Content Is King In Healthcare

Good storytelling in healthcare puts the heal back in health and builds the emotional connection with the patient and provider.

In recent years marketing has largely re-invented itself becoming a whole of organisation issue rather than a compartmentalised department. In essence with consumers becoming more connected and savvy there has been a need to move away from 'push' selling and return to the basics of human connection - through what we all do best, storytelling.

One organisation who is doing it well and understands the power of valuable content creation is the Cleveland Clinic, a 90-year-old nonprofit that runs nine community hospitals and 15 family health centres in the United States of America. Listed among the best hospital groups in the US, the clinic has posted over 30,000 pages of content and 1,500 videos on its websites. It maintains not only its main Web presences and social media sites, but more than 100 search engine marketing campaigns with distinct landing pages. There readers find information on diseases or conditions written by Cleveland Clinic physicians. Some include video and a downloadable guide; all allow consumers to make an appointment. The website also includes a “find a doctor” tool that enables patients to take virtual tours and access medical records. All corporate communications and most production are done in house, but the clinic does use outside partners to create applications or specific micro sites. The clinic’s health care content draws 2.2 million visitors a month, making it one of the most trafficked hospital websites in the country. It is mentioned thousands of times a year in the media, and the hospital system has created a Cleveland Clinic News Service channel run by four former broadcast journalists, who create stories on everything from seasonal allergies to complex heart surgery.