A curious challenge within the art of hospital and healthcare marketing is that large segments of your target audience simply don’t care. They don’t have an immediate need for your services or facility. Individuals with a current or pressing medical need are one thing. But there’s always a significant slice of the people who are […]
If you don’t have a blog, read no further. (Although you might want to re-think that decision.) If your blog is a digital soapbox and a one-way monolog, you are probably realizing less than half the value of the time and effort that you invest. Here’s why. Virtually all successful blogs—particularly as hospital and healthcare […]
Facebook, like many social media tools, is most effective when the visitor is engaged by the content. The idea seems tame enough on the surface, but it disguises the reality that visitors often don’t notice (and likely don’t care much) that you’re trying to talk to them. Marketing-savvy healthcare providers and hospitals recognize Facebook pages […]
LinkedIn professional group participation is often underutilized, so as a boost for readers and colleagues, here’s our list of top LinkedIn groups for fellow professionals to join. In our book, LinkedIn is the top business-serious social media for physicians and hospital execs. And the LinkedIn Groups feature just might be the best online professional forum […]
We might be singing to the choir here, but you’ll definitely like the chorus anyway. Most hospitals and physician providers recognize the importance of Internet marketing. (Better than eight out of 10 patients use both online and offline sources for health research before making an appointment.) But what you may not appreciate is that a […]
Social media hashtags have become ubiquitous and a language-art of their own. You know them when you #seethem, but the cryptic, compressed (and sometimes insider) meanings are not always clearly understood…and their value is lost. “The # symbol, called a hashtag, is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. It was created organically […]
If you’ve been neglecting Google Plus (or G+) as a “Johnny-come-lately,” you should rethink your social media priorities. Surprise, Google+ is now Number Two and gaining ground. In the digital world, Facebook (launched February, 2004), and Twitter (launched March, 2006) were well-established “old timers” when Google+ came along a couple years ago, in the summer […]
Here are four useful—and survey based—reports that your healthcare marketing radar might have missed. Each offers an insightful read on ways to fine-tune your plan and operation for smarter and more successful results.
Individually and collectively, communications professionals—in healthcare and every other enterprise for that matter—produce tons of materials everyday. Here’s how to stretch your budget and get extra marketing impact from nearly all of it. We (ourselves included) routinely create bales of “communications stuff” in all the classic formats…brochures, web pages, speeches, patient education info, PowerPoint lectures, […]
Unsolicited electronic messages (the spam variety) are about as welcome as an earth-bound asteroid. Nobody likes receiving them, and professionally, you definitely don’t want to inadvertently send legitimate email to be caught-up in one of the many “spam filters.” Being familiar with filters and other rules of road can keep your valid email marketing messages […]
We’re not about to jump aboard the “traditional-is-dead” bandwagon. But it's no surprise which direction the parade is headed. Print, broadcast and other media belong in your marketing and advertising plan when they match your target audience and objectives. True, about 170 newspapers have disappeared in the past five years. TV viewership among young adults […]
[Part of a continuing series.] In the world of Search Engine Optimization, the cute- and cuddly-sounding critters—Panda and Penguin—are decidedly frightening beasts. They are code names for Google algorithm updates with a digital “license to kill” the black-hat bad guys and to praise and reward high quality content. White-hat Internet marketers need not fear, but […]
Permission-based email is one of the most engaging, useful and effective tools available in your marketing toolbox. For starters, the cost is low and, being opt-in, recipients are prequalified and lists can often be segmented for precision targeting. The folks who keep track of such things say there are 3.6 billion email accounts as of […]
The Healthcare Success blog is open to guest posts. We welcome the opportunity to have others write for us and share high-quality ideas to our 16,000+ subscribers. We are most interested in guest posts from healthcare professionals, especially doctors and marketing people who work for hospitals and practices. We appreciate the "client side" perspective. But you […]
Chances are you’ve seen the occasional Tweet that’s larger, longer and more impactful than the standard 140-character, text-only allowance. Among several types, Twitter Cards create breaks in the Twitter stream that grab attention with photos, video, summary notes, songs or other expansive content and inspire a click-through connection. Twitter says it delivers “a beautiful consumption […]
There’s nothing trivial about website analytics. And it’s not our intent to oversimplify an important (if sometimes confusing) subject. But, among the pages-and-pages-and-pages of available site performance metrics, there are four indicators should always be top-of-mind. Some tech-minded and numbers-driven people in marketing immerse themselves deeply in website performance statistics. These are the potentially daunting […]
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 […]
Empowered patients, engagement and satisfaction are the new watchwords of Internet marketing for healthcare. But it can be challenging to know who’s pleased with your medical website, and just as importantly, who’s not so happy. Here’s a new and useful way to test the waters in real-time. Google Consumer Surveys has extended a helping hand […]
We often advise our clients that a professional website requires regular “care and feeding.” To remain visible, viable and effective as a marketing tool, it’s vitally important to regularly add fresh and interesting content and remove dated material. The upkeep and maintenance allows you to stay “friendly” with search engine algorithms and avoid visitor habituation. […]
If you don’t include cave paintings (30,000 BC) or variations of ancient Egyptian picture writing (3200 BC), sometime in the 1960’s a blending of “information” and “graphic” produced the contemporary adjective INFOGRAPHIC. By definition, infographics are graphic, visual representations of information, data or knowledge. Admittedly, our thumbnail profile oversimplifies the rich legacy of—by various names—information […]
LinkedIn just keeps getting better. Early iterations of the professional networking platform were a step or two above an online resume with interactive connections. Functional and good for a start, but decidedly lackluster. Over time—particularly in the last year or so—LinkedIn has muscled its way up the value ladder as a power player among social […]
The numbers are simply painful. On the face of it, you’ve got to wonder if social media—and Facebook in particular—is worth the time and effort. “Only about 1 percent of fans ever return to your actual Facebook page after they’ve liked it,” according to Contagious Content, an eBook by author Brian Carter and the software […]
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 […]
Editor’s note: This article covers secrets about Search Engine Optimization. It is another in our series about how to get found on the Internet. We have a personal question for you. Have you ever "Googled yourself?" More to the point, when patients from your town search online for the services that you provide, does your […]
At times, the wildly popular attention to Internet marketing (according to, well…the Internet) seems to ignore “traditional” media. It’s as if television advertising is a laughable relic that only your grandparents recall. What’s more, there’s no place for TV in a healthcare marketing plan. Opps...wrong! Log off the "digital darling" fixation for the next two […]
Five quick search engine optimization techniques to recognize if your healthcare website needs help with search ranking—to attract more visitors and win new patients. Here's a quick assessment tool for your healthcare website. Internet Search Engines, like Google, decide how high your site will be listed on a mountain of search results. Sophisticated computer programs-spiders, […]
For hospitals, health systems and practitioners, “patient experience” has gone from trendy buzzwords to strategic imperative. In fact, the totality of patient experience and satisfaction is a top-tier issue for individual providers, hospitals, group medical practices and executive decision-makers. With these folks in mind--just about everyone--the following are 10 Top Patient Experience articles, including best […]
It may not be as difficult as you suspect to recruit doctors to your blog. Here’s a doctor’s perspective on how to sell the idea to busy doctors.
On any given day—everyday, actually—you and I and everyone in the country are the primary landing zone for over 5,000 advertising and marketing messages. (There are many days when it seems like the number should be much higher.) But that’s the average—so says the Content Marketing Institute—and in our estimation, the online, social media and […]
In an informal survey of healthcare and hospital Internet advertising recently, we were alarmed by what we DIDN'T find. A surprising percentage of online ads and search topics that caught our attention didn’t connect us to a subject-specific “landing page.” The result: reader interest is lost and with it, new business opportunity is down the […]
Sometime this year, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide, according to a Gartner forecast. And with the mobile tipping point on the near horizon (or maybe here), it’s only smart marketing for hospitals and provider practices to have a mobile plan in place right now. Websites that are […]
[One of a series of posts about managing your online professional reputation, for doctor and hospital marketing success.] Most physicians regard their professional reputation as their most prized—and most highly protected—possession. As healthcare providers, there may also be a practice name, a group name, a hospital or medical facility name. Although the business entities also […]
[Study] The number of “Likes” on a hospital’s Facebook page can be used as a proxy for patient satisfaction and an indicator of hospital quality, according to findings published by the American Journal of Medical Quality. This study—titled Do Patients “Like” Good Care? Measuring Quality via Facebook—is an eye-opener for hospital administrators and marketing executives […]
Two days after the State of the Union address, the President was answering questions via social media in a “Fireside Hangout.” (The “fireside” name taps into the legacy of the Franklin Roosevelt presidential Fireside Chats on the radio between 1933 and 1944.) And just last week, the First Lady discussed her Let’s Move initiative about […]
Simply having a Facebook page is less than half the challenge. To be an effective hospital and healthcare marketing tool, the greater obstacle is to understand reader motivations, and to provide content that will attract and engage. There’s no doubt that Facebook is a social media biggie. “Two-thirds of online American adults [67 percent] are […]
Facebook is mainly friends, family and fun. Twitter is playful, fast and furious. They have their role in healthcare social media, but among the many social platforms, LinkedIn is the big guy wearing a Brooks Brothers suit and a power tie. Although anyone can use it, LinkedIn is—more than ever—a relevant social networking tool for […]
Instead of pulling out our hair, we thought it would be more productive and helpful to write about the important lesson in leadership and healthcare marketing hidden in our recent flash of frustration. Our story begins with an innocent but revealing comment… Working with professional practices around the country, time and again we’re told: “Oh, […]
Suddenly, it seems, there’s an explosive interest in video blog posts. This spike in popularity suggests that healthcare marketing professionals may want to add v-posts to their social media and Internet marketing mix. It’s tempting to think that video blog posts didn’t exist two nanoseconds ago. Then—out of the digital darkness—boom! Two-minute or less visual […]
Take a few seconds (actually, six seconds or less) to get acquainted with Twitter’s new video sharing app, VINE. This latest-and-greatest social media (SM) phenom is catching on among Twitter-ites. Vine--along with a new wave of image sharing apps--is new, but it may or may not belong in your healthcare social media toolbox. Clever new […]
The thing about social media is that its greatest value is in being social. A balanced, “sociable” mix of healthcare marketing posts—via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, G+, LinkedIn, and others—attracts, engages and connects with your audience. It’s the mix (or variety) in social media where you can show your online “personality” and inspire continuing interest and […]
Healthcare marketing professionals cringed at the news in our earlier post, Little Blue Book Blues: Doctors Think Their Website is a Failure. It’s a gut-wrenching awareness that only 8 percent of physicians feel their website is the source of new patients. Hopefully, your website has a significantly better track record. But another survey tells us […]
The many and various “doctor review” sites seem to be as popular as the flu bug floating around the office. Doctors don’t like them and patients don’t use them, according to two recent surveys. Related: 9 Essential Steps to Improve Doctor Ratings Online But here’s why healthcare marketing professionals and medical providers shouldn't dismiss consumer […]
As long as everyone's preoccupied with the big game this weekend: Remember, you don’t win football games by getting the football as far as the Red Zone. It’s crossing the goal line that makes you a winner. There’s a much-neglected technique in online advertising that you can use to push across the goal line, bring […]
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 […]
The new Health Online 2013 survey from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project is bound to raise eyebrows among healthcare providers and marketing executives. It boldly declares that for many people, the Internet is a “de facto second opinion—and even a first opinion” regarding serious health concerns or questions. What’s more, it underscores […]
In a conversation the other day with Simona Ramos, one of our top artists at Healthcare Success, I was reminded how the general public has become far more visually aware and demanding. For healthcare marketing, good pictures are not good enough. The ability to “think visually” is a talent that not everyone has. They don’t […]
There's a definite undercurrent of panic in the phone calls we've been getting recently about Google search results…or more often, the results that have disappeared. If you haven't checked your Google Search results ranking in the past few days, do it now. Take a minute and do a few Google searches just as the regular […]
Having and effectively using an online presence—website, social media, etc.—is a primary channel for connections between patients and providers. It is the principal means for the newly empowered healthcare consumer to find and act upon authoritative information.
[First of a two-part post.] Social media (SM) has swiftly engrained itself in nearly every corner of contemporary culture and daily living. And that includes healthcare where, among other things, the various social media platforms have become a significant agent for change. Fundamentally, social media is changing the nature and speed of healthcare interaction between consumers […]
Most healthcare marketing professionals use Twitter, either personally, professionally…or both. It’s merely six years old, but the popular micro blogging platform has become a standard communications tool for hospitals, medical practices and health systems. But even experienced Twitter-ites may have been busy with the holiday season and not be aware of improvements to the social […]
