HEALTH CARE: The Search Engine Will See You Now.

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

While the debate over America’s method of delivering health care carries on, the ground under the providers of health care is shifting — or so says a recent study of how consumers seek and obtain health information.

According to Manhattan Research, two out of three Americans begin their quest for health info that’s vital to them (or someone they love) not with a visit to their doctor, but a keyword search on their computer.

While this at first glance may seem like bad news for health care marketers, in fact it’s good news — because with smart marketing that embraces the Internet’s role, health care providers can lead consumers through the digital fact-finding and decision-making process. And ultimately, to their hospital’s or clinic’s front door.

So physicians and health care marketers, take these to marketing heart and call us in the morning:

• More U.S. adults use the Internet than they use doctors for obtaining health and medical information (so get on it!).

• Consumers are much more likely to begin their quest for health info with a search engine, versus going directly to a website (so optimize your website, initiate social media and do everything you can to up your search engine ranking).

• When consumers search, they’re much more likely to do so based on a specific condition or disease, versus a brand or name (so optimize your web presence with relevant content).

• The most common situation for search engine use is when a consumer, or someone they know, presents symptoms of a condition (so make sure your web marketing facilitates contacts and/or appointments).

SOURCE: American Marketing Association, MarketingVox.com, NOISE

Tags: ADVERTISING, agency, BRANDING, care, clinic, doctor, engine, florida, fort myers, health, hospital, internet, marketing, milwaukee, noise, optimization, sanibel, search, SEO, wisconsin

HEALTH CARE: A New Kind of Breast E-xam.

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments

Fort HealthCare is one of Wisconsin’s most progressive community health networks, serving a diverse population of both urban and rural families in a growing region between Madison and Milwaukee. The network consistently reinvests in the improved health of its community with services and technology that equal or, in many cases, exceed larger market health care providers.

Given this, it’s no surprise that one of Fort HealthCare’s primary initiatives is to identify and implement innovative ways to educate and motivate its patient base toward healthier lifestyles.

A recent mammography campaign is the latest example of this kind of marketing innovation. Working with the strategic and creative teams of its brand development agency (alert: NOISE), Fort HealthCare bypassed traditional media advertising — and instead executed a multi-channel, interactive campaign of e-marketing (internal and purchased target lists) and web marketing, supported by public relations, to reach 35 to 54 year old females.

Results? In the campaign lifespan, Fort HealthCare’s mammography microsite measured as the number one health information page on the network’s website (trailing only careers and employment in unique visitor traffic). Just as impressive, one out of every seven mammography patients (and there were more than 350 of them generated by the campaign) were new to the program.

It’s true that in today’s health care, technology can keep us healthy. Guess we’ll have to add e-marketing to that list.

SOURCE: NOISE

Tags: atkinson, emarketing, florida, fort, fort myers, healthcare, hospital, internet, madison, mammography, milwaukee, noise, sanibel, search engine optimization, wisconsin