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.

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.

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.

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.

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.