If the two primary motivators for Facebook users are to belong and to be able to share personal stories and opinions (“self-presentation”) what types of material are you giving them to be able to do just that? Are you creating an engaging community for users? Are you sharing content — information, tips, and tools that they can use and share with others for free? Are you customizing your content so that you are one perceived as a highly relevant voice in their social media world?

Despite the contrarians Facebook isn’t going anywhere. The question is where are you going with Facebook?

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Posted in Content Marketing, Digital Strategy, Healthcare Internet, Healthcare Marketing, Social Media

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Harnessing the Power of Content Marketing – Part One

Posted on April 12, 2012 | Leave a comment

If content is king, where are its loyal subjects?

Web, social networking and mobile technologies are transforming customer-business relationships, and revolutionizing business processes.  Consumers have hijacked the entrenched B2C (business to consumer) marketing model, and reversed the formula. The result is an absolute shift in power from marketers to consumers. The bidirectional and real-time nature of web, social and mobile requires marketers to have relevant information in the right place at the exact time consumers are seeking it.

C2B (consumer to business) marketing isn’t the future.  It’s here. Right now. 

Consumers are in control and have the skills and tools to search, collect information, compare, purchase, write reviews, and provide you the data and insights your organization needs to stay relevant.  “Content is king,” decree marketers everywhere – and businesses are churning content like never before. But without strategy, the monarch has no kingdom. Or at least no loyal subjects.

Content marketing is strategy, not just production of information in all its forms. 

Understanding customer needs at different stages in the buying cycle is critical to formulating effective content and channel marketing strategies.  What a customer wants or needs to know, terms she searches on, places she goes, social topics she connects with, inquiries she initiates and the actions she takes, can vary significantly across the purchasing decision process. 

Content marketing success requires a thorough understanding of:

  • Consumer needs at different stages of the buying cycle
  • The role of search and social interaction across the decision cycle
  • What constitutes relevant, valuable information, tools and relationships
  • Where consumers discover, consume and share information
  • Real-time accessibility, engagement and connectivity
  • Listening, learning and adapting services, products and experiences

Harnessing the power of content marketing is vital to patient acquisition and retention. 

More than ever, patients are seeking healthcare information, sharing experiences and selecting treatments and providers online.  And the vast majority of online health related discussions take place without input from healthcare professionals.   Essential tasks for healthcare marketing leaders are:

  • Learning about and helping providers understand how web, social and mobile have changed consumer and patient behaviors;
  • Creating a C2B content marketing strategy, executing  across the right marketing channels and using methods that will have the most impact;
  • Mobilizing marketers, administrators, managers, physicians, clinicians and business partners to execute content strategies that educate, inform and build loyal relationships with patients, families and staff.

Next up:  Part 2 – developing a robust content marketing architecture to guide investments.

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Posted in Content Marketing, Digital Strategy, Marketing Management, Marketing Strategy, Social Media

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