Marketing for health care is one of the trickiest, yet most rewarding industries to create marketing campaigns for. You may face challenges like social stigmas, reputations, changes in government that affect services, and complying with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). It can be hard work to get to the stories you want to tell, but no other industry has as heartwarming, motivating and compelling success stories like health care. Here are a few tips to help you share your health care client’s stories.
Get a Baseline
Begin your campaign with some baseline research or study. This is a great way to get a good idea of how your client is perceived by past, current and potential patients. You can do this through online research, focus groups or surveys. You will find out experiences, preconceived notions, pain points and other valuable information that will help you form a baseline of awareness. With this baseline, you’ll have great tools to use to get the right message to the right people.
Be Human
Some see health care as cold and clinical. The primary goal of marketing for health care is to show that medical care happens between doctor and patient. It’s one human being to another. You need to reflect this in your tone and messaging. Share real patient stories. Keep in mind that all patient information is private and protected by HIPPA. You cannot share a patient’s story without express consent. Shine a light on the clinical providers’ expertise and their passion for taking care of people. If you’re curious about creative ways to do this, here’s an example of how we brought one health care system’s human side to light via video.
Stay in the Know
When you have a health care client, you need to stay informed. Changes in local and national government can directly affect the services your health care client provides. To be the best marketing partner to a health care provider, you need to become knowledgeable about legal and social policies that may affect how your client can treat their patients. Don’t rely on your client to share new rules and regulations. Stay on top of the industry laws and trends to be a valuable resource to your client.
There’s a lot to consider when marketing for a health care client, but telling these stories are rewarding. The campaigns you create not only help your client, but they can bring awareness to the patients that need those services most. If you’re curious about how we can help you with your marketing efforts in health care, contact us. We’d love to chat with you!