By John Lavey, CEO/President

One word in healthcare marketing seems to be radioactive: retainer. 

Historically, healthcare marketing agencies charged retainers and delivered valuable advisory services for that monthly fee, and then charged for time and materials above and beyond the fee for deliverables (design, content, advertising buys, etc.). 

The Great Recession, which started in 2007, upended many business models, and was when we started to see traditional marketing transform into what we know think of as digital marketing (2007 was also the same year the first iPhone was introduced). Our company founder, Rex Hammock, framed this revolutionary change as shifting from reliance on other media channels (via ad agencies and PR firms) to taking control of media creation for direct customer outreach.  

With traditional agencies rocked by slashed marketing budgets and a whole new paradigm for reaching customers possible with digital marketing, the idea of charging retainers came under pressure. Plus, the labor market was full of former journalists and marketers who could work freelance for healthcare companies to accomplish their marketing needs.  

Plenty of agencies still charge retainers. But many healthcare companies began paying for specific deliverables rather than retaining agencies, especially in content marketing and specialized digital marketing. Retainer became a negative word. 

While retainers in the old days may have implied money that wasn’t accountable, there is an increased need today for balancing the delivery of assets with the guidance and expertise (and outside perspective) that come from working with a content agency, not just buying a certain amount of content. I’m curious to know how you view this issue. Feel free to let me know! 

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About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email |
This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here

 

 

By Jeff Walter, Senior Healthcare Editor and Writer

One of the most pressing challenges in today’s healthcare environment is access. That one simple concept touches practically every area of what hospitals, clinics, health systems, health plans, home health agencies, provider groups and other healthcare organizations do every day.

There’s access, first and foremost, to care. There’s access to insurance coverage, to specialists, to reliable information (including one’s own records), to assistance in navigating the whole complicated system. The needs are great and the resources, unfortunately, limited. Outsourcing and partnerships can be valuable allies in providing the best care.

The same often proves true in healthcare marketing. How easy are you making it for your patients/customers (and potential ones) to access the information and messages that your organization wants to communicate to them?

Today’s most successful healthcare marketers realize the importance of engaging with consumers across a range of media and platforms. Personalization means reaching people “where they are,” giving them access to useful information at their convenience, on their timetable and on their terms, through their preferred channel(s). From text and email campaigns to blog posts, from e-books to whitepapers, from infographics to videos, from case studies to social media, the methods of reaching your target audience are practically as limitless as your imagination.

There may be limits, however, to the time and other resources that your in-house staff has available to effectively and efficiently craft and curate this content. Whether your team is directly involved in patient care, or it plays a supporting role as a vendor or service provider, consider whether you are content with your content. Might you benefit from access to marketing specialists who can provide critical services as needed? Most companies find such content too specialized and too expensive to create in house.

At Hammock, we have a demonstrated track record of helping healthcare companies market themselves through carefully created content that their varied audiences can actually use. Our experienced researchers, strategists, writers, editors and designers can help your organization forge deeper and longer-lasting relationships with customers—helping instead of hyping, all in the interest of everyone’s good health.

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About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email |
This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here

 

 

By John Lavey, President and CEO 
 
Helping customers be more successful at solving a problem or pursuing a passion is good marketing. Being able to share information that no one else has access to, or hasn’t taken the time to aggregate in a meaningful way, is particularly powerful.  
 
Some of our clients have access to large data sets that can be mined to share trends, like payer trends related to claims reimbursement. Others have packaged publicly available information in a way that is specifically helpful, such as a monthly update on the status of every state’s CMS waiver. 
 
It’s a valuable asset to be able to inform insights with data sets that can help guide a customer’s decision making, and help them be more informed and more successful. When that data is shared in an engaging format, it positions you as a leader, with real authority in your industry. In some instances, healthcare companies have such valuable information, the communication of that data and those insights can become its own product, and it creates a revenue stream. 
 
For other companies, the key might be focusing on the insights at the core of your expertise. Is there publicly available data you can organize in a way that creates value to your customers? Or do you have access to data that you can share on a recurring basis to capture trends? 
 
If you are focused on establishing yourself as a thought leader in your part of the healthcare industry, or providing helpful content to your customers, consider the golden opportunity provided by data-supported insights.

 

 

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About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email |
This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here

 

 

By John Lavey, President and CEO 
 
One of the great opportunities when you work with many different healthcare clients is to continue learning. No area has provided more opportunities for our team to learn than what we call “engagement.” 
 
We often think of engagement as a marketing activity. And, in part, it is. Engagement is about activating a patient, opening a channel of communication and then nurturing positive behaviors that drive positive health outcomes.  
 
But engagement is really a bigger discussion—and a more challenging problem—than simply marketing. Healthcare organizations can’t truly improve patient engagement without focusing on health equity. True engagement requires addressing health equity issues throughout your entire organization—not just in your marketing communications.  
 
Individuals from all walks of life—regardless of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, religion, sexual orientation, gender identify or disability—must be considered when we’re thinking about patient engagement. For example, mistrust in the healthcare system persists among many Black Americans because of a long history of mistreatment by the healthcare industry. And patients and family members with limited English proficiency often have trouble accessing healthcare services and suffer worse outcomes because of language barriers. Healthcare organizations must first address equity to truly engage patients.  
 
Some of our clients are tackling health equity head on—and finding solutions. I would challenge you to think about engagement and equity more broadly within your organization. It’s not strictly a marketing issue. So, what are you talking about when you are talking about engagement? 

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About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email |
This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here

 

 

Plan for Success
November 18, 2022

content planning

By Megan Hamby, Editorial Director

A wise woman once sang, 
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
Strategy sets the scene for the tale”

OK, so maybe Taylor Swift borrowed that first line from Benjamin Franklin. And she definitely wasn’t singing about content strategy. But the sentiment is true: Failure to plan is planning to fail. 

With only a handful of weeks left in the year, now is the time to start thinking about your content plans and goals for 2023. Consider these four questions.

  1. What worked in 2022? Look back over the past year and determine what worked well. Did a paid campaign expand your reach and influence on social media? Did an e-book with promotional assets generate new leads? Did your weekly blog bring more traffic to your website? If it had positive results this year, consider adding similar ideas to your list for 2023.

  2. What do we want to achieve in 2023? For your content to be successful, you need to be specific with your goals. Do you want to increase website traffic? Grow your social media following? Improve conversion rates? Increase brand awareness? The most successful goals follow the SMART acronym: They are smart, measurable, actionable, relevant and timely. Assigning key performance indicators (KPIs) to your goals can help you measure your success.

  3. What changes need to be made to our current marketing materials? Did your company rebrand this year? Review your marketing materials and ensure that they are all aligned with your new brand standards. Even a simple change like updating your company’s branding colors should prompt changes to your marketing collateral. Review your email lists, your customer data platforms and your buyer personas to make sure all information is current and up-to-date. Look at content that can be repurposed in the new year, too—could an e-book become an explainer video? Could a blog post turn into an infographic? Upcycling your content can reach an audience segment that otherwise would not have found it. 

  4. Do we need a content partner? Even large companies often don’t have a marketing team that is large enough to create, implement and maintain a robust content marketing plan. This is where content partners (like Hammock!) can help. A content partner can work as an extension of the existing marketing team to develop long-form content assets, videos, blog posts, social media posts, landing pages, paid ads and more to help reach your goals. The best content partners can help you articulate your expertise around the problems you help customers solve; build credibility in the industry and establish your company as a leading authority; and provide digital marketing insights to help you reach your goals.

Do you need help planning your content marketing strategy for 2023? Give us a call.

Image: Getty Images



About Hammock Healthcare Idea Email |
This post is part of Hammock’s award-winning Idea Email series. Idea Emails are sent every other week and share one insightful marketing idea. Idea Email comes in two flavors: Original and Healthcare. To subscribe to the original Idea Email (general marketing ideas), click here. To subscribe to the Healthcare Idea Email (healthcare marketing ideas), click here