Hospital Branding

As people find themselves risking their own health to help others or sheltering-in-place to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, brands can provide reassurance in unique and thoughtful ways. From car manufacturers to restaurants, healthcare systems to hotels, brands are shifting their messaging to offer reassurance, safety, and even new ideas on delivering their products and services.  It’s amazing how quickly they’ve been able to turnaround their messaging and production strategies!  Already, there are best practices being established and amplified throughout the branding and advertising industries. The following are strategies you can act on quickly to keep your brand relevant and meaningful during these stressful, game-changing times: Communicate in an empathetic tone  – start by acknowledging that your audience is experiencing losses and lifestyle changes in ways never felt before. Great brands have relationships with their consumers, and now is the time to...

Coming up with fresh content for your healthcare website can be challenging, but is vital since content is the most important ranking factor in Google’s search algorithm. Stale content can lead to bored readers and duplicate content can lead to penalties from Google.  Don’t let content on your website become dull and repetitive by following these tips below to keeping your healthcare marketing content fresh. 1. Research Hot Topics and Keywords Use  Google Keyword Planner  and  Answer the Public  to see what people are searching for on the web that’s related to your business and services.  These are the most searched keywords, phrases and questions – if you don’t have content on these topics, you are missing a huge opportunity to reach these people. As you can see from the chart below, about 50% of blog traffic is found through search results.  It is crucial to write blogs on relevant topics that people are most interested in. Source: Nei...

Twenty years ago, when some companies were “printing money,” corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies were often developed as a way to deflect consumer attention away from big profits, write-off more expenses, and – in fairness to those who did – do good for the sake of society. Studies prove that CSR has a positive impact on a brand; increasing preference, loyalty, and engagement. The companies benefit, too, with less employee turnover and more revenue. That was then. This is now, and CSR seems to have taken a back seat. Not saying it doesn’t exist, but it  appears  less visible and instrumental in brand strategies. There are probably good reasons for this; certainly digital media is highly targeted and therefore these types of initiatives are not as mainstream as they once were, markets are much more competitive and some brands can’t afford to spread budgets too thin, and senior marketing people are less willing to take risks and implement programs that don’t ge...

We've all been in those strategic meetings with notes posted all around, flip charts turning, and colored markers crowding white boards. Working on those few, but fabulous words, that will crystalize an organizational brand and set it apart from all others in the space in which you're competing. The words will also engage internal audiences, motivate customers, and serve as the foundation for (at least) a year's worth of content and creative messaging. Someone blurts out an idea, and it sounds great. It's exactly what your organization does! Wait, that's it...it's the  definition  of your company. It  is  what you do. Having been in many hospital brand sessions, I'll use that as an example: "We care for the sick, yet help people stay well, too." Or, a home care company might suggest "we provide quality care for people (wait for it...) in their home." By definition, merely stating the obvious and reinforcing what business  you...

As the new year kicks in, there are all sorts of tips and habits to break in order to help improve your personal and professional success.  For those in healthcare marketing, here are eight bad habits that need to be broken to help fix your strategies and outcomes. Focusing on marketing and not business building Marketing in many healthcare organizations still lands on the promotional side of the equation.  Successful marketers are those who understand the growth goals of their organization and develop strategies, beyond campaigns and clicks, to generate revenue and support new customer acquisition        2. Developing the wrong dashboards You know you’re too focused on the promotional side of things when your marketing “dashboard” consists of primarily digital terms that leave the C-Suite in the dust.  When you include business metrics, too, your dashboard will truly provide a snapshot of your organization’s marketing success in te...

When it comes to reaching and motivating consumers, healthcare marketers face a double “whammy.” First, studies show that the average person is exposed to 7,500 brand messages and marketing content every day.  The School of Human Sciences and Technology estimates that people switch between screens up to 21 times an hour. As a result of this overload, the average person’s attention span is eight seconds! What makes this even more complicated for healthcare marketers is the second whammy; making healthcare messaging engaging, simple, digestible, and differentiating in less time than it takes to say “multi-disciplinary, comprehensive, continuum of care.” As healthcare systems continue to grow adding new capabilities, physician practices, and other services, messaging becomes more complex – all the while consumers are giving them less time. Here are 8 ideas on how you can manage the “8 Second Rule” for healthcare brands A long-time colleague, copywriter and tagli...

Many years ago, when I was on the client side of B2B marketing fence, our messaging beat its chest about how our product was bigger, better, faster, stronger and could make our customers more money. Years later, after time on the agency side of both B2B and B2C marketing, we’re seeing a massive shift in how B2B buyers at various levels need to be engaged. Sure, there’s a procurement officer that’s all about specs and cost, but we’re assuming you’d like to move up the chain a bit. Consider this B2B value pyramid from a Bain & Company study earlier this year. This illustrates from the bottom of the pyramid to the tip top: The bottom of the pyramid – where many B2B marketers stop. This is where no one wants to be – it’s commodity-land. Living on specs and price will not keep you in business. Neither will simply addressing your buyer’s economic or performance needs with features and functions. As someone recently told us, don’t talk to me about the horsepower and t...

According to Deepak Chopra in his bestselling book  The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success ,  “How can I help?” is the only question that truly matters.  “It coaxes and expands your awareness out toward the service and care of others.” Many medical associations struggle with articulating an effective value proposition that helps their members expand awareness and services. Establishing this in clear and compelling manner is an essential step if you want to communicate how your organization can provide the keys to your members’ success. There are some important steps you must take before embarking upon creating your medical association’s value proposition. It all begins and ends with research. So where do you start? Here’s a brief 3-step plan. Refine your target audience First and foremost, you need to determine who your “key” target audience is. You can’t be “all things” to “all people.” Many have tried, and failed. But by clearly defining and refining your tru...

By now, we have all seen the articles, blog posts, and other content on consumer trends in healthcare marketing for 2018.   From Artificial Intelligence and big data to value, there is no doubt the industry will continue to transform and consumer expectations and behavior will keep pace with the changes.  And, while it’s tough to predict the future, there is a place to look and get an idea as to what will occur down the road; the rearview mirror. According to Amazon Founder, Jeff Bezos, this is often the first place he looks when predicting future trends and changes.  Amazon is one of the most innovative companies on the planet, yet it was (and still is) built on a premise that is very down to earth: focusing on what’s not going to change . Bezos is frequently asked to comment on “what’s going to change in the next ten years?” His answer may surprise you. “While that’s an interesting question, I almost never get the question, what’s not going to change...

Creating a winning digital strategy takes the right combination of ‘earned,’ ‘owned’ and ‘paid’ media. Understanding what those are, and how to leverage them to create a successful plan can be confusing. A great way to tackle this is by thinking of earned, owned and paid media as a triumvirate. Each is an important part of your organization’s strategy, and combined, they can contribute to a successful digital marketing plan. For the purposes of this blog, we are going to focus on owned media.  Owned Media  is any communication channel or platform that belongs to your brand that you create and have control over. This can include your website, any content you publish, your social media channels, and the content you distribute on those channels. The cornerstone for any digital owned media strategy is a good website. For many, building a website can be an overwhelming prospect. But building one doesn’t have to be such a monumental task. It’s important to remember tha...

In this evolving, technology-driven world we live in, phone books and directories are a thing of the past.  When it comes to finding the best restaurant, electronic store, bowling alley or even hospital, you must exist online. However, having just a website alone won’t do much good if no one can find you on the web.  In today’s competitive market, you need to have an effective website that is paired with search engine optimization, or SEO, to help visitors find your site. In short, SEO helps search engines, like Google, figure out what your website is about and how it may be useful for visitors. The best practices of SEO will ultimately improve user experience and ensure visibility on search engines, and if you don’t know how to deal with SEO, don’t worry, because there are professionals like the ones from  http://cultivateexpress.com/  that will be willing to help you at all times, and don’t forget that  at SEO Elements  you will also find some of th...