The power of content marketing in health care

Health care executives might think of their business in terms of services and products, but health care marketers know that communicating with patients is not about marketing tests and prescriptions and surgeries. It’s about educating the community about what the organization can do to help them — about building relationships and trust — that then lead to appointments and procedures. 

This balance between educating and promoting is very delicate. When people are seeking medical care, a sales pitch doesn’t fit with the worry or uncertainty they’re feeling in the moment. They don’t want to be sold on features and benefits; they want relevant, accurate and actionable information that helps them navigate a path to getting medical care. That’s why we work with our health care clients to create websites and marketing plans that position the brand as an authoritative destination for information. A deep library of educational content is the key to building relationships and trust. 

Patient Education, Not Sales Pitches

Before they take the step of scheduling an office visit, prospective patients have so many questions. What do my symptoms mean? Can I get help for this issue? What does treatment look and feel like? Is this covered by my insurance? By answering all their questions and reassuring their concerns, you help them feel comfortable and confident coming to you for care. 

When our client, Northwestern Medical Center, launched a new sleep center, for example, we knew patient education was key. People may not recognize that poor sleep has health consequences, or they may be intimidated by the idea of doing a sleep study. 

We built a content hub on the NMC website for the sleep center that outlines the primary health issues related to sleep. A “what to expect” section shares practical advice about the study experience, and an FAQ section gives additional detail. This hub does a great job of leveraging three content marketing tactics:

It’s about them

All of the copy addresses the patient directly using the words ‘I’ and ‘you.’ It’s straightforward and conversational, using conventional, non-medical language. It covers a wide range of questions and issues to demystify the sleep study process and set expectations about getting results. 

Make it easy to take the next step

As you build a library of educational content, pay attention to user experience — the path that someone takes from their first point of contact with your brand, as they explore information and then take some kind of action. They might see an ad or organic post on social media, for example, begin to self-identify that they have a health issue you can help with, and then follow a link to your website to learn more. Knowing that information will help inform future marketing efforts. 

As a health care provider, you have patients and prospects across a range of demographics and locations. Some people prefer to talk with someone on the phone; others might continue to seek more information before scheduling an appointment. As the NMC sleep center hub shows, it’s important to share multiple ways to contact you.  

The copy you use to encourage someone to take action matters, too. Early in their experience with your website, they may just want more information, so a “learn more” link to additional resources makes it easy. With NMC, we knew that potential patients might hesitate to schedule a study, so we included a “not ready to call?” link that leads to a form that users can fill out to get more information from a provider.  

Consider the visual flow of the page or pages: the hierarchy of text and headlines, logical organization of information, and simple graphics can help users find what they need and gently prompt them to take action. 

Prioritize education and promote subtly 

Educational content can take many forms, from blog posts and social media updates, to videos and infographics, to online classes and webinars. Stories that highlight patients’ experiences communicate to your audience that your organization is the best place to get care. This kind of narrative subtly blends education and promoting services and products  — it helps prospects see that people like them have had positive outcomes and gives them confidence to seek their own care. 

Playing the Long Game

Patient education has to be a part of all of your marketing touchpoints. Not only does it take effort and resources to build a library of educational content, but marketers also need to be intentional about making that information available to the public. Campaigns need to run for at least 3 months to generate results. People take time to recognize their symptoms, see your messages, do their research, ask their friends for referrals — all before they book an office visit. It’s a long game.  

But we’d argue that trust is a health care organization’s most powerful asset. Educational content helps your community see you as the North Star, the first place they look for information and help as they’re managing their health. It empowers patients to weed through what is accurate and not, and to make a good decision for them — now and in the long term. 

If your organization, like NMC, cares about educating patients and building relationships, we can help. Let’s talk about building a content strategy for your brand.