January 2023 Health IT Marketing Minutes

TOPICS:

Posted By: Carol Flagg January 8, 2023

What makes marketing in the health IT space unique? Who are the movers and shakers? What’s working, what’s trending? Where can you learn more? This monthly roundup post will focus in on all things health IT when it comes to marketing.

To Listen

On this episode of What’s My Tagline I sit down with James Aita, the Director of Strategy and Business Development for Medicomp Systems, and Grace Vinton, a seasoned PR expert at Amendola Communications at HLTH 2022 in Las Vegas. Now in its fifth year, the event seeks to accelerate engagement across the health ecosystem through an interactive format that encourages deeper connections and thought-provoking discussions. As the conference concluded I had the chance once again to sit down and chat with James and Grace.

To Read

Amendola Communications
Hitting The Mark With News Releases – Grant Evans, Sr. Account & Content at Amendola Communications (@AmendolaComm) writes, “The first draft is the best, and it’s all downhill from there.” These snarky yet valid words came from a longtime friend, colleague, and mentor. They semi-jokingly referred to much of the writing we produced as the content marketing arm of a Fortune 500 healthcare IT provider. But it was most often muttered when talking about news releases. Working in such a large, diverse organization, we never lacked fodder for any form of content, and news releases were among the most requested form of PR. As former trade journalists with decades of agency and in-house marketing experience, we’d both been the recipients and issuers of thousands of releases and had instincts––and opinions––about what made them good or bad.

KNB Communications
Social Media Do’s and Don’ts for 2023 – Meredith Wishart at KNB Communications (@KNBComm) says, It comes as no surprise that social media has become imperative in marketing efforts, especially for healthcare and health tech marketers. In fact, over half of healthcare marketers shared that they rely on social media to reach their desired audiences. Social media allows for companies to engage authentically in healthcare conversations taking place across various platforms.

HITMC
Applying Marketing Skills from Other Industries to Healthcare – John Lynn (@techguy) says, One of the aspects I wanted to incorporate into the healthcare and IT marketing conference from the start, was having voices from outside of healthcare share their external experience and knowledge. My goal was to help healthcare marketers stretch their thinking. It is powerful to explore how other industries are pushing the boundaries of marketing. Of course, we may need to adjust the approach a little when adopting those strategies to healthcare (privacy and other considerations), but looking at other industries should help us escape the status quo.

Matter Communications
6 Steps to Writing Engaging Healthcare Content – Hannah Ratner at Matter Communications (@MatterComm) says, Healthcare is one of the most exciting areas to work in as a content writer or PR professional, especially in the current climate. There’s so much variety and no end of new things to learn. Matter Health executes programs across the continuum of care – from hospital operations, surgical robotics and mental health services to life sciences and consumer health technology – so we have a unique perspective on what types of content engage audiences and how to craft it.

MERGE
Boosting Patient Acquisition Through Brand Awareness – Taylor Heussner, Senior Corporate Marketing Manager at MERGE (@weareMERGE) writes, How can health providers foster patient advocacy, utilize data-driven decisions and create personalized content to drive brand awareness? The ultimate goal is to not only craft a reputation that becomes a beacon in high-impact healthcare marketplaces, but to also establish a relationship between the patient and provider that’s founded on trust.

Brafton
Marketing Strategy vs. Marketing Plan: What’s the Difference? – Dominic Tortorice, Content Marketing Writer at Brafton (@Brafton) writes, Is there really a difference between a marketing strategy and a marketing plan? Are they two sides of the same marketing program coin? While the terms are commonly used interchangeably, they’re two very different concepts in the real world. It may seem like splitting semantic hairs, but understanding the difference between marketing strategy vs. marketing plan is crucial to the success of your campaigns and your progress toward overarching business goals.

Agency News

FINN Partners launches annual academic scholarship for aspiring marketers at University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business
FINN Partners (@FINNPartners) is launching an annual scholarship for aspiring marketing professionals: the FINN Partners Excellence Scholarship in honor of Wendy Lane Stevens at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist College of Business. The gift represents the third scholarship program instituted by FINN Partners to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry. A tribute to alumna Lane Stevens (’72), a retired FINN Partners managing partner and long-time public relations practitioner, the scholarship will be available for the 2023-24 academic year.

MDClone Engages Amendola for Strategic PR and Marketing Services
Amendola (@AmendolaComm) announced that MDClone, a digital health company and leader in synthetic data, has selected the firm to amplify client successes, thought leadership, and industry best practices.

Matter Named A Top Place to Work by The Boston Globe for the Sixth Time
Matter Communications (@MatterComm) has been named one of the Top Places to Work in Massachusetts in the 15th annual employee-based award from The Boston Globe. Top Places to Work recognizes the most admired workplaces in the state voted on by the people who know them best—their employees. The survey measures employee opinions about their company’s direction, execution, connection, management, work, pay and benefits, and engagement.

Marketing Hires & Now Hiring

StudioNorth

Events

#HITMC
When: Tuesdays, Noon ET (9 AM PT)

What: Monthly chats on marketing strategies in health IT. Sponsored by: Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference. Find the topic for the next #HITMC Tweetchat.  View previous Tweet Chat summaries.

Resources

Urgent Care Marketing 101 – free, online marketing eBook from Experity (@ExperityHealth)
An urgent care clinic, like any business, is only profitable if patients continue to use its services over time. Unfortunately, many urgent care facilities have a restricted marketing budget, which can severely limit new business volume and community engagement. According to Andrew Ibbotson, Vice President of the National Research Corp. in Nebraska, “Urgent care traffic is driven more by online search results, geography, wait times, and availability than traditional healthcare delivery.” These added complications make identifying the most effective marketing strategies for your walk-in clinic even more essential to success.