Healthcare marketing strategy3 min read 3 ways to drive and measure member engagement

If you market health plans, engaging your members may be a big challenge. Not only that, but you may also have the task of measuring that engagement. Here are some tips to help.

Tip No. 1: Make your website more than “meh”

Your members often access valuable resources through your website. That means you need an appealing and usable design.

Items you should definitely consider include the following:

• Links to related content around HEDIS measures and/or STAR ratings.
• Call to action (CTA) buttons.
• Interactive tools like decision tools, calculators and quizzes.

Also, sharing helpful information through articles or blogs may attract your members to your website and show them the value in what your company does for them.

Did it work? Make sure you are using a web analytics service such as Google or Sisense to measure your efforts. Effective evaluation can examine the number of new visitors, your bounce rate (how many people leave the site after visiting one page) and your CTA click-through rate.

Tip No. 2: Craft your direct mail strategy

You may be no stranger to using direct mail to reach members. But how do you keep your efforts from getting ignored and tossed in the trash?

Once again, try to see your publication or newsletter though the eyes of your member. Here are some things to consider:

• Use trackable phone number. Trackable phone numbers that point to call centers or member resources will help you gain valuable insight about your campaign.
• Use images to break up big blocks of text. Small print and tight margins are huge turnoffs to readers. Make your publication less dense and leave room for fun articles or quizzes.
• Be friendly and helpful. No one wants to be scolded. Give suggestions rather than orders. You can motivate behavior change, but it takes a careful, empathetic strategy.
• Invite engagement online. You can encourage members to try a new member resource tool or ask them to check you out on their favorite social media platform. Also, gently urge them to seek your information online, where you can better measure success.

Did it work? When measuring the success of direct mail, think about those key performance indicators (KPIs). What are your goals? If you need members to fill out surveys or forms, examine your response rate. If you are analyzing how many members accessed a resource, mention a unique link in the direct mail. This helps you judge whether you achieved your purpose.

Tip No. 3: Use social media to actually connect

Social media shouldn’t be there just to be there. With the right strategy, you can use it to connect with your members and obtain the information you need.

Try these important engagement strategies:

• Ask for specific actions. Learn to write a compelling call to action that invites members to interact or sign up.
• Don’t post just to post. An engaging article about living with a specific disease will be much more interesting than your latest change in upper management.
• Keep your eye on compliance. You don’t want members to share information they shouldn’t. Make sure you can approve comments and images before they go public.

Did it work? Most social media platforms have their own analytics functions. Use this information to build a running history of how your social media is performing. In addition, web analytics programs can show which channels, such as social media platforms, bring visitors into your website.

Finally, the best step forward is to make a list of priorities and budget needs and then work on that list item by item. But if your health education or member communications team is already stretched to its limits, Coffey's team can help. We offer experienced marketing experts for health plans. Call 888.805.9101 or email us to learn how we can help you reach your goals.