by Julie Revelant | Jan 26, 2016 | Content Marketing
Let’s face it: no one dislikes a good story. And one thing is clear: your potential patients crave stories just like the rest of us. They want stories about patients just like them who had the same symptoms, the same frustrations and the same needs.
Patient case studies are one of the most effective tools smart healthcare marketers use to nurture and convert leads. So if you’re not including them in your content marketing strategy, you’re missing out.
Here’s why.
They get you attention
Journalists don’t need more doctors or experts. They need stories.
As a freelance magazine writer, I often reach out M.D.’s, naturopaths, functional medicine doctors and other practitioners to help me find patients with serious, but often overlooked medical conditions.
What’s more, my editors at Fox News are much more likely to approve a story idea if I also have a patient story. So if you’re trying to get the media’s attention, you’ll need to do more than just send out a press release.
Create content around patient stories, include case studies with your press releases and offer interviews for journalists looking to write a great story.
They put a name to a face
Patients already know you exist, but what they really want to know is how what you offer is different. How will you change their lives? Patient stories help your leads see that you’re a real company with real doctors, who care for real people.
They validate results
When it comes to finding a doctor, the rules have changed. Patients are smarter than ever before and they’re choosing their doctors only after doing their research, reading online reviews and asking their friends for recommendations.
Using patient stories is a great way to nurture leads and make an effective case for why they too should choose your organization.
They answer questions
Testimonials are great, but case studies help fill in the gaps and answer your leads’ most burning questions. Because let’s face it, your customers aren’t reading every last word on your website.
They want to know things like: did the doctor take the time to listen? Does he offer flexible appointments? What tests does he offer?
So make it easy for them and give them the answers while also keeping them engaged.
Here are a few ways to use patient stories.
Website
Add a navigation tab on your homepage and create landing pages for your stories.
Blog
Create a series of blog posts for patient stories and link to them in other types of content. Or repurpose your existing case studies into blog posts to maximize your ROI.
Share on social media
When you create new content, always share it on social media and include relevant keywords and hashtags.
Annual reports
Hospital annual reports tend to be dry but if you include your most compelling patient stories, they can be interesting and make you stand out from your competitors.
Newsletters and emails
Include a patient story in your newsletter that’s relevant to your other content or link to your landing pages in emails.
Webinars and in-person events
When included in webinars or presentations at in-person events, patient stories can convert leads and help upsell current patients on additional services.
by Julie Revelant | Jan 25, 2016 | Content Marketing
Between large patient panels, electronic medical records and other administrative tasks, doctors are short on time. Even if you’ve convinced them of the need for inbound marketing, it can be tough to nail them down and create content for your healthcare organization.
Yet with some simple strategies, it’s possible to write amazing content that converts, gets you more patients and saves you time.
Create stories, not topics.
Instead of sending your physicians a list of topics and asking them which ones they want to claim, assign them story ideas like you’re the editor and they’re the reporter.
Before you can do that however, you need to make sure you have a content marketing strategy and an editorial calendar in place. Without it, it’s like throwing your ideas at the wall and hoping they’ll stick.
Do an interview.
For most doctors email is preferable, but an email is not an interview. Email will never capture the entire story or your physician’s voice.
I’ve found that a brief phone interview is the best—and fastest—way to get everything you need and ensure your content is great. Although your physician may only have 15 minutes to spare, a 50-minute interview, when possible, can generate enough information to write up to 6 blog posts.
Work ahead of time.
Content marketing isn’t breaking news. And asking a physician to be available within 24 hours because you haven’t planned ahead is a recipe for disaster. Send your physicians a few options for interview times and let them know your deadline, which should always be days before your actual deadline. This way, if your physician gets called into emergency surgery, you’ll still have enough time to make the deadline.
Be prepared.
To maximize your interview, send your questions ahead of time so the physician can prepare if she wants to. Also, do most of your research ahead of time so you won’t waste time asking questions about things you can find on your own. If you ask things like why omega-3’s are essential or how common breast cancer is, your physician will wonder why you’re wasting his time. The interview is meant to fill-in, clarify or add information that only he can provide.
Be flexible.
Your hours in the office might be 9 to 5 but when it comes to doctors, they’re usually available in the early morning or in the evening. Plus, even if you schedule a call, the physician may get held up with a patient or get called into surgery.
So be flexible, or hire a freelance healthcare writer to help you out. And always remember that when it comes to your content, your physicians are your best creative partners.
by Julie Revelant | Jan 25, 2016 | Content Marketing
There’s one word that I’ve noticed comes up over and over again when I speak to prospective clients: trust.
Trust that the freelance healthcare writer they hire will understand their business, write amazing copy and make their deadlines. Trust that they won’t drop the ball or screw up the project. A potential client recently told me that she was hesitant about working with a freelance writer. It turns out that the public relations agency she had hired to write their healthcare content wasn’t writing in the company’s voice.
She needed to make sure that if she hired me (she did), that I not only spoke her language, but I could write the content as though their CEO wrote it. Perhaps you’ve been burned in the past too. Sure, it stinks. But the problem still remains: you need content. Compelling content that’s created on a consistent basis to help potential customers find you.
The good news is that you can hire an amazing freelance writer who understands your business if you do your homework and know the right questions to ask.
Here, read on for 5 questions to ask potential candidates.
1. What do you need?
True, you’re the one with the problem or challenge, but if you work together with the writer from the get-go, it’s a win-win for both sides.
Instead of looking to that person as just a consultant, think of him or her as your creative partner and a member of your team. You’ll want to provide a creative brief which outlines things like the objectives of the project, who your competitors are, what has worked for you in the past and how success will be measured. You’ll also need to have buyer personas and your content marketing strategy handy.
2. What industry (or industries) do you specialize in?
It’s important that the writer you choose specializes in the healthcare industry. It’s OK if they specialize in more than one industry, but take a look at their portfolio to get an idea of what they write. Hiring a writer who speaks your language and knows the difference between probiotics and prebiotics for example, will cut down on several rounds of edits and a ton of frustration.
3. Can I see your work?
One of the first writing samples you’ll ever see is the writer’s website and it’s one of the best ways to weed out potential candidates.
Typos? Grammatical errors? Dead links? Move on.
Most writers have their portfolios on their websites but feel free to ask about other clips they may have. You’re not only looking for the quality of their work, but also the range of their work.
Keep in mind that although you might be looking for someone just to write your case studies now, later on you might also need blogs, website copy and white papers. So you’ll want to make sure the writer you hire is versatile.
4. What’s your availability?
The key to a successful partnership is being clear about what you need from the get-go. So if you already know that you’ll need someone to turn around your press releases in 2 days for example, make sure the writer can write quickly, is accustomed to quick deadlines and has the time to get it done.
You may also want to consider working on a retainer basis, which will allow the writer to block out a certain amount of time each week just for you.
5. Do you require a contract?
A proposal which outlines exactly what services are included for the project is important, but a signed agreement is necessary too. Without it, either side can make assumptions and it can turn into a he-said-she-said situation.
The agreement can be a simple letter or a more formal document, but it should explain the services the writer will provide, how many revisions are included, who owns the rights, as well as the fees and deadlines.
by Julie Revelant | Jan 25, 2016 | Content Marketing
Make no mistake. If you’re a hospital, a private practice, concierge medicine network or a digital health brand, your healthcare organization needs consistent content creation.
There’s no better way to build trust, create brand awareness and close more deals. And if you have physicians, they too should be a part of the process.
Yet doctors should never write content. Here’s why, and what you should be doing instead.
1. Doctors don’t know content.
Even if your doctors have published New York Times best sellers, are contributors for the Huffington Post and have been published in medical journals, they’re probably not experts in content marketing.
It’s unlikely that’ll know how to write stories, attention-grabbing headlines or how to optimize content.
2. They may have an agenda.
Despite having an editorial calendar, your physicians may have their own ideas about what makes for a great blog post or which client should be featured in a case study.
They may disagree with the story that’s been approved and suggest what the real story should be. Although their story might be just as amazing, you see the bigger picture—your content marketing strategy.
3. They won’t like it.
I once conducted an interview with a physician that lasted for nearly an hour and gave me enough information to write about 6 blog posts. Yet after he read them, he said they weren’t something he wanted his name on despite essentially being the author.
So although your team may allow physicians to make edits or even require that they approve content, the less time they have their hands on it, the better.
4. They’re too busy.
Doctors are short on time so expecting them to write content isn’t reasonable. Do your own research, set up interviews with them and then write the content yourself. Or hire a freelance healthcare writer to save you time and a lot of headache.
5. Your project won’t get done.
Even if you handle the content, once you share it with your physicians it’s bound to get delayed, regardless of where you are in the process.
You may need them to review it for accuracy, but they may go overboard with input and revisions and may even take the project in a completely different direction. And when there are too many cooks in the kitchen, the project can drag on for months. And your customers? They’ve already moved on to your competitors.
