More Related Content More from Encore Media Metrics (20) Online Strategy And Best Practices Health Care Marketing | Steve Latham1. Online Strategy and Best Practices"
for Health Care Marketing
Steve Latham, CEO
Spur Interactive
December 2009
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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2. Recap: Business Case for Online Marketing
This is where the patients are
• Online accounts for 33% of U.S. media consumption (1)
• The web is relied upon by all ages
• 85% of 30-50 and 51% of 65-75
• 8% of social media users 65+ (same % as teens)
This is how they make decisions
• 75% of Internet users research health online
• 12% of users will visit a health site today
• 75% of users with chronic condition said online "
research influenced their treatment decision
Digital media offers compelling advantages
• Able to Target, Engage and Interact
• Measurable, Affordable, Accountable
(1) Source: Pew Research Foundation
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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3. Implications for Health Care Marketers
Customers are now in control
• “Push” tactics don’t work
• Customer choose when & how they engage
Customers have high expectations
• They expect to find “it” quickly and easily
• Regardless of location
Customers have many more choices
• It’s not always clear who is the best choice
Competition is increasing
• Providers now compete globally
The marketplace is changing. To succeed you must adapt.
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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4. Online Success Requires an Integrated Approach
Search Social Video Display E-Mail
Paid + Blogs, Networks, Display and Rich Media, House & 3rd
Natural Content Sites Pre-roll
Banners Party email
Awareness
Interest
(Consideration / Preference)
Decision
Patients
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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5. Online Roadmap for Health Marketers
Understand your audiences
Optimize Your Web Site
Create demand for your brand
Engage and Interact
Measure results
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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6. 1. Understand Your Audience
Who are they?
Where do they live?
What are their needs?
What drives their decisions?
What do they know about you?
What do they need to know about you?
Your message and language must meet the
needs of your audience
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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7. 2. Optimize Your Site
Branding and Messaging
• Strong brand image and message
• Make it easy for them to determine:
• What You Do
• How You Differentiate
• Why they should contact you
Usability
• Easy and intuitive to navigate
• Minimal steps to find what they need
Effectiveness
• Speak to visitors in a way they understand
• Make it educational and engaging
• Use Calls to Action to drive conversions
Search visibility
• Optimize for natural search rankings
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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8. 3. Create Brand Awareness and Consideration
To become a preferred provider, patients must know
• Who you are
• How you are uniquely positioned
• Why you are the best choice for them
Success requires passage through the conversion funnel
Awareness
Consideration
Preference
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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9. Brand Awareness and Consideration (cont.)
Demand is created by utilizing…
Owned Earned Media
Paid Media
Media
Rules of thumb:
• Display and 3rd party email are best for creating awareness
• Search works best for capitalizing on awareness
• Social media does both, but reach may be a challenge
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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10. 4. Engage and Interact
There are now many ways to interact
• Your Web site
• Blog
• Online Groups
• Social media sites (Facebook)
• Micro-blogs (Twitter)
• Social bookmarking sites
Interaction and engagement drive action (decisions)
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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11. 5. Measure Results
Success requires:
• Defined and measurable objectives
• Metrics that tie to those objectives
• Tools for monitoring metrics
• Ability to translate metrics to business results
• Methodology to calculate ROI
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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12. Sample Reports
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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13. A Few Words on Social Media…
It’s here to stay."
You need to figure it out!
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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14. 5 Reasons to Embrace Social Media
1. You are already involved in Social Media
Your employees are doing it
Discussions about your brand are taking place
If you participate you can shape outcomes
2. Comparative advantages
Word of mouth is #1 influencer of purchases
Does not require a media budget
Viral effect can carry a message a long way
3. Revenue growth
Among top 100 Brands, those using social media
saw 18% lift in revenue (Altimeter / Wet Paint 2009)
91% of Inc. 500 use social media (Umass Dartmouth 2009)
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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15. 5 Reasons to Embrace Social Media
4. A Killer App for Marketing:
Brand awareness and consideration
Customer service
Community relations
Recruiting
Crisis / corporate communications
5. Search Engine Rankings!
Can produce great results!
See example on next slide
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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16. Case Study: Social Media Drives Search
Using social
media, I have 3
of top 4 listings
for “social media
business case”
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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17. Social Media Pitfalls
Rush to action without a plan
Lack of objectives and measurement
Content guidelines
Failing to engage
Limited Reach
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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18. Social Media Pitfall #1: Rush to Action
Rushing to action without a plan (shiny new object)
• Hasty decisions and knee-jerk reactions
• One-off approach
• Focus on the wrong objectives or platforms
• Failing to understand requirements and resources
GMOOT!
(get me one of those)
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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19. Social Media Pitfall #2: (Lack of) Measurement
Engagement metrics
Web 2.0 Metrics
Site visits
Posts
Unique visitors
Tweets and ReTweets
Visit frequency
Facebook Fans
Page views per visit
Followers
Time on site
Ratio: Friends vs. Follows
Registrations
Mentions
Conversions
Content views
Content uploads
Shared pages
Sentiment ratio
Page 1 search rankings
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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20. Social Media Pitfall #3: Content
While content is critical, it is often an afterthought
• Once the genie is out of the bottle, it’s too late
Requires content planning
• Format: copy, video, photos, audio
• Type: original vs. repurposed
• Source: where will it come from?
May require internal approval
• Brand guidelines
• Legal issues
Above all… Content must be engaging!
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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21. Social Media Pitfall #4: Failure to Engage
• Social Media is about listening and "
interacting vs. shouting
• “Spray and Pray” doesn’t work
• Think: Telephone vs. Megaphone
• Engagement hurdles:
• Lack of interesting and relevant content
• Self-focused content
• Too much self-promotion
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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22. Social Media Pitfall #5: Limited Reach
• Social Media works best if you have an audience
• Process of building a network is often overlooked
• Without reach, there is no ROI
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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23. Avoiding Social Media Pitfalls
Goals: Who and What?
• Define audiences and identify influencers
• Define objectives
• Set reasonable expectations
Media: which social media platforms?
Engagement: how to listen and interact?
• Content: types of media, voice, frequency
• Duties: producing, posting, sharing, responding
• Policy: addressing negative comments
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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24. Avoiding Social Media Pitfalls (cont.)
Reach: how will you promote your program?
• Online, email, offline, PR, word of mouth
• How will you build your network?
Resources: what is needed; what will it cost?
• People, process, assets, tools, etc.
Metrics: how will you measure success?
• What metrics will you use?
• What tools will you use?
• How will you translate into ROI?
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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25. In Closing…
The world is becoming flat. Competition in health care is global.
Your patients are online; you must be there to greet them.
Health marketing success requires a strategic, integrated
approach.
Let’s stay in touch!
• http://twitter.com/stevelatham
• http://Facebook.com/slatham
• LinkedIn: stevelatham
For more info:
Visit http://SpurHealth.com
or http://blog.spurinteractive.com/
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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26. About the Presenter
Steve Latham is the founder and CEO of Spur Interactive, a strategic interactive
marketing agency with deep experience and insight in health care marketing. In
this role, Steve has planned and managed successful campaigns leveraging
online advertising, social media, search engine marketing and email marketing to
help numerous health care providers build their brands and acquire patients.
Steve is an accomplished industry lecturer, blogger and thought leader. Steve’s
speaks frequently at industry events and his presentations have been viewed by
thousands. His articles have been published by MediaPost, Online Media Daily,
iMedia Connection, Marketing News and Bizjournals.com to name a few. Steve
has been quoted in B2B Magazine, PR Week, Fortune and CNN.com.
Steve received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA from the
University of Oklahoma. You can review Steve’s articles and presentations at
http://blog.spurinteractive.com.
www.facebook.com/slatham
http://twitter.com/@stevelatham "
www.linkedin.com/in/stevelatham
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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27. About Spur Interactive
Strategic Interactive Agency
Full Service Approach
• Brand building
• Strategies
• Lead generation
• Creative
• Customer cultivation
• Media
• ROI measurement
• Analytical Insights
Uniquely Positioned: Advisor and Implementer
Planning Execution Measurement Optimization
Thought leaders in digital media:
• Strategic planning and execution
• Integrating Social Media, Search, Advertising and Email
• Pioneers in analytics and measurement
Track record of successful programs
• 7+ years of ROI-based successes for leading brands
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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28. Our Health Care Marketing Expertise
Spur has built successful programs in numerous health categories:
General acute care
Cardiac monitoring
Specialty service lines
Lasik surgery
Bariatric / Lap Band surgery
Hair Replacement
Mobility products
Acne and Skin care
Diabetic supplies
Cosmetic surgery
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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29. Health Care Marketing Insights
Our Health Care Marketing experience affords valuable insights:
• How consumers and doctors research health information
• Which media outlets work at each stage of the decision cycle
• Which offers work (and which ones don’t)
• How to maximize conversion rates and minimize costs from:
• Search engines
• Social media
• Online health info publishers
• Display ad networks
• 3rd party email list owners
• Optimizing post-lead conversion
• Measuring impact
• Quantifying ROI
For information visit www.SpurHealth.com
Online Strategy and Best Practices for Health Care Marketing © Spur Interactive 2009
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