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How to review your digital marketing strategy for 2019

In this podcast, we will be talking about how to review and analyze what has worked digital marketing-wise in 2019. It is important to take the time to review what has worked and what hasn’t worked, along with making sure your content is attracting the right target audience you are looking for. We dive into Google Analytics, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and more!

We also mention this AMAZING tool we have been using for Pinterest called TailWind, it has significantly increased our traffic to our website!

00:01 Amber Irwin: Hello everyone, I am your host, Amber Irwin. Welcome to Social Speak Network and welcome back from the Thanksgiving holiday break. I know everyone is so excited to be back to work. And if you are a business owner, this is the last month of the year, so we have a lot of things that we want to look at and really analyze to see what has worked marketingwise for 2019. So today I’m gonna walk you through a few different things to track what has really worked digitally for your company. And it’s really important to take the time to look at the past year, to look at your content, what’s gotten the most likes, the most shares, what blogs have gotten the most shares, what videos have gotten the most comments and likes?

00:55 AI: So it’s really important to see what your audience is liking because this time of year, you’re putting together the budget for the following year, you’re putting together your content and your marketing strategy. And so you need to know what is expected of you, for at least the first quarter of 2020 and have a plan for the year, so you can stay on track. And this has been a really big year for us as a company as well because we really stayed consistent with our marketing mission, which is key because it’s easy to get in the mode of blogging and doing videos and then something comes up. Maybe it’s workrelated, maybe, you know, whatever it is, something comes up and you fall off the track of being consistent. So by looking at what has worked and what your audience is looking for, that will help you create that strategy for the following year and really be able to stay on track and stay consistent because the content is king, but consistency is even better. That’s the Ace.

02:02 AI: So you wanna make sure that you are being consistent and you’re continuing to deliver that information that your audience is looking for. So I wanna walk you through a few things on how to monitor your year to see what’s worked. So the first thing I wanna start with is your social media. So looking at… Let’s open up Facebook, looking at just your posts, so we wanna look to see… You should be tracking each month, your likes, so you should be able to see how many likes you have increased this year. So if you go to your insights, it will tell you. You can change the insights to the past 28 days. And this is why it’s important to look at this on a monthly basis, because unless you know what that beginning number was, at the beginning of the year, you may not know exactly what that number is now. So if we go to likes, it will tell us how many likes we have and then it will tell us just the beginning of November, what we had.

03:25 AI: So, it’s important to just check in on that math monthly, to make sure that your likes are increasing. And if you’re doing paid advertising with Facebook, you should be running ads to, go to our landing page to actually collect those emails and those leads. But then you should also be doing some page ads as well to increase the engagement and likes. So you’ll have organic likes and then you’ll have paid likes. So that’s really important to know the difference between where your likes are coming from, on Facebook. Is paid advertising really working and/or boosted posts. Are you getting, when you boost a post on Facebook, have you been getting more likes and more engagement?

04:11 AI: So it’s important to take the time to look at your insights to see what is working and then when you go to your posts, you can see what times of the day people are engaging. So for us, we get the most engagement early morning like 8:00 AM So moving into our content strategy for 2020, we may wanna make sure that our posts are going out between 6:00 AM and 8:30, 9:00ish because if we… When we start posting at noon, our reach drops significantly and when we post on Facebook later in the day, at night time like 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, it drops even more. So our primetime on Facebook, is that early morning, that 6:00 to 9:00 mark. So that’s important to know as well, so that’s the time and the days.

05:12 AI: And then I can look at all your posts published and I can see which posts are getting either an organic reach or post clicks, reactions, comments, and shares. So you wanna see which ones are getting the most engagement, and then what type of a post was that? Because that’s really important to be able to monitor. If you’re putting up just shared articles, curated content, which is important, but there’s no personalization behind it, there are no videos. It’s just always sharing content, and you’re not getting any engagement, well, that then says, Okay maybe my audience isn’t liking that. But if you put up posts that talk about client stories, patient stories, it talks about the personality of your office, showing more behind the scenes and stats, that’s what works for us. Stats, people love when we put images up of stats in healthcare for marketing. So that’s what really works for us, are stats and content marketing strategy.

06:00 AI: So Facebook is the first place I would start looking at those insights, looking at what posts have been working. You can on your posts, you can go back for the whole year. It’s just your insights that you can only go back 30 days but your content if you go into Facebook, go to your page, click on insights on the top, and then go to posts, you can then… And you can break it down to all of your posts. You can look at if you did events, videos, stories, different types of posts it will break down, but you will be able to see what posts are getting the most reactions. And that’s what you wanna start implementing more of in your content strategy for 2020. The next platform… And you’ll wanna do this for any platform that you are posting to.

07:24 AI: So we use Facebook and Instagram the most. So again, I wanna come through Instagram and I wanna look to see how many people liked it, if we got any comments, what type of comments we were getting, and then what types of posts, again, were people liking? Were they like when we were reposting from people? Were they liking when we are putting stats up, videos? So really looking at the types of posts, and then again, the number of followers you have. So at the beginning of the year, we are doing really great with Instagram Stories, and we were highlighting them. Well, as you can tell, we stopped that. We were great on posting to our feed but the Instagram Stories kind of… They weren’t a priority of ours anymore, and so these… You can even just tell in these branded images, it doesn’t match the brand that we have down here.

08:27 AI: And so here we should have healthcare marketing tips, healthcare social media, health… Because again, our target client is businesses that are in the healthcare and health and wellness industries that have one to six locations. So that’s what we need to work on, is getting our stories back up and going and reorganizing these highlighted stories. So our posts have done great.

Even with Instagram TV, we were really good at being able to stay on it and we are getting some great traction but again, it fell through the cracks and it wasn’t a priority. So looking at those analytics, how many people were watching Instagram TV, how many people were commenting? And that’s something that we may need to increase for the new year. So Instagram’s the next platform.

09:28 AI: Pinterest, I’ll get into Pinterest in a minute, but we use Pinterest a lot, and going into, I wanna talk about Google Analytics really quick. Google Analytics is a great way to really wrap your head around where all your traffic is coming from because your website should be your hub. That’s where everyone should becoming. This is where your blogs are going, this is where your videos are going within those blog posts, so your Google Analytics can give you a huge insight into what’s working. And you may wanna start here and then branch out into social media and your blog. One thing I found interesting on ours is under Acquisition and then Social, and then I just went to Overview, and I’m in Google Analytics, and on our overview for social, most of our traffic is coming from Pinterest, which is awesome. It goes Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Scoop.it, then Instagram, and then we have some LiveJournal, Twitter, Google+. But you can see it.

10:47 AI: So Pinterest, we’ve had over 1100 people come to our website from Pinterest and we’ve had almost 500 people come to our website from Facebook. So our Pinterest strategy is really, really strong, and we do use a tool called Tailwind. I’ll put that link below so you can check that awesome tool out, and it’s working. So obviously, we wanna increase our Pinterest strategy, we wanna make more images, we wanna get more content up there, because that’s where people are finding us. So this is working. Facebook is working. YouTube is working. People are finding us and then clicking back to our website. So Google Analytics is a great tool for you to really be able to identify where your traffic is coming from.

11:42 AI: And the other thing, even if you click on to Audience and Demographics, you can do… I just did the overview, but you can look to see what is the age group of people that are coming to your website, what is the gender, and what’s the interest categories. So you can look and see where people are coming from. And I think that this is important because one thing that I always find interesting is the content that we work so hard every day, every month, where are we… What’s working for us? And is the content that we’re working so hard on, is that attracting the right audience? So that’s something else to look at, to say, okay, where else are… If I’m running this content, and it’s directly around healthcare digital marketing, and our Google Analytics is telling us that we’re getting a lot of foodies coming to our website, people are interested in food and… Well, that’s not a good connect. That’s wrong… Obviously the wrong demographic.

13:00 AI: So how do we need to change our content or change our… Look at our SEO, our keywords, and figure out how do we reach that correct target market. So Google Analytics is a great tool to be able to do that. The other thing I want to mention is YouTube. YouTube is a great tool to really track and see what videos are getting the most engagement. And this year alone, I think at the beginning of the year, we were at maybe five or seven subscribers, and we’re up to 154. Now that’s still very low but in a year’s time of us being consistent, we’re getting anywhere between three and five new subscribers a month, which is great for us because we’re not doing any paid advertising on YouTube. This is all just organic but they’re finding our videos. And, again, when we are putting our videos into… When we put our videos up, we’re putting a link in the description to our blog. So they are going to our blog or to that website from YouTube, which is awesome.

14:19 AI: So it’s really important to analyze that to see what videos are working and which videos… If you thought a video would be great and it only got one view, well, why did it only get one view? And did you share it with social media? Is it on your blog? What can you do to increase that video? So, YouTube’s a great place to really look at the analytics and see what’s working. The last thing I wanted to talk about is your website. So, with Google Analytics, it will track all the traffic, and it will tell you where your traffic is coming from. One thing that we had installed on our blog is a tool… It’s a sharing tool, it’s a plugin, and this allows people when they’re on the site that they can share it to Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn. So it’s a great way to see how many people are coming to your website and actually sharing those social media… Or excuse me, those blog posts to social media.

15:29 AI: And so one of our blogs, I think it was our content marketing strategy, that one had been shared quite a few times. So that shows us that people really want to understand more of that strategy, and how to put that content marketing strategy together. Let’s see here. I know it’s here. So just looking at going through your blog post, looking at each one, seeing which ones have got shared the most, and what were those topics? What were people wanting to know about? And I think that that’s really important because, again, it’s all about delivering that content to your audience in such a way that they’re receiving it, they’re sharing it, and they’re doing it. So that’s… So this one. So why is it so important to have a digital marketing strategy? This is a blog we wrote. 106 shares. 102 of those were to Pinterest. That is awesome. Four of them were on Facebook. So this shows me that, again, that Pinterest strategy that we have worked is killing it, and we wanna keep doing more of it. So, again, we have four more weeks left in 2019. If you have kids, I know that you really only have two or three weeks to really finish up this year because then they go on winter break, and Christmas is here and the holidays are here, and it’s craziness.

17:22 AI: So take time this week or next week, block out two hours and look at what has worked digital marketingwise for 2019. Take the time, jot it down, and as you’re… And at this point, you should already have that content marketing strategy started for 2020. And by knowing what types of posts have worked in 2019, what you wanna do more of, if video marketing is something that you’ve really been putting off this year, but when you have done videos, you get a ton of likes and shares and comments, that shows that you need to implement that more into the new year. If you post more… People want to feel like they are a part of your company. It’s that know, like, and trust factor. And showing more behind the scenes, so interviewing… If you are a healthcare practitioner, interviewing the doctors, interviewing the nurses, have the Friday funday behindthescenes pictures.

18:27 AI: I know this takes a little bit of extra time and planning, but I promise you this, if you do it and you stay consistent with it, you will see a huge difference in your social media and your digital marketing. You will see an increase in patients. You will see an increase in likes and comments and just that engagement, and if you need help managing this and putting together the strategy, that’s where we come in. That is our expertise, to work with healthcare professionals, to get the new patients in the door by using Google and Facebook ads, to put together the strategy for social media marketing, email marketing, and blogging. So you’re reaching your audience on every digital platform there is, on each level so they feel connected to you, and they wanna come into your healthcare practice. So if you need help, head on over to socialspeaknetwork.com and schedule your free 30minute consultation today. 18:49 AI: Thank you. Have a great day.

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December 3, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Healthcare Marketing, Social Media, Social Speak

5 Social Media Marketing Tips for Healthcare Professionals

As socially inclined creatures, humans have embraced technology that allowed us to connect with our family and friends. Today, social has become a prominent part of people’s lives.

With over half of the world’s population now active on social media, it’s not surprising that more and more businesses are using social media to reach their audience. Healthcare is no exception.

As a healthcare professional or organization, you need to step up your social media strategy in order to reach your target audience, boost patient engagement, and improve health outcomes.

Here are 5 tips to get you started.

Choose the right platform

There are lots of social media platforms out there other than Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and LinkedIn. While social media can help you drive new patient leads and grow your practice, you can’t be active on all of them all the time. You need to be strategic where you spend your resources.

A great way to plan and begin your social media campaign is to identify your ideal outlets. To do that, you need to focus on your core target audience. Find out where they spend most of their time online. Build your primary social media presence around your audience’s platforms of choice. It only makes sense to fish where the fishes are.

Narrowing down your choice to just a select few platforms will not only save you time, but it will also help you get the best return on your investment.

Jump into existing conversations

Take the initiative to be a part of a social media conversation. Join existing chats and groups that offer relevant discussions. See what you can add to the conversation and what you can learn about the current topics. Inspire discussions, ask questions, and air your opinion.

In addition to taking part in the discussions, it is important to track conversations relevant to your field. This raw and unfiltered conversation can provide you with insights from your audience. You may even get new ideas that you can use on your social media marketing campaign.

Don’t make it all about you

Social media is a great place to promote your practice and get more patients through the door. But if that’s the only reason why you signed up, then it won’t be beneficial.

People hate ads. They are turned off by businesses that throw ads but do not engage with their clients. If you want to build a solid social media presence, then you need to really get on there and interact with your audience.

Go back to your core audience. Learn as much as you can about them: demographics, what they are interested in, what they need, what their pain points are, etc. Getting to know your audience will help you interact with them on a more intimate level. Once you start conversing with them, you’ll know how you can help them.

Show them that you care about them and they will feel more connected with you.

Raise awareness and counter misinformation

Social media has become an important health resource. Studies suggest that more and more people are seeking health information on social media. With the amount of information we are bombarded with each day, it is not surprising to find a lot of medical misinformation out there. As a healthcare professional, you can capitalize on social media by providing your audience with accurate, science-backed facts.

Give people a reason to follow and engage with you. Pull from your unique expertise and share relevant, valuable information about your field. Don’t get stuck sharing links to blog posts. Share infographics, videos, interactive pieces, podcasts, and other types of content.

Provide your audience with content they can’t find elsewhere. Sharing fresh and unique content will not only keep your audience engaged, but they’ll also see you as a thought leader or industry expert.

Automate social media posts

You reap what you sow is a well-known idiom. While the phrase is biblical in origin, it also applies to social media marketing.
You can’t expect great results if your page is inactive. The key is to stay active on social media and consistently provide your followers with high-quality content. How can you do that when you spend the majority of your working hours seeing patients? Social media automation holds the solution to this problem.

Automating your social media posts allows you to schedule and optimize posts for maximum engagement. Scheduling several posts in advance helps you save time while achieving consistency in your marketing efforts. Plus, it gives you control over the content you share and how you share it.

Ultimately, it also helps you get more results with less effort. Keep in mind, though, that automation can only help you save time and effort, it is not meant to make social media marketing a completely hands-off process.

Automation tools such as Hootsuite, Buffer, AgoraPulse, and CoSchedule will make things easier for you. Whether you’re looking to find new patients or engage existing ones, you need to employ social media strategies that will help you sustain and grow your practice. Contact us today and let us put together a social media plan for you and your practice.

November 19, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Social Media, Social Speak

5 Reasons Why Doctors Should be on Social Media

Having an active social media presence has become mandatory across different industries, even the healthcare industry. Unfortunately, many physicians find social media marketing intimidating.

The way patients approach healthcare today is different than it was a decade ago. Today, social media is the most relevant advertising channel for you and your practice. It is a cost-effective way to increase reach, build credibility, and attract new patients.

Still on the social media fence?

Here are 5 reasons why you should include social media in your marketing campaign.

Increase reach

With over 3 billion social media users, it is almost inevitable that the majority of your target audience has a presence on popular social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The majority of them log in on their accounts on a daily basis.

While social media was originally created to cultivate personal relationships, you can use it to get you and your practice in front of your target audience. Your existing patients are probably already following you, but social media allows you to reach more than just the patients you see in your clinic or office.

With the right strategies, it can help you broaden your audience and bring more patients through the door. Don’t be one of the many practices that are missing out on the opportunity to reach millions of people on social media.

Build a relationship with your audience

According to a study that was published in the Annals of Family Medicine, doctors spend an average of 17 minutes with each patient. That is not enough to address the patient’s immediate concerns, much less to build a relationship. Social media gives you an opportunity to connect with your audience and communicate with them outside the office.

As a healthcare professional, you have an opportunity to help people by correcting the spread of medical misinformation, helping chronically ill people feel less isolated, and encouraging them to pursue a healthier lifestyle. Of course, you need to make it clear that you won’t be providing medical advice. This should be done in the office.

With time and consistent effort, you’ll be able to gain their trust and loyalty. If you can create the ultimate experience for your patients, they aren’t likely to go to another doctor.

Attract new patients

The internet has changed the way people find doctors. They are no longer limited to physicians in their area. Although word of mouth and referrals still rank high as a means of finding new doctors, many patients would turn to the internet to find healthcare practitioners of all kinds.

In a survey that was conducted by Doctors.com, they revealed that 63% of respondents choose one doctor over the other because of a strong online presence. You want you and your practice to be at the front of a patient’s mind when the need for your practice arises. And that’s exactly what social media marketing is for.

Social media can be an invaluable resource to attract new patients. As mentioned above, it provides a way to reach a new audience, engage with them, and promote your services. When done right, it will bring you a steady stream of new patients and grow your practice.

Patients want you out there

According to a survey conducted by the National Research Corporation, over 40% of internet users rely on social media for health information. Some would turn to social media for advice when they have questions about healthcare problems or issues.

Your potential and existing patients are already on social media, and using these platforms to get in front of them makes sense. There is already a demand for health-related content, so why not give it to them?

In a hyper-connected world, people want to be able to communicate directly with major brands in their lives, including their doctors. Take advantage of this opportunity to market your practice and services to the exact people that are looking for you.

Become a thought leader in your field

More and more people go online to look up medical information. Since anyone can post practically anything, health information online is often unreliable. As a physician, you can’t just remain quiet and uninvolved while people spread inaccurate information.
Information sharing is one of the greatest benefits of social media.

Doctors have a powerful voice. It is time for you to dip your toes into the virtual waters and disseminate scientifically-proven medical information to the general public.

Always bring value to the community. Give tips on how to stay healthy. Share information about current illnesses going around. Upload links to new research about your area of specialty. If you can make complicated topics easier to understand, then you’ll be able to help millions of people across the globe.

November 13, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Social Speak, Video, Video Marketing

Why Video Marketing is Such an Important Piece of Your Online Strategy

Video marketing is such an important piece of your digital marketing strategy. In today’s marketing world people want to be able to connect with their healthcare providers and know who they are.

Gone are the days of making extravagant videos, going WAY over budget, having a studio, etc. Let’s get back to the basics, being authentic in the videos, recording on smartphones or newer computers with good quality. Videos are such an easy way to be able to connect with your audience on a deeper level.

00:01 Amber Irwin: Hello and welcome to the Social Speak Network Podcast. I am your host Amber Irwin, and today’s topic is all about video marketing. Video marketing is such an important piece of your online digital marketing strategy, and this is a question we can asked by our clients all the time: Should I be doing video? And the answer is yes, it’s very simple, yes. So, it’s one of those things where, because digital marketing has grown so much, people really wanna be able to see who you are, to feel like they know you, and get a sense of how the office runs, especially in the healthcare industry. You have to think of that patient journey, what they are struggling with, what they’re going through, why they may be reaching out to you for your services, whether it’s chiropractic, acupuncture, ob/GYN, medical issues, lifethreatening diseases, cancer, all these different things, you have to think of what they’re going through.

01:14 AI: And even though there’s a ton of content online to read, and they can call the office, if they can see videos, and they can see the doctors, and they can see the front desk and the staff at the front desk, and they can see the nurses, it helps build that gap when they are reaching out for a healthcare provider. And they feel like they know, like, and trust you, which are the three main factors in marketing: People need to know, like, and trust you in order to do business with you. 01:50 AI: So a few stats here on a study had shown 80% of online visitors will watch a video, while only 20% will completely read a piece of written content. So if getting your audience engaged and fully immersed in your healthcarerelated information is important to you, then so should video. As stats show, your audience is more likely to consume your content to its full capacity when there’s a video involved. This is also something, you have to think of the healthcare industry when you are explaining, maybe it’s symptoms, or a process, a procedure. When they can hear it straight from the doctor’s mouth, that builds that trust. They’re able to really know what the doctor and the staff, that they know what they’re talking about. And there are so many different tools out there that make video marketing so easy. There’s a reason or a process to everything and having a professional videographer come in for a commercial shoot, maybe a video on the website, that’s really important. I am not discrediting that at all; that is something that’s really important to have. And it’s really easy to do your videos inhouse for your daily tips, your blogs, even your YouTube videos. So it’s not a huge cost item any more either.

03:25 AI: So a couple of tools I wanted to share with you. Two tools that we use for screen sharing. So this is really good if a doctor puts together maybe a PowerPoint, or has images they wanna share, diagrams. If you wanna walk through a process, you can have it just on your computer, and you can share your screen, and you can go through that presentation or… And the one thing… So the tool that we use a lot is called Zoom, ZOOM. And this allows you to do video recording such as this, and it gives us the video file and the audio file, which serves two purposes. Obviously, the video is great for the website, for YouTube and your social media marketing. And the audio file is great for podcasts, and that’s exactly what we do. There’s no point in recreating that wheel when you can use one piece of information for multiple purposes. 04:24 AI: And the other one is Loom, LOOM, and that works the same way as Zoom does.

I know, Zoom and Loom, it can get a little bit more confusing. But those are two great screen share 10/08/19 Page 2 of 6 Video Marketing Tips options. And the other two that we like to use… These are more for those cute, fun videos to throw into social media if you have… Maybe a great one would be if you have a new staff member coming on. This is where you take pictures of them, maybe it’s them in the office, a couple of pictures of their personal life. And you can make a cute video, I use Animoto and Ripl, and these are both… There’s free versions and paid versions, I would do the paid version, just so you don’t have their logo on it, and you can actually add your logo, and add text to it, they’re not expensive at all. So those are two videos that have fun little templates, holiday theme if you wanna have a little office video that says Happy Holidays. You can do little snippets of videos and images together and then they put it together into a video format.

05:41 AI: So those are what we call more of the fluff posts for social media, but they’re videos that people like to see. You can do fun facts, so you can do facts around a certain topic in an Animoto video and share it, you can ask questions. So videos don’t need to be complicated, if you have a Mac, you can just use QuickTime Player and record yourself. Again, if you’re gonna do that, I would highly recommend using Zoom because you do get that audio file and the video file. And if you use your phone, you can use your iPhone or Android as well, If I’m recording a video for social media and I also want it to go onto YouTube, I will have my Zoom screen up, and then I also then would have my phone vertical recording as well, so I can use that for Instagram Stories and Facebook.

06:45 AI: I know it sounds complicated, and a lot of times it’s just getting used to being in front of the camera. Having those bullet points of what you wanna talk about. I have my bullet points right here with some stats written down that I will go into. I have another screen pulled up so I know what those bullet points are that I wanna cover. And so it’s really figuring out that system for you. Some people write full-on strips and tape them up. So you have to find that system that works for you, you don’t have a choice anymore in digital marketing, you have to be doing videos. And the more videos you do, the better.

07:27 AI: So you wanna think of… Where I would start with this video marketing strategy is thinking of; what are your clients or your patients asking you? What questions are they coming to you with, and how can you address those? What are those hot topics in your industry? Is it around vaping, opioids, vitamins? Is it working out, is it diet? Diet’s a big piece, and food ties into every type of healthcare, doctor, industry, everything out there. So are your clients asking you how to eat better? Are they asking you what they can do to improve the quality of their life? And so start paying attention to what are they asking you, and then start doing videos around that.

08:19 AI: And your videos, start with small things, maybe it’s just one question. Keep it short, simple, and to the point. So less than three minutes is great. If you’re doing a presentation, you’re explaining diagrams, or you’re teaching them something, then I will go up to 10 minutes. Keep in mind that the… If you’re posting it onto Instagram, it can’t be more than 10 minutes for Instagram TV. And you also have to think of, what are you talking about that you wanna be able to keep their attention. So their attention span is gonna be shorter, too, so you wanna make sure that that video is giving them a lot of details, a lot of valuable information that they wanna keep watching it.

09:07 AI: 83% of marketers believe that video is growing in importance. Duh. It is so important. We have to be doing it. 53% of customers engage with a brand or a business after watching a video 10/08/19 Page 3 of 6 Video Marketing Tips on social media. Your audience is cyberstalking you, which sounds horrible, but they are doing their research. They are looking at multiple different healthcare practices, from who they are, where they’re at, what their expertise is, what are they talking about on social media, are they being consistent with social media, do they have the videos? Is their website userfriendly? And we talked about that user experience, that digital experience for your patients, for your audience, is that an easy process? So even if you do an intro video on your website, like welcome to our website, here’s where you need to go to book your appointment, here’s where our expertise are, it’s really important to make sure that you have these videos and you make that experience as simple as possible for your audience. So video marketing, you just gotta get in there, you gotta get in front of the camera. You’re gonna have 10 takes before it’s perfect, and that’s okay, and keep going.

10:29 AI: So then my next question I get is, “Well, what about editing? Do you edit your videos? And if so, what software do you use to edit your videos? I’m usually the type of person that I wanna get it done in one take. I don’t wanna have to stop and splice it together. I like to have my points, get it done in one take, and that may take me three or four times, but I’m not editing a lot. So in your first couple of videos, you may have it at the beginning where there’s a pause and then you say, “Hi!” Or in the end, you pause and then you talk again. So some simple editing, beginning and ending. If you have a Mac, you can use iMovie, if you have a PC you can use the Movie Maker, that does a good job. You can use Adobe Premiere Clip. And also YouTube does have some video editing tools in there, and they work great, so you can edit a beginning. So again, if there’s that pause in the beginning or a pause at the end, you can use that.

11:44 AI: Sometimes you wanna add a beginning that… An intro, you can do that in Movie Maker or iMovie. There’s a ton of different video editing software out there. And again, we like to keep it as simple as possible, so find the one that works best for you. As I said, YouTube, iMovie, or Movie Maker for those beginning, pieces is a great idea just to get used to it and then if you wanna add more effects or different things to it, you can start doing some more research and looking at Adobe Premiere Clip and other video editing software.

12:22 AI: So start by, again, listening to your patients, what are they asking, what are those hot topics that people are talking about in your industry? Do some research on your competitors: Are they doing videos? What are they talking about? Looking at other videos, just YouTubing videos on those topics, those keywords that you’re thinking about, seeing how many views they have. And once you take your video and you upload it to YouTube, think that SEO, think those keywords, what would they be typing in to find this video? In your description, make sure that you have a link back to your website, so if you’re talking about a treatment or a condition that… Or even a blog post, tie it back to a link on your website, so there’s that call to action.

13:14 AI: So it’s really important, you’ve gotta think about this as another process in your marketing. So you find your bullet points for your video, you record your video, you upload it to YouTube, and you share it with social media. Once the video’s on YouTube, you can take that video and insert it to your blog posts as well. Videos are a great addition to add to your blog posts. And so we usually will write a blog post and then do a video, so we’re touching both parts. People can watch a video and then they can read the blog. And so the blog is great for SEO, the video is great for our audience. So finding that balance, and start doing some videos, and just get it in the habit, whether you’re doing one per week to start, and then start moving it up to maybe two per week. 10/08/19 Page 4 of 6 Video Marketing Tips 14:07 AI: And then what is the point of that video? Again, is it an FAQ, is it a treatment condition, is it a blog post? And then what’s a call to action for each video? And our call to action for our podcasts is to be sure to go to Podbean or iTunes and subscribe to our podcast so you can listen to all these amazing tips that we’re sharing with you. And also if you are struggling with that video strategy, head on over to socialspeaknetwork.com and request a free 30minute consultation, and we can walk through this video strategy with you.

14:44 AI: So I look forward to seeing your videos. Please drop a link below to your YouTube channel, we would love to take a look at them, and get a recording. Have a great day.

October 9, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Internet Marketing, SEO, Social Speak

5 Healthcare Marketing Trends That Will Help You Stay on Top

Change is the only permanent thing in life, they say. That’s never been truer in the world of healthcare marketing.

Healthcare marketing is continuously changing. Keeping up to date with the latest digital trends and consumer preference is key to remain competitive and acquire a steady stream of patients.

Keep these trends in mind when planning your healthcare marketing campaign.

Excellent digital experience

Most hospital websites focus on providing information such as the address, business hours, doctor’s bios, specialties offered, etc. As competition in the digital landscape heats up, more and more hospitals and healthcare providers are putting a greater focus on patient experience.

83% of patients visit a hospital’s website before booking an appointment. That means a patient’s experience begins with your website. Their online experience will determine whether or not they will convert from leads to actual patients.

For a better online experience, make sure that your website loads quickly and is easy to navigate. Patients love the idea of convenient scheduling. If you offer online booking or have a customer service chatbot they can communicate with, that would be a plus.

You are bound to see a high ROI if you focus on creating an exemplary online experience for potential patients.

Video Marketing

According to a study that was conducted by Hubspot, 45% of people watch more than one hour of video a day. Out of the 45%, an astounding 81% have been convinced to buy a product or avail a service after watching a branded video.

Incorporating video content into your marketing strategy can help build trust and provide a much deeper understanding of what your healthcare company has to offer. Prospective patients are now researching doctors who specialize in the procedure they’re looking for before scheduling an appointment. This is where video content proves useful.

Through videos, you can verbally and visually explain how the procedure work. This can help ease fears or uncertainty. Plus, it helps prospective patients get to know the doctor before a consultation, so they gain a sense of trust beforehand.

If you haven’t already, we urge you to start creating video content, both for your website and social media accounts, sooner rather than later.

Search engine optimization

They say the best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of Google. Why? It’s because 55% of users won’t go past the first three organic results.

According to studies, 89% of consumers turn to the internet when they’re looking for answers for their healthcare queries. You want your website to show up at the top of Google’s search results. Otherwise, you’ll be losing to your competitors.

With more and more people turning to the internet for medical advice, it is important to capitalize on these searches by making your website as visible as possible. To get on page 1 of the search engine results, you’ll need a strong website and an even stronger SEO strategy.

Online reputation management

Your online reputation will have a significant impact on your practice. Why? It’s because a huge majority of patients turn to the internet to research physicians.

The survey revealed that 84% of patients read online reviews to help them gain insight into healthcare providers. 86% of them will be hesitant to schedule a consultation with you if they read a negative review or comment.

To stay competitive, you need to make a concerted effort to manage your reputation, both online and offline.

Whether you like it or not, patients are going to leave reviews. The sad truth is that dissatisfied customers are more likely to leave feedback than happy customers. With a single review, comment or article, the reputation of any healthcare organization can be tarnished.

You can’t make negative feedback go away, but you can encourage happy patients to speak out for your brand. It is in your best interest to encourage patients to leave reviews.

Mobile healthcare apps

Gloomy faces of ailing patients waiting outside the doctor’s office, long queues, and a dull, monotonous hall – this is the picture one would imagine while waiting at a doctor’s clinic or a hospital about a decade ago.

Millennials are the largest U.S. generation, and they demand convenience. They are switching to providers that offer a much higher level of convenience. This is where mobile healthcare apps come in.

In today’s era of the smartphone, keeping in contact with a healthcare provider has never been easier. Patients can chat with their doctors and ask for advice about a symptom or a condition. They can also book appointments with their doctors, access doctor’s prescriptions, and even purchase medicines through their mobile devices. In addition, patients can easily monitor their health conditions themselves through apps. This helps them stay one step ahead of the disease; hence, reducing the need for invasive treatments.

Healthcare apps are also beneficial for doctors and medical staffs. They can check the patient’s reports and prescribe medicines if required. Doctors can even make referrals through the apps.

September 25, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Content Marketing, Digital Marketing, Social Speak

6 Successful Healthcare Marketing Campaigns You Need to See

Healthcare is an ever-expanding, ultra-competitive marketplace. It can also be very technical and jargon-heavy, which can be off-putting to most people. To remain competitive in an ever-evolving industry, it is important to employ creative marketing tactics that cut through the clutter.

Take a look at these 6 successful healthcare marketing campaigns and start pondering how your company can leverage similar tactics.

Johnson & Johnson – Campaign for Nursing’s Future

Nurses are an incredibly dedicated group of professionals who tirelessly lend love and support to their patients. Unfortunately, in 2002, the U.S. faced the most profound shortage of nurses in history.

In response to reports of a dire shortage of nurses, Johnson & Johnson launched the “Campaign for Nursing’s Future”. It is a public awareness campaign that aims to encourage people to become nurses and nurse educators, as well as to retain nurses currently in the system.

The campaign not only helped increase the awareness of the value of the nursing profession, but it also gave nurses an opportunity to share their stories. 15 years after the campaign was launched, Johnson & Johnson profiled some of the nurses who benefited from this campaign.

Campaign Sources:
https://nursing.jnj.com/
https://www.jnj.com/tag/campaign-for-nursings-future
https://www.facebook.com/CampaignForNursing/

Dana-Farber Brigham & Women’s Cancer Center – You Have Us Campaign

A cancer diagnosis can affect much more than the physical body. Dana-Farber Brigham & Women’s Cancer Center created a campaign to help empower patients who are dealing with cancer.

To encourage a more personal approach to cancer treatment, they created the slogan, “Right now you may have cancer. But what your cancer doesn’t know is – You Have Us.”

By sharing confidence-inspiring online videos and words of encouragement, the campaign made a tremendous impact on their audience.

The “You Have Us” campaign became successful because it built trust between the Cancer Center’s personnel and their target audience.

Campaign Sources:
https://www.youhaveus.org/

https://www.facebook.com/danafarbercancerinstitute

Arkansas Children’s Hospital – #100DeadliestDays Campaign

Dr. Sam Smith, Surgeon-in-Chief at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, shocked everyone with his claim that kids are more likely to get hurt, injured or die between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The campaign’s purpose was to raise awareness of the dangerous time period between Memorial Day and Labor Day. They wanted to make sure that parents know the risks their children face during this season.

With the #100DeadliestDays, Arkansas Children’s Hospital provided a tip each day to help increase safety for kids and teens. They also shared some safety facts and other valuable information on their social media channels.

This campaign has been very successful and has received a lot of attention from the media and the public. It is memorable, worth sharing, and it also had the shock factor.

Campaign Sources:
https://www.archildrens.org/health-and-wellness/happy-and-healthy-blog/100-deadliest-days-for-kids
https://www.facebook.com/ArkansasChildrens

UnitedHealthcare – We Dare You Campaign

Many healthcare providers encourage their audience to adopt healthy habits, but UnitedHealthcare took it a step further by adding a social media element to their campaign.

The award-winning UnitedHealthcare Campaign, We Dare You, is a great example of a wellness campaign in action. Each month, there are new fun challenges and quizzes that are aimed at encouraging their followers to take the first step to a healthier lifestyle and then document it on social media.

The We Dare You Campaign is one of the most successful healthcare marketing campaigns, as it won 8 awards – 2 Healthcare Advertising Awards, 2 Hermes Awards, and an Aster Award.

Campaign Sources:
http://42cdev.com/client/wedareyoutoshare.com/?now=2015-09-01
https://www.facebook.com/UnitedHealthcare/

Carilion Clinic – #YESMAMM Campaign

When clinicians noticed that many women in Roanoke Valley were not getting mammograms, Carilion Clinic decided to launch the campaign, “YES MAMM, Say Yes to Your Annual Mammogram”. They also provided screening location throughout western Virginian.

The goal of this campaign is to raise awareness about breast cancer and the need for early detection. They used #YESMAMM to answer common questions about breast cancer from their audience. It also drove traffic to their website, where they urge women to make an appointment at one of their local labs.

#YESMAMM is a perfect example of the power of hashtags to start a movement. In fact, it is one of the most successful healthcare marketing campaigns. 8 years after the birth of the Yes Mamm campaign, Carilion Clinic is still getting kudos.

Campaign Sources:
https://www.carilionclinic.org/
https://www.facebook.com/carilionclinic

New York Presbyterian Hospital – Patient Stories

Nothing drives a message home like a well-told story. When they realized that patients wanted an outlet for telling their stories, New York Presbyterian Hospital harnessed the power of social media to share patients’ stories and connect with their target audience. They even created an entire video marketing strategy around this concept, and that’s something of a game-changer.

Patients’ stories and testimonies can trigger emotions of empathy. By showcasing raw stories on how doctors and nurses helped patients, the result is something even more potent than drugs: hope, trust, and peace of mind.

This marketing campaign creates a sensitive tone for patients while shining a positive light on the medical practitioners and the hospital’s reputation.

Campaign Sources:
https://www.nyp.org/home
https://www.nyp.org/patient-stories
https://www.nyp.org/kids/stories.html
https://www.youtube.com/user/newyorkpresbyterian
https://www.nyp.org/amazingthings/

If you need help strategizing your next digital marketing campaign please schedule your free 30-minute consultation today!

Podcast Script Below:

00:02 Amber Irwin: Hello. Welcome to Social Speak Network’s podcast, I am your host, Amber Irwin. Today, we’re gonna be covering six successful healthcare marketing campaigns that may be able to inspire you to create a new marketing campaign for your practice. The first one I wanna talk to you was about, is Johnson & Johnson. Back in 2002, there was actually a shortage of nurses. Nurses are one of the most dedicated professions out there. They work long shifts, they deal with a lot of people, and they always have the ups and downs of everyone else’s lives. So, when there was that shortage, Johnson & Johnson created this campaign for nursing’s future, so they wanted to create a group of professionals who tirelessly lend love and support to their patients and really wanted to give them that support that they needed, that the nurses were giving to everyone else.

01:13 AI: And so it really went public and people started becoming more and more aware of what Johnson & Johnson were doing in this campaign. And so now it’s become… Being able to educate nurses, give them a ton of different donations of where nurses are supporting the community. Really an educational platform, a community, that Johnson & Johnson has built for the nursing profession, to really be able to provide them value. So on here, you’ll see there’s personal stories, different ways that Johnson & Johnson’s caring and giving back to the community, where they’ve come from. And so this is a campaign that’s been on for a long time, 15 years, and which is amazing, for something to last and still going strong 15 years later. This is huge. And really, it’s because of their why. They saw a shortage in something. They saw an area where they can give back and be more than just a product company and really give back to their why, which was nurses and be able to provide a community for them. So that is huge.

02:36 AI: The next one I wanna talk to you guys about is the Dana-Farber/Brigham Women’s Cancer Center. What they have created here is really a slogan about; Right now, you may have cancer, but what your cancer doesn’t know is you have us. So it’s really about talking to the patient as an individual and helping them understand the journey and what they are going to need to overcome what is ahead of them. Cancer, that C word is a very scary thing, regardless of what type of cancer it is. So what they have been able to do is really play off of that relationship and that story and educating their patients on what’s gonna work best for them.

03:36 AI: So it’s to help them empower patients who are dealing with cancer and what does their future look like. So that slogan, right now, you may have cancer, but what your cancer doesn’t know is you have us. That shows the patient like they care about me. You can see on their home page, it’s, you have us. You’re not in this alone. We are here to help you every step of the way. And to me, that gives me the chill bumps, that really connects with, especially as a woman, so this connects with me. And so this campaign that they have created and the slogan, it’s so simple, “you have us” and those three words have gone viral with them, because this is people… They trust them, they’re creating that relationship with them, and so what they’ve been able to do is provide that support. So that’s a huge, just moment of, “Okay I’m not alone, I have this practice behind me, I can do this.” They’re empowering their patients and guiding them through this journey of having cancer. So that is amazing.

04:53 AI: The next one is an interesting blog. So the Arkansas Children’s Hospital wrote this blog, and it is 100 deadliest days for kids. Now this blog was published back in 2014 and the hashtag, #100DeadliestDays, this thing spread like wildfire, because just the title, 100 deadliest days for kids. Oh my goodness, what is it? So this was the doctor writing about. Now, through Labor Day, marks a time when kids are most likely to be injured. Whether that was a broken bone, they were sick, accidents happen, or worst-case scenario, they unfortunately had seen the most children’s deaths within this time frame.

05:48 AI: So, this was written in June of 2014. And this is something that the Arkansas Children’s Hospital has been able to incorporate into their digital marketing and something that they’re constantly sharing and reminding people, it gave a purpose to raise awareness to the dangerous time period of Memorial Day to Labor Day. They wanted to make sure that parents knew the risks and what children were facing within that time. You have to think, that’s obviously the summer, you’re traveling, sports, being outside. This is also, unfortunately, where you see kids being left in cars. This is where Arkansas Children’s Hospital really wanted to bring that information to their audience and let people be more aware of the summer season is a time you really pay attention to these safety tips and make sure that your children are okay.

06:56 AI: So, one thing that they could do each year is they could come in here and they could update this blog post. So it’s always showing new and you’ll see that a lot with… Especially with the digital marketing, Hubspot, CoSchedule, social media today. They’ll write a blog that was a few years old. And then they’ll say updated as of a certain date because this article was such a powerful piece for their digital marketing. I would just take it a step further and update it, make sure that the information is still correct. Maybe if there are stats in here, you wanna make sure that the stats are are still relevant to today’s date, but this campaign for them was a huge success on such a sad, touchy subject. So, education is really important for your digital marketing, and a blog post just like this can become its own digital marketing campaign.

08:00 AI: The next one is going to be United Healthcare, “We Dare You” campaign. And many health care providers encourage their audience to adopt healthy habits, but United Healthcare took it a step further by adding a social media element to their campaign. This was an award-winning campaign by the way. This is an example of wellness campaign in action. Each month, there were new fun challenges, quizzes that were aimed at encouraging their followers to take the first step to a healthier lifestyle and then document it on social media. So, one really cool thing about this campaign is when you tie in your social media and your audience, people love to show off what they’re doing and especially if you challenge them. Challenges are great for social media, especially in the health and wellness industry, because they wanna show you this is what I’m doing, this is how I’ve improved my life, this is my recipe, and this is how I’m staying active.

09:09 AI: And so the fact that they not only gave quizzes and create their own challenges, but then they wanted their audience to share with them. And so this was one of the most successful healthcare marketing campaigns. And it won eight awards, two Healthcare Advertising Awards, and that is just amazing, along with a few other awards, but this is something to really think outside the box. Now, this is a big company, United Healthcare is huge, we know that. But thinking of what your practice can do on a smaller scale. And we always say, it’s not the quantity of likes you have, it’s the quality. So if you have, let’s say 2000 likes, and of those 2000 likes, you’re getting between 600 and 800 people engaging on a monthly basis. That’s your loyal fan base. Take advantage of that loyal fan base and ask them to submit photos. Maybe you do a recipe competition, and you’re looking for the best Paleo recipe, the best Keto recipe, the best gluten-free recipe. Maybe within your practice you’re talking to your patients about these different types of a healthy lifestyle and you can tie in those conversations and those topics into your social media. So it marries the offline and the online together. So this was a great, great campaign. I love being able to see how many people were a part of it, all the awards that United Healthcare won, but it just makes you think, “Okay, let’s think outside the box.”

10:55 AI: The next one is the Caroline Clinic, and this was… They did a campaign that was all about #yesmamm, M-A-M-M. And this was all about their saying “Yes” to mammograms. So they wanted to make sure that women were taking care of their bodies, making sure that they were getting the annual mammograms or every three-year mammograms, based on what their doctor had said. They also provided screenings at that location throughout Western Virginia. So this is again something where they’re saying, “This is what we wanna help you with. Here’s how we’re gonna help you. This is what we believe in. This is what we want.” And so they had a pull-up their Facebook page. This was their campaign was this hashtag #yesmamm, M-A-M-M for mammograms. And the goal of the campaign was just really to raise awareness about breast cancer and the need for early detection, to educate their audience to really just understand how important it is for that preventative, for that checking and making sure that you are doing the right things and how to do the right things, et cetera. So this was a great campaign. I love being able to brand something that is to your target market that they can relate with. So that was huge. And it’s catchy, YesMamm. That’s what people wanna see.

12:43 AI: The last one is the New York Presbyterian Hospital. Their campaign was all about the patients and children’s stories. And nothing can sell a company better than patient testimonials. The stories behind the people that you serve, that you’ve helped. And that storytelling is such a big piece with digital marketing and marketing in general. This is why you see so many testimonials for info commercials. It’s those personal stories. It’s that, “Oh my gosh, I’m not alone. I dealt with that,” or “They’re just like me,” or “I’m not the only one,” whatever that is in our heads that’s playing. Being able to have patient stories is a huge piece of your digital marketing. And so what they’ve done is they’ve created a whole campaign showcasing raw stories on how the doctors and nurses had helped their patients, both adults and children. And the results… Something even more… What the patients were dealing with whether that was drugs, car accidents, sickness, they were able to tell their story, share how their experience was with New York Presbyterian Hospital, how the doctors help them and then what the result was. So because they came here, how was their life changed?

14:23 AI: And that’s the biggest thing, is they wanna know what’s that end goal and this shines such a positive light with their audience. And they actually had patients for adult stories and then also children stories. So they took it a step further to showcase what children are dealing with as well, and how they’ve been able to help them. So they have on their website to share your stories that will… Your experience. They wanna be able to shed that positive light and really be able to help other patients that are struggling with similar things. So, raw stories is just such an important piece and I wish that companies did more of this. And I know it’s something that’s… It’s a hard thing to do. One, you have to orchestrate that are you gonna… Is it gonna be a written testimonials or story? Is it gonna be video? And if it’s gonna be video, do people wanna be on a video? Do people wanna share their story? And so you have to be able to look at who your target market is. What your patients are going through? How has their life changed since they’ve been seeing you and being able to better their life?

15:49 AI: I feel like more and more people now are more willing to share their story to help others because they see the greater good. So as you’re putting together or thinking of these campaigns that you want to put together, think of these six examples. And be able to be able maybe pick and pull from different ones, different ideas that you’ve liked and really be able to look at your practice as a whole. And how are you helping your clients? What are they struggling with? What are their needs? And being able to put a campaign together for your digital marketing, to attract more people into your practice that you could help. Because at the end of the day that’s all why we’re in business because we wanna help more people. We wanna help the greater good. That’s our why, so how do we reach them? And that’s an amazing thing with digital marketing. There are so many different ways that we can do this.

16:45 AI: So, if you need help and you are just struggling with creating a good campaign or wanna run some ideas past us, please head on over to socialspeaknetwork.com. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation. We love to be able to brainstorm ideas and figure out what’s the best route for you and your practice and be able to provide that feedback. Sometimes it’s just nice to have a listening ear on, “This is what our practice is thinking, does it make sense? Do you think it would work?” So again, Social Speak Network, free consultation, and until next time, please subscribe on iTunes or on Podbean. Have a great day.

September 10, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Content Marketing, Social Media, Social Speak

6 Tips for a Successful Healthcare Marketing Campaign

Digital marketing is becoming the new wave of healthcare marketing. With the growing competition in the healthcare industry, it is important to stay on top of digital marketing and keep your organization at the forefront of change.

Ever wonder what it takes to create a successful healthcare marketing campaign?

We listed down some tips that you can incorporate into your marketing plan right away.

Know your target audience

A successful healthcare marketing campaigns starts with knowing who your audience is and what they value. To produce great results, you first need to create a well-defined persona profile.

Vividly picture who is it that you want to attract to your doorstep and what matters most to them. The more specifically you define your audience, the more likely you are to inspire a positive response.

Carefully and precisely defining your target audience will ensure that you’re not making the wrong assumption about what your audience values. Plus, it will improve your efficiency since you’ll have a good idea about what media to use and how to shape a compelling message that brings a response.

Combine healthcare and social media

Today, social media isn’t just a place for family and friends to stay in touch. It also allows doctors and medical experts to connect with their current and potential patients.

Now that you know who your target audience is, use social media to reach your key audience. Tapping into online communities and sharing health information can be a game-changer in your healthcare marketing plan. Keep in mind, though, that each platform has its own voice and audience. When you create social media content, make sure that the message is tailored to different audience and channels.

Make wellness a lot more fun

Health and wellness is a serious topic, but that doesn’t mean that your campaign should be boring and uninspiring. Let’s take cues from UnitedHealthCare’s successful healthcare marketing campaign – We Dare You.

UnitedHealthcare created an interactive campaign that dares people to make one small change to live healthier lives and document it on social media. Each month, there are new challenges and quizzes aimed at inspiring people to live a healthier lifestyle. There are prizes involved too.

The multi-awarded “We Dare You” campaign not only led to healthier habits, but it also fostered an interactive online community of brand loyalists.

Establish an email marketing plan

Email marketing is an effective means of transmitting messages to your current and prospective audience. In fact, studies suggest that email marketing is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers as compared to Facebook and Twitter. When done right, it can help you grow your practice and reach a larger amount of patients.

With email marketing, the audience is openly receptive, and relative cost is low, and the rate of return can be exceptionally high. You can promote your services in a cost-effective way while building a relationship with your patients.

Google yourself

Studies suggest that physicians and other medical practitioners receive up to 45% of new patients through referral. Though most patients would consider the referral of other doctors, family, and friends, the majority of them will run a Google search of your name and check out your reputation before booking an appointment.

The survey revealed that 60% of patients wouldn’t book an appointment with a medical practitioner that has bad reviews. This is why you should Google yourself now.

By running a quick Google search of yourself, you’ll have a good idea of how your practice looks from a consumer’s perspective and know where to start when creating your digital strategy.

If you unearth some negative results when you Google yourself, try to have the post taken down. But if that doesn’t work, then the best thing you can do is to suppress them with positive content.

Be a source of helpful information

In today’s digital world, most people’s inclination would be to open up a browser in Google and research about their own or their loved one’s condition. With so many people turning to the internet for answers, it is important that healthcare marketing is there to be a helpful and supportive guide.

Regularly post high-quality content that answers people’s questions and help them learn more about medical conditions they may be searching or procedures they may have to undergo. It is also a good idea to share important and relevant medical information to help people improve their health. This will help build your credibility and position yourself as an authority in your field. People may not run off and make an appointment, but you will be in their minds the next time they get sick.

August 21, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Digital Marketing, Social Speak

Why it is so important to have a digital marketing strategy.

In today’s podcast, I talk about how important it is to have a digital marketing strategy, this is your foundation. We are all busy working inside our businesses and sometimes things get away from us and go to the back burner because they don’t seem like a priority at the moment, like social media, blogging, videos, email marketing, etc.

When you create a strategy it holds you and your team accountable and you are able to work in advance. Imagine this, you take 2- hours per month and plan out that entire month of content, you know exactly what you will be putting out onto social media, what blogs and videos you want to create and you have a plan. This makes your digital marketing process 10 times easier to accomplish but also to utilize your team and delegate to others. Work smarter not harder.

Video of the Podcast:

Here are two examples of content calendars we have created for our clients.

This one is more around your social media strategy. We use Google Sheets and then have tabs for resources, monthly topics, ideas. You can add more to this like your blog topics for the week, this gives you more of a monthly overview.
This one is more of a detailed editorial calendar, each month has its own breakdown of the overarching topic, then blogs, videos, content upgrades, etc. On this one, we have tabs that go into social media and resources.

With both of these examples, you can combine them to have a very clear digital marketing strategy.

If you would like to book your free 30-minute consultation to go over how to put together a clear strategy please schedule your call today!

Subscribe to our podcast here

00:01 Amber Irwin: Hello and welcome to the newest episode of Social Speak Network podcast. I am your host Amber Irwin, and today we are going to be going over the number one tip of your digital marketing: Strategy, strategy, strategy. This is the most important component because this is what gets you organized, and I don’t know about you, but I love to be organized. Having a strategy for your digital marketing allows you that space to create, to be consistent, and to plan your content in advance, rather than that sense of overwhelm, not knowing, “Oh, my gosh, I need to post. What do I need to talk about, what blog is going up? What am I talking about on social media? What have… ”

00:48 AI: And you get a little overwhelmed. Just even saying all those things got me a little overwhelmed. So, having that strategy in place really… It makes you… It holds you accountable and it makes you really think, “Okay, where do I want my digital marketing to go? Who do I want to reach with my social media post, with my blogs, with the ads I’m running?” How do you want it to look? And so by taking responsibility and taking a step back, maybe it’s an hour or two hours per month that you’re putting the strategy together. And in the description below, I will give you a link to two PDF examples of a content calendar because this is really important.

01:36 AI: There are two different ways that we work with our clients. The first thing is that social media strategy. So, sometimes it’s easier to organize your thoughts with social media, and then based on what you’re talking about on social media, it allows you to then create a blog or videos. It kinda creates that foundation. And so sometimes it’s easier to start there and work your way through the rest of the components, rather than just trying to think too big and figure everything out at once.

02:09 AI: So with social media, this is where you need to be consistent. And most of the time, we write our content anywhere… As little as a week in advance, up to three weeks in advance. And with your industry, if you are a health coach, a nutritionist, a massage therapist, there’s a lot of core educational content that isn’t gonna change in two weeks. And those can be those placeholder posts, so you can talk about… Maybe you do an “eat this, not that” post each week. Now, that food is gonna be… There’s not gonna be some new food that comes out next week that you’re gonna have to redo that post. So, you can talk about a “eat this, not that” post. You can talk about like a massage tip, maybe it’s a different type of massage. So, there’s gonna be those educational posts that you can schedule out a month in advance if you wanted to.

03:09 AI: And that’s usually what we do, is we take our content calendar and we schedule it out for that month. Okay. What am I talking about on social media? What topics? And sometimes… Most of the time, we’ll pre-write the posts so they’re ready to go. They’re either scheduled in Facebook or one of the tools, like Buffer or Hootsuite, that we use. Instagram, the images are already made, the content’s there, so we’re just copying and pasting it into Instagram so it’s not taking up, “Oh, my gosh, what hashtags do I need to use? Is this image the right one? Is the formatting right?” You pre-do all of your work, so it’s easy to maintain as you go through. And so having that content calendar, that strategy, allows you to say, “Okay, here is my topics for the month for social media.”

04:00 AI: And if I’m doing… Maybe your segment is on… You’re doing a post of “eat this, not that,” then maybe this is where you can tie in some blogs about, maybe it’s different recipes or how to… If one of our clients is a keto coach. And so she talks a lot about how to cook… With being a keto coach and on the keto path, what are different things, substitutions on food, eating out. And so a lot of her blogs are educational for her audience, tips that they wanna know about. And then she ties in the videos, whether it’s making… Having a recipe that you’re actually cooking or baking, and you’re doing a video around that, maybe it’s you at the grocery store talking about ingredients and showing different things or examples. You can take those ideas of your social media calendar and take them a step further and figuring out, “Okay, what blogs can I do around this? What videos can I implement into those?” And then, “What can I give my audience?” And this is where those content upgrades come in.

05:10 AI: I know it seems like a lot, like, “Oh, my gosh, I have to do that, I have to do this, I have to do this.” But once you have that clear strategy, it really helps lay everything out. And the one thing… Whether you have… Maybe you hire someone to edit your videos, we do a lot of coaching and consulting with digital marketing, so you know, okay, your blog outline, here’s what you need to be talking about in your content upgrade. So figuring out, once you have that big picture, now what? Where do you need help? Do you need help creating images for your social media posts? Do you need help writing the content? Where do you feel are your strengths are at the most, and where do you feel that your weaknesses are, things that you have been putting on your plate. Maybe blogging has been something that you say, “Okay, this needs to happen, it’s just not happening,” and it’s missing in your strategy, maybe that’s where you need help.

06:13 AI: The biggest thing is really… Sometimes it just takes an hour to brain dump and write down, if you had all the time in the world, what would that digital marketing strategy look like? What would you wanna talk about on social media? What would you wanna talk about in your blogs? What are your clients and your customers asking you? That is key right there, is the questions that they’re asking. What are those conversations you’re having with them? That is content right there for you, not to mention maybe even videos, FAQs with them.

06:46 AI: So, starting from the foundation and then building up. You can’t put a roof on a house if there’s no foundation and walls, and you have to think of this marketing strategy just like that. The strategy is the foundation, as you build your social media and your blogging and your lead generation, your email marketing, those are the walls. And then as you start bringing everything together, that’s where you’re gonna have the roof and you’re building this whole digital marketing house, so to speak. And then once everything is set up and it has a rhyme and a reason and a purpose, that’s when you start to see things actually work. Then you can do your Facebook ads. You can do… You can really start to measure what’s working and what’s not working.

07:35 AI: And so, with social media, a lot of… We get asked all the time, “How many times a week should we post? When should we post? What days? What times?” And here’s my answer. It depends on each business because everybody’s audience is different. So again, utilize your current customer base as a huge resource. Ask them, “What time of day are you on Facebook? When do you get your information? Is it early morning right when you wake up? Is it at lunchtime? Is it before dinner time?” Or if you have a lot of moms, maybe it’s like that pick-up line time, so 2:00 to 2:30. Is it an evening, after the kids go to bed, maybe 9, 10 o’clock? So figuring out… And then weekends, a lot of times we post just Monday through Friday because our clientele really isn’t on Facebook and Instagram during the weekends as much. But in your situation, that maybe when they’re on the most. So, it’s really about trial and error.

08:46 AI: And so, using Facebook scheduler, you can schedule your posts on Facebook and trying different times. Maybe it’s Monday mornings at 6:00 AM and Tuesdays at 11:00. And figuring out different times, maybe it’s Wednesdays at 9:00, whatever it may be. And then figuring out what times and days are getting the most engagement. So, are they liking the posts? Are they engaging? Are they asking questions? Figuring out when those posts are getting the most engagement. And the insights on Facebook and on Instagram will tell you those things, and so you wanna make sure you pay attention to those and give that a 30-day span so you know, “Okay, I made a post on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.” I would say if you’re not already posting every day, start with at least three times a week and move your way up. If you’re just starting out and you’re not posting at all, or maybe one time a week, going from one time a week to even five to seven days a week, that’s huge, like, “Oh, my gosh, I have a lot to take on.” So take it in baby steps, but know… And don’t get on everything. Just because there are Twitter and Snapchat and LinkedIn, or whatever, you have to know again where your audience is at. So ask your audience, ask your customers, your clients, “What social media platforms are you on?”

10:19 AI: You could do a SurveyMonkey to ask your audience and email it out. “Hey, we’re really wanting to ramp up our digital marketing strategy, and we need your help so we can best… Give you the best information at the right times and days that work for you. What social media platforms are you on?” Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube. “What days of the week are you on?” Every day, and then list the days. And at what times? Usually, is it early morning, mid-morning, you put times in there. But I would really survey your current audience because they’re already coming to you and so that’s gonna be, again, a huge resource, and you can take that data and then figure out even topics. “What topics are you most interested in? What questions do you have about… ” You know, If you’re a nutritionist, “What questions do you have that we haven’t answered?” And be able to pull from them, and then implement those things into your strategy, because that’s where… If you’re answering their questions and you’re giving them that value that they want to know about, they are 10 times more likely to like, comment and share your posts, and that’s exactly what you want, and then also click back over to your blog, watch your videos, because you’re creating that relationship with them and building that loyalty with them. And so they’re gonna be loyal to you and wanna share your stuff.

11:54 AI: So, it all goes into that strategy, starting up a foundation and working your way from there. So, work on step one, brain dumping, just piling everything down, whether you write it down, you open up a Word doc or a Google Doc and just type down all the topics you wanna talk about, what blogs you would write about, what videos you wanna do, what questions people have asked you, what questions do you wanna ask your audience to put in a survey. And then, as I said, in the end, I will put in two PDF, just examples of two different types of content calendars that we have used and we use with our clients, and work great. And then I’ll also put a link in there to SurveyMonkey, which is a free tool, so that can help you build that foundation and really provide that valuable content.

12:49 AI: So, let us know what questions you have, comments you have, if you’ve been using a strategy and how it’s helped your business. I would love to hear about your experiences or maybe what’s holding you back of creating a strategy. What are those things that are just… It’s hard for you to take that time and sit down and put that strategy in place. We’re here to help you. So again, my name is Amber Irwin. You’ve been listening to the Social Speak Network podcast. Please be sure to subscribe on Podbean or iTunes, and we will have a new episode every week. Enjoy.

August 7, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Business Advice, Business Resource, Social Speak

Understanding How Your Mindset Plays a Huge Role in Creating the Life You Want

In this podcast episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kim Eickhoff, the founder and creator of the SHiFT program.

Kim really stresses how important it is to be present in the moment and to become more aware of your own feelings, patterns, and fears.

Where are they showing up in your life?
When are you feeling sad and why?
When are you feeling frustrated and why?
Taking responsibilities for our own feelings and actions

The one really key point that Kim made was understanding that a lot of these feelings and fears that you have come up from past experiences, whether that be from childhood, young adulthood, things we may not even be aware of on a conscious level.

Now, you may be wondering what does this have to do with business, right? Have you ever felt stuck in your business or feel like you are running in circles? Becoming aware of your fears and how you handle each situation with your clients and colleagues can help you move forward in your business and start creating the life you want.

Enjoy the podcast below:

Learn more about SHiFT hereSubscribe to Kim’s YouTube for daily inspiration

When we make decisions and take action from a place of fear, or from feeling “less than”, these are not usually the best decisions or actions to take. We have to shift to a place of power, or freedom.

The SHiFT process easily teaches you about your patterns that keep you stuck in the same problems; then how to disrupt those patterns; and finally how to take the right action to move beyond the problems, have better control over yourself and your life, and fully create the life you envision.

00:01 Amber Irwin: Hello everyone. Welcome to the Social Speak Network podcast. I’m your host Amber Irwin and I am so excited for our guest today. Miss Kim, please introduce yourself. Let us know a little bit about who you are, and this is a… I am so excited for this podcast because this is a subject that I’m very passionate about and I know you are as well, so let’s share with our audience a little bit about who you are and what they’re in store for today?

00:29 Kim Eickhoff: Very cool. So, my name is Kim Eickhoff. I have been a business coach for the last 10 years. I love helping entrepreneurs and small business owners learn how to make money doing what they love. I have a lot of clients that are really passionate about what they do, really good at what they do, but they don’t necessarily understand the business side. So, that’s where I come in to just kind of help them with that piece. I also have been a life-long learner of kind of my own personal development, looking at myself, trying to understand why I do what I do [chuckle] and say what I do and get better hopefully at life in general; relationships, business, whatever it is.

01:10 KE: And yeah, I have learned a lot of different tools over the years and so I have now moved my business in a direction of where I still help entrepreneurs a lot, but now I’m also just trying to help people more on a personal development side to become more aware of themselves, what makes them tick, and then how to basically disrupt some of those patterns they get stuck in and make better decisions and create the life they really want versus sort of stuck in a life that they don’t necessarily really want. [chuckle]

01:40 AI: Right. So tell us a little bit about this SHiFT process and why did you create this program?

01:48 KE: So I keep seeing over and over and over again with people, as well as watching myself trying to grow my business, that if I am not working on my own personal issues and I’m not aware of them, that’s what keeps my business stuck or plateaued at a certain level. And as I was seeing this with my clients, a lot of them hadn’t done some personal work and didn’t know about different tools and that sort of thing. So it just kind of dawned on me one day, I have systems to teach them around business so I thought, “What if I had a system to teach them around how to become more aware?” That was fairly simple to learn, can help them see things in a non-judgemental way, so they don’t go into a place of defensiveness or trying to make excuses, but it’s more, “This is really just my reality. This is what I do. This is what I say. This is how I think and feel.”

02:39 KE: And then something that would then help them move out of that. Some tools I could teach them to help them move out of that. So I just started playing with that idea, came up with the idea of SHiFT, started playing with different words that seemed to fit. And then I would say, for the past two years now, it’s evolved slowly and changed a little bit over time to what it is now, to where I think it’s pretty solid. So I’ve been using it consistently for probably the past year the way it is.

03:06 AI: And how do you think that this process has helped you in just your life and business and maybe with your clients as well?

03:15 KE: Well, you know, we’re all human [chuckle] and we all we all get triggered by different things. And what I know for me is I have always been highly emotional. So growing up, I would overreact to stuff. Somebody would say something, it hurt my feelings, or I would get mad about something, I would completely overreact, lash out in a way that was not very helpful, usually. And I mean verbally, not physically, [chuckle] but I would get angry and get mad at somebody, blame somebody else for stuff. And then that never really helped, though. It never really made the situation better. It never really improved or really got me where I wanted to go with whatever that issue was. So for me, what happened was I started practicing this… Well, all the tools I’ve been using over time in various ways.

04:03 KE: Over the last couple of years, once I created it, I started practicing it regularly and I sort of made it my practice when I got triggered about something, something happened, caused a pretty strong emotional reaction, whether it was frustration, or anger, or fear, anxiety, whatever that was, and this could be a cash flow problem in my own business, it could be a cash flow problem with one of my clients because I get worried about them. It could be interactions with people, communication problems, that sort of thing. So not having misunderstandings and getting upset about it, that sort of thing. So I started really using it religiously just to practice it, just to see if it helped. And what I noticed was it the more that I did it, one, I saw really similar themes in how I reacted to certain situations. And so that when it happened the next time, I was much more aware of it and I realized “Oh, I am going into this triggered place.” And when I’m triggered, or somebody is triggered, we don’t usually make the best decisions because our brain goes offline, right?

05:02 KE: Our emotions flood our brain, and so we can’t really make good decisions. So what it does is it helps clear that out so that you can make better decisions. And so, I started practicing it regularly, started seeing the themes, and then at the same time, because I was clearing out all these old emotions, the triggers weren’t as powerful. I wasn’t getting triggered as much in the future. And that was a big… A cool part of it, I thought. Because I was like, “Wow, so now I’m actually releasing a lot of this stuff and what used to really trigger me doesn’t trigger me anymore.”

05:32 AI: Right. You kinda let it roll off your shoulders at this point. You worked through whatever that pattern was.

05:37 KE: Yeah. And the emotions, what I’ve learned is that a lot of these emotions that we have that do kind of come up in these really strong ways, they’re old things. They’re things that happened as kids. Maybe our parents didn’t validate how we felt or we were ignored or whatever, not that parents meant to do these things, but they’re human too and they treat us the way that we probably were raised. And so, we create issues in other people. And so, yeah, when I started to release a lot of that old stuff, because it wasn’t there anymore, the trigger just wasn’t as powerful. And I was like, “Oh that’s really cool, actually. I’m not upset about this anymore.”

06:17 AI: Right, so once you worked that through, like your personal life, how did you see your business grow from letting go of those emotions and not letting those triggers happen anymore?

06:29 KE: Well, so actually, what started me practicing a lot was my business had grown a lot. So I got to this point in my business where I was making more money than I’d ever made, I had a ton of clients, I was really, really busy, but all of a sudden, all this fear was coming up because it felt like, how in the world can I sustain this? Am I really worthy of this kind of stuff? Is this something that I’m gonna be able to keep going with and how do I get to the next level? So all this fear started coming up, and that’s when I started really using shift to work through the fear. What it taught me too was that, yeah, these were old fears that were happening, but at the same time, my intuition was telling me that there are other things I really wanted to be doing and not necessarily what I was just doing so I was just focusing on the business coaching which was fine, but I really felt this desire to move more in this other personal development region as well.

07:29 KE: And I had been pushing that aside because it’s like my intuition kept telling me and I kept shutting it off and I kept… But I’m making money doing this, so why would I change anything? But all this fear, really made me stop and look at that, and when I did, I was like, “Oh.” One, I really wanna get more clear about who I work with ’cause I want clients who really wanna work on this stuff so that helped me see that. And then at the same time, just get clear that this is what I really wanted to be teaching as well as the business coaching.

07:56 AI: Right, yeah, ’cause they go hand-in-hand.

07:58 KE: Right.

08:00 AI: And how have some of your clients that have gone through the SHiFT program, how have their lives and their businesses changed by doing that?

08:08 KE: In lots of different ways. So one client that I have, she’s a photographer and she sells fairly large projects that can range from $10,000-$30,000, so they’re big, bigger size price tags. She would have a lot of fear come up around doing her proposals, because these were big prize tags for her and this was really different SHiFT for her, as far as what she was trying to promote and sell and she just wasn’t ready. A lot of times we’re not emotionally prepared to do something that we know we’re supposed to be doing [chuckle] in our business just ’cause we’ve never done it before, so we have to practice it and get better. So, what I taught her SHiFT and what happened with this was, she would do the process before she actually went into a sales call.

08:54 KE: And so what would trigger her in the middle of the sales call was bringing up the money part. She was able to sort of work through that on the front end and get more comfortable and understand why she was getting triggered and it was all about her own old money stories, really, that’s where she would go with it. And so when she saw that, she learned some tools on how to release that anxiety and those old fears, and then actually just gain more confidence and become more aware that she was worthy of asking for the price that she was asking for. So her business went from… I think the first year we worked together, she sold a couple of projects, so probably $20,000-$30,000 in revenue, around those projects. She did a lot of other things for her business at the time, but she really was moving into this. And this year to this point, I think we’ve sold five, or six already. And so she’s…

09:44 KE: Yeah, she’s really turned a corner with how she presents herself, her confidence and not all that obviously is about SHiFT, but a lot of it helped and she would probably be one of the first ones to say that so. And she uses it now, and she’s in the middle of a meeting, if she starts to feel that anxiety pop up or any of those strong emotions, she knows how to sit there and go through it and feel it and release it and then come back to, “Oh, this is what I’m here to do and this is what I’m confident in,” and then you’re more authentic and you’re more kind of connected, so you’re not just faking it.

10:19 AI: Right. Yeah, and that’s a such an important piece is just being able to notice, when you have that coming up in yourself and not pulling the fingers, but being able to take note and say, “Okay this is what frustrated me,” or, “This is what made me sad,” or… Especially as adults, because you can’t, “You hurt my feelings,” but if you recognize that in yourself, then you can go back and use this practice. So let me ask you this, is this practice easy to learn?

[laughter]

10:52 AI: I mean, we’re talking about a lot here, we’re talking about our emotions. So is this practice easy to learn for everyone?

11:00 KE: It is actually, just because I think that the way it’s broken down. I purposefully made it into a system that is easy to follow. Now what’s hard about it, is to practice it like anything. Like, you can get a gym membership, but if you don’t actually go to the gym, it doesn’t do any good. So, it’s the same idea. You can have tools, but you have to actually use them. But once I lead somebody through it, they’re pretty much on their own from that point, they can always go through it for themselves. The practicing on the back end of the tools that will help you kind of release this stuff and move through it, I find needs a little more hand-holding.

11:37 KE: So what I normally do is I sell this in a few different sessions, like a package, because I teach it to them, they practice it. They come back and see what’s worked, what hasn’t worked, and we talk through the tools that they’re using. If they used them correctly, what could they do better that sort of stuff, not, there’s really wrong or right way but… And then we tweak it, and for me, is about me finding what tools work best for different people, ’cause sometimes something might work for somebody that’s super easy. If you’re very aware of your body and how sensations sort of show up in your body, that’s an easy tool to use. For other people, that’s a really brand new concept. They don’t understand that every emotion they have shows up somewhere in their body physically. And that’s a big piece of this process. And so there’s some teaching and training and practicing, that we’ll do around that, but yes, it’s easy to learn. It’s just not easy to practice, necessarily.

12:30 AI: About consistency, stick into it.

12:32 KE: Yeah, totally.

12:34 AI: And so with this… It’s so about your mindset. So you had said that you were focusing on the business coaching, and you were noticing your patterns in changing [12:47] ____ and those emotions, but then, there’s still that fear and that feeling, your intuition was telling you, “This isn’t what you’re supposed to do.” So that shows that money can’t buy happiness in every single way, but that you may think that you’re doing the right thing, but there’s still that fear and listening to your intuition. So is that a big piece of the program, as obviously, you’re looking at where… Like those sensations, how is that fear or anxiety or whatever we wanna label it as, coming up, and then how to deal with it. And that’s what they’re practicing, is how to notice those emotions?

13:25 KE: Yeah. So there’s several components to it, but the main components are your feelings. So if something happens that triggers you, whether it’s making a lot of money, let’s say. So let’s say you have… You made more money in a month than you’ve ever made, you’re excited on one end, but then some fear starts to pop up. It’s just like, “How in the world am I gonna repeat this? Is this possible? Is this sustainable?”, all this stuff. And so, when the anxiety or fear pops up with that, the key you start to look at is the… Are the thoughts that are connected to the feeling. So a lot of times, if the thoughts are about, “I’m not worthy,” about… It’s a lot of deep, deep thoughts. So it’s like, “If I’m not worthy,” or, “If I don’t believe I’m worthy,” these are all beliefs, “to actually make this amount of money and to be successful,” then you will end up sabotaging yourself.

14:13 KE: And that’s how people stay in the pattern, so they’re like, “No, I don’t believe I’m actually worthy, and this is what I’m gonna do to kind of bring myself back down to this amount of money that I feel comfortable at.” So it’s looking at what those thoughts are, and then it’s learning how to challenge those old beliefs and change them, and so the tools around that become one. If it shows up in the body as a sensation, that’s old emotions that are stuck in there, and so you actually have to heal that, and that is about just feeling it. And I don’t mean thinking about it, I mean really feeling it. And this is a process that’s hard for a lot of people, and so I’ll walk them through how to do this and walk them with an issue that they’re having. We’ll actually go through the practice of feeling sensations or as I call it, surrendering to them, ’cause you actually just wanna be present with what’s really happening in the moment and allow it to come up and out.

15:05 KE: And then once the emotions will dissipate, and they always do, you just have to pay attention to them, then those feelings go away. The thoughts go away, and you can actually make some choices on what you wanna do. What I find is, if the fear is showing up over and over and over consistently, and you keep doing this, that’s usually your intuition saying, “Hey, listen, this is not right.” And that’s… ‘Cause fears can mean different things, but that’s… What I’ve learned is like, “Oh, if this keeps showing up all the time, and I keep releasing it, but it keeps showing up, then it’s something deeper trying to tell me something else.”

15:40 AI: Yeah. Oh, I love it.

15:41 S?: [15:41] ____.

15:42 AI: So what is the number one takeaway from this process, and why is it so important in your mind?

15:51 KE: I think the number one takeaway is that we are completely in control of ourselves, and if something happens that… Whether it’s somebody or it’s a situation, somebody says something or does something, and we get angry or frustrated or fearful, all that stuff is our own stuff. It has really nothing to do with what has happened, with what this person has done, with what the situation is. What we do is we take that, and we make it into a much bigger problem, because we’ll ruminate on it, we think about it. I call it “habitual reaction”, so we will constantly think about it and constantly cycle through it, and your body will just get more and more stressed or more [chuckle] and more anxious or whatever it is. But that’s the biggest takeaway to me, is like, “Oh, if I can actually understand what issues of mine are being triggered around this, then I’m in complete control of my life,” because I can actually deal with those, and I can change how I respond to somebody, or what choices that I make.

16:53 KE: If I don’t know what’s happening, and I continue to make other choices, because I’m making choices to get rid of those feelings, I don’t want the feelings, they’re uncomfortable, but if I don’t even know that they’re there because of my stuff, then I’m gonna stay, keep doing things that are gonna keep me in these patterns that aren’t super-healthy for me. And so, becoming aware of that, giving yourself control back, taking full responsibility and ownership of where you are and what your response is, in some way, to me, is huge, ’cause then you’re in the driver’s seat, right? You can make choices, and you can do different things. So that’s, to me, what the coolest part of this is.

17:31 AI: Yeah. Taking responsibility, owning it and making a change. I love it. So tell us how can people work with you? Do you do, obviously, individuals? Do you do group? Do you speak at events? How can people sign up for SHiFT?

17:47 KE: Yes, I do all those things. [chuckle] So I love speaking at events, and I do sort of a 30-minute, big picture overview of what this is, why it’s important, that sort of thing; I don’t necessarily teach it, but I give a lot of information about it. I do one-to-one sessions with people, so I can do them through Zoom, I can do them in person if they’re here in the Denver area. I’m gonna start doing some more kind of group coaching things, but in corporations, that sort of thing, or small businesses. I work… I’d use this a lot with teams, so teaching teams how to do this individually helps them communicate better, because a lot of times people… I mean, you’re interacting with people, so you get triggered by something somebody says on your team, and then all production stops, ’cause you’re mad or whatever, and they’re mad at you, so nobody wants to work anymore.

18:37 KE: Well, this helps you kinda realize that and work through it, so with teams. And then I’m also working on… I wanna do a class, but it would be all video series, so it would be, you get maybe three to five videos in your email, and each one will teach you pieces of it; it’s much more self-directed. Obviously, you do it when you want, but you’ll learn the basic concepts. And with the others, I usually lead you through whatever specific issue you have, in those other programs, so it’s a little more hand-holding, that sort of thing than the other ones, but on the videos it’s like you just learn it, and you do it.

19:15 AI: Okay. And where can I find this information?

19:18 KE: Oh, [chuckle] on my website. What is my website?

19:25 AI: And you’re on Facebook, so they can connect with you on Facebook.

19:28 KE: Yes. Oh yeah, yeah, I’m on Facebook. So Coach Kim Eickhoff, E-I-C-K-H-O-F-F, is my last name. And then…

19:36 AI: And I’ll put the links below in the comments as well.

19:39 KE: Oh okay, cool.

19:40 AI: And then I’ll put your website in there too.

19:42 KE: Okay, coachkimshift.com, so that’s a good place. And then I have a YouTube channel, Kim Eickhoff, if you just put that in there, it should pop up.

19:53 AI: Awesome. Wonderful. Well, I’m so excited. Thank you so much, Kim, for being on with us today. Be sure to subscribe below, everyone. And if you are ready to make some serious changes in your life and take control back, call Kim, and let’s get to work.

[chuckle]

20:14 KE: SHiFT.

20:14 AI: SHiFT.

[laughter]

20:15 AI: Thanks, Kim, have a great day.

20:16 KE: Thanks, Amber, you too.

Subscribe to our Podcast here

July 30, 2019/by Amber Irwin

Branding, Connecting with Customers, Internet Marketing, Social Speak, Target Market

Understanding your patient’s journey and How to market to them online

From the moment a patient seeks medical care for an injury or makes an appointment with their family doctor to determine the cause of their recent symptoms, the patient has begun a journey during which multiple people may be involved.

Hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other providers, may all be, at one point or another, involved in this patient journey.

When we start to think of the “Patient Journey” we need to think of these things:

What they are going through?
What are their pain points before they get to you?
What are they experiencing and struggling with?

By identifying these things this helps you as a business owner be able to provide the right resources they are looking for.

In today’s healthcare landscape, consumers have more options, choices, and resources when it comes to the direction of their own care. This ecosystem shift slab that the patient transportation is not a linear one, but rather a multi-stage clause with many different channels and touch points along with the media (much like a tree with dozens of different branches).

A few stages of the “Patient Journey” –

Awareness: Self-assessment of barrier and symptoms, leading to online research and education, consequence problem on social media, etc. This is the start id their journey, they have recognized that something is not right with their body, or how they feel. Most people will become aware of their issue and then start the research process.

This is where they will spend hours online on different tools like Google, Pinterest, Facebook, WedMd, etc. to try to identify what they are going through.

Help: At this point, the patient understands they need help with their symptoms and are looking for the correct place to go. This is where your resource marketing comes into handy because you have been building a rapport with your patients, they trust you and know you are the right person to start with.

Care: This piece is where the “know, like, trust” factor comes in. When a patient chooses you to be their caretaker and help them with their issues or symptoms this is a really big deal. most people just think I am a doctor and this is what I am supposed to do, but you are doing so much more. You are becoming a large resource mentally, physically, and emotionally.

Treatment: You may be on the journey with these patients for a while, or just a couple visits. It’s important to take note of their treatment so you can use that data to help other patients like them. Treatment can be anything from home remedies, physical therapy, chemo, counseling, whether it be large or small treatment it will be a world of difference to your patient if they are no longer in pain.

Behavioral/Lifestyle Change: Changes to reduce readmissions and promote proactive health. How has your care and treatment helped them to live a better life? This piece right here is the end goal, this is what people are looking for.

Do they want to be able to walk with ease again?
Be able to live to see their family grow?
Be able to overcome their fears?

Whatever that lifestyle is for them that they will be able to achieve when they are doing work with you and your practice is the first step to your digital marketing. They are wanting something better in their life, they became aware of their problem, sought help, got treatment, and now ready to live their life again.

Ongoing Care/Proactive Health: What is the call-to-action? Do they need to come for follow-up appointments, exercises at home, home remedies, physical therapy, etc.? What do they need to do to continue their lifestyle and be proactive from here on out?

It’s important for the patient to understand their journey and continue to improve.

WHAT IS PATIENT JOURNEY MAPPING?

Patient route mapping in the healthcare industry is a data-driven, patient-centric approach to planning marketing activity, communications, and (to some degree) even delivery care. It’s a way to gather the facts, discover the anticipation of your patient, and then line-up that information to deliver an exemplary healthcare experience.

What testament a patient excerpt map do for you?

In short, patient section maps give you a clear guide for how to improve retention and acquisition through customer satisfaction. Exceeding patient expectation benefits your saps relation convenience twofold:

It increases retention rates through patient satisfaction
It increases new patient acquisition through evangelism

Word of mouth is still, and most likely always will be the best form of marketing, but if you can really connect with your patient’s on a much deeper level and be able to provide information, be a resource for them and their family. This allows you to take your digital marketing to the next level and reach more people.

Conclusion

Active listening and putting systems in place is key! You will always want a steady flow of patient’s, and as their lives change maybe they move or find a different doctor or maybe your services are no longer needed, it’s important to keep that pipeline full with new and potential patient’s that need your services.

Digital marketing is a great way to connect with a potential patient’s in your community and be more than just a provider, but a resource. Once people feel they can trust your practice and get their questions answered, that’s when the magic happens. They start talking about you online and referring you more and more.

A few things to do when you get a new patient:

Collect their email address – don’t just leave this in your system and not do anything with it, add it to your CRM like MailChimp, InfusionSoft, SalesForce, MyEmma, Constant Contact, etc. an email software so you can send them monthly newsletters with valuable information.
Ask them to like you on Facebook or Instagram
Invite them to leave a positive review on Google and/or Facebook once they are satisfied with their treatment
Then have a strong social media presence to continue to stay top of mind

Remember, you are an important piece of your patient’s journey!

Learn more about 3 Tested Tactics to Integrate Patient Journey in Digital Marketing Strategy