The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience—and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” But let’s talk about what content marketing is really about: it’s about building trust.
At the end of the day, content marketing is about increasing trust between you and your audience. Your brand can be anything or anyone—businesses, non-profits, government agencies or academia. In health, the best (and, in my opinion, the most successful) content marketing is focused on retention, not one-time visitors or even one-time sales. Why? Because retention is a good indication that you’re building trust with your patients. In a world where we are immersed in an onslaught of content, someone is following your content because ultimately, they trust you. And if they trust you, they are more likely to remember you and rely on you when the need arises. Nowhere is building trust more valuable than in the world of health care systems, non-profits and providers, where this kind of trust can literally translate into improved health outcomes. But, to achieve this, it’s not enough to put forward engaging content.
To build trust and ultimately improve health outcomes you must ensure your content:
Is based on peer-reviewed evidence (or at least content that itself is based on this type of evidence)
Is well-timed in terms of the public health needs of your audience (for example, it makes far more sense to plan for flu shot content in the late summer than it does in late spring)
Complies with HIPPA standards
Is up to date—in terms of new developments in your area
Is written with health-literacy best practices in mind
Speaks to health disparities. You should know whether there are any racial, ethnic or other disparities in your disease-area and have strategies in place for addressing these.
Focuses on as many levels of prevention as possible, to maximize your impact
General content marketing practices are a great base for you to start your strategy, but on your road to success, you will likely find that you need to involve someone with health expertise and ideally, someone who has both marketing and health expertise. If you are looking for someone now, you may find it helpful to look for someone with prior experience in:
The health sector. Whether it’s in the clinic or public health, this experience is an important part of understanding patient and provider experiences and needs, as well as the importance of health literacy and HIPPA standards.
Peer-reviewed health research. This is critical to evaluate whether or not content is evidence-based. Even within peer-reviewed research—some study designs are more trustworthy than others and it’s important to know the difference if you’re communicating research results or best practices on disease self-management.
Certification in health education. Health education specialists have professional and academic health education experience across seven different competency areas in health education and promotion, including resource assessments, planning, implementation, evaluation, program management, resource development, and communications.
You may find this person in-house, at a marketing agency, or in consulting—all are viable options. At the end of the day, content marketing is a strategy. And to apply this strategy optimally in the health care sector, it’s helpful to have a health specialist’s perspective.