Anatomy of a Healthcare Marketing Campaign
Often healthcare organizations have so many goals to meet and messages they’d like their patients to hear, they have trouble getting their ideas off the ground. It can seem overwhelming to know where to begin. We’ve compiled a list of our own strategy for creating campaigns; this “Anatomy of a Marketing Campaign” might help simplify the process for you, too.
Target Audience
The first and most important step in developing a marketing campaign is defining your audience. Who needs what you have to offer? The more narrowly you can define the person or group who stands to benefit from your service the better your results will be. This process begins with research.
Developing personas for your different audiences is always a good idea. Effective campaigns are based on strong customer insights.
SMART Goals.
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-sensitive. Goals might include the number of leads generated, new customers or patients acquired, or revenue resulting from campaign.
Value Proposition
Step into the mind of your target audience. What are the problems they face? How can you help solve them? That’s your value proposition. The value you offer by helping to improve their business or solve their problem.
Offer (Call to Action)
It’s not a wrap until you’ve invited the prospect to act – to do something. You can also simply more to those who are interested. Give them a reason to ask for more from you. You can offer case studies, videos, webinars, ebooks, whitepapers, blog posts, or any other educational content that provides salut to your target.
Delivery Channel
How is your audience going to hear your message? There are many ways to reach your target, and using more than one is almost always better. Some campaigns include e-mail, social media (like LinkedIn), snail-mail, Web advertising, traditional media, print, posters, billboards, radio or television, and more. Multi-touch marketing that includes several of these is often most effective. Your deliver channel will often be driven by your target audience research. You’ll know where your target’s interests are, what websites they visit, books or newspapers they read, where they spend their time, what they listen to or watch on television, what brands they buy, and where they shop. Then you can choose delivery channels accordingly.
Content Calendar
After you’ve decided which channels to use for delivery, it’s time to determine what content will appear on each, and when it will be released. Having the entire campaign laid out before it even begins will ensure that the message is consistent. Having a calendar will also ensure that your message stays relevant and top of mind, as it is persistent, relevant, and timely.
Tracking
Not everyone has the resources to test messages, track, and report on the results of every part of a campaign. But tracking as much as you can will save time and effort when it comes time to develop another campaign for your audience. You’ll have a better sense of what worked well, what didn’t, and where to invest your marketing spend and time.
Follow-Up
Once you have your target’s attention, follow up. Continue the dialogue with them until a relationship is established or they’ve converted.
Planning a campaign doesn’t have to be as daunting as it may sound. Follow the steps above, and most importantly, be persistent. Keep going. Is there a campaign our organization has been wanting to develop but just hasn’t had the time or resources? Take a look at our campaigns in a box and see if one of them might be what you need. If your topic isn’t on our list, we’d love to hear from you. We are always seeking ideas to develop for our next “Campaign in a Box.”