5 Use Cases in HIT: Content Marketing Research for Hospital and Health System Tech

Content marketing is a perfect fit for building the kind of relationships most healthcare tech vendors want to create with hospitals and health systems. The tricky part, though, is creating high-value content—the kind that cuts through all the noise and aligns directly with the challenges and needs of a complex network of decision makers. 

This challenge is why, even if someone doesn’t hire me as a writer, I always suggest they start with a short market survey of hospital and health system leaders—one that’s specifically focused on their content needs. 

The results can reveal their preferred content types, the events they’ll be attending, even the titles within an organization that are most deeply involved in the buying process (critical when dealing with buying workgroups or investing in account based marketing.)

But this type of survey is extremely flexible. Here are a few ways you can use it to increase ROI on your content investment and build stickier relationships with hospital and health system leaders across the entire customer lifecycle. 

EOY content planning

If your content pillars are simply based on the topics you feel are interesting to the healthcare space…or even what your competitors or large publications are covering, you could be off base. 

A few questions could reveal topics you never considered that actually might be more effective than your current or past plans. 

Engaging the hospital and health system market with confidence

I’ve talked to a lot of tech companies who are entering the healthcare market over the years…even the most confident struggle with investing in content topics that are truly in line with the needs of their audience. This is especially true when targeting hospitals and health systems, where challenges ebb and flow at their own rhythm. 

I have yet to run across one marketing department that wouldn’t benefit from just a few points of insight to pull back the curtain on the needs of these organizations. 

Evaluation of your current content budget for inefficiencies and opportunities

A tight content marketing budget doesn’t have to mean lost effectiveness. Being mindful of the 80/20 rule in healthcare content marketing can help you maintain, and even improve results, even under tightening constraints. 

But seeing positive results means getting laser focused on the perspectives and needs of your audience. That’s exactly what content marketing research is for. 

Refining your editorial calendar

Hospitals and health systems don’t care about your editorial calendar—but you can create a calendar rooted in the challenges they do care about. 

What might look ingenious and highly relevant to you and your team can translate to more noise through the eyes of a hospital CMO, CHRO, or department head who’s not already a customer. The best way to figure out if you’re headed in the right direction is with a few questions. 

Differentiation from competitor content

Up against competitors with significant content presences? Don’t assume all that publishing is the reason for their results. 

You might have an opportunity to create superior, better-targeted content by simply listening to the needs of hospital and health system leaders and going in a unique direction. 

This tactic is powerful because you’ll be talking to multiple hospital and health system leaders—outside of the bias of your customer base and completely focused on the questions you need answers on. Keep in mind that this is an exercise you can conduct yourself, but there are also options to work with a trusted panel of dozens of hospital and health system leaders to get a quick turnaround on your results. You can check that out here.

…but if you want to take a look at how to use existing market research to inform your content plans, this will be helpful.