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MAXIMIZING YOUR MARKETING ON A BUDGET
Increasing community outreach and marketing hospital services is a great way to reaffirm your commitment to the community, build your brand, and showcase the services your hospital provides. These tips will help maximize your reach regardless of your budget.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS
- Post daily:
- Awards and recognitions, health screenings and hospital services
- Cafeteria menu
- Feature new hospital staff and Fire/EMS that will be seen out in the community
- Health awareness initiatives (i.e., American Heart Month). 2019 Health Awareness Calendar: https://www.healthline.com/health/directory-awareness-months#1
- Shorter posts are better than longer ones
- Upcoming events: Make 5-6 posts in the weeks leading up to the event. Each post should be somewhat different.
- Post single photos as opposed to albums.
- Feature a series like “A Day in the Life” where provides can share a few pictures throughout their day, share a few personal highlights (favorite holiday/pet/why they love the community/etc.) This series could highlight new providers as an introduction to the community as well as current providers.
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MASS EMAILING
Using mass emails to help promote your services can be done to:
- Capture stories/experiences of patients in your hospital
- Develop a community engagement campaign
- Keep the community up-to-date with hospital
Email Services such as MailChimp (a free service) and Constant Contact provide useful services to measure how engagement is impacting your community.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
NEWSLETTERS
Try to send a newsletter out as often as your organization has resources to support (monthly/quarterly) and expand the audience beyond patients or former patients, send out to community members who are interested (have a sign up link readily available). Also consider inserting a newsletter with any bills that are mailed out as a way to keep the community up to date with exciting new events at the hospital.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]
REACHING OLDER GENERATIONS NOT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
- In-person contact is a great way to reach this demographic. Look for:
- Community events (breakfasts/churches/etc.) to attend.
- Community spaces (gardens/libraries) to host events/visit and hand out flyers.
- Using print media is generally better for older generations as it provides something tangible.
- Utilize your local entertainment radio and television. Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are free, typically 10-15 second ads that will get your message out.
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