How To Turn Your HIMSS Messaging Into A Year-Round Healthcare Content Strategy

Events like HIMSS…and honestly any healthcare conference…can hold the key to the marketing plans you’ve been putting off for so long.

In the past several weeks, I’ve talked with quite a few companies preparing for the conference and it’s been great to see so many healthcare organizations taking messaging and content seriously.

I have to say though — I wish this was something that were happening year-round.

Trying to refine messages, figure out a social media strategy and let as many people as possible know your booth number is a lot to try to pull off, even if you give yourself weeks to prepare. The great thing though, is that whether you’re attending or not, conferences can be a nice little push to build the foundation of a messaging and content strategy that can last your healthcare B2B company all year long and through multiple conferences. Executing on that is what I’m going to cover in this article.

Keep something in mind as you read — This isn’t just about HIMSS. It applies to Health 2.0, CES, Digital Health Summit, the Revenue Cycle Solutions Summit…you name it, and that’s whether you’re attending or not. (Isn’t the Internet great?)

GETTING CONFERENCE-READY

If you’re attending HIMSS, it might be a little late to get started on your conference content, but you can still make a lot of headway in taking advantage of some of that healthcare conference inertia. (Leveraging hashtags is a great first step.) It can be easy to under- and over think your conference messaging though, so here’s a general guide. As we approach the conference, focus on your:

Messaging: Make sure you’re strategically aware of the central message you want to convey at HIMSS…what problems do you solve? Who do you solve them for? What benefits do you bring your clients and customers. Pay particular attention to the topics that HIMSS focuses on in their educational topics (you can find a general list here.) Chances are you can find some alignment and an opportunity to piggy-back off conference materials and sessions.

Social Engagement: Actively promote your presence at HIMSS and any interesting blogs, case studies, whitepapers, interviews, etc. that you may have already created (use those hashtags to get in on the conversation.)

Best Stories: Put together positive customer experiences and share them through case studies, social media, and blog posts.

Connection: Notify your customers and email/newsletter lists of your attendance. Make sure you send out your booth info, team members who will be attending HIMSS, contact info, etc.

AFTER THE CONFERENCE

One of the most challenging aspects of creating an effective content strategy is figuring out what gets people interested. That’s what’s so great about healthcare conferences…you get to see first hand what works and what doesn’t.  You can observe which booths and sessions appeal to what people and how they respond to them, as well as the approaches and techniques that fall flat with visitors.

You’ll also get to know what topics, conversations, and even pieces of content get people the most interested. If you’re not attending, spending a little time reviewing the conversations about those hashtags I keep mentioning can create much the same effect. After that, things are much more straightforward.

Once things have quieted down, make a list of all the attention-getters you’ve noticed. This can be anything you’ve put out, or even work from an organization such as HIMSS or one of your competitors. Make a list of stars in the following areas:

• Types of content (video, brochures, case studies, whitepapers, courses, webinars etc.)
• General Topics (EHRs, data analytics, security, Internet of Things/Internet of Medical Things)
• Conversations (efficient EHR integration, revenue cycle challenges for ACOs, the convergence of clinical and consumer health wearables)

This list will guide your focus for the rest of the year. For example

• If you notice that case studies got particular traction at the conference and online…maybe it’s time to start telling your best client stories, featuring them on your site, distributing them to mailing lists, and highlighting them on your home page.

• If your primary decision-maker is CFOs and you notice they’re interested in learning about tech…you might want to consider launching a series of educational blog posts or a newsletter. You can start surveying your existing clients to find out in more detail the topics that interest them most and where they most need to learn more.

• If you notice that the revenue cycle conversation is leaning toward more diverse reimbursement models…showcase your expertise in that area on the front page of your website. Start a series of short interviews with subject matter experts in your organization and devote a few months to covering the topic in meaningful ways.

STARTING YOUR YEAR OF HEALTHCARE CONTENT

Content is a slow game. You can see amazing results in the form of increased leads, executive branding, and attracting qualified employees, but…and this is something too many healthcare businesses fall short on…you have to give it time to work.

What this means though, is that any business that takes the time to invest in creating a strong content presence will be that much further ahead of their competition. This will become even more true as the healthcare industry wakes up to the power of strategic online content.

So what do you do now?

If there’s one thing I’d love to see all my clients do, it’s have one person dedicated to content. It doesn’t have to be their full-time job (though that would be great) and they don’t have to be responsible for 100% of the creation. What is needed though, is having one person with enough bandwidth to keep an organization’s content strategy moving.

In the case of your HIMSS content, that means putting someone in charge of points including

• Hub content (website, product and service descriptions, blog, error pages, team bios)
• Spoke content (social, email/newsletters, guest posting, brochures/case studies/white papers)
• Content ecosystem (brand voice/style guide, best practices, SEO, creation/workflow, editorial calendar)

If you are working from a point of little to no content…congrats! The HIMSS information we covered earlier means you get to start things strong and with a great benchmark by which you can measure your progress.

Decide what you’d like your web presence to look like in a year, and break those three areas (hub/spoke/ecosystem) down into milestones that grow out of the topics and information you discovered making observations around HIMSS. Execute on your content with the same organization and method you would use for any other project in your business.

Don’t miss the opportunity to use the inertia of a healthcare conference to inspire you to finally get started on a permanent dedication to engaging online and creating a living, breathing content presence that attracts leads and educates investors and customers.

Megan

P.S. Join me here on Twitter to discuss the latest in healthcare B2B news and content or give me a call at (530) 346-3244 to get started.