“When we create something, we think, ‘Will our customers thank us for this?’ I think it’s important for all of us to be thinking about whatever marketing we’re creating; is it really useful to our customers? Will they thank us for it? I think if you think of things through that lens, it just clarifies what you’re doing in such a simple, elegant way.” – Ann Handley
Content marketing can be challenging. Healthcare marketing is challenging. There are plenty of compliance regulations out there, new Affordable Care Act stipulations, and HIPAA laws that are making healthcare marketing difficult.
Fortunately, there is a treatment for this. Reaching your audience through content marketing can help your marketing efforts as 72% of users have looked up health information in the last year.
And with so many digital channels available to reach these online users, your chances of turning prospects into customers are much higher. You just have to follow the right rules.
More exactly, be aware of the state of healthcare and how people are interacting digitally with your healthcare services. The four truths that healthcare marketers need to know are:
- Collaboration lays the foundation for avoiding failure.
Inaccurate information posting could cause healthcare providers real regulatory issues with FDA and send their marketing efforts down the drain. In this industry, mistakes are not forgotten easily and healthcare providers should take this into consideration.
That’s why content writers and compliance professionals should collaborate from the very start. When crafting blog posts or website copies, all the parts involved in this process should understand that properly targeted owned content shapes a brand’s reputation—especially in healthcare.
- “Quick fixes” are a myth.
When it comes to achieving content marketing success, you have to learn the basics first. Start by building a base of reliable content.
Create content for the channels and platforms that you want to maintain by bringing together marketing and regulatory departments. Ensure that your marketing teams have some basic compliance knowledge. Similarly, see that your regulatory team understands what a consistent and efficient content strategy looks like.
- Positive reviews and healthy content strategies go hand in hand.
According to a study, 92% of consumers worldwide say they find earned media to be the most trustworthy form of advertising. It goes without saying that by providing reliable resources of valuable information, healthcare providers reap the most five-star reviews. The level of expertise offered by clinicians or hospitals is not the main way in which healthcare professionals gain trust anymore.
A carefully planned content strategy allows healthcare providers to build their robust online presence and highly influential reputation.
- Creativity can’t exist in fear.
Although healthcare marketing brings more risks than regular marketing, the biggest error that many healthcare marketers make is act from a place of fear. It’s true that the FDA is closely watching any type of healthcare marketing and shutting down the ones that cross the line, but that shouldn’t stop marketers from growing a company’s reputation and credibility.
To gain a little peace of mind, healthcare marketers should be mindful of these three rules when crafting their campaigns:
- Keep themselves in the compliance and regulatory loop by holding briefings on a regular basis.
- Don’t forget about review and QA processes.
- Create internal guidelines for social media and content.
Conclusion
The road to successful content marketing can be paved with many obstacles and challenges, especially in the healthcare industry. However, by bringing your teams together and helping them collaborate effectively, you can start to build a foundation of safely delivered content that keeps users well informed.
