Last Thursday I got to attend the opening gala for the International Brain Mapping and Interoperative Surgical Planning Society’s 2009 World Congress.  There I saw the presentation of their Beacon Award for those who have shown courage in their efforts to raise awareness of neurological disorders on behalf of patients and families.  One of this year’s recipients, Colin Rich, spoke to the group – and totally blew us away.

In 2002 he did what he had done for more than 20 years.  He cinched up his boots, strapped on his helmet, grabbed his weapon and headed into harm’s way in Afghanistan, where he was wounded – not for the first time, but this time it changed his life.  The head trauma that he received eventually took his sight, and as the world closed in on him, he also discovered he now had a form of epilepsy.

You would expect his acceptance to be a thank you to those that have advanced the science and practice of neurology, and to remind us that there is more work to be done. 

And he did – but not directly.

Instead he chose to remind us that this award doesn’t belong to him or to others like him, that it must be shared with those that are too often forgotten in the process.  In his case, it was his wife Nancy.  The one who helped him through his struggle to regain much of what he had lost, the one who never gave up even when he wanted to, and the one who gave him the reason to have the courage to push beyond the limits his injury had imposed. 

It shouldn’t have surprised us that a guy who spent his life serving others, would remind us that the award is not about him, but those that surround him. 

It shouldn’t surprise us, but it does because it’s so unfortunately true – we forget those that stand behind the wheelchair, across the gurney, who sit in waiting room, or in that uncomfortable extra chair in the corner of the exam room, are part of the patient experience.  They may not feel the pain, but the share it, and the best examples of emerging systems account for them.

So bringing it back to the purpose of this blog; remember what Colin Rich tells us – there is more to the patient experience than the individual.  We need to remember that as we develop the next generation of communication tools and experiences. 

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="284" caption="The Ptolemaic Web"][/caption]

Back in the second century Ptolemy, published authoritative works that put the earth in the center of the universe, with everything else revolving around earth in perfect concentric circles.  Applying the perspective that your site is at the center of the web, you get a Ptolemaic Web similar to the one illustrated here.  In a Ptolemaic view of the web, the focus is on your site and doing whatever it takes to get the traffic there.  Micro sites get developed to focus on special events or topics, a premium is placed on understanding what your competition’s site is presenting and making sure your site is leading in capability and “cool” factor, and you’re always looking for ways to get industry press or news sites to link back to your website.

The weakness in the Ptolemaic Web, is it’s distance from the user.  Yes you’ve built great interactivity into your site – evaluation programs, self assessments, maybe even a PHR interface, and once you have the user registered, you are pretty sure you’ve got them.  But here’s the challenge – how do users find your content?  SEO?  SEM?  Should I post on Facebook, tweet on twitter?  Drop a video on YouTube, Vimeo?

As it turns out, on the 4ooth anniversary of his telescope, Galileo may have the answer.  He confirmed the earth wasn’t the center of the universe.

That’s right – the earth isn’t at the center, and the order of things isn’t so neat that everything is orbiting in perfect circles – things that are close one day may be far away on another.  So how does this apply to content marketing and social media?

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Galilean Web"][/caption]

Your site, is not at the the center.

Content marketing success is a measure of the value of the content (and by extension your brand), the goal is to make your site a destination, not drive click-throughs.

I know it’s subtle, but a visual of the Galilean Web may help.  In the Galilean Web, each user represents a separate and unique “web solar system”, with their launch point being at the center.  Users may have multiple “web solar systems” for each activity on the web – like searching for related health information.  In the example here, search is at the center, with other relevant destinations like blogs, Facebook, YouTube, and networking sites serving as resources.  Social media and communication tools are on a separate orbit, identifying other potential destinations.

Where’s your site?  It’s that dot in the corner.  You’re not in their system – they’re searching for information and content and your site isn’t showing up because there is competing content in multiple locations on the web, and these aggregation sites are more relevant to users and search engines.

So how do you get into this user’s web solar system?

Content.

Place your content where you know your users are.  Not just in one place – get it out there!

Context.

Make it relevant, assure its quality, and update it frequently, and they will reward you by becoming frequent consumers of your content – shifting their social media orbit to be closer to your site.  Over time, they may even make your site a destination in their solar system.  Shift your focus from counting click-throughs to observing how the content is consumed.   Adjust what you’re publishing based on the feedback you’re getting.  You are going to benefit by being seen as a valuable contributor to their information needs.

It’s important to note, they may never visit your site – but it doesn’t matter if they’ve become your brand advocate and choose to get their healthcare services from you because of your content.

At the end of the day, isn’t that your objective?