Category: Curated Content

 

Because paid advertising is increasing in expense and, in some cases, decreasing in effectiveness, companies of all sizes and shapes are turning to earned exposure through influencer marketing.

In theory, it makes perfect sense. Consumers trust one another more than they trust messages from brands. Thus, if we can get human beings to carry our marketing water on behalf of the company, not only do costs go down, but persuasiveness goes up simultaneously.

There are some critical challenges with this type of marketing, including scalability, disclosure, and the tendency of companies to confuse influence with audience when selecting persons with whom to align. But the genie is not going back in the bottle. With hundreds of influencer marketing software firms in play, powered by venture capital, this is a marketing sub-genre that’s going to be around awhile.

But the overwhelming majority of influencer marketing software and industry chatter focuses on the use of influencers to pitch consumer-focused products. Instagram is rotten with influencer appeals (many of them ham-fisted) for all manner of B2C doo-dads and gadgetry.

In reality, however, influencer marketi… Read More

Oral surgery is, at best, a suboptimal way to spend an afternoon.

Uncertainty about the procedure is common. Concern about lingering pain is almost a given. Confusion about payment is typical, especially among patients without dental insurance.

Most oral surgeons and their staffs endeavor to answer these questions and quiet doubts when the patient is in the dental office. The best oral surgeons telephone patients the night after surgery to check on discomfort and residual bleeding and to confirm they’re following postoperative instructions.

But then there is Dr. Glenn Gorab of Clifton, New Jersey, who builds all-important trust with his patients not AFTER a procedure, but before he’s ever seen them.

How One Oral Surgeon Built a Trust Empire

Every weekend, Dr. Gorab calls each patient that is coming to the office for the first time the following week. His typical greeting is as follows: “Hi, this is Dr. Gorab, I know we have an upcoming appointment for you next week. I just wanted to call to introduce myself and ask if you have any questions prior to your appointment.”

This simple, remarkable gesture—connecting with a patient before he or she comes to the office instead of after—sets… Read More

In many ways, spearheading social media for a major U.S. hospital is like spearheading social for any brand. Telling stories, engaging an audience, managing community feedback, and analyzing your efforts are part of every social media marketer’s job. Hospital social teams, however, face the unique challenge of operating in a highly regulated industry. Audiences look up to them as community leaders and educators. The patient stories they tell and feedback their receive often carry life-changing consequences.

Social teams at these institutions have to be exceptional listeners and top-notch strategizers. We set out to identify the teams going above and beyond on social media—the truly exceptional in this challenging field. Below you’ll find the 19 best social media teams from the nation’s top hospitals, each one responsible for some of the most successful and engaging social media content in the health industry (which you can read more about in our latest report, below).

Download the Report Now

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

Are you thinking about marketing with video in social media, but not sure which platform will get you the best results? Well, you’re on the right track and asking the right questions.

Customers LOVE video:

85 percent of Americans watch videos online. [comScore]
45 percent of people watch more than one hour of Facebook or YouTube videos per week. [Wordstream]
92 percent of mobile video viewers share videos with others. [Invodo]

And video drives business:

Viewers are 85 percent more likely to purchase a product after watching a product video. [Internet Retailer]
52 percent of consumers say that watching product videos makes them more confident in their online purchase decisions. [Internet Retailer]

But there are so many video platforms! Where should you publish your videos? There are so many platforms to choose from!

YouTube videos
Facebook videos
Instagram videos
Snapchat videos
LinkedIn videos
Twitter videos
Pinterest videos

Can you really create and post video on all the platforms, especially when they all have different specs and requirements?

Marketing is going through massive changes thanks to artificial intelligence – and that’s a good thing.

Marketers are people who are in the profession because of a love of engaging with others, whether they are clients or the customers/consumers of the products and services they are passionate about helping to sell.

That said, it may seem odd to make the claim that the arrival of AI, something very non-human, is good news for marketing.

But as well as being “people”, marketers are also “numbers” focused. Statistics and performance metrics are pivotal to what they do. Today, thanks to technology, there’s more knowledge about customers, their likes, and dislikes, than ever before. There’s also more insight about how effectively – or otherwise – marketers are doing their job. From click-through rates to social likes and instantly updated sales figures, effectiveness in reaching customers has never been more measurable.

In fact, in many respects marketing has become too numbers and analysis heavy – and that aspect of the industry isn’t the reason why people become marketers in the first place. If you research this yo… Read More