From Tweets and blogs to newspapers and websites, more channels for communication mean more room for error in healthcare marketing. In a time where audiences – and editors – are bombarded with messages 24/7, how do you make your company’s news stand out? To better understand the do’s and don’ts of corporate communication, we turned to Rosemary Plorin, president of Nashville-based Lovell Communications.
“The most common communication mistakes apply in all relationships, whether business-related or talking to your grandmother or kids,” said Plorin, who leads Lovell’s healthcare division. “If you want to convince someone they need to think about something, the same principles apply to all audiences, including journalists.”
Communication 101
Start by asking:
Who do I want to talk to?
What do I want to say, or what behavior do I want to bring about?
How do I reach them? (This includes geography and communication channel as well as words and content.)
“Talking to news media is a conduit to an end audience,” Plorin said. “Oftentimes companies think announcements need to be in the form of a press release and shoot every one to all media, but that’s not how it works. In general, reporters are looking for news that’s significant, out of the ordinary, and timely.”
Know Your Audience
A common marketing mistake is sending news that’s too internal or industry-specific to a very broad media audience. Plorin stressed that distributed news should be relevant both geographically and to the industry.
A new patent, for example, could be extremely important to an industry trade publication but might not be consumer news. On the other hand, a human-interest story could provide multiple opportunities on the consumer side.
“You have to be opportunistic and smart about how to identify human interest stories,” Plorin said. Triplets being born at your hospital may not be news, but it’s a great human-interest opportunity for hospitals or physician practices.
Creating Newsworthy Stories
Relocating offices? While the move itself might not be newsworthy, packaging the announcement with company growth and expansion is more likely to grab an editor’s attention. In this scenario, the announcement might be less about a change in address and more about the addition of physicians, or the innovative procedures now available in a new surgery center.
And don’t avoid numbers. While many companies go mum at requests for revenues, smart communicators show progress as percentages of financial or physical growth. Has the company experienced consistent annual growth, or recently expanded into new states? “You can demonstrate growth without saying, ‘Here’s what happened revenue-wise,’” Plorin said. “It’s not just top or bottom line growth. There’s a lot of opportunity for telling that type of story.”
Building Relationships
Sharing news with media is about maintaining a relationship with them, in good times or bad. “If you approach a reporter with a half-baked idea and never had a relationship with them or haven’t returned their calls, that idea won’t get anywhere,” Plorin said. “However, if you’ve been responsive to the reporter in the past and shared good information, you’re much more likely to get a warmer reception and have a productive conversation.”
The same applies in crisis situations. Conflict will always make the news, and if you haven’t maintained a relationship with key reporters, it’s unrealistic to expect any favors on their end.
Timing is Everything
In an age where news is reported by the second (and often misreported through the mixed blessing of social media), understanding timing of communication is much more complex than it used to be. Today, that extends beyond not waiting till 5 o’clock on a Friday to email a press release.
Case in point: A hospital decides to close a unit, which ultimately means lost jobs. Here’s the challenge: Since hospitals are 24/7 businesses, employees are never all onsite at the same time. Administrators must be thoughtful as to how to stage announcements and understand that what’s said to the first group will be on the Internet within minutes. And bad news travels fast.
“You used to be able to make an 8 a.m. staff announcement and share it with the news media later that day,” Plorin said. “Today, you’ll announce it to staff at 8 a.m. and receive a media inquiry by 9 a.m.”
Plorin, who specializes in crisis communications, urges clients to be very tight and prepared when making major announcements. Arm staff and physicians with information ahead of time to prepare them to answer questions at work and in the community. If handled correctly, employees can become a company’s greatest advocates during a crisis.
“I think a lot of organizations that haven’t gone through a major news event don’t really understand how quickly word travels,” she said. “It’s tough, especially as healthcare delivery becomes more geographically spread with integrated systems. It’s rare to have everyone under one room at one time.”
Healthcare: Like no Other
Plorin said hospital administrators often don’t comprehend how very different their environment is than other industries, and those differences are often magnified during a crisis.
“Hospitals are such unique work environments because they’re 24/7, so spread out, and such large employers,” Plorin said. “You’re also dealing with dangerous drugs and life-and-death situations. It’s a very rare nature of work and very challenging.”
Her advice? Don’t be afraid to ask for outside help, especially during extraordinary events. Plorin and Nashville’s other healthcare communication specialists routinely deal with drug diversions, HIPAA breaches, hospital acquisitions and other unusual events. “Whether it’s good or bad news, a rare kind of event is worth seeking outside professional help, as you would for legal counsel or medical malpractice,” Plorin said.
