A huge part of context is having a place to put the content.  Something that we’ve been working on here at ORLive is the idea of a Branded Communication Channel.  Think about it, you’re familiar with Branded Entertainment Channels – you don’t go to the Discovery Channel looking for a situation comedy or a hockey game.  Branded channels work two ways – you know who’s on the other end that is seeking a specific type of content, and those seeking content on a branded channel have very specific expectations of the content when they get there.

Consumers of health care – Informed Care Seekers – have an array of information never before seen in history.  According to Comscore, in 2008 health information sites grew four times faster than the internet and were up over 20% from the previous year.  This means that more than ever providers of health care products and services must find ways to rise above the noise.  This is a touchy subject, people get real uncomfortable with the idea of marketing healthcare – after all that’s what the term “snake-oil salesmen” was all about.  In a recent NY Times article on hospital marketing, bioethicist Jeffrey Kahn asked “do we really want to treat health care like other consumer goods?”  That’s a great question – but I think it’s already been overtaken by the vast sea of information out there. 

For me, the question is, “in all this growing noise, how consumers get the right information?”

Every hospital should be working to establish on on-line presence.  This doesn’t mean a facelift to your website, or banner ads with a “stud-doc pose” in front of a da Vinci Robot – it means taking all the great knowledge you have about your market and developing content that is meaningful and relevant to them – then putting out where they can find it in the context they expect it to be in.

Identify who it is you need to communicate with.  Understand what content will resonate, and then identify the best way to reach them.  Don’t be locked into your site.  Contribute to blogs, build an interactive component to your site, start a podcast, and leverage communication channels that already have an established audience that meets your needs.  The goal is to get your content seen and create brand advocates – it doesn’t have to happen on your site.

It’s not a question of should hospitals do this.  The reality is that if they do not, they become irrelevant and commoditized.  Step up and extend your brand.  It won’t happen overnight, but it won’t happen if you don’t engage.