5 interesting content ideas for healthcare marketing success
Modern health providers interested in educating their patients in today’s world face challenges.First, they have to be cautious of the information they provide. HIPAA, the rules which govern patient privacy, require providers to exercise care in not revealing patient information without permission, or potentially face violations in the hundreds or thousands. Providers also may be hesitant to spend their time – or that of their staff members – on healthcare marketing efforts, since these initiatives aren’t directly tied into billable patient time. Along the school of thought, the need for reliable information from trusted sources is also especially critical, and who can be deemed a more trustworthy source than one’s local doctor? For this reason, many physicians have the capacity to reach many patients quickly using more efficient modern digital methods – versus trying to educate patients on an individual basis. Medical marketers in search of ways to inform patients in the most timely manner should try to incorporate the following five tried and true strategies into their overall efforts: 1. Electronic newsletters These can offer fresh content about general medical info, including details specific to a particular location or business. For instance, a monthly edition could consist of topics such as medical precautions people could be taking, or different health information for a certain time of year. Personal touches are also a good idea to boost engagement and generate interest, including staff bios, details about the local office, or other noteworthy activities. 2. Social media Common channels like Facebook or Twitter receive high traffic and statistically speaking, have many active users. They’re also easy media to be used to track the volume of visitors and interactions/engagements on your business’ pages. Both sites are also good avenues to grow rapport and loyalty. You, or whomever you delegate management of your social media efforts to within your staff or agency, can share interesting health articles from external sources, provide info about office “happenings”, promote events, and try to engage with your customers/supporters through online discussion. The tone on Facebook can actually be quite casual – in fact, sometimes all you need to post for effective content marketing is a fun picture to accompany a simple message. 3. Business blog A blog attached to your main site has the potential to offer more in-depth information about local, national and international health topics, including longer paragraphs than you would have room for on your social network pages (the best practices for length of Facebook posts are less than 40 characters, and less than 100 for Twitter.) A blog, especially one with rich and regularly updated content, may also increase a visitor’s time on your site, rather than simply inviting quick verification of basic info such as phone numbers, appointment processes, and details about the clinic. 4. Regular texting Since more and more people are using their mobile phones, texting is becoming a preferred outreach method, at least for some recipients. While the 160-character limit doesn’t necessarily lend itself to complex and detailed information, you might consider including links to other interesting health articles or good links within your blog/site to boost engagement and position your practice as a thought leader. 5. Podcasts Though time-intensive, podcasts have the capacity to reap good pay-offs in terms of interest, and being seen as provider open to connecting in new ways. A podcast is a short audio segment that you record and make available to anyone who wants to subscribe. Your podcast may last for only 5-10 minutes, although some go longer, and yours can grow in length once you’ve established your production. Typically, podcasters interview other experts, or often, simply host with no guest interaction. This forum presents the perfect opportunity to offer a personal perspective on health topics proactively, rather than allowing patients misjudge medical information by reading and perceiving something inaccurately via mainstream news. A podcast is also the perfect place to say “that article wasn’t quite right.” For instance, a recent study eluded to the negative health benefits of sitting for long periods, and news outlets went wild with scary headlines. The Mayo Clinic tried to offer a better perspective by explaining that the actual study included other risk factors. A trusted provider can make sense of a study and inform listeners to the real concerns that might be of harm to them. In this case, the podcaster can offer a more positive and reassuring message, such as “here’s how being active provides daily health benefits.” Overall, the abundance of information online presents plenty of opportunities for local health providers to offer valuable, accurate expertise. For additional strategies and outreach methods to include in your healthcare marketing efforts, contact our experts today!
The demystification of the conversion marketing matrix
As the marketing landscape has evolved over the years, so have the expectations for more quantifiable success metrics. Considering that marketing is the precursor to sales, it’s no surprise that measuring advertising reach, impressions, and brand/product awareness, are no longer satisfactory results in the justification of return on investment. The swift journey through the sales funnel is of paramount importance to businesses today and optimizing the number of sales conversions is a core measurement in evaluating the success of any marketing program. Venture capitalist Bill Gurley, formerly one of Wall Street’s top Internet analysts (he was the lead analyst on the Amazon.com initial public offering), wrote that conversion rates are “the most powerful Internet metric of all” in a Fortune magazine article. While there is plenty of discussion out there with respect to conversion marketing through digital and online channels, most fail to integrate offline conversions to the mix. I’m as excited as anyone about the opportunities that digital marketing offers brands however, it would be careless of us to ignore the fact that a large amount of people still convert to a lead, prospect, customer, and sales through traditional methods. Conversions on a website are certainly important whether or not there is any e-commerce, but the brick and mortars also seek to drive qualified traffic into their locations for some desired in-store conversion. A successfully implemented conversion marketing program should consider both online and offline platforms as well as interplaying the two. For example, a conversion funnel may begin with entry through online channels with the completion requiring an in-store visit or vise versa. In order to better understand how conversion marketing works, it’s important to understand its inner mechanics. Conversion is part science and part art that relies on understanding the psychology and process of persuasion and adapting it to the associated medium. It requires that close attention by paid to the point of action (POA), because objections should be answered at the point the customers are getting ready to take an action. That is where they experience their greatest cognitive dissonance, and so that is where your persuasive answers have the most impact. Additionally, the AIDA (attention, interest, desire, and action) test should be applied, as it is instrumental in driving the process of turning visitors into buyers or curiosity into action. Examples of POA: Customer privacy statement on online purchase by submit button A toll-free number to call with questions and problems Confirm and provide follow up communications to every purchase Clearly indicate the return policy at the final sales conversion point Examples of AIDA: In-store POP or online store page with compelling messaging that grabs attention within eight seconds or less Messaging that is personally relevant so as to stimulate their interest and reinforce that they’re in the right place Emotionally driven and inspirational triggers that drive their desire to take action Clearly visible and easy to understand call-to-action (CTA) and action completion information The psychological elements of conversion balance the scientific methodology and should not be underscored. An understanding of human behavior here is key. At its root, human beings are driven by the need to avoid pain and the desire to gain pleasure. Even when we do something that appears to be painful, we do it because we associate pleasure with the action. Firefighters run into burning buildings because they associate pleasure with helping people and saving lives. Likewise, marathoners put themselves through 26.2 miles of misery because they associate pleasure with completing the course. In conversion marketing, you need to first understand what your customers associate with pain and pleasure, because not everyone associates pleasure with helping people from a burning building or running a marathon. Once you understand who they are, what they want, and what influences them, you can apply what is called the A to Z Technique. Simply put, customers want to get from point A (where they are now) to point Z (where they want to be). Carefully constructed marketing communications should help guide leads through this journey, getting the customers gradually closer to Z with each touchpoint or step. The closer they get to Z, the more likely they are to make a purchase in order to go the final few steps needed to arrive at their desired end result. Through this process, they start to associate the business with the pleasure they get from the results produced as they arrive at all the milestones between A and Z. At BIGEYE, we have developed the BIGEYE Conversion Matrix™ (BCM) which is a methodology used to identify an audience, set success metrics and finally drive them through a conversion funnel. Conversion Marketing Matrix Once a conversion marketing program is actively running and generating results, regular analysis and measurement is required to ensure that the rate of conversion is constantly increasing with an ultimate goal of converting 100% of all visitors and leads. This is what’s called conversion optimization or conversion rate optimization (CRO). In this BCM model, the CRO program rounds out all five steps in the activation phase. In search of a conversion marketing strategy custom-tailored for your brand, and guaranteed to target the right customers? Contact our team of conversion marketing professionals today, and we’ll help you get your program up-and-running ASAP!
The top advertising trends for 2015 are here, are you ready
Ron Swanson- it’s a name that brings to mind breakfast, Tammy’s, abhorrence for local government, and staying off the grid. In a particularly memorable scene from NBC’s hit show, “Parks and Recreation”, Ron receives a personalized pop-up ad on his computer and later discovers (to his horror) what happens when he Googles his home address. In an effort to regain his privacy, he tosses his cellphone and computer in the dumpster. Typical Ron. Fortunately for advertisers, though, most people are not Ron Swanson. Some Facebook users might not even bat an eyelash after seeing a Warby Parker banner ad. But just take a moment to Google eyeglasses nowadays, and you’ll quickly discover that these types of tailored ads are truly an integral part of our web browsing experience. While the decline in “traditional” advertising may still leave a bitter taste to some advertisers, this type of interconnectedness within the digital world is good news for agencies, and a homerun for reaching a highly targeted audience – just as long as the content remains “up to par.” With a smartphone attached to everyone’s hip (or an Apple watch on their wrist), implementing real-time promotions and advertisements is both convenient and relevant; now, through location services and GPS, advertisers can even geo-target consumers based upon where they are, and at any moment. Personally, I receive a lot of promotional emails from clothing stores. A lot. Everyday. Did I mention it’s a lot? Yet for every one hundred BOGO coupons cluttering my inbox, I’ll take the time to look at – even possibly use – just one. Sure, I have about 50 items in at least three online shopping carts, but nothing is really compelling me to click on that fateful “Place Order” button. The silver lining: potential new clothes are “piling-up” in my shopping cart, while my wallet stays full. That all changes when I’m out running errands or visiting a new city – those same brands and boutiques that I’ve previously browsed online might employ geo-targeting, sending me push notifications if I’m near a physical, brick-and-mortar store. (And sneakily, they may include a coupon, to dangle the carrot further). That sense of urgency to purchase a shirt I don’t need sure does grow a lot stronger as I think, “Well, I’m already here, I may as well stop in…” Suddenly, it’s bad for my wallet, but boy, oh boy, is it great for business. Speaking of online browsing, 2015 marks the year of mobile marketing more than ever before. With tablet use increasing and smartphones becoming the size of tablets, mobile web browsing has become the most common way to access the web. [quote]In fact, more than 50% of Internet users are browsing on mobile devices.[/quote] In fact, more than 50% of Internet users are browsing on mobile devices. For companies, this means creating mobile-friendly sites that operate seamlessly on a smartphone, anytime and anywhere. The website’s design can be flawless on a desktop, but without mobile capabilities, it’s content has the potential to miss reaching nearly half of the target market. After all, what good was all the diligent work completed by web designers, if the smartphone user isn’t able to marvel at it’s sleek interface? There are a series of features that should be standard at this juncture – like in-app calling, directions, ordering-placing, etc. Companies or brands whose mobile sites are not embracing this technology could find themselves way behind the eight ball. I’m not sure about you, but if I can’t quickly look up a local restaurant’s menu on my phone beforehand, I’ll likely choose to dine elsewhere. Call me a diva, but my smartphone and I just don’t have time for that. Yet all of this is fairly useless if the content your brand is producing lacks quality and authenticity. The consumer has been able to pick and choose what he wants to see, and can easily ignore the rest- TiVo and the DVR changed the game for broadcast advertisements and the Internet has seen the introduction of AdBlock. Just getting your brand’s product name to the consumer can be tricky, and when you do, man, are they picky. But with all this said, this is a good thing. Yes, agencies have to work harder and get more creative than the old click-bait strategy, but with content-driven marketing, the consumers that do choose to learn more are more likely to act on their interests. And at the end of the day, what good is 10,000 page hits if no one buys what you’re selling? When it boils down to how “on the grid” we all are, paired with the technological advances we’ve made in recent years, the possibilities are endless in the digital world of advertising. The future isn’t so scary now, is it? (Looking at you, Ron). Need some expert advice on ushering in some innovative strategies to align with these 2015 advertising trends? Contact our Orlando media buying agency today to develop your perfect game plan!
The Right Questions to Ask in Restaurant Marketing
It’s not uncommon for restaurant marketers to reach out to BIGEYE for tips on how to effectively market their concepts. It would be great if the key to successful restaurant marketing meant there was a to-do list of items that, upon completion, would cause a genie to pop out of a bottle, and your wish for guaranteed success be granted. But unfortunately, the ideal strategy is much more complicated than that… There’s no one-size-fits-all marketing plan that will work for every restaurant. A high-end restaurant that caters to tourists won’t necessarily have the same marketing strategy as a diner where all the locals hang out on the weekends. It’s important to identify your target audience, industry challenges, and what your potential customers want. Only then can you identify the right ways to reach them. Often times, if the number of people coming to your restaurant drops off drastically, it could mean there is something about the experience that’s causing you to lose out to competitors. In some cases, it might just need a little bit of refining, while in others it could mean spell the need to make a major pivot (for instance, offering healthier options, as fast food restaurants have done in the past.) If you want to know what your customers want, there’s no better way to do this than by talking to them. Personally, I feel flattered when a chef comes out of the back just to say hello and ask me about my dining experience. A place that does something like that makes me feel appreciated, and is sure to keep me coming back again. But beyond that, keep the conversation going. [quote]Identify your regulars, follow them on Twitter, and engage with them to hear their thoughts and suggestions.[/quote] Sometimes, it’s less about doing the PR-worthy stunts to get people in the door, and more about listening to the feedback to perfect the restaurant experience as a whole. One great place to find out what people are saying about your business is Yelp. If you haven’t been on Yelp lately and are wondering if there might be something keeping people from your restaurant, the team at our Florida advertising agency advises you to look at the Yelp reviews. Admittedly, people are not afraid to say why they didn’t enjoy an experience, especially when they’re on the Internet, under the dark veil of pseudo-anonymity. With that said, you may want to take the reviews with a grain of salt (after all, reviewers aren’t typically food experts but just average people who may not know much about your cuisine). On the other hand, if 100 people have rated your restaurant with a single star, it may be time to rethink the experience. In switching the question from “What can we do to get customers?” to “What do our customers want?” you shift the focus to the needs of the people who are going to support your business. Understanding your target audience can help you find new ways to reach them. Maybe the reason they’re not going crazy for “all-you-can-eat wing night” is because they’re more interested in getting a perfect gluten-free veggie burger. Your potential customers won’t respond when you try to tell them what to do, but they will take action when you make a concentrated effort to give them the experience they deserve. Have a few restaurant marketing questions of your own? Contact us today to speak with our team of experts – we’ll ensure your strategy is menu-ready!
4 Tips for Understanding Social Media Marketing ROI
It’s not easy to determine a dollar-for-dollar return on investment for social media. The good news, though, is that a company needn’t find itself buried in this task: there are numerous ways to track whether social media marketing ROI investments are paying off in big ways. Recently, a marketing consultant told me how when she first came on board with a new client, a large corporation, the CEO told her repeatedly that they should cut their social media because he couldn’t see a return on investment. So, she suggested they run a test that involved taking social media away for a period of a few weeks. Perhaps surprisingly, sales dropped throughout the course of the test.[quote]Circumstantial evidence led the marketers to deduce that the social media activities were, in fact, driving at least some sales.[/quote] Luckily, brands are coming up with more effective ways to measure social media ROI. It begins with looking at analytic data, and using that to determine how that relates to financial data. Our Orlando ad agency has a few tips that may help you in determining social media ROI for your business. Tip One: Think Carefully About What You’re Measuring It’s nearly impossible to measure direct sales from social media engagement, just because someone saw or “favorited” your company’s tweet, it doesn’t necessarily mean that alone is what drove them to a conversion. However, most sites have built-in analytic dashboards that allow their users to see which links are leading to hits for your site. (If you aren’t already collecting data through Google Analytics, sign up for a free account today). If you have evidence that someone clicked through an ad and landed on your site, it’s effectively telling that you that it was good for that, and if they’re not converting, there may be some other reason for it. Tip Two: Think About the Quality of the Interaction Itself It’s great when someone retweets your post, but it also makes a difference if the person sharing your content has one follower, or one million. In this way, companies can think more about the reach of a certain post than simply about the interaction itself. People with many followers often act as influencers not only online but in the real world, so social media managers can tap into influencer activities by having continuous conversations with these fans. Influencers can help companies build sales over time, so look at the investment the company is putting into engaging with fans and monitor whether sales increase over time. Tip Three: Consider the Benefits of Social Media Beyond Marketing While Twitter is a great place for people to share their thoughts and comment on things they find interesting, it’s also a great way for them to reach businesses directly through their social media accounts. Many people report that their problems are answered more quickly when tweeted than when they try to call on the phone, and as such marketers should be prepared accordingly. As such, take into account how much money your company is saving through using social media as a customer service alternative. Tip Four: When You’re Not Seeing a Return, Reassess Your Strategy When it seems to your marketing team that your social media isn’t offering a significant return on investment, it’s time to address your strategy. If your company sells a product that’s visually appealing, like gourmet food or luxury clothing, make sure you’re posting images on Pinterest that click through directly to your site. If you’re an author trying to market a book, consider doing a live chat with your fans about subjects related to the book, which can be informative and interesting and, in some cases, can even become a trending topic on Twitter. For more ideas about how to successfully generate social media marketing ROI from creative social media efforts, contact our Orlando marketing agency for a free consultation.
Do You Know How the best way to Advertise on Twitter?
Fresh on the heels of an IPO, there’s plenty of speculation about the future value of Twitter and how it will sustain revenue over the next few years. Certainly, it’s been proven that Twitter is around to stay, with a sizable base of users who constantly check their feeds for more content. Plus, there’s significant buzz around the value of Twitter, given its decision to close off its API and keep tracking data internal. Regardless of how investors feel about Twitter, there are real opportunities for businesses of all sizes to advertise on the social media platform. There are three different ways to advertise on Twitter: Promoted Hashtags, Promoted Accounts and Promoted Tweets. The team at our Florida ad agency thought it would be helpful to break down Twitter ads to figure out the best ways to help businesses lever Twitter marking for their businesses. Promoted Trends Promoted trends are the true moneymakers for Twitter. Companies can purchase a Twitter hashtag for 24 hours, starting at about $200,000, for the exclusive right to be featured prominently as a trending hashtag throughout the course of the day. Obviously, this requires a huge marketing budget, but large businesses that can afford a promoted trend can typically expect to see a massive return on investment. Sponsored hashtags appear in the trends section of the desktop site and have featured placement on Twitter mobile. On a recent Tuesday, the evening’s promoted trend was #TuesdayNightFootball. The hashtag appeared in a sidebar for every person who used Twitter on his or her computer for that entire day. The success of that marketing effort wasn’t just massive Twitter appeal; much of it was in the fact that people were consistently using that hashtag in their own Tweets, creating a network of posts and retweets to help create awareness of Tuesday Night Football. It also became a cross-promotional effort, with TV viewers being encouraged to tweet with that hashtag and attracting new viewers to their televisions to watch Tuesday Night Football. Companies who opt to go with this type of advertising often do so through agencies, and do it in order to promote events or product launches. Only one promoted hashtag will run at a given time, so it is given a premium spot at a premium rate. Promoted Accounts Business owners can promote their accounts for much cheaper than they can purchase promoted hashtags. A promoted account features the advertiser’s account prominently on the desktop under “Who to Follow,” and reach only people who fit a particular profile, as determined by the advertiser. Promoted accounts works best for people looking to grow their user base over time by cultivating user engagement. These seem to be a longer-term strategy. Also, advertisers only pay for users who follow their accounts as a result of the promoted account. Promoted Tweets [quote]Most small business Twitter success stories come from promoted Tweets.[/quote]These are easy to implement and geotarget, or, small businesses can choose to relay such tweets to niche populations who are interested in specific subject matter (which is based on the accounts a person follows and tweet topics). These are best to use to drive immediate traffic. Recently, a friend of mine who had a recently published book decided to take a shot at Twitter advertising. Her efforts garnered more than 2,000 impressions and hundreds of new followers. And, this all cost her a mere $5. With careful planning, this tactic can be an effective strategy for engaging with potential customers. Increasingly, businesses are learning to leverage Twitter to help grow their user base and engage with them more. People who are not getting the results they want from simply tweeting may wish to investigate Twitter advertising as an additional source of awareness. Business owners who have yet to experiment with Twitter advertising can contact our Florida marketing agency for help with creating the perfect Twitter ad campaign.
What Do Don Draper and Thomas Edison Have in Common?
Technology is moving at a phenomenal pace. Technologies we thought would never die are now obsolete, and the items that are here to stay have gotten fundamentally better in the past couple of decades. The emergence of a technology-driven era shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Long ago, advertisers were responsible solely for creating content to be published in newspapers, magazines and, eventually, billboards and outdoor spaces. While those media are shrinking as we make way for more effective (and often less expensive) digital advertising, these items still remain integral to a cohesive marketing strategy for many businesses of all sizes. However, at our Florida advertising agency, we believe the role of the advertiser is changing. Advertising now requires an understanding of how to leverage technology and data to help generate successful campaigns that reach the masses in unprecedented ways. Granted, advertisers have always been on the forefront of technology, but these days, a cohesive advertising campaign requires more innovation than ever. In boardrooms around the world, advertisers are already putting together initial plans to leverage advertising on Google Glass–product that didn’t even EXIST a month ago. This is indicative of the challenges that advertisers will face going forward. What comes next? An Apple-driven way to change your brainwaves? A way to tell your smart TV what you want to watch by simply looking at it? [quote]The new role of an advertiser is that of a creative technologist. In the future, this role will dominate the advertising space. [/quote] A recent video from Code.org shows Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg evangelizing the importance of coding as an invaluable skill set, as well as people like will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, a notably unassuming advocate for digital development. Advertisers who are not on the cutting edge of technology will be at a stark disadvantage if they fail to remain on the forefront of digital trends. As such, it requires them to visionaries, implementing innovative products and services that create utility while instilling brand loyalty into their audience. Advertising today requires knowledge and understanding of digital analytic data, as well as the means to understand the implications of that data and how to maneuver the digital terrain. A recent blog post on Harvard Business Review propositions that advertisers need to be inventors. They need to know what to build, how to build it and how optimize it for guaranteed results. The thought process, therefore, is changing. The dimensions, once limited to print surfaces, are now innumerable, with new products being invested every day. The advertisers of the future are the people who are currently developing mobile apps to help solve problems in their everyday lives. They are the ones who have clever ideas for new ways to use technology – and ACTUALLY act on them. The team at our Orlando advertising agency encourages creativity in advertising my fostering contribution, by allowing everyone to contribute at every level of experience. We strive to keep up with trends in digital technology, frequently attending showcases and networking events to learn about recent developments. How are you fostering creativity in advertising at your business or agency?
