People often confuse marketing and public relations (PR), but they are not synonymous. They do, however, work best together. In fact, we often include healthcare PR services in our marketing plans along with other key strategies, including branding, digital marketing, traditional advertising, internal marketing, and professional referral building. So, What Exactly Is PR? Public relations […]
As more businesses favor social media channels for timely business communications, you may think press releases have become outdated or old-fashioned. You might even ask yourself, "Do we even need press releases anymore?" The answer is an unequivocal "Yes." Consumers and journalists still view press releases as one of the most trustworthy sources of brand-related […]
Learn how to craft an effective communication strategy for COVID-19 vaccines for patients in healthcare practices and medical organizations.
I (Stewart) love what I do in large part because of the smart people I continually get to meet and befriend. Jay Geer is another case in point. Perhaps ten years ago, his (then) assistant James Chisum reached out to me and said, “You have to meet Jay Geer. He is THE hospital PR guy, […]
Our team at Healthcare Success is currently advising clients about how they should adjust their marketing efforts in response to the COVID-19 national emergency, and I thought I would share some of our thinking with readers like you as well. These are fast-changing and confusing times. Remember, SXSW was canceled on March 6. By March 9, […]
One of the things I love most about my job is the opportunity to meet with some really great people doing amazing work in healthcare. Recently, I spoke with Johnny Smith, Senior Director of Marketing and Communications at Ascension Health, the nation’s largest non-profit health system. I reached out to him after hearing about his […]
Communications professionals know the name Ivy Lee, considered the father of modern public relations. Few people appreciate that he also invented—and wrote—the first press release. That was a hundred years ago (1906). It traveled by regular mail and the common name “press release” probably came later. Many things about this time-honored publicity channel are still […]
What do you do when the news media suddenly knocks on your door regarding a hot news item? What if one or more members of the press wants a media interview? Without much notice they're seeking your expert medical opinion or professional point of view. It’s useful for the media to know that you're available. And […]
Compared to other forms of marketing, community marketing doesn’t get a lot of attention or even respect. In fact, truth be told, I’m a digital marketer at heart, and until a few weeks ago I really didn’t appreciate its power either. My “awakening” came when I recently had the opportunity to sit in on a […]
It's likely that your health system, hospital or practice will soon be the victim of a cyber crime. Your medical public relations disaster is not “if,” but “when.” The actual victims include patients and the loss of personal data. Compromised health record information is a medical public relations emergency waiting to happen. Your brand and marketing […]
Geisinger Health System (GHS) made the news a year ago with a ground breaking commitment to patient experience. GHS was the first hospital group to offer money-back refunds on their care...and with no questions asked. The retail world provides patient experience lessons. The program is for “patients whose experiences and expectations were not met with kindness and compassion.” […]
Hospitals, as well as some medical practices, can use public service announcements (PSAs) to communicate “messages in the public interest.” The good new and the bad news about creating a public service announcement is that it’s free. Well…that is to say, it’s nearly free. There’s no charge for any broadcast time or print ad space, which can […]
Recent Agency Growth Has Led Healthcare Success, LLC to Find a New Home Designed for Collaboration and Creating Impactful Campaigns. IRVINE, Calif., (May 16, 2016) – Healthcare Success, LLC, one of the nation’s leading advertising agencies for hospitals and medical groups has moved to a new office space located at 2860 Michelle Drive, Suite 230, Irvine, […]
[Second of two parts] If you have not already done so, please read our previous post, Hospital PR Case Examples: One Bizarre, One Just Crazy about the hospital cyber-attack-for-ransom. This second case example is a different sort of hospital public relations (and media relations) squabble, between the local newspaper and the local hospital. Nobody wants […]
[First of two parts] Two “PR-painful” news stories caught our attention recently. They are the kind of thing that makes the job of hospital public relations and community relations a challenge and headache…but, they illustrate why there are times that hospitals need professional help. For the hospitals involved— South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, GA, and […]
Paul Rosen, MD A year ago, I had a chance meeting with OperaDelaware’s General Manager, Brendan Cooke. OperaDelaware is the 11th oldest opera company in the country, with offices just three miles from our front door at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. Before long, Brendan and I were talking about the […]
There’s no mistaking this picture. Ryan is one happy kid. Ryan—the son of Niki Kaylor, our Director of Client Services—just received his first college acceptance letter. The envelope alone leaves no doubt about the University of South Carolina (USC) notification to Ryan, his family and friends. Niki—who happened to be at home with Ryan when […]
The concept of “free publicity” appeals to medical practices and providers because it appears to be...well, free. It turns out that that "free" is something of a misnomer. In healthcare—for that matter, in any industry—communications professionals recognize that the process that results in positive publicity is time intensive and rarely easy. Ultimately, the story that appears […]
Cyber attacks on patient healthcare records and medical information are hot-news headlines—and an increasingly realistic prospect for health systems, hospitals and medical practices. Is your PR or Communications Plan ready for this digital broadside? Large-scale criminal data breaches, such as the reports regarding the UCLA Health System (affecting over 4 million people), are high profile […]
“All you have to do,” someone once told every young doctor, “is be a good provider and everything will take care of itself.” Let’s put that notion at the top of this list of promotional myths. The mistaken belief—that simply being a good doctor will bring new patients through your door—will probably make you and your […]
Let’s hope you never back into a buzz saw of “unintended consequences.” That’s when seemingly ordinary events inexplicably spin over to the dark side. It doesn’t happen often, but here’s a roundup of three recent and unrelated news reports that went from sweet to sour. What’s your reaction to these items, and what would you do if […]
Experienced doctors tell us that, sooner or later in their career, every physician will face the prospect of legal action. Between 75 and 99 percent of practicing doctors, depending on their specialty, will be threatened by a lawsuit according to a NEJM study. Although “patient-sues-doctor” rarely makes the news, the reverse situation—doctor-sues-patient—seems to make the headlines […]
There are times when hospital and health system publicity or public relations can leverage current news or events to a positive advantage. Healthcare reform and the many faces (and continuing implementation steps) of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) for example, is an ever-timely springboard to being part of the news. There can […]
Healthcare marketing is more involved than simply hiring someone to write an ad or create a brochure for you. (After all, your practice is not a simple box of detergent or a used car lot.) To be successful, you will need a well-considered marketing plan and budget, complete with ethical, appropriate and proven strategies. While […]
We’ve been working on redesigning and refreshing our marketing information newsletter. And since the subject of newsletter content and construction was top of mind for us, we wanted to share a few how-to tips about the process. Not long ago we conducted a Reader Survey that was open to our 15,000+ subscribers. The responses helped […]
Human emotions are probably the strongest reason for someone to LIKE, SHARE or COMMENT on Facebook (or almost any social media for that matter.) Sure, there are many posts that inform or educate, others that reward, a few that tempt or tease the page visitor. But the lesson for healthcare and hospital marketing folks is […]
The redesign of the nation’s healthcare delivery system is setting up for another wave of change. And this one’s certain to fuel public relations challenges for healthcare PR professionals with both internal and external audiences. The prospect of connecting doctors’ income directly to quality of care is already sparking lively discussions. What the New York […]
Editor’s Note: In this second of a two-part post, Dr. Neil Baum presents doctor-to-doctor ideas that are founded in 30 years of real-world experience as a practicing urologist in New Orleans. He is a sought-after speaker, and the author of Social Media For the Healthcare Professional, Greenbranch Publishing, 2011. Part 1 is available here. Physicians […]
Editor’s Note: In this first of a two-part post, Dr. Neil Baum presents doctor-to-doctor ideas that are founded in 30 years of real-world experience as a practicing urologist in New Orleans. He is a sought-after speaker, and the author of Social Media For the Healthcare Professional, Greenbranch Publishing, 2011. Physicians have been shy about reaching […]
The recent "superstorm" that hit the East Coast reminded us that seasoned healthcare and hospital public relations professionals are a bit like professional journalists. With little or no warning, they may need to document unannounced or spontaneous events including capturing on-the-spot photos or videos. Let's hope it doesn't happen often, (or as serious as a […]
Doctors are often called upon by members of the news media to speak or be quoted as an authoritative source. Often, that's good, but there could be a downside. Physicians, medical practice administrators and hospital marketing and PR executives need to consider that sometimes reporters are not digging for gold, they are digging for dirt. […]
Our Managing Editor at Healthcare Success is normally an easy-going person who doesn’t get upset easily. After all, he easily handles the daily high-strung environment of publishing deadlines and life in the medical advertising agency fast lane. But now and then some things cross his desk that make him cringe, “This is dumb." Moments like […]
A Bruce Willis tough-guy character might say this—it’s one of those edgy little quips that circulates via the Internet: “I’m only responsible for what I say, not for what you understand.” This cheeky advice plays OK as a just-for-fun Twitter message. But it’s obviously a joke. In the real world of healthcare communications and doctor […]
There’s a temptation to forget that effective medical practice public relations begins and ends with the individual patient, client, consumer and/or customer. Although professional communicators use “mass media,” the essential mission of PR is far more singular…and it travels under the label of “customer service” or the “patient experience.” And lately we’ve observed how a […]
As we write this, several million people (and counting) have already seen the compelling and compassionate video on YouTube. The larger story here is that this is also a case example and healthcare marketing and public relations lesson for a range of healthcare providers. Watch the video and let us know what you think.
The people you see on the nightly TV news make appearing on camera look easy. Study them for a few minutes. The anchor desk types—the particularly good ones—are calm, collected and confident. And, with years of training and experience, they deliver a sense of authority, sincerity and believability. So there you have it. As a […]
HARO—the Help a Reporter Out online service—can be a useful tactic for hospital marketing. But it usually takes a bit of perseverance and creativity to get to the pay-off. The concept is great…sort of a speed dating approach to research and background info for reporters. HARO is a free (or tiered fee), crowdsourcing platform where […]
We want to spotlight two great hospital marketing and public relations examples that we noticed in the news recently. For administrators and communications professionals, these are hospital case examples with lessons worth emulating. Both Scripps Health (San Diego) and Cleveland Clinic (uh…in Cleveland) offered textbook performances just days ahead of the US Supreme Court’s decision […]
Our readers, clients and professional colleagues know that one or more of our Healthcare Success “Marketing All Stars” is always traveling. In addition to our consulting work and our continuing Advanced Healthcare Marketing Strategies Seminar series, we’re frequently invited to speak at professional meetings and events across the nation. No doubt your schedule is just […]
We’ve been watching a bit of a brouhaha in the media recently about dental therapists. We’d like to hear from our readers—practicing dentists in particular—about dental therapists and if there’s a place in dentistry for a mid-level provider. There is a wide range of dental procedures that a dental therapist can perform as determined by […]
Hospitals—at least some hospitals—have a reputation for being laggards on the technology adoption curve. There's some truth to that; after all, big medical devices have a big price tag and six- and seven-figure capital investments don't happen weekly. But the truth is that many hospitals and group medical practices have discovered new ways to apply […]
If a professional reputation is to be protected at all costs, should a healthcare provider file a lawsuit against a patient for a negative online review? From time to time we see news items about doctors or dentists who threaten legal action against patients. But suing a patient for a negative comment (or comments) is […]
More Inside Tips, Dos and Don'ts to Reach Patients Through the Media EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a follow up article to Healthcare Publicity: The First Three Steps To Getting Free Press Coverage Our previous article about medical publicity and public relations got you started with the first three steps to discovering short-term healthcare practice publicity […]
Get Free Healthcare Practice Publicity by Giving Local Media What They Want Ever wonder what the difference is between advertising and publicity? Simply put, publicity is free. Advertising costs money. In other words, if a newspaper writes a news article about you (but doesn't charge you), that's publicity. If the newspaper charges you for the […]
There’s something unsettling about the healthcare article in The Seattle Times last week; it seems a bit out of balance. We’re guessing that the hospital public relations professionals in the Puget Sound area are scratching their heads over this one also. Is this a legitimate news story or a media-invented tempest in a teapot? The […]
We have yet to find an online physician and medical practice rating system that is "perfect." Are you aware of how you rate on HealthGrades.com, or ratemds.com, or Vitals.com, or any of the dozens of other physician rating websites that populate the Internet? If someone has taken the time to post a comment, does it […]
We think this concept is an unusual, but exceptional, way to reveal system-wide hospital marketing and public relations opportunities. Could it also be used in a healthcare provider's office? A television program initially inspired his idea, says David Musyj, president and CEO of Windsor Regional Hospital in Ontario, Canada. It’s anything but an ordinary approach […]
Here’s something to add to your list of local news media. It’s called Patch.com, it’s new and it probably belongs on your hospital or medical practice advertising and public relations media list. Patch—which creates a dedicated local news presence in upscale communities—calls itself “your source for local knowledge you can’t live without.” Patch isn’t everywhere […]
Now and then, something really unpleasant happens at a hospital, medical center or even at a medical practice, and “bad news” abounds. Unflattering headlines and stories flow, and negative hospital public impressions and perceptions have administrators reaching for the extra large bottles of Pepto-Bismol. What if something like this hit the fan in your facility? […]
Right up front we need to say that there aren't any absolute "guarantees" about results in hospital advertising, or healthcare marketing for that matter. At best, you can use proven strategies and tactics, draw on professional experience and take other practical safeguards to minimize risk. But guarantees? Steer clear of anyone who offers you that […]
