by Will Wells | Jun 27, 2018 | Integrated Marketing, Social Media
You know the importance of having a social media presence. Staying relevant and continuing to show how your organization interacts in its community plays a large role in this digital era. Social media marketing for healthcare and hospital brands is at an all-time high, almost every system has a presence. But once you build your audience, what do you do with it? There are many opportunities, and one way to utilize it is for healthcare market research. Leaning on your owned audience for their opinions is just one way to benefit from engaging your followers. Conducting Healthcare Market Research Whether you want consumer opinions though an online survey, or you want to recruit them for a focus group, once you have built up an owned audience, you can reach to them for information on many topics related to your healthcare brand. Online surveys are a cost-effective way to get information from those involved with your brand. Your social network is already familiar with you and your brand; therefore, they are more knowledgeable on what your brand offers and more willing to provide insight. Whether your hospital or healthcare brand is looking to capture market research or measure customer satisfaction, you can start with the followers on each of your social media channels. Once you develop a good list of questions, you can create a visually engaging social media post that will help ensure your post gets clicked on and drives consumers to your questionnaire. Springboard has been using these tactics and finding a high click-thru rate. In addition, we also see a high completion rate from our followers vs. non-followers. In addition, focus group recruiting can also be handled in this new age, innovative fashion. If your brand is seeking to measure satisfaction or conduct healthcare market research, look to utilize your social media audience first. Developing the right questions and the most compelling creative visual is a solid way to recruit participants in your market research study at a fraction of the cost. Contact Us Learn more about how to conduct healthcare market research on your social... 
by Will Wells | Dec 14, 2017 | Branding & Identity, Springboard News
Direct mail in healthcare advertising as a tactic has undoubtedly declined in volume over the past decade. One of the contributing factors, of course, has been the rise and surge of digital and social media platforms. Both allow healthcare brands to effectively and efficiently deliver their message to consumers where they are; on line, on their phones, and always on demand. As a result, marketers are increasingly putting more of their budget into these new channels to the tune of over $70 Billion, nearly tripling its spend in the last eight years. In the mix, you’ll still find big traditional media such as television, radio, and (magazine) print. These media are proven brand support and many of the elements can be shared with other platforms whether on line videos, banner ads, Pandora radio, etc. – so, all in all a very cost effective balance of new and old. Under the radar, one very traditional promotional tactic is making a bit of a comeback. Slowly and surely, direct mail via snail mail is on the move again. Especially in healthcare marketing. Why the resurgence of direct mail in healthcare? There are several reasons: There is still a group of readers out there who like to touch and open. Focus groups in many markets support that direct mail is still a preferred medium to reach people with healthcare messages. They like the detail, the information, and if it includes some sort of keepsake, such as a magnet or card, even better. Even though seniors are becoming Facebook fanatics, they do like the added information that direct mail affords. New technology actually has facilitated the growth of direct mail. No longer stagnant, flat pieces, new direct mail offers embedded videos, sound, even smells into the packaging. Direct mail is a key component of multi-channel marketing. Diversifying your marketing channels greatly increases your chances of engagement. Studies show response rate is 26% higher if you follow a digital display ad with a direct mail follow up! Data suggests direct mail is easier to decipher, requiring 21% less cognitive effort to process and elicits a much higher brand recall. Direct mail is more personal. You can fit more of a message on a direct mail piece than you can on a 250×250 digital banner ad. There is typically lower competition for attention in a real mailbox versus an email inbox. Just like in all communications, the creative messaging has to stand out and be different. When using direct mail in healthcare marketing, it has to say “open me” to the consumer. Printers are more able to use interesting shapes, sizes, and formations to entice consumers. It persuades them to open, read, and retain your direct mail piece. Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy Springboard Brand & Creative Strategy specializes in multi-channel marketing campaigns for health systems, hospitals and health-related associations. If you’re looking for digital and direct strategies to elevate your brand or looking to create a direct mail in healthcare, be sure to contact us for more information... 
