Why Hospitals Need Media Relations

February 27, 2012 Leave a comment

Health and medical stories are major topics in the news on a daily basis.  Whether a news story has to do with the distribution of health care or with a new medical breakthrough, medicine and health care command the media’s attention.  Health care is a business and for it to be effective it needs to be treated as one.  This has always been true, but never more so than in today’s insurance and reimbursement environment.  Because of that physician, health care and hospital marketing is more critical than ever.  Effective media relations and PR is a necessity to help ensure continuing viability of hospitals, medical centers and medical practices in the local level and to provide the high quality of individual health care Americans expect.

The world of health care and medicine is changing and to remain effective and successful hospitals and medical institutions need to change with the times.  As major changes take affect in the healthcare environment, medical providers need to understand that they are subject to the same media and market pressures and changes as any other business.  Those who will succeed will understand that the landscape has changed, and they will effectively react to those changes.   Marketing is a necessity if a hospital or medical center is going to succeed.  There is a definite need for scrutiny, strategic planning and communication programs in order to most effectively utilize the limited resources while providing top of the line medical care. This is where hospital media relations and PR come in.

Media relations and community relations, both fall under the umbrella of public relations.  Although they are often confused, they are very different processes.  Each has its own objectives and focus.  Media relations includes but is not limited to, developing targeted media lists, the writing and distribution of  news releases, the distribution of information and releases  to the media, and arranging press, radio and television interviews

Media relations is particularly important in the medical field.  Patients choose a hospital or medical provider based on trust.  Even in the case where the medical provider is chosen for the patient it is important that a sense of trust is created.  It is precisely because the trust factor is so important that PR is the most effective form of marketing available for hospitals and health care providers.  Unlike advertising or direct marketing, public relations is the only form of marketing that offers the credibility and validation of being featured in the news.  The public learns of most new medical breakthroughs, studies, or procedures from the media.  The physicians interviewed, or hospitals that are featured benefit from that coverage.  PR needs to be an integral part of any hospital’s business plan.  A successful media relations campaign not only educates and informs. Used effectively, PR can not only build a hospital’s brand and patient base, it can usher in new concepts and perspectives and shape the ideas of a community.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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

The Reason Why: Facts Tell, Stories Sell

January 9, 2012 Leave a comment

People love stories.  Stories are how we communicate.  Storytellers are revered in many cultures, and in the western world the writers and directors of films and TV are generally quite well paid both financially and status-wise.  Stories are our currency of communication, yet when it comes to marketing, most businesses forget about the story and focus on the facts.  By doing that they lose the impact that a compelling story brings.

PR and media relations is all about effective storytelling.  For example, when launching a public relations campaign for a physician, I realize that what’s going to benefit him or her the most is not to primarily focus on their credentials and medical savvy, but to emphasize impactful and compelling patient stories   A tale of how a patient went from pain and suffering to living a healthy fulfilling life is one that we can connect with.  It’s much more compelling to tell a vivid and compelling patient’s story, than to explain exactly how a particular procedure or medication technically worked.

People identify with the patient, not the physician; they commiserate and root for him or her.  They’re emotionally involved in the story from beginning to end, particularly if the story somehow personally affects them or someone they know.  If the time comes when they need to seek out the services of a physician who works in that field, guess who they’ll most likely turn to?  You got it; they’re going to want the doctor who helped turn that patient’s life around in the story they heard.

Facts and figures are great.  They give us information and they help give credibility.  But facts and figures alone will seldom result in a sale.  A laundry list of facts offers very little call to action.  And even if a fact list does inherently have a call to action, chances are there is no emotional resonance to it.  The information may be factual, but, unlike a story it is not always emotionally believable.   Stories are evocative; they bypass thought and go directly to feeling.  They shoot past the cynical adult and go right towards the child in each of us.

It’s the story that awakens interest.  For example, when we launch a PR campaign for beauty products spas or beauty salons, our focus is not on the ingredients that the products contain, or precisely how a procedure is performed, or the exact technique that a particular stylist uses; our emphasis is on how the client looks, feels and changes when using that product, going to that spa, or visiting that hairstylist.   Our focus is on how the client’s life is transformed.

The personal journey in the story told might be major or less dramatic, but it is the transformation that will affect the reader or viewer, or listener.  Just as in real estate the saying goes that it’s location, location, location, in promotion, marketing and PR, it’s the story, the story, the story.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Filed under Public Relations 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The True Value of Medical PR

August 12, 2011 Leave a comment

As a physician, launching a PR and media relations campaign, you can have a number of objectives.  Your aim may be to bring in more patients, to establish your practice, to establish yourself as one of the primary experts in your field, or to separate yourself from the competition.  All those objectives are sound and can be accomplished through an effective public relations outreach.  Every physician has his or her own needs and goals and it’s important to tailor each media campaign to achieve those specific aims.

In the past we’ve placed physicians and health care professionals in a wide range of media outlets from local and regional media to such national outlets as Oprah, the Today Show, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and hundreds of other media outlets.  But, apart from reaching a physician’s target market, establishing their brand and establishing them as experts in their fields, perhaps the most rewarding aspect of health and medical PR is that by presenting informative and educational stories to the media, we’ve been able to impact people’s lives.

We’ve worked with a wide range of physicians including oncologists, cardiologists, pain management specialists, ob-gyns, and pulmonary specialists.  Each one has had unique patient stories to tell and each one has addressed issues that affect hundreds, thousands and sometimes millions of people.

By taking these stories to the media we in turn have been able to offer options and solutions for patients who were often unaware that new approaches, treatments or modalities existed.

These stories have offered hope and guidance.  After stories on a  physician or treatment have been published in a magazine or newspaper or have aired on TV, not only have new local patients decided to seek help, there have been several instances where patients have flown cross country or from foreign countries to seek help, guidance and treatment.

I’ve found this type of media outreach to be the most gratifying.  Whereas the campaigns are designed to reach a physicians target market, grow a medical practice, establish him or her as an expert and gain the credibility and validation which comes from being featured in the news, they are also designed to educate and inform

As a physician, one of the most important aspects to keep in mind when launching a health or medical-oriented public relations campaign is how important the information you’re offering can be.  Through the media you are able to directly communicate with hundreds, thousands or millions of people.  Some may be directly dealing with the problem, symptoms or disease you’re addressing, others may know a friend or a family member who could use the information.  There will be treatments, approaches, and options you offer that may not be new within the medical community, but could be new to many patients.  The information you offer can often it can be a life changer.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under doctor pr, Medical PR, medicine, Public Relations, public relations services Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Effectively Marketing Medicine

October 22, 2010 1 Comment

Those involved in the fields of health and medicine, perhaps more than any other professionals, can benefit from a targeted, strategic public relations campaign.  The trust and validation factors are never so important than when people are searching for a physician, medical center or hospital.

Most people first learn about a new medical breakthrough, treatment or modality via the media and when the public sees a physician being interviewed on TV or in a magazine or newspaper, tat physician gains immediate credibility.  No ad can produce that effect, neither can a direct mail piece or even the most professionally build website.  The media offers validation and credibility unlike any other form of communication.

People trust the media because they know the news is a vetted process.  Either an editor or a producer has checked on the story.  They are disinterested third parties whose job is to report news.  Their reporting is therefore seen as credible.

Utilizing media relations as a way to market a new medical procedure, hospital, medical center is critical to the success of all health and medical practices.  Public relations remains the sole way to communicate with the public, reach a target market and achieve the validation and credibility of being featured in the news.
Medical Public Relations is also incredibly important because often the first time a patient hears about a new procedure or drug it’s from the media.  Today, savvy hospitals and physicians view public relations as an integral component of their business strategy.

Considering the fact that information control and distribution will be the currency of the new millennium, learning to effectively manage one’s image and message now has to be viewed as basic Business 101.

But not only can an effective medical PR campaign reach the public and bring in patients, it can also save lives.  Often the only way that a patient in need of a new treatment learns about it is on TV, or in the newspaper, that fact makes this particular type of marketing outreach particularly effective – and important.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Filed under health pr, marketing medicine, medicine Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

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