Social media war rooms (and why you need one) – iMediaConnection.com
How do you keep a million posts and retweets from doing irreparable damage to your brand? Follow these five steps to stay ahead of the bad news. Learn more.
The new marketing hybrid
Integrating Traditional Skills with New Media Savvy
As hospital marketing departments address evolving new media channels, new skill sets are needed to supplement traditional marketing expertise. This may mean reconfiguring the responsibilities and job description of an existing staff member, or if the budget allows, hiring a new staff person solely dedicated to new media. Elizabeth Scott, President and Principal Strategist, Raven New Media and Marketing, Louisville, KY, shares the following insights for developing and deploying this new “hybrid marketer.”
- Define the role: This person will be responsible for implementing and monitoring the organization’s new media strategy. That includes creating and managing web-based content in new media formats, in accordance with usability principles for content and navigation, site standards, and posting policies.
- Identify the required skills: Skills are specific and dynamic, and include expertise in creative writing; online project management; e-business; search engine optimization; CRM; microsite development; and web monitoring, metrics, and analysis. When work includes social media, expert-level experience with blogs, communities, wikis, RSS, mobile media platforms, multimedia online film and audio management, and other social media tools as they emerge is also required.
- Create an appropriate job title: Consider web-themed titles such as “Interactive” or “Online” Marketing Manager; those focused on media types such as “Multimedia” or “New Media” Manager; or those targeted at social media such as “Social Media” or “Community” Specialist. Avoid using the term “manager” for social media titles since, by definition, social media or communities are not managed internally by the organization.
- Recruit candidates from non-traditional sources: Experts in this field are “wired” so look for them on web job boards, social media user groups, and networking sites like LinkedIn. They are attracted to creativity, fun, and a gaming mentality, so consider posting a recruitment video on YouTube. And don’t assume that anyone with a MySpace page is fluent in new media—work with an expert to develop a skill test for this role.
- Invest in ongoing training and education: “Groom and grow” your expert by engaging a consultant with new media expertise or a seasoned expert from another health system as a coach or mentor. Have your staff person attend conferences or complete online courses. Sites such as eMarketer.com are also helpful.
- Integrate the new role into the department: Make it clear that this is a collaborative role that feeds and supports other marketing team members. Create “share” sessions with colleagues on a regularly-scheduled basis and don’t allow silos of information. Insist that the new role demonstrate value to the system quickly and regularly in order to maintain and grow the program.
Source: Elizabeth Scott can be reached at escott@ravennewmedia.com
What elements are necessary to implement a successful awareness campaign?
Awareness campaigns are often the first step to introduce your audience to a new service, staff member, program or facility. Unfortunately, awareness campaigns have been used as a stand-in when more substantial marketing, branding, credibility or trafficking campaigns may be needed.
By definition, awareness campaigns are designed to build familiarity and create top-of-mind brand affiliation. Do not count on an awareness campaign to do more than it is designed to do. It is not the best method to convey complex messages, emotional appeals, branding messages, lists of services, building credibility or traffic. Awareness campaigns should leave your audience with a simple name and affiliation that can be recalled when they need it. The very succinct message or name should have a sustainable ring that stays with your audience – “Remember X when you need it.”
A progressive, modern awareness campaign has:
- Support from top management. Leadership must walk the walk, talk the talk and reinforce the message constantly.
- Measurement/metric thresholds that can be repeated with exacting accuracy before the campaign, three months, six months, one year and several years later to account for trending and awareness campaign investments.
- A simple name, icon or message. If you have more than three words for your audience to remember, your statistical chance of unaided recall is significantly diminished.
- Longevity. Your awareness message needs to be an essential element in future marketing, branding or communication campaigns. It doesn’t have to dominate future campaigns, but it must be present.
- A viral appeal. The best awareness campaigns are repeatable by your audience. If you don’t use your audience to springboard your message, you’ve missed out on a million-dollar opportunity. They spread the word.
- Natural integration ability. In our modern world of communication, your message has to be not only compatible with social media, existing web messaging as well as traditional modes of message delivery, but also include incentive for your message advocates to persuade them to incorporate the message into their own social communications.
- Easy access to more information. Don’t forget to include a “go to” element – a site, microsite, phone number, etc.
- Unaided recall. If your audience can’t remember it, you’ve wasted your time and money. There is no such thing as an awareness message being short or too frequent.
Follow these guidelines and you will have a productive and measurable awareness campaign.
Elizabeth L. Scott
escott@ravennewmedia.com
The State of Social Marketing Integration – eMarketer
There are now hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide using social networks, blogs, microblogs, online forums and video-sharing sites, and marketers have followed them there. Social media marketin
How can marketers create campaigns that break the “healthcare mold” but still resonate with consumers?
Most health care marketers follow one or more of the following themes:
- Attractive doctor telling the story of how he or she is “just like you;”
- Lineup of “star” doctors with a voiceover paraphrasing, “you deserve the best and we have the best doctors around;”
- Patient giving a testimonial stating that they had given up hope until they found XYZ hospital and their capable doctors;
- Artistic shots of high tech equipment or research prowess; or
- In the case of children’s hospitals, photo shots of kids with obvious aliments, smiling and happy as they receive treatment in the hospital or resuming their normal lives.
All can be effective.
While many campaigns are good, very few health care campaigns are great. They fade quickly — leaving us to scramble for the next creative concept designed to capture three seconds of attention we are often allotted by the consumer.
Where are the health care campaign equivalents of “gecko” ads or Mac vs. PC ads? Can hope and healing become so captivating that it goes viral and becomes a YouTube phenom? Possibly.
So how can we breakout and create effective and memorable campaigns? Currently, we spend a significant amount of our advertising funds on concepts, designs and production.
- Consider engaging with an out-of-market research group with no ties to your system or your agency to conduct consumer preview testing. Do not get too concerned with local participation. Local audiences come to the research table with their own biases. Health care consumers often align with community demographics – rural, inner city, or suburbs, etc.
- Use advertising to build your brand and increase awareness. Advertising is rarely the influential factor in health care decision-making. Effective marketing to health care consumers requires a complex combination of traditional advertising, public relations, community participation, physician support, new media and patient advocacy.
- Your breakthrough, experimental “playground” is new media. Try applying formulas that are successful in other industry verticals and test it with consumers through new media.
- Bring in fresh ideas by engaging with local college marketing, communication or advertising students in campaign development or formal brainstorming. Let them have creative license to think about creative messaging. It is a fertile ground for new perspectives.
Break the mold and perhaps you’ll be the one to take hospital marketing to the next level.
Elizabeth L. Scott
escott@ravennewmedia.com
Raven New Media & Marketing
Healthcare for your brand on a budget
When funds are scarce and investments are heavily scrutinized, you owe it to your shareholders to assess your brand’s state of wellness. Here’s why. –iMediaConnection.com
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What are the key elements to successfully integrate a public relations strategy into an advertising campaign?
As with all strong campaigns, plan early and bring your PR team (internal or external) to the table as stakeholders – not as task managers. Don’t forget to be:
- Inclusive–share responsibilities and credit in campaign successes; and
- Appreciative–thank them for their dedication, talent and involvement in the campaign.
As you include your PR colleagues in your major marketing and advertising initiatives, you will have a greater chance of being included in planning PR campaigns – thus extending the reach of campaigns and publicity. It’s not easy, but this collaboration is a worthwhile investment.
The following PR elements work well with an integrated advertising campaign:
- Editorial opportunities: Work with PR to mine for editorial story angles that can be pitched to local media. Keep promotion to an absolute minimum. Embed underlying campaign messaging and do not overtly mention the campaign.
- Advertorials: If you are unable to hook unpaid media, consider an advertorial option in targeted publications. Again, keep promotion to a minimum.
- Patient stories: Relevant patient stories that subtly support the core of your campaign and have a simple CTA/URL at the end of the article work well without “selling.”
- Contests or prizes: Make it fun. Consider a giveaway associated with your new campaign.
- Angle: Have an angle for your PR elements. PR for your campaign should be a “cousin” element, not a twin to your campaign information.
- Events: Don’t forget to plug into existing service line, health fair or sponsorship events.
- Use your tag or memorable campaign image: For a limited time, use your campaign tag line or strong visual reference in existing press releases as well as inbound or outbound calls.
- Social media support: Ask for PR help with social media channels. Again, stay away from overt campaign references but entice social “listeners” by tying in to contests or events.
- Internal communications: Ask PR to help with a time-limited footer for internal communications, email and messaging on your intranet.
- Reinforce your message: Work with PR to come up with creative messaging on supplemental elements – nurse buttons, shirts, etc.
- Internal publications: Don’t forget to schedule editorial coverage within your hospital or health care system’s publications
Integration is the key. Stay connected and share information freely with your PR team. Together you can make a tremendously positive impact on campaign success.
– Elizabeth L. Scott
5 marketing megatrends you can't ignore
It’s important to stay current on trends that have long-term influence. Check out the top 5 according to iMediaConnection.com.
10 small business social media marketing tips
This is a nice overview of several social media platforms and their basic business use.
10 Small Business Social Media Marketing Tips
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Top 10 mobile phone web sites – September 2009
Is mobile media on your radar? If not, we should talk. The big wave is coming soon. Raven New Media and Marketing can help.
Top 10 Mobile Phone Websites – September 2009.
