by Grant Evans | Sep 4, 2024 | Blog
One often overlooked yet powerful tool in a marketer’s arsenal is data. By leveraging data effectively, marketers can create compelling narratives that resonate with both journalists and decision-makers.
Too often, marketing relies on generic value propositions and broad claims about product benefits. However, in an era where evidence-based decision-making is paramount, data-driven stories have become increasingly important. Data-backed claims lend credibility to your marketing messages, making them more persuasive to skeptical audiences. In a sea of similar products, unique data insights can set your offering apart from competitors. And data allows you to tailor your message to specific audience segments, increasing its relevance and impact.
The shift from traditional PR to data-driven brand journalism is not just a trend; it’s a necessary evolution in healthcare technology marketing. By embracing this approach, marketers can create more forceful, credible, and impactful narratives that truly resonate with target audiences.
Sources of Valuable Data
To create data-driven narratives, marketers need access to relevant and reliable data sources. Your own customer base is a goldmine of valuable insights. Internal customer data and case studies can provide real-world evidence of your product’s effectiveness and impact. Independent studies, in the form of third-party surveys and research, can provide unbiased validation of claims, adding an extra layer of credibility to marketing messages. Additionally, contextualizing your product within broader healthcare trends can be powerful. Industry reports and public health data can help you demonstrate how your solution fits into the bigger picture of healthcare innovation and improvement.
Transforming Raw Data into Compelling Narratives
Having data is only the first step. The real magic happens when you transform that data into a persuasive story. Start by identifying key trends and insights. Look for patterns and unexpected findings in your data that could form the basis of an interesting narrative that underscores your positioning. Next, connect these data points to create a cohesive story. Don’t just present isolated facts; weave them into a narrative that illustrates the value and impact of your product or service.
Visual representation of data can significantly enhance understanding and engagement. Use data visualization techniques such as charts, infographics, and interactive visualizations (such as Ceros experiences) to make complex data more accessible and engaging. This not only makes your content more appealing but also helps your audience grasp key concepts quickly and easily.
Implementing Data-Driven Marketing
To integrate data into your marketing efforts, consider conducting and leveraging customer or broader cross-industry surveys. Regular feedback from your users can provide valuable insights into product performance, user satisfaction, and areas for improvement. These insights can then be used to create powerful marketing messages.
Partnering with research organizations can be another effective strategy. Collaborations can yield credible, third-party data to support your claims, adding an extra layer of legitimacy to your marketing efforts. But make sure to craft survey questions carefully –– think of the types of answers you want to elicit and work backward. Also – while the initial spend for an outside (reputable) research firm may be a bit rich for many budgets, consider the long-tail implications of the resulting data. Such campaigns can result in data that is used in reports, white papers, infographics, eBooks, speaking engagements, and other
Make data analysis a central part of your strategy, not an afterthought. Integrate data analysis into your marketing workflow, ensuring that every campaign and message is backed by solid, relevant data.
While powerful, data-driven marketing in healthcare technology comes with its own set of challenges, patient privacy and regulatory compliance should always be at the forefront of your efforts. Ensure that all data used in your marketing is anonymized and adheres to HIPAA requirements.
Data is crucial, but it’s important not to let it overshadow the human stories and emotional elements of healthcare. Strive to maintain a balance between data-driven insights and the human element in your narratives. Did the solution drive better patient outcomes? Did it help reduce clinician burnout? Consider the top-line takeaway from each data point, but don’t ignore the human element.
Lastly, be mindful of data overload. Focus on the most relevant insights rather than overwhelming your audience with minutiae. The goal is to inform and persuade, not to confuse or bore your audience with excessive data or ponderous analysis.
Looking ahead, predictive analytics and AI will enable more sophisticated, forward-looking marketing strategies. These technologies will empower marketers to anticipate trends and customer needs, creating more proactive and effective campaigns.
Personalization will also play a larger role, with data driving increasingly tailored messaging for different audience segments. This will allow for more precise and effective communication, improving engagement and conversion rates.
Different Audiences Require Different Approaches
Remember that not all audiences interact with data in the same way. When presenting to journalists, focus on newsworthy trends and surprising insights that can form the basis of a story. Journalists are always on the lookout for fresh, interesting angles, and your data could provide just that.
For decision-makers, emphasize data that directly relates to ROI, efficiency gains, and improved patient outcomes. These stakeholders are often focused on bottom-line impacts, so your data should clearly demonstrate the value proposition of your product or service.
Regardless of your audience, strive to balance technical details with accessible insights. Ensure your data tells a clear story, regardless of the audience’s technical expertise. Use plain language to explain complex concepts, and always tie your data back to real-world implications and benefits.
By harnessing the power of data, healthcare technology marketers can create more compelling, credible, and impactful narratives. In an industry where decisions can literally be a matter of life and death, data-driven marketing isn’t just a strategy—it’s a responsibility. Embrace the power of data in marketing efforts and watch as your messages resonate more deeply with target audiences.
by Grant Evans | Oct 11, 2023 | Blog
Now that some of the initial hype and hysteria surrounding generative AI has ebbed, perhaps it’s time to take a clear-eyed look at what the technology really means to marketing (and specifically, the content creation community).
I was on a call with a client recently and, just like so many of these conversations with those in healthcare IT go these days, the conversation turned to AI. “No one is losing their job to ChatGPT,” he said. This made me think back to the flurry of coverage that stemmed from a Washington Post article published a few months ago telling about a young content writer who claimed she lost her job to ChatGPT.
In the following weeks, when the alarms were sounded predicting the demise of human-generated content, my BS meter’s needle pegged into the red.
If you hear “content” and think “long-form thought leadership” or “white paper” or “contributed byline article” or “executive presentation” then you’re not alone. But all too often, these forms of true content are lumped in with the mountains of text blurbs, Google ads, and meta descriptions that command much of the time of “copywriters.” This “stuff” isn’t really content; its main purpose is to spur search rankings. It’s marketing spam.
Whether it’s Perplexity.ai, ProWritingAid, QuillBot, WordTune, Claude.ai, Jounce, Copy.ai, or the good old instigator, ChatGPT, you can find a platform that will readily churn out passable short-form stuff. Some can even produce a serviceable low-level (read: throw-away) press release. That said, they all still require a degree of handholding and some level of prompt savvy to pull off it on the first or second try without a lot of editing.
But when it comes to the longer stuff –– the content that requires thoughtful, deliberate *human* writing –– these tools have a long way to go. Will they get there? Maybe. However, in our lifetime they will still require some form of human assistance.
Sure, you could lay off your internal writing resources, fire your agency, and disband your freelance corps, but to ensure that the new AI replacements are doing what they’re intended to do, you’ll probably need to hire an entire new crew of specialists to keep things above board.
First, you’ll need a stable of AI Prompt Ninjas –– folks who are conversant in all platforms’ prompt quirks and shortcuts. Solid generative AI prompts that result in semi-decent copy are sometimes as long as the end result itself. Think about that. Generative AI prompts are now a bona fide cottage industry.
Then you’ll need a few Veracity Verifiers to, well, verify the veracity of the end products. These AI platforms are notorious for their hallucinations, mistakes, and outright baloney. If you want a great example of how off-base the results can be, simply ask any platform to write an executive bio about you. The results are often hilarious.
And don’t forget a team of editors who can paraphrase the AI-generated copy to not only make it sound human (these things are devoid of creativity), but to blur out any potentially plagiarized passages from existing content that the AI models were trained on. And finally, while you’re filling out new-hire requisitions with HR, the in-house legal team will require the services of at least one specialist trained in the fine art of plagiarism defense.
While it may seem that generative AI has “arrived” and will usurp its human overlords in their vocations, the truth is that it remains a tool. In many applications, it’s an amazing tool. But it has a long way to go, and much to learn from us before it conquers the content universe.
by Grant Evans | Dec 22, 2022 | Blog
“The first draft is the best, and it’s all downhill from there.”
These snarky yet valid words came from a longtime friend, colleague, and mentor. They semi-jokingly referred to much of the writing we produced as the content marketing arm of a Fortune 500 healthcare IT provider. But it was most often muttered when talking about news releases.
Working in such a large, diverse organization, we never lacked fodder for any form of content, and news releases were among the most requested form of PR. As former trade journalists with decades of agency and in-house marketing experience, we’d both been the recipients and issuers of thousands of releases and had instincts––and opinions––about what made them good or bad.
Although we applied these principles with varying degrees of success, a few core tenets proved universal. So here are a few considerations.
Should This Be a Release?
Note that I say a news release, and not a press release. Whatever you are announcing should have news value, and its primary target should be the media––whether they report for trade, consumer, financial, or other outlets. But plenty of folks default to a news release when they should pursue other communications.
If the goal is lead generation, then a news release is not your best tool. If your target audience is prospects, customers, or potential partners, then communicate directly with them. Speak their language. Be persuasive. But don’t issue a news release. There are far better direct channels to use. Be creative and go direct.
Other times, a news release is a good choice, provides a solid proof point, but is not a news generator. Most partnership releases will not be covered, but you still need an asset to point to that documents the relationship, kind of like an old-school wedding announcement. Public companies have disclosure requirements and are obligated to issue such releases (among many others). Pending trade show participation or speaking engagements are other types that simply won’t get ink. But your partners, prospects, and customers may see them. Similarly, ‘point’ upgrades to existing solutions won’t garner reportage, but you’d be remiss in not announcing them.
Once you’ve settled on a news release as the vehicle, determine what level of distribution and muscle to put behind it. Should it be an asset posted to your website newsroom only? Issued on the wire? Issued on the wire with multimedia attachments and pitched directly to target media?
The Draft
When writing a release, avoid the formulaic approach employed by most companies. Leading with, “ACME Widgets, the acclaimed global leader in innovative platforms to end the scourge of hunger and promote world peace, today announced blah blah blah …” will immediately lose readers. Keep the company descriptor minimal and factual, because anyone who doesn’t know who you are can read the boilerplate at the end.
Avoid ‘inside baseball’ jargon. Succinctly describe what you are announcing, who it impacts, and what it means to them. No need to dumb it down to the point of ‘explaining it to your grandmother in Peoria.’ Just be mindful of the audience and their level of understanding. Provide context––frame up the problem that your solution addresses, and how you help solve it. Omit needless words.
Ask journalists about quotes in releases, and many will say they don’t read them because they’re typically superfluous, self-aggrandizing garbage. They needlessly inflate word counts and are rarely reprinted. But this doesn’t need to be the case. Ditch the back-slapping adjectives and “We’re proud/thrilled/honored to…” language and opt for editorial comments that add color and emphasize your value proposition. Statistics that underscore problem statements are gold. Be bold and declarative without bragging. And avoid multiple quotes when possible. Remember, you’re paying by the word.
Ride the Stallion, Not the Camel
It’s been said that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. Well, release reviews are not only a source of delays that can torpedo the timeliness of your news, but can morph a fine Arabian stallion into a flea-infested camel. Establishing ‘need-to-see’ approval chains for each release helps, as does defining each reviewer’s role. For example, marketing reviews for adherence to corporate messaging, the product lead makes sure that features are correct, the legal reviewer checks compliance, and so on. If you have 15 individuals reviewing a single release, rethink your approach.
Implement a linear, serial review process––one reviewer at a time, with edits and comments returned to the document owner and resolved before moving to the next reviewer. Start with the most basic review, such as product, then on through the food chain and finish with legal. This way, you avoid “forked” reviews with conflicting edits that are difficult to resolve and only prolong the process.
Distribution: How Much is a Cab Ride?
When it comes to distribution, you get what you pay for, and the many ‘free’ services will get you about as far as a free cab ride. You’re nearly always better off with a trusted leader like PR Newswire (Cision), which provides tailored distribution to target audiences and a host of add-on features and feeds to refine and extend your reach. But that’s a topic that can devour another post.
One glaring distribution mistake that occurs far too often is when a company painstakingly crafts a release, then spends untold agency and in-house hours on reviews and revisions, only to squabble and balk at paying an extra $600 on features that will exponentially increase engagement.
One time-tested way to boost engagement is to bundle at least two pieces of related content with each release. These can be photos, data sheets, case studies, videos, archived webinars, podcasts––you name it. It costs a few more bucks but is very effective. Video has been proven time and again to turbo-charge engagement. The bottom line is to not rely solely on the release to tell your story. Link to related reports, eBooks, white papers … even cartoons.
And if you’re still reluctant to spend on bundled content, a link to a related content repository is another way to add more to the story without attaching individual items.
The justification, development, and distribution of news releases is a topic we could discuss for days. But keeping a few of these considerations in mind can help ensure that your next news release hits the mark rather than the proverbial circular bin.
by Grant Evans | Aug 18, 2021 | Blog
So, you want to engage a PR agency to help get the word out about your solutions or services.
Sounds like a plan. Sounds easy.
But the process can be daunting, time-consuming, and expensive. And, most importantly, it may not help you achieve your goals.
If this sounds oddly pessimistic coming from someone in an agency, bear with me. I’m here to share some considerations, observations, and best practices gleaned from over three decades split between agency and corporate marketing gigs. Avoiding the mistakes of others can save you time and money, and result in a productive, positive working relationship with your agency.
Know what you want to accomplish.
Do you need straight-up media relations? Industry analyst engagement? Help with messaging and positioning? Social media strategy and support? Editorial and content development? Speaking opportunities? Is there the potential for crisis management? Will your executives require media training?
Having a grasp of your near- and longer-term objectives can help you narrow the field. Most agencies will claim to provide a full menu of such services, but the quality and scope of the offerings can vary wildly. Be skeptical and do your due diligence.
PR Agency? Full-Time Employee? Freelancer?
There are pros and cons to each of these approaches, and your organization’s budget, timeline, and internal processes will dictate the best approach.
Agencies can be expensive, depending on the retainer structure or the billable rates of your account team, but can actually be more cost-effective than the alternatives. They also bring a wealth of expansive and deep marketing expertise, along with a solid bench. They are often very good at helping determine what you need (see above), are responsive and reliable, and 100% dedicated to your agenda. Agencies also provide access to a host of services––from art/creative direction and design, to web development, digital marketing, and social media strategy and support.
Full-time employees are great because they are invested in your success and are in it for the long haul. But they often require substantial budget outlays, and can take months to identify, recruit, sign, and onboard. Once they are thoroughly steeped in your offerings, they can be outstanding brand ambassadors and stewards, and can also work on other marketing initiatives as needed. But once they leave, you’re back to square one.
Freelancers can be nimble hires––they often have excellent credentials, can start right away, and hit the ground running. But they typically operate with minimal resources, have no back-up, and must dedicate hours to other clients. They also can be brutally hard to integrate into existing systems (HR/accounting, project management, content management). They also are prone to terminating their arrangements abruptly (which can also work in your favor if you only need a limited engagement).
One size does not fit all.
Yes, big agencies have big resources, but don’t let claims of a national footprint, local presence, global reach, or head count sell you on an ill-matched relationship. Think expertise, applied experience in your market, and skillsets that dovetail with your agenda. Access to creative resources is a plus. Know how many hours are available to your account each week or month.
Who’s on the team?
This consideration also hinges on knowing what you want to accomplish. If you’re looking for a clip shop to get you mentioned in every low-value round-up article, then seniority matters little. But if you’ll need responsive counsel with expertise in and contacts spanning your market, look for senior-level account team members. Ask the tough questions: What’s the average tenure of your account team? Where have they worked? What companies have they represented? What results have they generated? How many former journalists are on staff? How many accounts do they manage at once?
Mind the old switch-a-roo.
Let’s assume you’re down to a few final candidates and are evaluating pitches. For these meetings, most agencies will send out the big guns––often including the person with his/her name on the door. But will you ever see or hear from these folks again? Many times, agencies get a bad rap by orchestrating a senior executive dog-and-pony show, only to later hand the account over to junior staffers (or even interns) who, while eager, often require more direction and a longer ramp-up period. Get firm commitments on your team’s composition, and don’t hesitate to challenge if you aren’t sold on the match. You want them to operate as an extension of your team.
Beware of scope creep.
Will the agencies you are considering be able to accommodate your needs as your marketing strategy evolves? If your program may eventually require social media support, make sure the agency of record has the capabilities––and not just an intern with a huge stable of Instagram followers, but applied expertise in cultivating an online presence with a custom mix of organic and paid content. Ditto for the media training and crisis communications mentioned earlier. Otherwise, you’ll be saddled with the chore of evaluating and enlisting additional vendors.
In the end, it’s entirely up to you, and highly dependent on your organization’s budget, processes, and requirements. And remember, the old adage, “Fast, cheap, or good? You can only pick two” applies here as well. If you want something fast and good, it won’t be cheap; if you want it cheap and good, it won’t be fast; and if you want cheap and fast, it won’t be good. Choose wisely.
