Health-related research is among the top three online activities worldwide. In the United States alone, more than 100 million Americans per year will visit health-related sites such as WebMD, Familydoctor.org, Healthfinder.gov, and CNN Health, among thousands of others. Within the massive ecosystem of health-related content websites, community-based sites are critical sources of trusted information for patients and caregivers. They offer a single spot for multiple stakeholders — including marketers — to interact with and contribute content to the community. And that’s where marketers need to get smart.
To understand the issue, let’s look at one of the top disorder-focused communities. Diabetes-related content sites are among the most active online health hubs because of the staggering number of people diagnosed with the disease: more than 370 million worldwide. For big pharmaceutical companies, these sites represent a tremendous opportunity, as well as potential risk. Patients are the most wary consumers, and health care companies must build a content strategy that ensures online engagement is absolutely credible and trustworthy.
Roche Diagnostics, maker of Accu-Chek insulin pumps and blood glucose testing devices, is extremely conscious of its position and responsibility in the diabetes community — both due to the sensitivity of working in a highly regulated industry as well as the desire to position its brand as a valued resource. Jim Lefevere, Director of Global Marketing, explains, “We must not be self-serving, but be here to provide better information, education, and value to people so that they can take better care of themselves and live better, healthier, and longer lives.”
Offering trusted content is also essential to prevent a backlash. The diabetes community — like most other socially driven online communities — is protective when it comes to inappropriate content. A contributor or vendor stating unlikely claims or being in any way promotional will be shut out of the conversation and lose respect with associated negative sentiment/reputation scores. Marketers need to be especially conscious of their role within the ecosystem, and look to influence, inspire, and educate audiences where the value is appropriate — and steer clear where their opinion isn’t warranted.
So how should marketers approach a content strategy for an online health care community and ensure that content is credible, relevant, and supportive of the organization’s objectives? Here are a couple ideas:
The customer journey of trust
Online engagement is usually modeled in relation to the customers’ journey. When creating this life cycle journey, consider your “degrees of trust” for content categories at each stage.
For example, a diabetes care provider may consider the customer life cycle to be:
Symptom
Diagnosis
Treatment
Use
Renewal
Now think about how these life cycle stages affect each of your target audience segments, and consider the classifications of content that each of these roles would find most beneficial at each step.
Now consider which content categories would be regarded as credible when submitted by your organization. (Examples of these are shaded in orange in the graphic above). A provider of diabetes insulin pumps, for example, can credibly supply usage instructions and renewal offers to sufferers and caregivers, and supply early-stage research (ideally independent) to all audience roles. This is somewhat simplified, but it starts to define trust categories of content that could be sourced directly from providers.
A layered content strategy
Many health care organizations are adept at creating, optimizing, and disseminating personalized content to specific targets. Yet, social media has changed the landscape in so many ways, and in health care, in particular, it elevates the role bloggers and other online influencers play in the information value chain.
A patient is highly influenced by these independent players when weighing treatment options and purchase decisions. While it is not entirely credible for a health care provider to provide, for example, a product comparison, a layered content strategy can enable a third party to supply information indirectly on your behalf.
Be very conscious about how to approach and engage with third parties, however. Bloggers are obliged, sometimes required, to be transparent about their associations with health care companies. (Advertisers be aware — in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission published new guidelines in March 2013 requiring clearer disclosures in digital advertising.)
Using a matrix similar to the one shown above, identify the high-value, redistributable information you can supply to bloggers and influencers. Providing industry research, market tests, treatment tips (e.g., diabetes recipes) or VIP access to in-house product experts are ways to earn the respect of influencers. Don’t forget to layer your content depending on the number of levels of direct and indirect distributors.
Bottom line: Always be cognizant of your organization’s overriding role and ability to maintain trust. This principle is never more applicable than in health care.
If you want to learn more about content marketing in the healthcare industry, join us for the Content Marketing World Health Summit on September 12 in Cleveland, Ohio.
This article originally appeared in the May 2012 issue of Chief Content Officer. Sign up to receive your free subscription to our quarterly magazine.
Cover image via Bigstock
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