Why Your Clients’ Stories Define Your PR

February 13, 2012 Leave a Comment

Your best stories are those that show how your product or service helps your clients.  For example, if you’re a physician, your best stories are patient success stories.  A doctor is the expert who can explain how to treat a disease or how a particular procedure works, but it’s his or her patient stories that are going to connect with the media and the public.

It’s the same in any business.  Regardless what your profession is, you have an impact on the lives of others.  And the impact you have on your clients can make for your most compelling stories.  Those are the stories that, in essence, tell your story.  Perhaps you made someone’s life easier by saving her time, money, or stress.  Maybe you helped someone lose weight, feel better, look better.  What are your success stories?  Whether you’re an attorney, a plumber, a life coach or an artist, you have an impact on the lives of others. And the impact you have on your clients can make for your most compelling stories.  Those are the stories that, in essence, tell your story.

Before launching a marketing or public relations campaign, take some time to work on the anecdotal stories which you feel best illustrate what you do, those which most effectively tell your story.   Now match the various anecdotal stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example, using a medical story again, a story about a ten year old struggling with Autism, would be pitched differently than a story about the latest in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.  If you’re an author of a how-to book, the stories you’d pick to pitch to Redbook or Ladies Home Journal, would differ from those you’d pitch to Forbes or the Wall Street Journal.

Make a list of clients you have worked with who have interesting, impactful or inspiring stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how by working with you, their lives were changed or transformed.  Keep in mind; these transformations don’t have to be huge.  You don’t have to save someone’s life for your stories to resonate; your stories could be serious, fun, lighthearted, or practical.  Perhaps you made someone’s life easier by saving her time, money, or stress.  Maybe you helped someone lose weight, feel better, look better.  All of these make for good anecdotes, which in turn can lead to great PR pitches, which can land you media coverage – which in turn can help you land more clients, build your business and grow your business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Filed under Medical PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Patient Stories and Medical Media Relations

December 14, 2011 Leave a Comment

When it comes to PR and medical-oriented media relations, remember, your best stories are patient success stories.  Yes, as the physician you’re the expert and the educator, but it’s your patient stories that in turn will tell your story.  The media is looking to interest their audience, whether that audience is readers, viewers or listeners and what’s going to grab their attention is going to be stories that affect them.  Although the audience is going to be interested in your expertise and information, what is going to impact them on a visceral, emotional level is going to be patient stories that they can identify with.

Make a list of patients who have interesting, impactful stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how lives were changed or transformed.  Contact the appropriate patients, explain how their stories can help educate and inform others who are dealing with similar problems or issues. Explain what would be involved and how this would be an important outreach to the media.  This is not just a way to sell a patient on appearing in the media.  Patient stories educate and inform the public.  That is generally how the public learns about new procedures, treatments, and options.  We’ve worked with physicians where the patients were more than willing to tell their stories because they wanted others in their situation to be able to benefit from their story.  There are patients who will have no interest in speaking to the media, preferring to keep their story private.  That is something to be respected.  But let patients know that you are collecting anecdotal stories and that you’ll be presenting some of these stories to the media to explain and educate the public on your work.  You may be surprised at how many will be willing and even eager to tell their story.

Once you have patients who are willing to tell their stories, match the various patient stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example a story about the latest breakthroughs in back surgery, would be pitched differently than a story about hormone replacement therapy.  A story on a ten year old dealing with food allergies, would need a different approach altogether.  If your stories include before and after photos, make sure to get images that are as professional as possible.  Be sure to have your patients sign a release form.

Once you have patients who are willing to tell their story to the media, meet with them to review the questions that the media could ask them.  Make your patients as comfortable as possible with the process.  Remember, these patients are not only telling their stories, they’re representing you and your practice.  You want them to be articulate and the presentation to be accurate and appropriate. Utilizing medical-oriented public relations can serve several purposes, it can build your practice and educate and inform the public.   By getting this information to the public through the media you can improve and, in some cases, save lives.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Medical PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Building A Medical Practice Through Media Relations

December 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

There are several reasons why physicians, more than those in other professions, can benefit from an effective media relations campaign. The traditional media is how most consumers and patients learn about the latest medical breakthroughs, news, or studies.  Those physicians that are featured in the media are seen as trusted experts.  They are the ones that the consumers and potential patients are going to seek out.  Public relations is not simply a form of marketing, it is an effective way to inform and educate the public.  Education and information are the keys to a truly successful media campaign; press coverage reaches a physician’s target market, drives patients their way and gives them validation and credibility

PR is the only form of medical marketing that effectively builds trust and credibility.  Marketing a medical practice via traditional advertising has its place, but that approach has inherent risks.  No patient wants to feel that he or she is being “sold”. Patients want to see someone they trust, someone they feel is the best in their field.  It is that validation and trust factor that comes with being featured in the media.

Media relations is particularly important for physicians on the cutting edge, or those who are introducing new procedures or treatments,  The message of safety, trust, expertise and  success needs to be conveyed through the media.  The validation and credibility factor needs to be established.  Making decisions about health care and medical treatments can be frightening for most patients and consumers.  Because of that they are reluctant to be among the first to try a new medical technique than are most consumers.  Through targeted public relations a sense of trust can be established; the newer and/or more sensitive the procedure, the greater the trust that needs to be established, which is why PR is particularly important in those arenas.

As stated earlier a truly effective medical PR campaign is not just about marketing; it is also about educating and communicating with the public.  A successful media relations campaign educates and informs.  Used effectively, PR can not only build a medical practice, it can usher in new concepts and perspectives and shape the ideas of a community.  Because of that, fact it’s important that physicians see and present themselves as educators.  By utilizing the media to present their stories and show case their expertise; physicians can establish themselves as experts in their field, reach their target market and build a successful practice.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Medical PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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