Are You Using the Right Hospital Messaging?

As patients become more informed about their medical care than ever before, it’s important to recognize that hospital messaging cannot be crafted with a “one size fits all” approach. The words and phrases you choose in your marketing campaigns should always resonate with your target audience in order to break through the healthcare marketing clutter.

Understanding your patients is key in determining what hospital messaging will work to both attract them and compel them to want to inquire or use your services. When it comes to pinpointing the right words to use in your next marketing campaign, it is important to consider the keywords your audience uses and position your hospital messaging to capture your patients’ needs and preferences.

In a recent survey of the Top 100 hospitals in the country, the digital marketing specialists at Response Mine Health identified six critical hospital messaging categories: medical innovation, patient-focused, comprehensive care, religious theme, award-winning, and community orientation.

Upon further review, healthcare marketers explored how various patient demographics searched and which hospital messaging worked best based on certain search terms. For example, when patients searched for orthopaedic or spine-related services, they were more likely to engage with advertisements that highlighted “medical innovation”. Whereas when African Americans searched using the term “women’s health” messaging that was more patient-centered was preferred. For the complete survey report, click here.

Choosing hospital messaging that speaks to your target audience is key in generating the highest return on investment for your healthcare marketing. The more you understand how your prospective patients search, the more equipped you’ll be to craft hospital messaging that will immediately resonate with them.

Determining what these keywords are takes research and time. You may even have to delve into the psychographics of your target audience in order to understand what drives them to purchase. Consider the lifestyle, geographical, socioeconomic, and even career backgrounds they may come from. For example, if your target audience is on a fixed income, such as those over the age of 70, who rely on their monthly Social Security income, then using words like “affordable” or “low-cost” may be more appealing to this demographic as opposed to words such as “premium” or “elite” which may convey that your services are outside of what they can afford.

If you have not created a complete profile of your target audience, then now is the time to do so. When you’re able to understand what your patients are looking for, how they choose their healthcare providers, and what key health benefits they’re seeking, then you will be able to make proven hospital messages that increase your patient acquisition.

That’s why the award-winning digital marketing experts at Response Mine Health leverage a host of patient demographic and psychographic research to help their clients create highly-effective hospital messaging that cuts through the marketing clutter. To learn how you can elevate your marketing campaigns to attract, connect, and engage with new patients, click here.