Fangirl Friday: Healthcare Marketing Campaign Spotlight

Healthcare marketing is one of the most under-appreciated branches of marketing in existence. We know this, you know this, and everyone else in the industry knows this. It’s hard to get people excited about healthcare, it’s hard to make what is stereotypically a “boring industry” exciting, and it’s hard to market in an industry where there’s very little previous marketing history to go off of.  

That’s why when we see healthcare marketing campaigns that are truly original, we can’t help but to have a fan-girl moment. We’re so proud of what we’re seeing in the industry today, of healthcare marketing campaigns that impress and inspire and push the rest of us to do better, that bring our industry to the forefront of conversation and get patients excited and engaged. That’s why we like to showcase some of our favorite healthcare marketing campaigns from time to time, to share the ideas with other people in the industry and recognize the campaigns that are making a name for healthcare marketing. So, without further ado, here’s the campaign we think deserves spotlighting this week:

“Ask The ICD” by Medtronic

Medtronic won the 2015 Internet Advertising Competition award for their web-based campaign, “Ask The ICD”. The concept of “Ask The ICD” is awesome. Medtronic created a website where people who had questions about ICD’s (implantable cardioverter defribilators) could, quite simply, get the answers to everything.

The team at Medtronic understood that patients who are told they’ll need heart implants often find themselves flooded with questions. How will it affect the different aspects of their lives? Are they safe? Will they still be able to run marathons? Can they eat their favorite foods? The need to ask and find answers to these questions is totally understandable, but for whatever reason they noticed that many patients refrained from ever asking the questions on their minds, whether it was because they were embarrassed by them or they felt like they were bothering their doctor by doing so.

That’s why Medtronic came up with “Ask The ICD”, a website where patients who were afraid to go to their doctor could go to find the answers to whatever questions they had, regardless of how silly they might seem. Patients simply go to the website and are prompted to type in their questions. They can ask absolutely anything, from scientific questions about the technical aspects of ICD’s to questions about specific lifestyle changes that might result from getting an ICD.

It’s vaguely reminiscent of Burger King’s Subservient Chicken, which would respond to whatever users typed into the screen, no matter how ridiculous the request was. The best part, though? Even though the website certainly has an entertainment value, it’s primary purpose is to educate people on every aspect of ICD’s and to serve as an invaluable resource for patients. It does what we as physicians unfortunately don’t have the time to do: answer each and every question posed by all of our patients, regardless of the time of day or seriousness of the question. “Ask The ICD” essentially acts as a 24-hour support system and resource for people who have ICD’s, may be getting one, or simply want to learn more. It’s a genius idea, and kudos to Medtronic for thinking of it. 

The Importance Of Physician Liaisons: How Poor Physician Relations Are Killing Your Business

Physician liaisons. They’re your ace in the hole, the most important trick up your sleeve, and if you’re a healthcare provider in the 21st century who doesn’t have one, you’re in trouble. Physician relations are the bread and butter of healthcare marketing. Your referring physicians are your life force. They’re where you get your patients, they’re what keeps the lights on and the machines running. They can be your greatest allies, or your worst enemy.

Your center lives or dies based on referring physicians. We know this. It’s not some big secret. Our referring physician’s offices are what keep our world turning, so why wouldn’t you want to do everything you could to keep those relationships alive?  For some, the answer is simple. They’re just not sure how to do that. That’s where we can help.

The secret to making your referring physicians happy is simple: maintain good physician relations. How do you actually maintain good physician relations, though? Have a dedicated physician liaison.

Marketing to referring physicians is one of the best strategies for increasing your volume, but most physician groups don’t have the time or resources to actually do this. That’s where the physician liaison comes in. They’re a marketing representative whose sole job is to educate physicians and referral coordinators on services and procedures that your center offers, ensure patient and physician satisfaction, and solicit feedback for you.

They’re there to strengthen your relationships with the referring physician’s offices in your area, to create new relationships and expand the amount of referring physicians for your center, to deal with any criticisms or concerns, to ensure that patients are continuing to be sent to your center, and to make sure the physicians so integral to the success of your business remain happy.

Physician liaisons are crucial in both maintaining your relationships with referring physicians and making sure that your volume continues to grow. They’re one of the services we’re most proud to offer, and we understand just how important they are. If you don’t currently have a physician liaison, there are so many opportunities you could be missing out on.

How do you know when there’s a problem? What if the only reason the largest referring physician’s office in your area isn’t sending their patients to you is because they’re not sure if you accept a particular insurance carrier? How are you supposed to know? Centers lose hundreds of patients each and every year for small issues that could be easily fixed through communication, and your physician liaison is just that. They’re your direct form of communication with your physicians, they’re the ones who make sure you’re not losing out on those patients due to lack of information, and the value they’re providing is irreplaceable.

Our physician liaison program is one of the best. We understand the importance of these reps in the success of a center, and they’re an asset we want everyone to have. What sets our physician liaisons apart is the promise of exclusivity that we offer. Each liaison only represents one specialty per area, so there’s no conflict of interest. You’re guaranteed someone who is specific to just your center, and who is trained specifically in the specialties that you offer.

Just think about it. An expert dedicated to your center and trained in your specialty whose sole purpose is to create and maintain those relationships with your referring physicians, to smooth out the kinks, to educate and grow your referral base, to gather feedback for you, and to keep those volume numbers rising. It’s an invaluable service, and it’s one every healthcare provider needs. If you know your physician relations could be improved and you’re interested in the possibility of bringing on a physician liaison, you can reach out to Kelly—the fabulous woman spearheading our Physician Relations services—by emailing kmccormack@atlantic-hs.com.

4 Powerful Takeaways From RBMA's "Building Better Radiology Marketing Programs"

Earlier this week we had the pleasure of experiencing something we hope all of you have participated in at some point in your careers: a forced trip to Vegas full of networking, happy hours, and enlightening sessions with some of the best brightest individuals in Radiology marketing. Sounds absolutely torturous, right? We really took one for the team on this one.

RBMA is the Radiology Business Management Association, a professional organization for radiology business management professionals all across the country. Every year they hold dozens of educational classes, meetings, and conferences in a number of locations around the country, but our favorite one to go to is the one we attended this week: “Building Better Radiology Marketing Programs”. It’s one of the only conferences specific to radiology marketing, and we always come away from it feeling excited about new changes in the industry and motivated to take our marketing to the next level.

As with any conference, there were a ton of takeaways from BBRMP. Here were a few that really resonated with us:

We’re not dreaming about price transparency in our industry anymore…it’s finally here.

For years many of us in the healthcare industry have been pushing for price transparency, and it’s finally starting to look like the war is being won. In the last year alone we’ve seen a huge surge in the number of patients and providers who are demanding transparency, and it’s finally becoming a reality for patients. At BBRMP we talked a lot of transparency, and about how companies like Save On Medical are giving patients a way to compare prices and quality of care for their procedures. It’s a huge step in transitioning the industry into a more transparent one, and we hope other companies are inspired by sites like this and we start to see these changes across the board.

Radiology marketing is growing and evolving faster than ever, and it’s awesome.

Every year at the BBRMP conference they hold the Quest Awards, a voting based competition that selects winners in five radiology marketing categories including Physician Marketing, Patient Marketing, Cause Related Marketing, etc. Companies are encouraged to submit their best campaigns into the competition, and let me tell you, the stuff we saw was incredible. From breast self-exams explained by the Chippendales to in depth ICD-10 guides, the number of quirky, creative, compelling, and fun content was simply mind-blowing. We’re loving the creativity that’s come into the radiology marketing industry, and we want to give a huge pat on the back to all the people out there who are working tirelessly to turn an industry that has been stereotypically clinical and boring in the past into one that patients and providers can be excited and delighted by.

3D mammo is taking over, and the biggest challenge is finding a way to creatively market it.

This year’s conference centered a lot around women’s imaging, specifically the importance of early screening and 3D mammography. In light of the controversy surrounding American Cancer Society’s new recommendations for breast cancer screening, much of what we talked about was how marketing teams could work to properly educate referring physicians and patients about the importance of early detection. We saw some incredibly powerful examples of mammography marketing that were not only creative, but also compelling and impactful, including this campaign from Charlotte Radiology.

It’s clear that mammography isn’t going away, and it’s our job as radiology marketers to provide patients and physicians with the information necessary to help them make educated decisions about their care.

If at any point you’ve managed to double the money you put down for Craps, just walk away.

We learned a lot of things in Vegas, but this might be one of the most important ones! We don’t care what those free cocktails are telling you. If you’re up when you’re gambling, then get out. You’ll regret your rash overenthusiasm to keep playing when you wake up in the morning to a sad, empty wallet.

Radiology marketing isn’t easy, and it’s made even more difficult by the challenges that radiology marketers face working in an industry that up till just recently has been viewed as boring and clinical, but the campaigns that we saw this week and the ideas that were shared and the overwhelming passion we felt for the industry from everyone at BBRMP made us so incredibly proud and excited to be in the field that we’re in. To all the radiology marketers out there: rock on! 

5 Healthcare Marketing Experts You Should Start Stalking Immediately

Marketing can be difficult, especially when you’re in healthcare. Healthcare marketing has changed drastically over the past decade, evolving into an exciting but incredibly complicated mass of practices, tools, and ideas. The great thing about healthcare marketing is that it’s essentially a wide open frontier. We’ve moved so far beyond our traditional methods of the past that in many cases, those ideas aren’t relevant anymore. We’re moving forward. It’s a time of expansion, of thinking outside the box, of incredible growth. The bad thing about that, though, is that it means there’s not much to go off of.

Marketing is an incredibly collaborative field. We feed off each others’ ideas, we share our successes and our failures and we challenge both ourselves and our fellow marketers to grow. In an industry where marketing is so fresh and untested, though, where are we supposed to draw inspiration from?

We’ve gathered a list of a few of our favorite healthcare marketing experts, the ones who are regularly sharing exciting and innovative ideas specific to the healthcare industry with their fellow marketers. They’re pretty much healthcare marketing gurus, and if you’re not following them on every platform you can then you’re missing out on a lot of great content that could help you improve your marketing strategy and better your brand.

So, without any further delay, here’s 5 healthcare marketing experts you should start stalking immediately (while keeping in mind that restraining orders are a very real thing).

Marie Ennis-O’Connor @JBBC

She’s a Healthcare Social Media Consultant and health blogger, and she’s been named one of Klick Health’s top 50 global social media influencers. She specializes in providing social media consultancy and training services to companies in the healthcare industry, and she’s always sharing great tools and trends in healthcare marketing.

Stewart Gandolf @StewartGandolf 

He’s the CEO of Healthcare Success Strategies, a medical marketing and health care ad agency in California. He’s famous for all of the #hcmkgt stories he shares on Twitter, and his website has a ton of resources for online marketing as well.

Mitchell Cotthoff @MitchCotthoff 

If the 28,000 followers aren’t enough to convince you this guy knows what he’s talking about, a few minutes on his Twitter feed will. Mitchell’s constantly sharing innovative marketing resources online with his followers, and they’re all easily adaptable to the healthcare industry.

Salman Aslam @asksalmanaslam 

As a Digital Business Strategist and Co-Founder/CEO of Omnicore Agency, Salman’s got a lot of knowledge about healthcare marketing. He specializes in digital marketing, though, and what makes him different from some of our other gurus is the fact that his content is geared specifically towards marketers looking to boost their traffic on social media platforms. The content is valuable, and it’s specific too.

Fergus Linskey @FergusLinskey 

We love Fergus, and not just because he’s Tampa based! All of his marketing tips are geared specifically towards individual doctors and healthcare practices, which means no time spent trying to take those tips and translate them to be relevant for your business.

The list doesn’t stop with these five! There are tons of valuable resources out there, and there are lots of healthcare marketing experts doing everything they can to share them with others. We’ve made a habit of trying to follow as many of them as we can. You can find them through our page @Atlantic_Health. 

What Not To Do On Social Media: Healthcare Edition

Social media is hands down one of the most valuable marketing tools for healthcare professionals in the 21st century, if not the most valuable. It’s a platform that allows us to engage with patients in ways we never could before, to establish that personal connection and increase brand awareness substantially. It gives our practice a personality, and makes what many people don’t view as a traditionally exciting industry just a little more endearing. That is, if we’re using it correctly.

Like any other asset, social media can be a bit of a double edged sword. When used incorrectly, it can singlehandedly destroy your reputation or push current and future patients away. It’s true for personal social media accounts, and it’s even more true for professional accounts.

If you’re one of the healthcare professionals who’s taken the plunge and dipped your toes into the world of social media, then take a quick second and congratulate yourself for successfully riding the wave into the future of healthcare marketing! We all know it’s not enough just to start riding the wave, though…it’s all about whether you’re able to stay afloat while doing it!

It’s not enough to simply have social media for your practice, you’ve got to make sure that you’re using it right--otherwise it can end up being the anchor that drags you down. Everyone’s practice is different, so it’s impossible to just sit down and say “here’s what you should be doing”. When it comes to social media practices, though, there are some universal things you shouldn’t be doing. So here’s our list of what not to do…healthcare edition, of course! Although many of these tips are centered specifically around Facebook, they’re applicable to other social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn as well. 

One of the biggest mistakes that healthcare professionals make when starting out on social media is to view their accounts as a place to sell. Don’t do that. Social media should be used primarily as a platform for patient engagement and information sharing. People don’t want to hear your business pitch, they just want you to care about and engage with them on a personal level. When it comes to self promotion on social media, try to follow Rallyverse’s Golden Ratio. 30% of your posts should be owned/original content, 60% should be shared from somewhere else, and just 10% percent should be promotional.

We’ve all heard the phrase “sharing is caring”. When it comes to social media, though, that’s not always necessarily true. Yes, the key purpose of social media is to share resources and information and experiences with your patients, but we know all too well that oversharing has negative results. Try not to oversaturate the patients who are following you on social media—sharing too much content will result in being hidden from their newsfeed or even un-liked. Stick to one post per day on Facebook, and no more than 5 a day on Twitter. If you notice people aren’t engaging with your posts, try scaling back or experimenting with different times of the day. It’s a science, and it takes a little bit of time to figure out what works for your healthcare practice! On the same note, make sure that the content you’re sharing is relevant to your patients and your business. Otherwise you’ll risk losing legitimacy in their eyes.

When it comes to social media, talking about your patients isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it’s great to recognize and appreciate them online, as long as they’re comfortable with it! If there’s one thing you should absolutely never do, though, it’s talk trash about your patients. Even if you had the most horrible experience with the nastiest patient in the world, it’s not ok to talk about on Facebook. Don’t joke about it, don’t poke fun at them, don’t complain. Anything you say about your patients on social media should be nothing but positive!

Your company’s professional social media accounts are just that…professional. They’re not a place to argue about hot button social issues, they’re not a place to be vulgar or confrontational. They don’t operate the same way that a personal Facebook account operates—they’re held to a higher standard. Keep this in mind when you’re picking your posts for the week. If something seems a little too racy, don’t post it. If you think your patients might be offended by it, don’t risk it. The same can be said when it comes to responding to reviews via social media. You might have a patient who leaves a ridiculous or incredibly rude review on your Facebook page. Don’t argue with them, even if what they said was ludicrous. Be polite, be professional, apologize for the negative experience, and offer a solution for the future. It will go a long way towards improving your brand.

Social media is a huge beast, and it’s not very easy to manage. There’s a ton that goes into it, and it can be so easy to get overwhelmed and feel lost. The big thing about social media is that you can’t just jump into it without a game plan. There’s a strategy behind how to properly use it, and if you’re lacking that strategy then you’re probably not going to see the results that your company is hoping to see. Think you might need some help getting your social media strategy together, or even just revamping it a little bit? Talk to the experts in healthcare marketing. We love doing it, and we’d be more than happy to help!