As we reach the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re reminded of the value of provider stories. During the first surge, these stories were shared frequently by hospitals and the media. As the pandemic has worn on, we’ve heard far fewer accounts of what it’s like to work on the front lines. But those stories are still out there, waiting to be told. To illustrate their power, Carolyn Souza, RN, was kind enough to share her story with us.

Three seconds. That’s the average amount of time you have to capture a reader’s attention online.

Every day, we’re bombarded with information from news outlets, coworkers and clients. We’ve all learned to scan for key facts and are careful not to waste time before moving on to another source that can provide the same information in less time. That’s why content is king—quality content, that is.

Storytelling can engage readers and attract new patients, but words simply aren’t enough. High-quality photography grabs viewers’ attention and can inspire them to take action. Consider these statistics:

• Content with visuals gets 94 percent more total views.
• Visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared on social media.
• People who read content online retain about 10 to 20 percent of the information. When a visual element is included, readers retain 65 percent of the information.
• Ninety percent of the information that’s transmitted to the brain is visual.
• The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text.

Here are three ways to harness the power of a portrait.

Creating top-notch content isn’t easy, and for many healthcare marketing teams, resources—time, money, talent—are chronically tight. Fortunately, you can reuse, recycle and repurpose content to streamline your workload and get results.

The key is to be intentional as you’re creating your marketing calendar. When planning a piece of content, follow the “rule of three”—i.e., envision at least two additional incarnations in which it can live. For example:

Although cost and other pressures from the pandemic have caused some marketers to curtail their activities, for those in healthcare, reaching out to consumers is more important now than ever. Why?

HEALTHCARE MARKETING HAS UNMATCHED AUTHORITY TODAY.

Consumers want comfort and education, and hospitals and clinics are among the most trusted institutions, per a recent Trust Special Report by Edelman.

While we can’t provide popcorn (other than this photo), we cordially invite you to view (or re-view) our SHSMD Theater Presentation, Optimizing COVID-19 Website Content to Drive SEO: Top 6 Hacks.

In it, Mark Dowden, president and CEO of Wainscot, and Dave Fornell, editor of Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology (DAIC), share actionable tips on how to seriously boost website traffic by creating articles and social media posts tied to topics in the news. You guessed it, they use COVID-19 as an example.

When RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey’s largest health system, decided to create a magazine, they were looking for unified messaging along with a way for each hospital to connect with its local community. The result is Healthy Together, produced in 11 editions.

Each custom issue features eight pages of shared system articles and 16 pages of hospital content. It has garnered a number of awards, including the PRSA New Jersey chapter’s 2019 Best in Show and a Gold Digital Health Award for health media/publications.

The engaging, reader-friendly design and editorial approach allow RWJBarnabas Health to cut through the mass of healthcare marketing messages in New Jersey. Healthy Together reaches 1.75 million residents quarterly.

Does a print magazine really work in this digital age? You bet! Take, for example, the 200 registrations for a single event one week after the magazine mailed—and the event was only promoted in one edition of the magazine.

Below are some of the many benefits of including print in your marketing mix.

• Nearly 75% of consumers find ways to avoid advertising.
• In contrast, 57% of consumers say a hospital newsletter is their most trusted source of health information.
• Compared to online reading, paper-based reading:
  • generates more focused attention, higher comprehension and better recall
  • is more likely to stimulate emotions and desires
  • is preferred by 73% of adults.
• Print magazine readership grows over time, as readers pass along their copies to friends and family members. In fact, magazine secondary audience contributes 73% of primary sales response.
• 79% of magazine readers say that “Even in this digital age, I still love the touch and feel of a printed magazine.”

In short, it’s time to take a second look at what the power of print can do for you.

Sources: MPA 2019/2020 Factbooks; 2018 Annual Trust Survey from Edelman

Healthy Together, a custom publication created by Wainscot Media for RWJBarnabas Health, one of New Jersey’s largest healthcare systems, won two major Pyramid Awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) New Jersey Chapter.

Healthy Together won a coveted Best in Show award, as well as First Place in the magazines category.