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Healthcare trends that won’t fade away
According to the many cootie catchers I consulted in fifth grade, I was the girl most likely to marry a red-haired lawyer and live in a penthouse in Hawaii. If only! These days, I turn to the experts for prognostication, whether seeking a decent weather forecast or a movie worth the cost of an overpriced ticket.
But who do I turn to for predictions about healthcare content trends that won’t fade away? That’s easy — my expert colleagues here at WG Content. When our leadership team asked us what we thought on that very topic, we did what we did best – put our heads together and shared advice on how healthcare marketers can excel at the trends that just aren’t going away.
And so, I present to you WG Content’s list of healthcare trends that are here to stay so you can be extra-amazing at your job for years to come.
1. Healthcare marketers will be asked to do more with less
Everyone in the industry is well aware of the challenges hospitals face, especially hospitals in rural areas. These challenges are due to various factors, including severe workforce shortages, broken supply chains and rapid inflation that has increased the cost of care.
Hospital marketing budgets aren’t immune from these concerns — in fact, they are often among the first to be trimmed. That means your staff will likely have to do more with less. At WG Content, we recommend the following.
- Look for new cost-saving opportunities created by economic headwinds. Examples include taking advantage of less expensive media rates and partnering with other community organizations on ad campaigns, allowing you to share costs.
- Pursue marketing strategies with specific return on investment goals to create profit without cutting your budget.
- Work with freelancers, an agency or a full-service healthcare content company like WG Content. When you do, the dollars you spend will be tied more closely to the work delivered. Spending $75,000 on an agency to tackle multiple projects may be far more efficient (and feasible) than hiring an employee with a more limited skill set. As one WG Content employee says, “We may be moving into a gig economy in healthcare until hospitals can get their footing again.”
- Explore free tools for content marketing, which can help you perform SEO audits, monitor keyword performance and explore search trends. Most free tools come with limitations, but they can supplement higher-cost services and help you gain momentum so you can justify paying for additional resources in the future.
2. Healthcare marketers will do more and more to support employee recruitment and retention efforts
Healthcare leaders will continue to prioritize employee recruitment and retention. And to be successful, they’ll need marketing departments to help. One WG Content employee noted, “Marketers should have a seat at the table regarding recruitment and retention efforts. And marketing costs should be a line item in HR budgets to ensure that recruitment and retention receive the resources needed for success.”
Creative internal communications strategies could be a game changer when it comes to retaining employees. A few ideas:
- Optimize your intranet so that it becomes known as a valuable source of information. Employ best practices, such as offering quick links and a high-powered search feature, so employees can find the information they need easily.
- Know your organization’s “internal voice” and ensure that all employee communications are aligned. The way you speak to employees should be familiar, warm and appreciative — almost as if you are talking to family members.
- Partner with HR to communicate with employees about compensation and benefits in a way that makes the information tangible, enjoyable and easy to understand. A carefully crafted TikTok or original ukulele number can add a human touch and build a corporate culture that keeps employees engaged.
WG Content EVP of business development, Kirsten Lecky, sat down with Andy Lyons, Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s Director of Corporate Communications and Content Strategy, to talk about internal communications. One of his many observations was that transparency is critical when speaking to an internal audience. “You don’t want them reading anything in the newspaper about your organization — good or bad — that you haven’t shared with them first internally,” he explained. Hear the complete “Tips in Ten(ish) Minutes” segment here!
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3. Marketers will be updating websites as SEO standards continue to evolve
Search engine optimization ensures that people can find your organization and the content you work so hard to create. But with Google’s frequent algorithm updates, you must adapt your SEO tactics frequently. In addition, you’ll need robust, SEO-friendly, accessible and appropriate content that offers a great user experience.
Here’s some advice from our team.
- Develop a documented content strategy, starting with a gap analysis to identify opportunities to meet users’ needs and stand out as an organization.
- Make sure all stakeholders are aligned on the content marketing objectives before you write the first word. Get all partners involved early in the process, including design, UX, SEO and content development team members.
- Patient-centric and personalized marketing continues to be critical. Leading with kindness and patient-centered language is always going to pay off. No matter what you create, ensure your patient’s perspective is the one you’re giving the most attention to.
- Use plain language that’s conversational and clear. That means avoiding jargon and buzzwords, keeping sentences and paragraphs short, using active voice and using headers and lists to organize content.
Let WG Content help you win at content marketing
Predictions are fun to make and impossible to guarantee. But we can promise you one thing: marketers will need exceptional writing and content strategy for today and beyond. If you are looking for a healthcare content partner to help your team succeed, reach out to the experts at WG Content. We’ll bring the cootie catchers!
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