Providing value: Does your healthcare content pass the test?
The Coffey Team
As a healthcare marketer, you have people to please. You're working hard to satisfy bosses, board members, clinicians and colleagues.
But when you develop content, there's a certain someone that matters most: Your reader.
In Everybody Writes, Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer of MarketingProfs, speaks to why it's essential to put readers first. She urges marketers to ask "So what?" Why should people care about what you're saying—and what should they do with the information?
As Handley says, "What matters now is creating useful content that solves customer problems, shoulders their burdens, eases their pain, enriches their lives."
What's that mean for healthcare marketers?
Your reader, like all of us, has a crazy wealth of information to choose from. By passionately and persistently focusing on the healthcare consumer's needs and wants, you can create messages that resonate, provide value—and get read.
Of course, putting the reader first doesn't mean losing sight of your goals. You have services to promote, revenue to generate, campaigns to launch.
Here's what it does mean: When you create content—whether it's for your hospital website, magazine or other marketing materials—think about how your organization's goals mesh with what's valuable to your reader.
That's your marketing sweet spot: Where what you have to share can make a difference in people's lives.
It's how you'll reach your goals (and truly please those people mentioned above!).
Put your healthcare content to the test
To see how you're doing now, ask yourself these 5 questions. They can help you gauge if you're providing value from your reader's point of view:
1. Are you giving readers information they need? Take a hard look at content you produced recently. Does it pass the "So what?" test?
2. Are you being clear? Healthcare content can be both clinical and confusing. Strive for clarity and cut out jargon. Use words that most people will understand.
3. Are you solving problems for readers? For example, you might write content that answers common questions about a procedure. Or create an infographic that helps someone understand how to complete a task like paying a bill online.
Pro tip: Listen to the people. Look at the questions or comments you get on social media and what people are searching for on your website. Then create content that fits those needs.
4. Are you offering actionable tips? You can tell readers to stop smoking, lose weight, eat better. Better yet: Give them specific, inspiring ideas they can use in their everyday lives.
5. Are you telling compelling, human stories? True and genuine stories about people in your community—lives changed and touched by your expert, caring staff—offer a truly unique value. They engage and move readers—and they're stories only you can tell.
Learn about Coffey's healthcare content services
To reach your marketing goals, you need to reach readers with quality content.
That's where you can count on Coffey.
Our team of healthcare content creators craft compelling stories that people want to read. Our staff includes experts in health literacy, design, search engine optimization (SEO) and social media.
We'd love to tell you more about our healthcare content services. Give us a call at 888.805.9101, or email us.