OMD! Is it Time To Call the Online Marketing Doctor?

Transcription

1 OMD! Is it Time To Call the Online Marketing Doctor? What Comprehensive Internet Marketing Could Mean to the Health of Your Healthcare Organization Abstract: This white paper briefly outlines the scope of healthcare consumers current online activities and offers evidence (including case studies) that demonstrates why healthcare organizations might consider a more significant online marketing investment, as well as questions to ask a prospective firm. It is intended for healthcare organizations, such as general medical and surgical hospitals; outpatient mental health and substance abuse centers; medical laboratories; nursing care facilities; medical e- commerce sites; and non- profit/patient advocacy associations. By Paul Richlovsky

2 Table of Contents Stats: Health + Internet..3 Health consumers and the Internet..3 Social media and health information 3 The people want YOU to be their source..4 Case studies....4 Case Study A: Internationally Renowned Hospital. 4 Case Study B: Internationally Renowned Hospital, Part 2.5 Case Study C: National Health Screening Company..6 Case Study D: National Health Screening Company, Part Who else in healthcare is doing this?...7 What to ask your MD (marketing doctor)..8 Part I: Healthcare Industry Expertise 8 Part II: Delivering the Marketing Goods.9 Signs you should consult an OMD (online marketing doctor)..10 Prescription/Final Notes

3 In a fragmented media landscape, healthcare companies that master a range of digital communications and engage with their audiences across various marketing channels stand to gain more long- term benefits. Maybe you used to get by with strictly offline advertising like direct mail and ad buys, but now you know these methods are limited in their effectiveness in today s plugged- in world. Today s healthcare consumer is mobile, tech- savvy, and ready to comparison- shop online, whether looking for hospitals, pharmaceuticals or equipment or just for an answer to a health question. They will turn to Twitter, video- sharing sites, and even your own hospital website. Yes, they ll still ask their family and friends for recommendations and advice face- to- face but also on Facebook. Your healthcare organization needs quality online marketing. Here s why: People look for health information online Participatory medicine/peer- to- peer healthcare is on the rise We re trending toward a data- driven life, and this extends to consumer- driven healthcare This sounds vague, or I don t believe you, you say. OK, let s examine some evidence, starting with the statistics. STATS: HEALTH + INTERNET Health consumers and the Internet If you re savvy about online marketing, chances are you already know what I m about to tell you. But in case you forgot, let this serve as a reminder: since 2002, American adults have been consulting online resources ever more frequently as significant sources of health information. Consider the following from a fall 2010 survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project: 1 80% of Internet users look for health information online 15% of social network site users say they use services like Facebook and MySpace to get health information 1 in 4 Internet users has watched an online video about health; tracked weight, diet, exercise routine, or other health indicator online; or consulted online reviews of drugs or medical treatments. Social media and health information While the number of social networkers who access health information seems limited (15%), a deeper look reveals the opposite. Among those who use social networks to access health information, 94% have used Facebook while 32% and 18% have used YouTube and Twitter, respectively. 2 1 Pew Research Center s Internet & American Life Project, via California Healthcare Foundation, May 2011: life- health- information 2 National Research Corporation Ticker survey, via ihealthbeat, March 23, 2011: points/2011/among- those- who- use- social- media- to- find- health- data- which- sites- do- they- visit.aspx 3

4 % of sites visited by healthcare- info- seeking U.S. residents who use social media tools Imagine the 15% of social networkers who say they use Facebook/MySpace for health information comprises 100% Facebook usage (not entirely improbable) this would amount to a figure of 75 million people, based on Facebook s current 500 million active users. Even a conservative estimate of significantly fewer users say, 50 million, for argument s sake yields plenty of people out there looking to their peers and other trusted sources of health info (your company!) on social networks. The people want YOU to be their source According to the same survey above, 50% of that select group of health- info- seekers said healthcare provider websites were their #1 destination for online medical- related information. So, where is your organization online? Do you have adequate educational resources on your website? Are you truly engaged in social media, or, for example, are you among the many hospitals that generally are not maximizing Facebook s capacity for engaging patients or building hospital brands? 3 Are you being found in the inbox or on the smartphone? How about organic or paid search results? Are you producing videos to capture that 32% of the social- media- savvy healthcare- accessing audience that goes to YouTube for its info? Still not convinced of the value of being more digitally visible? Consider the following case studies of actual Fathom Online Marketing clients. CASE STUDIES Case Study A: Internationally Renowned Hospital Background: A top- ranking area hospital that wanted to generate more prostate surgery appointments. 3 Hospitals & Facebook: A Case Study, Verasoni Wordwide. February 25, 2011: 4

5 The Plan: One of the campaigns used paid search, custom- built landing pages, the incentive of a downloadable guide (behind an info- capture gate), and automated follow- up responses for lead nurturing. The Results: Total campaign cost: $40,000 Net revenue (combined value of appts./procedures): $488,317 Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS): 1,220% Case Study B: Internationally Renowned Hospital, Part 2 Background: A top- ranking area hospital that wanted to increase engagement with its e- mail newsletter subscribers and generate greater referral traffic to its website via the newsletter. The Plan: Redesign the e- mail newsletter with an emphasis on conversion and elimination of irrelevant information. The Results: The website traffic associated with new campaigns using the redesigned templates jumped significantly. In one case, the referral visits increased 12,000% (4511 to 37) week- over- week for the respective days the separate newsletters hit the inboxes. Other elements of subscriber engagement with the newly redesigned newsletters included increases in the readers various interactions like click- thru rates and the number of forwards to a friend. Average user actions: original vs. redesigned campaigns 5

6 Case Study C: National Health Screening Company Background: A Cleveland- based national health screening company that wanted to increase exposure to its service demo videos. The Plan: Strategically name, tag and distribute these assets through various video channels in order to rank more highly in search engines for relevant keyword- specific traffic. The Results: The company s multimedia ranked in Google for relevant keywords such as atrial fibrillation screening and pad screening, where pad represents peripheral arterial disease. Having the company s videos rank high on standard and video search results pages for these key terms was both a branding and traffic- generating boon. The multiple high placements (and compelling visuals) gave an immediate boost to the company s potential future customers. In a space of months, more than 260 informed individuals ventured to the company website via its educational YouTube videos alone. Health screening organization s video on 1 st - page Google search results for pad screening Case Study D: National Health Screening Company, Part 2 Background: A Cleveland- based national health screening company that wanted increase qualified branded traffic by. 6

7 The Plan: Launch a strategic content campaign to get new rankings for keywords already being used to search for the company but returning non- company pages in the results. These new rankings could immediately capture the previously lost traffic. The Results: Organic search traffic to the new pages boomed after ranking high for a wide range of brand- oriented phrases: e.g. [company name] cost, [company name] cleveland, [company name] career/radiology/schedule/wellness etc. One year and twenty- one new pages later, the company was seeing a total of more than 10,000 organic search- engine visitors who came from the select branded keyword queries alone, compared to roughly 5,000 cumulative visitors for the same phrases in the previous year. For another perspective, when comparing year- over- year visitors from the starting month (Jan vs. Jan. 2011), the increase in this select qualified traffic was ultimately greater than 150%. See the following chart: The power of new branded pages: expressed in search- engine visitors Who else in healthcare is doing this? To start, no fewer than 965 hospitals were active in either blogging, YouTube, or social media sites as of May, Among these hospitals, some of the most noteworthy examples include: 5 UCSF Medical Center: raised $1 million for new children s hospital via Facebook, Twitter, and the Facebook game, Farmville 4 Hospital Social Network List, Found in Cache. May 8, 2011: 5 Hospitals Using Social Media To Engage With Community, Donors, ihealthbeat. March 14, 2011: using- social- media- to- engage- with- community- donors.aspx?topic=consumer%20information 7

8 Texas Health Resources: adapted video- sharing sites and internal micro- blogging to encourage physicians to adopt EHRs in its 13- hospital system Children s Hospital Boston has: o nearly 300,000 views of its YouTube videos o more than 450,000 Facebook fans (world leader for hospitals) What to ask your MD (marketing doctor) Part I: Healthcare Industry Expertise Do you understand the importance of HIPAA to our organization? If your prospective vendor says, no, you better get a referral to somebody more knowledgeable. Physician bloggers may give opinions but cannot give specific medical advice. systems need to be secure. Your organization s privacy officers should monitor all marketing activities for compliance. Here s a bigger list: no third- party marketing without written authorization from patients no selling of lists of patients and enrollees to third parties (e.g. list brokers) without prior written consent doctors and health plans CAN communicate with patients about treatment options or their own health- related products and services Do you understand how HIPAA impacts healthcare bloggers? Make sure your healthcare blogger covers the following essentials, especially if writing about patients: use a disclaimer (author opinion vs. organization stance; education vs. advice) be transparent: list authors full names and contact information (preferably with a picture) don t post anything that would embarrass your patients or yourself avoid any of HIPAA s 18 health information identifiers when creating patient case reports write about real patients in full specifics only after obtaining their express authorization get certified by the Health on the Net Foundation Do you know how I can grow my hospital s database? A hospital advertises in the local newspaper, magazine, on sides of buses, TV and direct mail. One idea: Add a call- to- action on various print media newspapers ads, magazine ads, TV ads, direct mail, the sides of buses to sign up for newsletters, updates and events via text message. Signs could also be placed in waiting areas or exam rooms and at reception desks. This is a great way to keep the interaction high between the hospital and patients. Do you know how I can raise my doctors online profiles? If your superstar physician has time to write and interesting things to say, we can help you create a blog or enhance an existing one. We can show you the most prominent physician social networks. We can also create/edit/advise on Wikipedia biography pages if the doctor is prominent enough. For , we d recommend making a poster/other 8

9 media that prompts people to sign up for /text message updates: e.g., Want more info about your doctor or updates on the latest research? Text DOCTOR to What s the best way to remind consumers about health- related tasks? It may vary depending on the particular audience, but a recent survey from Consumer Health Information Corporation showed that consumers generally preferred text messages above all other methods. 6 Smartphone apps and were distant followers; however, the same survey also showed about 80% of consumers would be more likely to use a health- related smartphone app if it analyzed information and offered feedback. Consumers preferred media for receiving health- related reminders Patients may want to share electronic data anonymously with the right app, but do they ever want to share it personally with their doctor/hospital? According to a fall 2010 survey: yes, sometimes. 7 A total of 31% stated that they sometimes (22%) or often (9%) share data electronically with their physician/hospital. Nevertheless, if the majority of patients who answered rarely or never make you shy, health- related communication need not be shared directly with a hospital in order for it to benefit. An alternate approach would be to just create a useful app and get the associated future branding credit while giving consumers the data they seek. Part II: Delivering the Marketing Goods Do you show me ROI? If the answer is no, run, don t walk, away. Demonstrating accurate return on investment means showing hard numbers for traffic/conversions, revenue tied to keyword rankings, number of video views, number of leads, number of sales closed from leads, etc. Will you guarantee me rankings? Anybody who says yes either works for a search engine or takes you for a fool. Most of these types of guarantees revolve around obscure/irrelevant keywords with zero traffic and zero impact. Google ranks websites; online marketing firms don t. 6 Consumer Health Information Corporation, via ihealthbeat, May 4, 2011: points/2011/how- do- consumers- prefer- to- receive- reminders- on- healthrelated- tasks.aspx 7 The Dell Executive & Patient Survey, via ihealthbeat, March 9, 2011: points/2011/how- often- do- surveyed- patients- share- data- electronically- with- their- doctor- or- hospital.aspx 9

10 Can you redesign my website? If a firm is unable to provide this option, make sure you know another company that can or have the firm recommend a vendor to you. Will I have access to other doctors in your office? If your marketing physician is a one- woman show, does she know enough about the various multi- channel spaces where your company could help itself? Opt- in blasts operate in a completely different space from PPC bids and sponsored search results, as do organic search listings and social media activities. Is your primary physician that rare jack- of- all- trades who can perform well in all specialties? Check and see what resources are at her disposal: even the best doctors need nurses, physician assistants, and interns. Are you certified? What kind of credentials do you have? Most reputable firms belong to industry- specific as well as broader professional organizations, both regional and national. Do the consultants with whom you ll be working have any relevant certifications and/or experience? Are there any well- known speakers or industry representatives among them? These questions can separate the full- fledged MDs (marketing doctors) from those in the middle of their residencies. Will you write endless costly prescriptions for me? No, costs are mostly predictable, whether investing in a long- term package or doing short- term project work by the hour. If you have budget to spare, we may recommend some additional opportunities to pursue at extra cost (see previous website redesign question). Do you offer pay- for- performance options with zero set- up costs, monthly fees or other extra charges? Fathom s performance- based program is one such service. Another possibility could be a lead- generation arrangement where you only pay us for leads we generate on your behalf (this can only exist for very specific clients in a limited number of industries.) How often will you contact me? Some firms may set and forget, or only communicate with clients in the very beginning. At Fathom, after the set- up phase, monthly calls are the norm, although some services and circumstances warrant biweekly or otherwise more frequent calls (e.g. the time leading up to a mass send). Beyond the phone, communication is regular and as frequent as the circumstances warrant. We also offer a secure, 24/7 reporting center so you can check up on your program s stats any time at your convenience. Do you strictly limit monthly hours for full- service, long- term programs? Fathom doesn t. If the answer is yes for your vendor, find out what the limits are and be sure you re getting what you re paying for. Signs you should consult an OMD (online marketing doctor) If you experience the following signs or symptoms, consult an OMD for a checkup immediately: low conversion rates lack of online leads untracked conversions/leads you don t have/don t understand web analytics anemic organic rankings 10

11 too many distributions bouncing/marked as spam ISP/ESP blacklisting wasted PPC money low PPC quality scores (see above) running PPC campaigns without dedicated landing pages (see wasted money again) unwillingness to use/inability to understand social media reliance on local customers with no local search presence reliance on mobile customers with no mobile website consumer products that aren t in specific shopping search results you can t get visitors to your site visitors don t know what they should do on your site visitors can t easily find the things they want on your site search engines can t easily find your site and crawl its depths for organic rankings making appointments or purchasing products/services is difficult on your site your website is boring you have no video(s) (see above) you don t know your ROI, the return on your online advertising too few/none of your most important non- branded keywords rank organically in search engines you don t know how to connect with current and potential Facebook fans/twitter followers you don t have a plan Prescription/Final Notes Thanks for downloading this white paper. You should now be more informed when the time comes to step into the doctor s office. If you ve determined you need professional help and you re ready to maximize your online marketing efforts, be sure to use the knowledge now at your disposal. *** About the author A member of the company since 2006, Paul is a former English teacher who has served in various writing, editing, and account management capacities. He currently contributes (primarily as a writer) to Fathom s internal marketing and also blogs for Fathom and YouShouldGoToSchool.com, a resource for nontraditional students in the for- profit education sector. He can be reached at: prichlovsky@fathomseo.com. About Fathom Online Marketing Fathom Online Marketing is an online marketing firm located in Valley View, Ohio, specializing in organic search- engine optimization, opt- in marketing, online public relations, Internet video products, and pay- per- click advertising. 11