A popular one – because from a technical perspective it requires only one camera and microphone – is just the A in Q&A.  I think you’ve seen them, a simple slate asking a question and the surgeon answering the question on the slate.  It seems simple enough, but all too often there is a desire to make them perfect, to have multiple takes, multiple phrasing, and in the end the outcome is something that feels rehearsed, that feels too perfect, and it’s just not as impactful as it could be.  Answers that sound rehearsed are just not as believable.

The format seems simple enough, but the market is full of charismatic speakers that come across as wooden automatons and not the warm, inviting, accessible people that you know they are.  So what should you do?

First: Stop directing!  Have a conversation, if you don’t think you’re getting the answer you need, ask a follow-up question.  Remember, you’re not looking for answers to questions, you’re looking to use answers to questions as a means to educate and make your team more accessible.

Here’s the other side of it, you need to understand who you’re interviewing.  You may be taking a doctor out of their comfort zone – some of the most confident people in the world, who are used to having to be right all the time – and you tell them, in essence, “wrong, do it again”.  You are not going to get a great result if every question requires 4 or 5 takes.

Here are some tips:

• Be prepared. Not just with questions, but with an understanding of what you are what you are looking to accomplish, this will inform your conversation.
• “Natural” environments work. An office, a lobby, even a courtyard, will help your interview subject relax and will be more inviting for your target audience
• Don’t direct. Just have a conversation and let them speak, everything can be addressed in editing
• Ums and Ahs are ok. They don’t make the interview subject look stupid; they make them look human – and accessible.
• Listen. Don’t be surprised if you find out there are more questions answered than you asked, and they may work better than your original list.

If you take this approach, you’ll find you have more a more relaxed on camera presence, and one that is ultimately more inviting and effective.

It comes back to understanding what you’re trying to accomplish with your efforts.  If your mission is to educate your audience about the capabilities of your service line or product offering, are impressions the right measure?  A TV spot for your new heart center might make people aware that it exists, but will they learn the information you need them to know, when they need it, and enough to influence the dialog with their primary care physician.  More importantly will the ad provide any influence on the primary care physician’s perspective?

TV, radio, environmental, print – they offer the allure of large numbers, hundreds of thousands of impressions.  Impressions – people have seen your message, your brand, but does it matter?  Maybe 30 years ago, but today consumers are being influenced differently, they communicate differently, and you need to too.

Crossing communication channels can be challenging, but when you incorporate a unique URL into these channels, and you see consumers use the URL – you have a win.  We’ve seen it happen – we even have a case study about it – It’s easy to point to success.  You’ve offered the target audience an action that they can pursue on their own, and you those that take the action are the ones you are looking to influence most.

When you add a unique URL to a television spot, or to a billboard, or to a radio spot, and you see absolutely no cross over, the debate begins – as it did for one of our clients.  Four weeks’ worth of radio spots, more than 300K impressions, and not a single hit to the URL.   Awareness matters – there is no doubt about it – but do you believe that just knowing your service is available is enough?  If not a single person accesses the unique URL, is it an indication of a flawed message, that the channel isn’t effective, or evidence that you can’t get a consumer to cross channels easily?  The reality is a little of all three, but the data is telling you something – what you did didn’t work – at least now you know so you can now focus on what to change.  Or do you just shrug your shoulders and keep doing what you’ve been doing?

We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Know your audience, you need to give them the relevant content they expect without challenging them to unlock a puzzle – you need to make it worth their while to start the conversation with you.  I’m not talking about comments to a post (though we love them), or getting your audience to share your content with others (and we love that too!), what I’m talking about is enabling the first steps in a relationship.  That’s an important distinction, because relationships are about trust and sharing.  Does your audience trust the information you’re providing to be accurate, relevant, and frankly worth their time?  If they don’t, don’t worry about engagement, it can’t happen without the trust.

Assuming you have the trust – are you sharing?  Asking for comments isn’t sharing – it can be if you write back, or offer a solution, but you have to go beyond asking them to help you and provide them with something of value.  Sometimes it’s a simple invitation to connect based on the content you’re sharing, or it could be an opportunity to download some supporting content.  Some examples would include:

• Offering up supporting materials for the information you’re sharing – here’s a great video, download the presentation here…
• Provide a chance to learn more – click here to be notified of updates to this information…
• Request their input – click here to help choose the next topic…
• Keep it coming – comeback next week…

It seems simple enough – but it is often overlooked – just letting your audience know that you want to connect with them will often lead to the first step in a relationship.  Take a look at the link embedded in the image above.  It will take you to a knee replacement program, where anyone who finds the information useful can easily find out how to learn more or be a part of future programs on the topic.  So the next time you’re asking yourself what  you can do to get more engagement from your website, put yourself in your audience’s perspective and see how easy it is to connect with you – the answer may surprise.

Being that we are a provider of online video education channels, the idea that we would use audio to extend our educational reach was met with some odd looks.  We already syndicate our content across multiple channels like YouTub and Facebook, but it’s all video, audio doesn’t seem an immediate fit.

However if you think about it, our audience isn’t always online, may not always have the time to focus on a video, and may be looking for podcast to listen to about the topics and content we provide.

It’s not a question of why would we, it’s one of why shouldn’t we.  It’s a little work, like any other channel we need to commit to frequent, relevant updates, but it exposes our content to another channel and another group of users that may choose to become part of our community.  It helped that we had feedback from our current members and clients that they would find this information valuable, so we chose to be where they are – we hope you do too.

Check out our new podcast, VOX ORLive on iTunes, or follow the link on the logo, and let us know what you think!

If you have a role with a hospital providing educational services to your community, or a device manufacturer providing surgeons with ongoing training, you are putting together seminars and workshops.  Some may even be very popular, with as many as 100 attendees.

These are no small efforts.  Even for local seminars, they need to be promoted, facilities coordinated, speakers recruited (and sometimes paid honorariums), and even then you’ve likely had events that don’t meet your attendance targets.  By placing cameras in the room, you can capture that event, and create an enduring asset that can be repurposed on-line, on DVD, or even as a video podcast.

Recording the event is very straight forward and can be done with multiple levels of production value, allowing you to give it a try for relatively little expense to prove to yourself that this works before calling in the big guns.  Once you have the video, our experience is that you’ll have success quickly and begin to identify other uses for this new asset.  Just don’t forget to press the record button.

Next time we’ll talk about how hospitals are using these simple recordings to create rich interactive experiences that help build the relationships with consumers prior to their becoming patients.

Every month, Methodist conducts a tumor review board that they would tape and eventually share on their website.  Working with ORLive, they even broadcast some of the review boards live.  Over several months a pattern developed – 90 minute live (7AM CST) broadcasts weren’t drawing crowds, but on-demand versions were getting great traffic – and repeat traffic.  Despite disappointing live numbers, we knew the content was valuable to the audience.

So they took a different approach.  Instead of driving interest for periodic live broadcasts covering several topics, they capture all review boards and edit them into shorter single case segments.  Every week a new case is made available, discussion forums for the cases can be accessed by registered physicians, and cases can be submitted on-line for review.

The results?  In the first year of this new approach Methodist has seen more than 65,000 visitors to the VBTB and over 2,000 weekly subscribers.  They’ve received cases for review from their regional physicians, as far away as Japan, and even from the US Army to assist on a case involving a young woman from Iraq.  The Neuroscience Institute was even invited to speak at the 2009 international Livestrong conference in Ireland.

Methodist set out to establish a regional resource and established an international brand.

So how about you?  Do you record grand rounds, CME seminars, or your own review boards?  Maybe you already have video tours of your hospital and staff.

You don’t need heavy productions to get started with an online video strategy, you just need content that is viewed as quality and relevant by your target audience – and the chances are you already have it.

Don’t forget to press the record button.

Since our first live surgery broadcast in January 2000, we have been in a constant state of change – adapting to changes in technology and audience needs.  When we launched EngagedMed last year, we did it in response to an emerging need that we saw in the market – the rise of the engaged consumer/patient.  We saw changes in how consumers were using the internet to gather information, and how they were pursuing, and consuming, medical data, information, and knowledge – and we saw that many of our clients were aware of the change, but not sure how to react.

So we created EngagedMed to share what we saw – and we thought it would be a great side project, something to give us a release while we generated interest for a content focused engagement strategy among our clients.  What we didn’t expect was the emphatic response from our clients – rising to the challenge to engage their patients and consumers through social media and content marketing, and we turned our attention to help them.

That left us with a decision – do we turn out the lights on EngagedMed, or do we take it in a new direction.  The choice was easy – we keep the focus of EngagedMed on how our clients are engaging their target audiences, but the stories we tell will be largely about (and if we can convince them to contribute, from) our clients and their results.

We’re looking forward to having some fun seeing where this goes and we hope that you will find what we share relevant enough to come with us.

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.

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?