Newsletters as a Marketing Tool
When exploring different marketing tools and techniques, many of our clients find themselves asking “Which tool is going to work the best for my organization?” This is a very difficult question to answer because every client has unique needs that require specific methodology when pushing their products or services. We typically recommend a blend of different platforms and techniques, but many hospitals have limited marketing budgets and have to choose between only one or two marketing tools. We believe that if hospitals only invest in one marketing tool, it should be traditional and/or electronic newsletters.
Newsletters are very cost-effective, and they require a much smaller time investment than generating advertisements or managing social media. However, there are a few important things to keep in mind when using a newsletter to promote your hospital.
Newsletters are not advertisements. Advertisements are intended to promote, so they’re meant to sound a bit boastful. It’s also fairly common to fabricate words or puns to make your message stick in the minds of your audience. Newsletters are intended to be informative and should stick to the facts. Even if your intent is to increase the number of patients at your hospital, your newsletters should always be grounded in facts to avoid losing credibility with your patients.
Make your readers want more. When writing a newsletter, your aim should be to make your readers want more information about your hospital. Newsletters should be informative, but don’t try to cram too much information into one newsletter. Many readers will ignore a newsletter that is too long because they believe they do not have time to read it. By including snippets of information about your medical services or recent events in a relatively short newsletter, you avoid this problem altogether. You should also avoid sending too many newsletters so your recipients don’t feel overwhelmed. We recommend sending a newsletter once a month in order to familiarize your readers with your hospital’s services.
Remember to talk about your specialties. Although your newsletters shouldn’t sound like a sales pitch, remember to focus on what sets you apart. Maybe one of your resident doctors just received an industry award, or maybe your hospital just purchased new state-of-the-art equipment. Your hospital’s specialties should be an integral part of your newsletter. Readers love hearing about the distinctive competencies that make you different from other hospitals.
The last step to utilizing this tool is to add a page to your website where people can sign up to receive the newsletter. Whether you use email or direct mail, monthly newsletters are a very effective way for hospitals to reach their audience.
Christine is the Social Media Manager at The Discovery Communications Group. She graduated with a degree in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University, where she is currently working on her Master's degree in Marketing. After spending the past few years working in various sales and marketing roles, she joined the DCG team to help them manage their social communities.
