There is no question that today’s healthcare environment is changing. However, what is not changing is the need for healthcare companies, hospitals and physicians to continue to market and promote their services, new technologies, community initiatives and other news.How do you cut through the clutter and stand out from the competition? Here are a few PR tips that can lead to blockbuster results:
Social media: Perhaps no two words carry a bigger punch in today’s marketing arena than social media. Building brand awareness and growing a business through social media only works if you are willing to listen, engage and act. Social media are platforms for consumer interaction and relationship building. This first step is to develop a strategic plan. The plan should answer: Who are your audiences? What are your messages? What do you have to offer your target markets through social media? How will you measure success? Without a plan you will be ineffective and disappointed in your social media outreach. Holy Cross Hospital has lively and dynamic social media properties. The award-winning hospital in Fort Lauderdale aggregates all news onto its Facebook posts and actively engages and listens, answering comments when appropriate. A blog is another social media tool that serves to increase search engine optimization, building inbound links and establishing search engine trust. South Florida orthopedic surgeon William A. Leone, M.D., F.A.C.S., who leads The Leone Center for Orthopedic Care at Holy Cross, regularly blogs on topics of interest relating to knee and hip treatments. As a result, the website is experiencing an increase in targeted traffic and those viewing the blogs are sharing the content through their social media properties.
Convey the story in print and video: We have become a very visual society. In addition to sending out a press release about a new procedure, new equipment or success story, produce a video, optimize it correctly and post it to YouTube, the second largest search engine in the world. Now visitors can embed it, share it and post it. Let the media know video is available so they can repost to their site. If a video goes viral, there is an added PR component.
Connect with the community: Reaching out to the community with special programs engages your target audience. For example, hospitals like Holy Cross host a variety of events that are free and open to the public including the frequent Dinner with the Doctor series and calendar related initiatives. To highlight National Prostate Awareness Month, they held a Men’s Health Rally with former Miami Dolphins star Larry Little, who addressed guests about the importance of prostate screenings. Last month for National Diabetes Month, Holy Cross hosted a free lecture on hormones and diabetes and how the endocrine system affects daily life, as part of their Time Out for Women community lecture series. Events that are free and open to the public will generate media coverage and leveraging celebrities for a good cause will expand your media reach.
Support initiatives that align with your mission: It makes sense to support initiatives that are a win-win. Scholarships fit that bill. Sheridan Healthcare, Inc., a hospital-based, multispecialty practice management company and the leading anesthesia services provider in the country, offers allied health scholarships to geographically-targeted student registered nurse anesthetists. Publicity is generated by announcing the scholarship application process, and again when the scholarship recipients are announced. Sheridan then has access to a pool of possible employees and these students have access to potential job opportunities.
Be creative: Create innovative partnerships with non-profits to promote health education in different and creative ways. Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital did just that with Young At Art Museum. Through a dynamic new partnership, Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Young At Art Museum promote the art of healthy living for children and families through in-museum and community outreach programs that integrate art and health. In the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Portrait Gallery at YAA – a hands-on arts-based space designed to meet fundamental strategies for building self awareness, self esteem and confidence, all critical to the health, wellness and growth of children – visitors enjoy a variety of arts related special events as well as a quarterly community guest interactive lecture series with physicians from Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, who discuss topics relating to the importance of the arts in healing.
Hospitals, doctors and healthcare companies might have the finest facilities, staff and services, but it is critical that a company not rest on its laurels. To be successful and stand out in today’s crowded marketplace companies need to find creative ways to engage their audiences and communicate their advantages.
