- August 19, 2016
- Posted by: growth@locutushealth.com
- Category: General Healthcare, Industry Articles
I’m a writer who helps companies navigate one of two challenges…
- Being new to online content
- Being new to healthcare
If you’re like most of the B2B healthcare companies I work with, you’re probably looking at one or possibly both of those challenges. Think you’re not? Well, tell me this…
- Are you successful in other industries but can’t figure out why the same tactics you use in retail/banking/hospitality/etc. aren’t getting you anywhere in healthcare?
- Are you a healthcare native who knows you should have a web presence but aren’t getting any benefit from it?
- Have you been yelling into the healthcare Internet void with no idea of who you’re really talking to?
If you answered even a slight “yes” to any of those questions, I want to help you out.
Healthcare can be a tough nut to crack, and that’s because we have a very distinct culture and honestly, are a little bit cliquish — people from our industry like to work with other people from our industry, and that’s with good reason.
Healthcare, even just B2B, is an enormous space with lots of complex rules and regulations. The work we do also has big impact on people’s lives. In short, we take our work seriously, and want to know that anyone we work with does too. Whether you’ve got the insider chops or not, it’s important to let your market and prospects know that you are invested in, and ready to dedicate resources to the healthcare industry.
Learning how to do that in meaningful ways takes time and effort. What doesn’t take time though is demonstrating your investment in your web presence and communications, which is what I want to help you do today.
Use these 8 pieces of advice to create the foundation of a brand and online presence that will help build trust, nurture leads, and open a door for you to the world of healthcare business.
Dedicate space.
Healthcare decision-makers probably aren’t going to be all that impressed that you also work in five other sectors. They might even be put off.
Your products and services might overlap with other industries, but I can almost guarantee that the way your offerings solve problems in healthcare will be unique. Your website and web presence should reflect that.
It’s worth considering separate, healthcare-dedicated websites and social media presences for your company, or at least setting aside one area of your site for the work you do in healthcare. Adding a new subdomain (or even a page) is simple, a second URL is cheap, and a new Twitter or LinkedIn can be set up in less than 30 minutes. A miniscule investment here can make a huge difference in your sales funnel. Plus, the last thing you want to do is give a CFO or doctor the impression that they’re going to have to spend hours talking to you before you even understand the problems they face.
Specialize.
We love specialization in healthcare.
You can look at our degrees and titles. Our hospitals are acute, sub-acute, teaching, or stroke centers. Physicians come in dozens of varieties, and then there are DRGs. We’re a granular industry and you want to make it known that you understand this most basic aspect of our culture.
Let the world know whether you help hospitals or physicians, whether you solve revenue cycle or workflow problems, whether your laundry services are best for small or large facilities. If you don’t yet know how you specialize, take some time to look at your client history and try to spot trends. If you’re just getting started, pay attention to your strengths and experience in other industries, see how they might translate to healthcare, and start there. Whatever your results are, make sure you let people know.
Know who you’re talking to.
Roles in healthcare are pretty clear-cut, so when you’re making sales calls or publishing blog posts, it’s important to talk to the right people.
Unless you’re planning a leadership summit or conference, “healthcare leadership” probably isn’t specific enough. You need to answer questions including
- Who makes the decision to buy our products and services?
- Who is our primary user?
- How much do we impact patients?
- What factors and metrics will determine our effectiveness and who will be evaluating them?
All of those questions will help guide you in determining who your press releases, blogs, sales calls, newsletters, and print materials address and what they should be saying.
Side note: If you’re looking for advice on how to write press releases that people actually read, this should help.
Use their language.
Healthcare has its own language. Healthcare business has its own language, and yes, even the specialization of healthcare business that you’re functioning in has its own language.
Don’t know what it is? Read what your decision-makers and users read. That might be something such as Becker’s Hospital Review, FierceHealthcare, or some of the many resources HIMSS offers.
Learning to drop even a few terms, key players, and news events can go a long way in demonstrating connection, so learn the language, use it, and keep learning.
Curate news.
I’ve touched on this a bit, but practical demonstration of connection is important.
In online spaces, you do that through language, social media, and your website. One of the easiest ways to get started is through curated news.
There are myriad sources of specialized healthcare news out here, so step away from Yahoo Health, WSJ, and sources that don’t target healthcare users specifically. Collect news from newsletters, Google Alerts, and social media sources. Share them on your own channels, and if you want to even further solidify your dedication to the industry, present them under your brand on a blog or news feed. (You can do this easily yourself, or I can help you out for less than you’d probably guess.)
Whatever route you choose, this is about lead nurturing and building trust, a step you can’t afford to skip if you want to be successful in this industry.
Shout out those pain points.
There’s no better way to prove you understand a problem than to flat out state it.
Do you help hospitals cut staff turnover with specialized events and retreats? Does your solution help doctors retire in comfort by finding the best buyers for their practice? If so, say so.
Let people know the problems you solve front and center. Case studies and testimonials are important, but don’t hide the value you bring deep in documents. State it up front, in plain language, preferably on the front page of your site.
Show off your successes.
If there’s anything that will sell a healthcare product or service, it’s that it worked for a similar facility or organization.
Even if you’ve only got one client on your books or one beta partner, get the process and the results out there. Something like a new feature or minor metric that you think is unimportant could strike a chord with a prospective buyer, so sing your successes, share them on social, and make sure to keep them updated.
Use the right images (or none at all.)
This is a bit of a personal pet peeve, largely because I know it can be challenging to find visual content that’s a good fit for the industry.
I’m always running across healthcare companies with stock images that are a better fit for a fashion magazine or law firm than they are for the often unglamorous world of healthcare. To avoid this problem, pull images using specific healthcare terms, and if stock photos aren’t working for you, graphics (especially custom ones) can be a great alternative. If you’re still at a loss though, don’t’ worry too much about not using an image in every piece of content you create.
Yes, images drive attention and traffic, but better no image than one that doesn’t properly align with your branding (plus, you’re dealing with people who are used to coding manuals and EHR systems. We’re generally forgiving of visually uninteresting content.)
As I said before, all 8 of these tips are simple and can be implemented with very little cost or time investment on your end. If you’re feeling as if your online presence isn’t getting you the results that you want, go through this post as a checklist and see what you can improve, and if you’d like some more in-depth input, feel free to text, email, or call me at any time.
Megan Williams
Content Strategy Consultant/Freelance Writer, MBA
(530) 346-3244