How to find the best content in your organization

Learn how to uncover your hospital's best stories, from patient interviews to staff insights.

An illustration of a man with his hand to his ear, listening

Key takeaways:

Great content comes from building relationships with staff, observing patient interactions and uncovering unique perspectives in everyday hospital life.
Thoughtful interviews with patients and doctors can reveal heartfelt, relatable experiences that resonate with your audience.
Repurpose content across platforms, collaborate with partners and empower your staff to share stories for broader reach and engagement.

Author: Kirsten Lecky
Last updated: 3/9/22

What’s the secret to exceptional content across all your marketing channels? The answer may seem simple: unearth those buried nuggets of golden content. But, we all know things aren’t always as easy as they sound. Given your workload and many responsibilities, how much time do you have for a gold-digging expedition?

Fortunately, you’re sitting atop a mountain of unique and relevant information built from years of history, innovation and compassionate care. The trick is to mine your resources for the best material. Here are some tips for finding the best content in your organization.

Uncovering content ideas from your organization

Your hospital has to show why it’s the best—you can’t just tell people you rock. You’ll need to share examples, patient stories and become a community resource. Your patients have a lot of choices when it comes to care. You have to prove to them that you’re worth it.

Here are four ways you can find your hospital’s best content and share it:

1. Walk your halls

Develop friendships with service line leaders. Ask nurses if they have any inspiring patients to introduce you to.

2. Sit in the waiting room

See what patients are talking about. Ask them why they picked your hospital. Listen and observe.

3. Eat in the hospital cafeteria

Eavesdrop on conversations around you. Find out what everybody is talking about.

4. Encourage hospital staff to be journalists

Eavesdrop on conversations around you. Find out what everybody is talking about.

Get more healthcare marketing tips and best practices: Subscribe to the WG Content newsletter.

Get the most from interviews

Even if you have a great story to tell, you won’t be able to share it if your questions don’t get to the heart of the story. Here are some questions to make your interview shine.

Questions for subject matter experts like doctors:

Why makes you so passionate about being a doctor?
What have your patients taught you?
What inspires you to get out of bed each morning and go to work?

Questions for patients:

How did it feel in your heart when you received the diagnosis?
How has the hospital supported you during your treatment?
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

Once you have a great story, you can’t just post once and forget it. Here are some tips for improving your distribution plan:

Don’t just focus on yourself. Team up with local and national organizations and see how you can work together to promote your story.
Re-purpose your content. Let’s say you posted some great pictures on Instagram. Don’t forget to share them elsewhere. For example, what if you sprinkled your annual report with your best ones?
Tell everybody about it. If there’s a special story you posted on your Facebook page, link to it on your hospital’s Intranet and encourage staff to “like” and share it.

Storytelling reminders

Remember these tips as you embark on your journey to find and tell interesting stories:

Bring a sense of curiosity: People you’re interviewing will pick up on your natural curiosity and respond. Use follow-up questions to get additional details like “Can you give me an example of that?” Let them tell their story in a way that is meaningful to them.
Use plain language: We promise: Nobody cares that your hospital is “state-of-the-art” or “world-class.” Really. Check out this helpful list of healthcare buzzwords to avoid.
Give people stories they want to read: Patients want to hear stories that inspire them or give them tips on how to live more healthful lives—not about your most recent visit from the Joint Commissions.

Stay in touch with people you’ve interviewed. These people could turn out to be the biggest brand ambassadors for your hospital. Once you’ve written their story, share it with them and encourage them to share it with their friends and family. If their story was particularly touching, perhaps you could develop a larger advertising campaign around them or continue to do follow-ups.

Need help finding and creating stories that differentiate your organization? WG Content’s team of healthcare writers and strategists partner with organizations to create content that resonates. Send us a message any time to learn more about how we can support your storytelling initiatives.