We are currently conducting a social media survey specifically for hospitals and would like for you to participate. If you are interested please feel free to go to the social media survey and let us know what you think. For your time we will provide you with a free copy of the results. Thanks for your time!
MedTouch Brings You Its First Virtual Conference
October 13th, 2009
ALL DAY CONFERENCE: Weds October 28th
Just because travel budgets are tight doesn’t mean you shouldn’t miss out. Together with NESHCo, MedTouch brings you its first virtual conference.
Join us for a full day of topics that are hot on everyone’s mind right now. We’ll bring you all the goods on social media, search marketing, quality and transparency and we’ll cap it off with our finale session jam packed with information on making it all happen in the current recession.
Date: Wednesday, October 28
Time: 9:30 am -3:30 pm
Technical Needs: Just a computer and a phone
Cost: Pick one session, two sessions or stay all day. All for one low price.
$59 per log in for NESHCo members
$79 per log in for non members
Speical: $59 for everyone — use discount code MedTouch when registering.
Register: Click here.
Schedule at a Glance
| 9:15 am | Welcome & Kick off |
| 9:30 am | The Convergence of Healthcare and Social Media |
| 10:45 am | Break–grab a drink! |
| 11:00 am | How Search Engines Continue to Transform Consumer Expectations |
| 12:15 pm | Break for lunch–bring it back to your desk and get ready for the next session! |
| 12:45 pm | The Quality Mantra in Health Care |
| 2:00 pm | Break–get that last jolt of caffeine to get you ready for the last exciting session! |
| 2:15 pm | Marketing in Tough Economic Times |
Session Descriptions
9:30-10:45 am The Convergence of Healthcare and Social Media
Social media continues to be a hot topic but it can be overwhelming to determine what your organization wants to be in this social media world. Kel Kelly from Kel & Partners will begin with a Web 2.0 overview to offer a road map for social media strategy — everything from what social media is, why you should care and how you can get started. Then there will be a panel discussion of strategies for hospitals that want to harness the power of social technologies like blogs, social networks and YouTube. The panelists will discuss how to integrate social media into your communications plan through the review of case studies and dos and don’ts.
11:00 am-12:15 pm How Search Engines Continue to Transform Consumer ExpectationsWith 80% of Americans searching for health info online, search engines are influencing the healthcare conversation like never before. This session will review the latest research on the intersection of health and search, explore why consumers are increasingly turning to online resources, and discuss how healthcare organizations can swim upstream to get out in front of key issues, such as quality ratings. We will also offer tactical opportunities of reaching into the clickstream of search traffic and finding local consumers to you as well as how to pick battles you can win!
12:45-2:00 pm The Quality Mantra in Health Care
Quality has become a “mantra” in the health care field. A great deal of time, effort and expense is being spent by provider executives on improving quality, measuring quality – and using quality as a comparative differentiator. This strategic emphasis is creating marketing challenges for provider executives. The rise of pay-for-performance and transparency initiatives has placed acute pressure on hospitals to track and elevate performance on a whole host of quality metrics. In this presentation, we will review the quality movement and its implications for marketing and competitive strategy. We will also provide a few best-in-class examples of communicating care quality and leveraging transparency through external advertising, public relations, and community outreach efforts. We will examine different ways providers use price as a marketing strategy including the pro’s and con’s of different approaches. Finally, we will provide case examples of where quality and public quality ratings were used successfully as part of a marketing strategy – and where those efforts failed to achieve desired goals.
2:15-3:30 pm Marketing in Tough Economic Times
Research shows that recessions trigger rapid changes in market share – and those changes benefit marketers who sustain their media budgets during the downturn. The temptation may be to hold off on spending until the economy begins to revive but rather it’s time to keep your organization in the forefront of your consumers. So how do you make more out of your marketing and public relations efforts in these tough economic times? This panel will discuss marketing tactics during a recession, grassroots marketing efforts and making the most of free PR and media relations.
Houston, We Have A Launch – Three New Hospital Websites
October 13th, 2009We have been quiet lately but not because we have nothing to say. It is because we have been so busy talking to our clients that we have had no time to post on the blog. Now that we have an hour or two of downtime I thought I would let you know that within the last month we have launched three new client websites. It is exciting times here at MedTouch… exciting times.
We have a few more waiting in the wings and we will let you know about those once they are done.
Pain Free Physician Directories
September 4th, 2009
MedTouch Summer Webinar Series: Free Healthcare Webinars
July 2nd, 2009
Travel budget cut? No problem. We’re bringing you a summer full of the best educational content available. The best part? It’s all free. Think of it as a staycation for your mind.
#1: Turn Traffic Into Appointments
Why Search Matters
With 80% of the American population performing healthcare research online, web marketing has gone mainstream. Search engines offer an unprecedented opportunity to reach people looking for services your healthcare organizations provides. By analyzing and increasing your search traffic, you can improve your organization’s profile online while driving transactions. This forty-five minute webinar is perfect for anyone struggle to keep up with their changes in search traffic and results.
Register: Wed, Jul 8 2pm EST | 1pm CST | Noon MST | 11am PST
Register: Thurs, Jul 9 Noon EST | 11am CST | 10am MST | 9am PST
#2: Best Practices in Social Media
A Research Update
As of June, 250 hospitals in the US are using social media. But to what purpose? And how are they measuring results? This presentation – based on careful research rather than opinion – will highlight the best tool for healthcare organizations to generate traffic, what media children’s hospitals can exploit better than anyone else, and why crisis communications is a 24×7 job in a completely new way. You’ll also learn why senior leaders demand ROI for these projects, how to provide it to them before asking for funding, and how this will dramatically change your staffing needs.
Register: Tue, Jul 14 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
Register: Weds, Jul 15 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
#3: The Good, the Bad, the Very Ugly
An Introduction to the Specific Challenges of Healthcare Website Design
Designing and reorganizing a website for a healthcare organization involves overcoming specific brand, organizational, and technical requirements. In this insightful webinar lead by our own Interactive Developer, you will come to appreciate the three essential principles of good web design, understand how to work within and around organizational barriers, and deliver a successful, attractive, and useful project.
Register: Tue, Jul 21 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
Register: Weds, Jul 22 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
Register: Weds, Jul 22 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
#4: The Future is Closer than You Think
Why Your Organization Needs a Strategic Plan for Your Website and What You Can Do About It
Why Your Organization Needs a Strategic Plan for Your Website and What You Can Do About It
Most healthcare organizations have five year strategic marketing plans, but few have comprehensive, goal-oriented, multi-year plans for the web. Despite the rapidly changing technology, it is to possible to have a true Internet strategy and develop a road map that delivers measurable value to your organization. Come hear about how several MedTouch clients have used this process to unearth opportunities and deliver highly visible results to the organization.
Register: Tue, Jul 28 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
Register: Weds, Jul 29 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
#5: How to Run a Successful Bid Process
The Art and Science of Writing Excellent Web RFPs
If you’re going to issue an RFP in the next few months, you need to attend this webinar. In just forty-five minutes you’ll learn the six mistakes nearly every RFP writer makes and how to avoid them. More than that, we’ll share with you how to finesse the best RFP possible out of your organization, how to run the process with minimal time and maximum result, and why you should or shouldn’t hire an outside consultant to manage the process.
Register: Tue, Aug 4 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
Register: Weds, Aug 5 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
#6: One, Large Television
Why Web Videos Matter More than Ever
The web is a screen-based medium, not a word-based medium. With the advent of broadband Internet access, the way people access information has fundamentally changed. YouTube is the second most popular search engine, eclipsing Yahoo in recent months for Internet searches. For hospitals in particular, online videos provide a mechanism for reaching and engaging their communities in novel ways. This webinar will outline why videos matter more than ever, illustrate best practices in healthcare, and propose four concrete steps you can take to take your Internet presence to the next level.
Register: Tue, Aug 11 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
Register: Weds, Aug 12 3pm EST | 2pm CST | 1pm MST | Noon PST
Fastest Growing Metro Areas: How will Healthcare be impacted?
June 5th, 2009Raleigh, Provo UT, and Fort Myers are going to double in size in the next 15 years.
New York, LA, and Chicago — the 1, 2, 3 of largest metros — are only going to grow by 10%.
Dallas, Houston, and Atlanta (4, 5, and 6) will grow about 50%.
As the Boomers retire to warm weather states, the change and impact to healthcare delivery services will be two fold. First, end-of-life care in these metro areas will boom, which has mixed financial results. Second, the migration of Boomers out of other (Northern/Mid-West) cities will reduce the baseline procedures that most healthcare systems rely on to stay in the black. (Heart, ortho, neuro, cancer, and peds/OBGYN.)
This suggests that we’ll see a clear two-tier health system emerge in the most rapidly growing cities — new buildings, new technology, new delivery mechanisms but likely only for those who can pay for it.
Speaking at AMA Houston Tomorrow: Direct Marketing to Physicians
June 4th, 2009Our own Matthew Dillingham will be speaking at the AMA Houston event tomorrow, “Direct Marketing to Physicians.”
Here’s more about the event. You can still sign-up at the door!
How do you break through the 200 marketing messages physicians receive each day?
At our June Healthcare SIG meeting, a panel of four experts will discuss the challenge of getting your message to physicians. They’ll describe the use of on-line and in-person tools and techniques to reach physicians. Hear directly from a pharmaceutical representative about how best to capture the interest and attention of busy physicians. Learn tips and techniques to help you develop more effective direct-to-physician programs.
Program Format
Each expert will provide a 15-minute presentation that is followed by a panel discussion with audience participation in the form of questions and answers. The discussion will be moderated by Vickie Alleman, a former healthcare marketer and author, with more than 20 years experience in marketing to physicians.
Attendees Will Learn:
- What’s new in on-line marketing to physicians
- How to utilize social media and mobile technology for business communication
- How to get to the decision maker; meeting with physicians and clinical staff
- The use of old fashioned grass roots marketing efforts
Panel
Mathew Dillingham – MedTouch
VP, Client Services and StrategiesAlicia Garza – Pharma Representative and Trainer
Anna Dragsbaek – Houston Area Immunization Partnership, Executive Director
Julie Chance – Strategies by Design
Healthcare Relationship Building Coach
Well Tumbl’ed: Excerpts
February 26th, 2009Will the effort to reduce health care costs by comparing treatments ultimately undermine the relationship between doctors and patients?
Requiring hospitals to adopt electronic medical records would reduce their own costs for treating Medicare patients. But for the government to capture the savings, it would in turn have to reduce what it pays the hospitals.
Social media adoption is going up for all generations, said Mr. Owyang. The fact that boomers are increasingly using these tools is a clear indication that it’s not just a fad, he said.
Of the demographics Forrester tracks, the gracefully aging segment is the largest — a hefty 100 million consumers in the United States. That’s billions each year spent on travel, cars, gadgets and more. But the trick for advertisers hoping to attract older consumers, Mr. Owyang said, is to engage them in a way that isn’t too complicated or requires an excessive amount of effort.
MedTouch Appoints New Director of Interactive in its Growing Houston Office
February 25th, 2009MedTouch, the Online Marketing Experts for Health Care, Continues to Deepen its In-House Expertise with a New Senior Appointment
HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–MedTouch, the leader in transforming healthcare organizations online, announced that Christina Brinch Clark has joined the Houston office of the firm as Director of Interactive.
Ms. Clark comes to MedTouch from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, where she served as Program Manager, Web Content for the world’s premier cancer center. During her tenure, Ms. Clark oversaw the Internet Services content team and supported the institution’s public and private websites, which consisting of over 15,000 pages and generating nearly 25 million views a year.
“Having worked inside of one of the world’s best healthcare institutions, I am eager to help all of our clients surpass their goals,” said Clark. “I am excited by the vision of progress MedTouch embodies and working alongside our clients to make that a reality.”
In her new role, Ms. Clark will work to ensure clients take their existing sites to the next level, cost-effectively managing their content, developing online communities, and extending into the social networking arena.
“We’re fortunate to be growing in this climate and hiring Christina is the latest example of our ongoing commitment to providing the highest possible level of industry expertise and client service,” said Paul Griffiths, CEO of MedTouch. “As healthcare organizations wonder how to take the next step in online marketing beyond simply having a website, we have a wider array of services to offer.”