A Multimedia Approach for Healthcare Marketing and Lead Generation

In a 2013 Google study, when Hospital Administrators were asked, “What digital resources influence hospital administrators during their purchase journey?”, the top three answers were Google searches and web content, mobile/tablet devices and online videos. In healthcare, there are no longer the budget dollars for decision makers to attend trade shows and research products. They now rely on the internet to do the majority of their research, not just to compare products, but to weed out vendors. Using multimedia content as part of your healthcare marketing strategy helps you to stand out and tell your story so that it gets heard. A multimedia strategy puts you in a better position for your brand to get noticed, your information to be received and new leads to be captured. Why?

1. Because you are presenting your story or solution in the manner that your prospects prefer when doing their research. Do not assume that everyone who influences your buying decision learns in the same way.
2. Multimedia content has a longer shelf life than traditional written content.
3. A multimedia approach allows you to develop content in all stages of the buyer’s journey whether your prospect is in the awareness, consideration or decision stage.
4. Taking a multimedia approach means you are building your sales team an arsenal of sales tools they can use in the field. For small healthcare sales and marketing teams, this can be a highly effective and affordable approach.

Types of Effective Multimedia Content for Healthcare Marketing

Infographics: Infographics are great because they convey data and information in a visually stimulating way that tell a story. Infographics can be timelines, flow charts, comparison charts, maps, lists, or visual articles. The benefit of infographics is their visual nature. Highly visual content promotes better long-term retention. Infographics can be used in the awareness stage or consideration stage of the buyer’s journey. Use infographics as gated (behind a form) content to identify prospects early in their decision making.

Blogs: Blogs are great for attracting potential customers in all  stages of the buyer’s journey and contribute to organic traffic growth. Developing a series of blogs on a topic your company wants to own (be known as the expert) is a good way to position your organization as an authority on a subject. According to Hubspot, in 2017, 60% of marketers intend to blog more. Blogging is an excellent long-term strategy for building website traffic, educating prospective customers, and creating opportunities for lead conversion.

Videos: We mentioned earlier that visual content promotes better long-term retention. Videos, by their nature, fall into this mix. According to HubSpot, 80% of customers remember a video they’ve watched in the last month. Videos are excellent for middle or bottom of the funnel information. Adding video to landing pages or your email marketing boosts click-thru rates by 80 - 200%. In the Google study cited earlier, 63% of buyers contact a vendor directly after watching their online video. Videos can be animated, live (like on Facebook) or even text videos. There are many ways to produce an affordable video that is valuable to your prospects. Just remember, quality is better than quantity.

Podcasts: Podcasts are inexpensive to produce and beneficial in healthcare for a variety of reasons. Podcast listening grew 23% between 2015 and 2016 and continues to grow. Customers want to work with companies that understand their industry and challenges, such as ACA/ACHA reform, balancing quality patient care and cost, and so forth. A podcast series is perfect for positioning your company as an authority on a topic relevant to your customer. Podcasts establish a connection with your audience and the frequency of podcasts helps to develop your company's brand. They are a great top of funnel tool to build awareness and attract new customers through education that matters to them.

White Papers: In healthcare, white papers are supremely valuable. For healthcare manufacturers, a peer-reviewed white paper that involves your product/service is money. Original data and research establishes your brand, products, and services as being credible. Put white papers behind a form on your website. We see so many healthcare manufacturers giving these valuable resources away for free. Use white papers as gated content to identify buyers in the consideration stage of their journey, white papers are lead drivers for your sales team.

E-Books: Use ebooks to educate your prospects and customers on a topic that matters to them, perhaps something your company offers a solution to? Ebooks are a popular lead generation tool that allow you to tell a story that leads to your solution. Be targeted with ebooks. Before writing an ebook, be clear on who you are targeting to ensure that you are capturing the right leads. Put a call to action (CTA) for an ebook at the end of a blog to increase your conversion opportunities. In the 2015 IBM Digital Experience Survey, 56% of marketers believe that personalized content promotes higher engagement rates which will ultimately lead to better conversions.

Case Studies: The great deal-closer, a case study. Everybody loves a good case study. These can be used during the decision stage of the buyer's journey, however, they should not be limited to it. Seventy-one percent of B2B buyers in the awareness stage and 77 percent in the evaluation stage of the sales cycle cite testimonials and case studies as the most influential types of content... Case studies can be videos, infographics, or even ebooks and used in the awareness stage as well. Being creative with how you communicate your case studies will give them a longer shelf life and help them cast a wider net.

Training Courses: Developing training modules or courses provides value to your prospects and customers. They will be more than willing to submit their contact information on a form to gain access to a free educational opportunity. Training opportunities are great not only for attracting new customers but also retaining existing customers. Developing training modules provides continued value after purchase.

There are so much more multimedia options and new ones being developed every day. Be thoughtful about your multimedia approach; be targeted, define clear goals, define clear paths for conversion and remember to use a variety of mediums to communicate your message. Your KBK Communications team can help you build and deliver an effective multimedia campaign to attract, educate, convert and retain healthcare customers. To learn more, contact us here.