Content curation--you don't have to reinvent the wheel

Lead generation must be a component of an integrated marketing program. Yet once those leads are in-house they must be nurtured. After all, information technology systems are not bought after a phone call. Referral decisions are not made immediately after a clinician requests information. The sales cycle in the behavioral healthcare market is long, and engaging prospects with relevant and timely information builds trust, establishes credibility, and eventually leads to conversions.

Generating hyper-relevant content is time consuming. Original content is preferable, as it allows your organization to directly demonstrate its thought leadership. Lead nurturing, however, should not be limited to just in-house content. Content curation is another avenue for grooming your prospects.

Content curation involves sharing information that other sources have produced. Jon Miller at Marketo has an excellent blog post on this concept. Although you should periodically demonstrate your team’s expertise through, for example, issuing a white paper addressing hot pain points in the industry, plenty of content creators do this on a daily basis. Addiction Professional and Behavioral Healthcare produce content that you should be sharing with your prospects.

Say you are trying to attract referrals from eating disorder professionals. When Addiction Professional publishes an article on this topic, you could send a message to your prospects sharing this content. The information is relevant, and the e-mail demonstrates that you are interested in more than just “selling” your program. You are a helpful and useful resource for your clients and their patients.  

Stand out at your next conference

Standing out at a conference is a challenge. Most exhibitors opt for a standard size booth, a couple banner stands, a literature table, and a (hopefully) friendly rep at attention to answer attendees’ questions. Yet with many shows in this field having more than 100 booths, a wise conference planner will use other techniques to capture weary and hungry attendees’ interest.

Some solutions are quite simple. For example, have a noticeable prop at your booth. If you are marketing a cloud-based information technology solution, having a server rack with a sign that says “Are these taking up too much space in your office?” will likely grab attention, particularly since server racks are large.

Most conferences provide multiple opportunities to stand out in the hall. Floor clings provide visual cues leading to your booth. “Island” booths, which surprisingly are extremely uncommon at addiction treatment shows, create destination and gathering centers at aisle crossroads. Adjacent power or massage stations usually lead to lines, giving you an opportunity to interact with attendees as they await their turn.

The Qualifacts Blue Guy created a buzz at the National Council conference in Vegas in April 2013. Photo courtesy of Kimberly Lexow

The point of all of this is to give a hesitant attendee an incentive or cue to stop and begin a conversation. The good news is that exhibits in our field are quite pedestrian. In other areas of healthcare, two- or three-story booths with large data displays and cars being raffled are the norm. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much to stand out at a behavioral healthcare conference. And, if in doubt, find a way to simply stand above the competition, as Qualifacts demonstrated at the National Council conference in April.

More on infographics

A great infographic on...infographics.

Source: What Is An Infographic? via Infographic File: Infographics and Data Visualization

Less text, more infographics, please

Infographics are one of my favorite forms of content marketing. They provide relevant and interesting information in an easily digestible format, but at the same time an effective infographic requires that a reader "slow down" to absorb the information. I recently came across an infographic that explains the changes in online B2B and B2C marketing. While I could share the same information in paragraph format, I believe you'll find the visual presentation much more useful--and fun.



Made byDigitalSherpa

Content marketing via video

Videos are one of my favorite forms of content marketing, as they can convey so much information very quickly. Well-produced videos demonstrate thought leadership while sharing the brand message. A video I recently came across accomplishes both beautifully. What I especially like about this video is the unexpected—and memorable—connection to the beached whales. The brand identification is saved until the end, which provides credibility for the overall message, and the content focuses on educating and motivating the viewer instead of selling treatment services. By taking this approach, The Florida House Experience is building trust and engaging its audience. 

What's your story?

Behavioral healthcare is an emotional business. People enter this field not for the fame or the fortune, but rather for the opportunity to make a difference. It's the perfect market in which storytelling can be particularly powerful.

Everyone has a story about why she is in this business, including vendors and the companies themselves. These stories can be the heart of a content marketing campaign to show prospects and remind customers that you're here not just to "get heads in beds" or sell IT software. Good stories are memorable and help foster relationships, which are key to the long selling and referring cycles in the treatment field.

The short video below brilliantly describes the power of storytelling.

The Power of a Business Story: Details from Tim Keelan

Focus on focus groups

Marketers want to better understand prospective customers to craft effective messages. Salespeople need to know which factors help close a deal more quickly. Executives seek insight on strategic direction to guide new product and service launches and/or updates. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to uncover all of this information is through a focus group.

Focus groups provide qualitative research; I wouldn’t recommend them for generating statistically significant hard data. Yet many vendors don’t have the time or resources to develop, deploy, and interpret extensive quantitative findings. Quick but accurate insight into the market may be all that an organization can handle—or perhaps even need—to guide decision making. When this is the case, a focus group is a convenient way to accomplish multiple marketing, sales, and strategic goals.

In my experience, people are honored just by being asked to participate in a focus group. Of course, because of their small size, focus groups must include pre-screened attendees who meet only specific criteria. Identifying the right prospects is just one step; ensuring they show up is another, making participation incentives essential. While someone may be delighted to be asked to participate in a focus group during a conference, he may be less motivated to share his insights after a long flight followed by a morning lecture. Yet offer him a $150 American Express gift card for his time and I have little doubt he will show up!

I’ve been asked whether it’s necessary to have a focus group professionally moderated. If the feedback will be stored and reused extensively, and attendees are required to consider abstract concepts, having a professional onboard makes sense. However, if gathering market intelligence and guidance is the goal, any savvy marketer or salesperson should be able to moderate an hour-long session without much difficulty. Moderating focus groups is an impressive skill to add to a resume, in fact.

With conference season upon us, now is the perfect time to organize focus groups, as national events offer the opportunity to gather perspectives from across the country. Of course, you’ll gain feedback by talking to attendees at your booth, but if you want more in-depth insight consider adding a focus group to your 2013 marketing plans.