It’s Still About Your Web Site
Written February 23rd, 2009 by Dan HaleyThere are myriad web tools out there that one can use in health care marketing and communications. From social utilities to news feeds and search ads, as web professionals we now cultivate a web presence for our organizations, rather than just a web site.
Tending to our brand’s online travels keeps reminding me, though, that it’s still about Scripps.org: we need effective content for users to come to after they’ve encountered a component of our web presence. Are you optimizing site content as part of your overall online strategy?
As my colleague Marc Needham recounts in a recent blog post, we launched a social media campaign earlier this year. And as he rightly notes, social utilities are not just tools to inflate site traffic—they’re also opportunities for dialog with health consumers. Our Twitter presence, for example, sometimes serves as a de facto chat room.
But in those instances when you want users to take action, you’re often pointing them to a page or section on your site. Here are a few examples of off-site projects that require solid site content to back them up:
- Google AdWords. Where are users going when they click on your ad? Our recent open enrollment campaign pointed to primary care-related content, and the doctor finder. We built a one-off landing page with distilled messaging, and burnished our anemic primary care site content. You spend a decent amount of money and effort nurturing paid search campaigns; your relevant content and doctor finder have to support them; otherwise, why would consumers choose your org for services?
- Twitter. We’re primarily tweeting news items. Are your press releases and other news features web-optimized with salient links, embedded media, etc.? What other effective content can you drive followers to?
- Facebook. While we’re on the topic of social media, Facebook pages pose an interesting opportunity for employee recruiting. Do you have site content aimed at hard-to-recruit fields like nursing and imaging that you can direct prospects to?
- Link-building. When a notable organization wants to link to your site, do you have robust, relevant content to offer visitors?
Here are a few other examples of why it’s still about your site:
- Lateral entry. Users are entering your site more and more from the sides, via search and other links, rather than in top-down fashion through the main home page. This means that each page in your long tail of content needs to work harder: that press release you thought was buried might be someone’s first impression of you.
- PR disasters. Are you prepared for a stream of visitors coming to your site after a scathing public relations incident? Mitigating this kind of disaster is more about what you already have on your site than what you can post after the fact. If a fatal medical mistake or set of patient safety violations becomes public, can you point to robust content about your quality numbers, or work in the community?
- Fundraising. Prospective donors want to see what you’re doing—both in specialty care, and your general presence in the community. If you’re trying to raise money to transform your cancer services into a cancer center, do you have content that effectively communicates the work you’re doing?
- Flu shots? Sometimes you get a raft of visitors looking for something very practical (and seasonal), like flu shots. Do you have an easy-to-find page where your flu shot clinics are aggregated?
An effective web strategy comprises a diverse set of tools. Don’t forget that your site content is one of them.
February 26th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Excellent article, Dan. Many thanks for sharing your knowledge and expertise! Ty
March 4th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Hi Dan,
I think there’s one principle that rules all:
“Create value for others.”
It’s the greatest sales mantra to date, in my opinion.
Nifty web tools helps create value for others. And to your point, so does the content. It all works together.
So, here’s a question to add … how can you best create value for others with your content? Or you can ask, what’s the best form of self-promotion?
I like Brendan Florez’s (CEO of Social Charm) answer:
Let’s say you’re trying to convince a potential customer/employer/investor to begin a relationship with you. There are only three ways to do it, and they are not equally effective. From worst to best, here they are:
1. Tell them how great you are.
This is the least effective method, but it’s better than nothing. The key here is to be honest and not come across as trying too hard to impress. When an older gentleman asked Bono what he did for a living, the rock star said, “I’m a musician.” Don’t be shy about your accomplishments, but don’t oversell yourself either.
2. Have others tell them how great you are.
Marketers have a name for this – social proof. If you and your customer have a mutual friend, ask that friend to put in a good word for you. If not, think about who else your customer might consider asking about you, and seek to make a good impression.
3. Show them how great you are.
Nothing’s more powerful than a customer witnessing your expertise first hand. If you’re a marketer, offer some quick marketing advice for a problem they have. If you’re a property manager, give them a tour of your places and show them the financials. Find a way to directly demonstrate your skill, and your chances go way up.
The real power of these techniques comes when you do them together. Spend the majority of your time focused on #2 and #3, and #1 will take care of itself.