Do you have what it takes to rule the online Hospital arena?

Look, it’s no secret that hospitals have been around for quite a while. Many of you might have been born in hospitals. Even though they have stood the test of time — for good reason — this modern era has presented a bit of a problem for these health institutions. In 2016, hospitals are still relying primarily on traditional media to get the word out to the masses. While billboards and TV ads were all you needed in the past, times have changed. Social media is the new hotness of marketing strategy. As of 2015, 70 percent of Americans are connected to the social media landscape, so they can’t be ignored.

Hospitals Are Forced Into Battle

Hospitals are forced to compete against each other in a marketing arms race where old media tools just aren’t up to snuff. The market wasn’t competitive until relatively recently, so when the switch happened some hospitals were left behind. Close to 80 percent of patients research hospitals online before checking in. Meanwhile, hospitals are only using a quarter of their budget for digital marketing.

So what are we saying exactly? Well, you need to shift your marketing focus to the digital side of things. This isn’t so surprising, since that seems to be the trend as of late. However, the Internet can be overwhelming for newcomers. Even for veterans, the landscape of Internet uses and knowledge is constantly shifting.

You Need Backup!

Deciding to tackle this internally can result in a lot of expenditure on the wrong outlets. Who needs to spend billions of dollars on a Live Journal campaign? Everyone really, but you don’t have that money. Instead, let’s say you do have the grip to hire someone who knows their way around inbound marketing. Keep in mind, they’re just one person, and if you wanted to make a good hire, they’d probably need to have a lot of experience under their belt. Knock the billions off of that Live Journal cost to the $100,000 a year needed to pay that person — not counting benefits, nor the money actually needed for digital media buys — and you have a starting point for your latest budget addition.

Still, that’s a lot of money for just one person. There has to be a better way to get a better bang out of your marketing buck. That’s when you see it running across the horizon. Rising from that small hill that somehow obscures everything behind it. A marketing firm. Starting from $2,500 a month, you can hire an entire team dedicated to helping your hospital reach as many people as possible.

There are many aspects of marketing that require many eyes, brains and hands to do many things. To put that on one person would be cruel and inefficient. With a marketing firm, you’ll be able to establish your social media presence while maintaining the more traditional media campaigns that have served you so well in the past. And marketing firms know what they are doing. A relevant marketing firm should have firm roots in the digital and inbound marketing strategies that you need.

And You Need Allies

Another important tool needed for marketing is other people, or rather: connections. Marketing firms are in constant connection with companies and industries. Their metaphorical rolodex put together over years of doing business can be indispensable in getting the word out. A single person hired as an internal marketing manager may not have the contacts necessary to propel your hospital beyond its competition in the ways that a firm can.

However, maybe you did find an absolutely rockin’ inbound marketing professional to work for you. That professional sweet-talker is still going to need a team — unless your hospital services a small village in the Fåknamé Mountains. Hiring a marketing firm in addition to that market master of yours could be a winning strategy. This would allow you to more easily communicate with the firm while giving your professional an unofficial team to work with. It’d also be cheaper than building an internal marketing team.

The marketing battle hospitals are currently going through can be exasperating to navigate. But all you need to do is find people who know the battleground well enough. That way, you end up with the perk of giving orders from your protected vantage point, while they gladly rush out into battle for you.

Looking for an agency to go to battle for you? Contact us for a quote. We’ll work with you to devise the best strategy to get your hospital connects.