I’m talking about press releases and promotional summaries.  The really dry… really boring… really inconsequential kind.  The kind that say our stuff is great, we’re certified, we all went to college, you know, the kind that makes you wish you never clicked on the link.  They seem to be highly prevalent in healthcare, may be because there’s so much to be proud of, so much to say, the desire to not appear to debase the institution with a perceived low-brow huckster approach, or maybe it’s regulatory.

No matter the reason, the end result is the same.  Ineffective content that comes nowhere near representing the message you’re trying to convey.

Hey everyone does it.  It’s not a new topic – and if you browse through the upcoming events line up on ORLive, you’ll see that we aren’t always winning in our attempts to convince our clients about this.  We hear a lot reasons why:

• We’re marketing to the clinical audience; they need to know we’re serious.
• We only want “serious” viewers.
• We don’t want to appear like we’re trying to market
• Surgeons don’t respond to marketing messages (my favorite – and oh by the way, they do, just ask a surgeon about their buying decisions)

It’s not easy to write good summaries or releases, but it’s not as hard as it seems.  It also doesn’t require taking on the late, great Billy Mays approach – but it does take shifting your perspective from trying to share information to trying to start a conversation.  Think about it.  You wouldn’t start a conversation about your favorite recipe with someone by describing the measurements and prep work – you start by telling them why they should care.  How great it tastes, the experience – you establish the need to continue the dialog.

Same is true for health care – even if you’re attempting to share information about a new surgical option available – avoid falling into a “dragnet” approach – “just the facts”.  The problem with just facts is that no one cares – not from you.  They just don’t.  They can get the facts anywhere – there are a million sources – maybe even a googol.  If you want to have a relationship don’t barrage them with statistics, clinical references, and expected information – instead tell them why they should care, why they should explore more deeply, and what you have to offer.

In the coming posts we’ll try and scour the web for some great (or not) examples of “dragnet” releases and how a different perspective may have helped make them better.

Remember, you’re starting a conversation – chances are your brand has already established how solid your reputation is – don’t waste the opportunity to engage by telling them about you.

Make it about them.