January 8, 2025 • 33 mins
In the world of healthcare marketing, creating content that connects with patients goes far beyond simply sharing information. It’s about building trust, meeting patients where they are, and crafting authentic stories that resonate.
In today’s episode, we’re exploring how to prioritize content topics in healthcare—starting with what patients search for first and guiding them through every stage of their journey.Joining me is Jesse Fiest, a healthcare marketing leader with over a decade of experience in content strategy, patient engagement, and SEO. Jesse has spent her career helping healthcare brands connect with patients in meaningful and impactful ways.
I’m your host, Nikki Ramirez, and this is Talk Digital To Me, a podcast where I explore the latest in digital marketing, tech, AI, innovation, and strategies for personal and professional growth. This is episode 18: Google to Diagnosis: Building Trust Through Stories.
In today’s episode, we’re exploring how to prioritize content topics in healthcare—starting with what patients search for first and guiding them through every stage of their journey.Joining me is Jesse Fiest, a healthcare marketing leader with over a decade of experience in content strategy, patient engagement, and SEO. Jesse has spent her career helping healthcare brands connect with patients in meaningful and impactful ways.
I’m your host, Nikki Ramirez, and this is Talk Digital To Me, a podcast where I explore the latest in digital marketing, tech, AI, innovation, and strategies for personal and professional growth. This is episode 18: Google to Diagnosis: Building Trust Through Stories.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
In the world of healthcare marketing, creating content that connects
with patients goes far beyond simply sharing information. It's about
building trust, meeting patients where they are, and crafting authentic
stories that resonate. In today's episode, we're exploring how to
prioritize content topics in healthcare, starting with what patients search
for first and guiding them through every stage of their journey.
(00:26):
Joining me is Jesse Feist, a healthcare marketing leader with
over a decade of experience in content strategy, patient engagement,
and SEO. Jesse has spent her career helping healthcare brands
connect with patients in meaningful and impactful ways. I'm your host,
Nikki Ramirez, and this is top Digital to Me, a
podcast where I explore the latest trends and topics in
(00:49):
digital marketing, tech, AI innovation, and strategies for personal and
professional growth. This is episode eighteen, Google to Diagnosis building
trust through stories. Hi, everyone, I am here with Jesse Feiss.
(01:10):
Jesse is an impressive and dynamic marketing pro with over
a decade of experience building content and systems to achieve
business goals, enhance patient experience, and amplify brands Most recently,
she has been focused on highlighting patient stories, developing refer
provider strategies, and driving SEO initiatives as the director of
(01:30):
Product and Physician Marketing at kind Body. Today, we are
here to talk about a topic every healthcare marketer needs
to master, prioritizing content topics. As a digital health provider.
In a world where patients are turning to Google before
they ever even speak to a doctor, how can healthcare
brands create content that is not only educational, but also
(01:50):
engages and builds trust. Jesse's going to walk us through
a practical, proven approach to meet patients where they are,
starting with what they search for first symptoms and guiding
them all the way through diagnostics, conditions, and treatments. Jesse,
I'm so excited to have you on the show today.
Thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Nikki, I'm honored to be here and for the opportunity
to share with your audience.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Absolutely so.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I have a little bit of a confession to make
to my listeners. I have a very personal connection of
why I wanted you to be on the show today,
and that is because kind Body is a place I
hold space for in my heart as it's the reason
I have my now two year old son. Kind Body
was where I turned to after my PCOS diagnosis and
was able to do IUI fertility treatments to get pregnant.
(02:37):
So now I am very, very estatic to have you
here today, and that being said, I'd love for you
to tell the listeners a bit about your background and
what drives your passion for improving the client experience, particularly
in healthcare and reproductive health space.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Absolutely well, thank you so much for sharing your story
with us, Nikki. It's incredibly moving to hear that you
have that special connection with kind Body. It's a very
special company. I love it you have that connection. Stories
like yours are exactly why I'm so passionate about what
it is that I do. I've spent the past decade
in healthcare marketing focusing on connecting patients with the care
that they need during deeply personal moments, right, So what
(03:13):
drives me is knowing that behind every search or appointment
there is someone hoping for answers, and being part of
that journey is just inspired.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
That is so great. So I want to go ahead
and start diving into the good stuff. So we'll get started.
You've worked in fast paced startup environments such as kind Body,
how has that shaped your approach to content strategy and prioritization.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Okay, I am an unabashed like enthusiast about this topic,
so bear with me as I get very excited just
to start. Before we dive into the content strategy, I
think it's important if I may to sort of set
the stage and revisit just what we need with content.
So website content specifically, many folks when they think about
a website, they think about the homepage as the front door.
(03:59):
And I know that that's not the case of your
savvy listeners who are are marketing specialists, probably, but that's
the case for a lot of folks. So as digital marketers,
we know that that's not necessarily true.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Most traffic actually comes to those content rich landing pages
or those optimized for specific topics, certainly treatment, diagnosis, and therapies.
And this is especially true in healthcare, where our patients
often start their journey searching for symptoms right or solutions
long before they know about a brand, so that they
could get to the home page. So that's why I
encourage people to start thinking of website content than their website,
(04:32):
not as a single entrance point, but as a hallway.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Of doors of entry points.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
And that each door is a page that meets a
patient where they're at, invites them to come in to
learn from us, whether they're searching symptoms, researching options, exploit treatments.
Our job is to make those doors engaging, accessible and
connect those patients who may not even know that that
brand exists, if they don't know to type in our
name in a Google search.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Treck right.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
So at kind body, I focused on the doors to
speak that were most likely to attract patients. So those
symptoms that diagnostics the treatment, but specifically symptom, they get
that special emphasis in my content strategy because that's where
the patient journey so often begins. When someone starts experiencing
health concern, their first instinct is to search for answers
(05:17):
what I mean, should I be worried? Is this normal?
And being there with your content to provide trusted guidance
in that moment is incredibly powerful. Side note, approximately five
to seven percent of all Google daily searches are healthcare related,
so that equates to about seventy thousand healthcare queries per
minute or over a.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Billion each day.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
So, as you said, we know people are going to
Google and the symptoms is where is often that starting point?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
That is incredible. I did not know it was that
many Google searches. That is insane. And of course that
is how I found kind Body. I was obviously googling
my diagnosis. They gave me a diagnosis of PCOS and
I was like what does that mean? And I got
home and was like, okay, I need to do something,
(06:04):
and that's how I found Kind Bodies. So good job
on your few words, served so great things. So you've
mentioned that a practical content funnel starts with symptoms and
then it moves to diagnostics, then conditions, and then to treatments.
Can you break this down for us and explain how
each stage plays a role in guiding a patient's journey.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yes, absolutely, Well, I just wanted to touch back and
the symptoms content is so critical because that search is
occurring when the patient's healthcare journey has just been finer.
They haven't yet committed to a medical authority, so at
that stage they're asking those questions, right, so they're not
yet aligned with a healthcare provider. So in that sense,
you're engaging with net new patients. As a marketer, we're
(06:48):
asked to create new lead NPVs, new patient visits, so
you're speaking or engaging with individuals who haven't yet begun
to seek care. Oftentimes so they're not yet part of
an existing referra pathway. It is very hard to interrupt
and existing referral pathway. Once a person has engaged with
the primary care physician, they are often going to be
(07:08):
looking at the specialists that that healthcare that primary healthcare
physician is referring to.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
So as a.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Healthcare marketer, having great content that explains and captures their interest.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
In those early phases is key.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So while that diagnostics, the diagnosis, the treatment services, those
are all very important and those come next. Again, I
think it's very exciting to get that early work. So
focusing first on your symptoms and you're building that entry
point and you are talking about their pain points. Really
at that very top of funnel, you're reaching potential patients
who may not even realize they need your expertise, but
(07:43):
they're actively searching for answers. So when it comes to
identifying which symptoms to address, I love to use the
professional organizations and regulatory bodies often to collect some incredibly
valuable data, specifically causes and contributing factors within their fields.
So in different fears fields it's going to be different, right.
But in fertility, the area that I've worked in for
(08:03):
a really long time, the Society for the Assisted Reproductive
Technologies or START, they've been a key resource, a key organization.
They've been gathering detailed data on the quote causes or
the needs or the reasons why patients who ultimately got
treatment why they needed that treatment.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So they're a great resource.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
So back in twenty eighteen, when I first began sort
of exploring and developing content for a system for creating content,
I remember thinking why I should leverage these insights, right,
So there's this data that can show me what kind
of content is most compelling to those that ultimately get treatment.
And there was one statistic that stood out, just as
I remember twenty eighteen. It was that twenty eight percent
(08:41):
of the cases of those who used artificial or assisted
reprotective technology, part of me, twenty eight percent of those
involved male factor infertility, right, And so I thought, oh,
that's really interesting. What can I do with that? And
then a side note, the World Health organization. They'll tell
you that about nine percent of the global population is
his experiences in fertility, which is defined as an inability
(09:02):
to conceive after twelve months of regular, unprotected attempts. And
yet there are some studies or studies that will show
that only fifty six percent of those of that nine
percent will actually seek medical care.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
So I was.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Thinking, all right, it's interesting to speak to those that
have the condition or have the symptoms, but why not
go further and make certain that the content I'm creating
is even more tailored to those who ultimately seek treatment,
because I know that there are a lot of other
reasons why people don't seek treatment. So they might experience
the condition, but because of the nature of the treatment,
(09:37):
negative thinking, social or cultural factors, they don't proceed in
even seeking medical treatment to solve. So I thought, okay, well,
why don't I go back to the research that shows
me the root cause for those who sought treatment? And
so I was being asked. Of course, as most healthcare
marketers are to drive patient acquisition secure appointments, so I
wanted to develop content marketing around that portion of that population,
(10:00):
and so it sparked a key question for me. So
if male factor infertility is affecting nearly one third of
the patients who seek treatment, what are those searches like?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
What did those look like?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
And I found that there was significant search volume specifically
around female partners, women who are looking for information about
male factor and fertility. They suspected that perhaps there were
my partners were contributing, or that that was part of
maybe the delay to conception. And yet I did a
little bit more research and I saw there was very
little high quality content addressing this concern, this barrier, this anxiety.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And I thought, well, what.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
If we start developing actionable guidance for this concern one third,
it impacts one third of the population that we know
are ultimately going to move to treatment. Let's get a
really good page out there, really great content out there.
So it was a bit of a light bulb moment
where I realized that healthcare marketers can use sort of
that untapped content opportunity, inspiration from healthcare.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Organizations that have great statistics.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
And it fills in that critical gap that helps us
build trust and deliver real value to those who are
seeking answers.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
That's such a good point, I mean, that is truly
what the goals are is to build the trust and
I love that. I could hear you talk about these
stages all day, but that is just the healthcare marketing
NERD and MACE and for healthcare providers juggling multiple content needs.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
What's your process for prioritizing which topics to focus on
first as you're looking at building that trust and what
people are searching for.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, absolutely, I do think symptoms align nicely with that
awareness stage. Where As marketers are all familiar with the stage, right,
so patients often begin searching. So symptoms awareness stage, make
sure that you have enough doors that acknowledge those. So again,
in my specialty, it's irregular periods or regular cycles, but
for other specialties it'll be muscle sortuce or tiredness or
(11:54):
figure out what it is that they're experiencing early so
you can become an authority on that, or they might
come to you early and understand. And then of course
that diagnostics stage, maybe they've gone to a consultation and
they are in that consideration phase. You want to have
a very healthy diagnostics content that shows them what it
is that they can expect that I see oftentimes it's
(12:16):
making certain that they feel good about what they're about.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
To step into for that new patient appointment.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
So, okay, what is this testing? What is this all about?
We have a lot of type as who want to
know what it is that they're stepping into and the conditions.
When you start to developed conditions content that often aligns with
that decision making stage. All right, so I have a condition,
the doctor's given me a diagnosis. What does that mean?
What are the dual diagnostics? You know, what are the
sister conditions? What does this mean? Is? Or how can
(12:42):
I understand it better? There's some identity consideration going on there.
And then, of course treatment treatment is when you know
there's sort of an action step and they're almost being
sold I hate to use that word, but almost being
asked to take action. And that's when a doctor has
sort of given them a treatment plan and they want
to understand that treatment. I think there's a temptation off
been to product tize and talk about your treatment and
services and really dig into those pages. And certainly you
(13:06):
need to have a great product page that talks about
your treatments. But if you want to earn your net
new patients, you've got to get those symptoms of diagnosis
in this condition, treatment content out there as well, because
that's really what's going to get you those leads.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yeah, it's always complicated to talk about our patients as
someone we're selling to. You have to look at it
like that, and it makes it a little complicated and
you kind of have the moral dilemma with it.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
But the ultimate goal is to.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Get them what they need, and that is unfortunately comes
with the territory of having to sell what your treatments are.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
And to your point, I think for me creating content
and aiming at new patient visits right stabilizing those acquisition costs,
I always emphasize that it should meet three criteria, so
your keywords should have a healthy search volume. There are
so many times where you speak with maybe at a
startup or a really enthusiastic a larger organization, and they
want to talk about something that the doctor just did
(14:01):
and it's really cool and they're pumped about it, but
there's zero interest in those real cys.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Well, breaking down healthcare terms is very complicated, absolutely, Yeah,
and then there's the terms, you know, like you've got
really long words that get put into like ACIB and
things like that, and you have to try to explain
that to people that aren't in our world every day.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Yes, absolutely, so I always say I love that and
I love that enthusiasm, and that's the sort of thing
that maybe I want to talk about on that doctor's
page is like their specialty. But when I'm building content
to earn leads, I want there to be content around
keywords that have a very healthy search volume, and I
want those keywords to have commercial intent, right, So, like
there are times where we're informing. That's better when it's informational,
(14:44):
but there's also commercial intent around. And then this is
one that I always sort of recenter ourselves around, which
is is this content or is this keyword content?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Is this topic?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Is it relevant prior to a point of conversion? Because again, Americans,
once they get in that fun of referral, oftentimes depending
on what kind of healthcare we're dealing with, if they've
already have a trusted medical provider that they're going to
listen to them, and they're going to listen to who
it is that they tell them to go to next,
And so developing content that high in search volume commercial intent,
(15:15):
and then challenge yourself to write content that is relevant
to prior that point of that conversion of them selecting
a healthcare provider, and then that makes for some really
great content. And of course there is always room for
sort of second opinion content or people who are second
guessing or maybe thinking about going to a different doctor
or seeing a different clinician.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
But that is not many layers.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Yeah, there's many players, but I'm going to start. I'd
say you start with those first three criteria.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean, and that brings me to a
really good question about balancing education. So how can providers
balance educational content about symptoms and conditions with the need
to build trust and encouraged for patients to seek the
care they need.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, I so appreciate this question.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I think balancing educational content and build trust and encouraging
patients to seek that care is all about human connection.
It comes back to us being humans, right. So one
of the most effective ways to achieve this is by
weaving in authentic patient stories. So these stories will resonate deeply,
They'll reflect that real life experience of others who face
similar challenges. I like to make certain that my authentic
(16:21):
patient stories go so far as to mention the symptoms
that they were having, right, so that maybe an early
patient or early user your website say.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh yeah, wait, those are the symptoms I'm having.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Right, So it's not just all about the story doesn't
start ideally when you're asking your patients to share their narratives.
It doesn't start with them shaking hands with the doctor.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
It starts with them.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Going, I was nervous because I had never felt like
this before. I was dizzy. And making sure that those
are included in your patient stories is important because that
helps connect people with hey, that's me, and then having
their stories full be authentic, have setbacks, include considerations, concerns, bearers,
reasons why they almost didn't do it, but then they
did do it. They went forward with treatment or they
(17:04):
went forward with the diagnostic, they understood more, and then
their outcome. And I think that that's incredibly powerful for
weaving it all together.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
I think that's a really really good way of looking
at everything. I'm going to do a little bit of
a transition into data and ROI and measuring ROI and
healthcare content can be tricky. So what KPIs or metrics
are you focusing on to ensure the content funnel is
driving results.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Absolutely, metrics they just don't lie, right, So those sessions
from those organic search traffic that's especially important for our
high value keywords that we're targeting. That's a key indicator
for me. Metrics like impressions click through rates for those
pages will show you how well that content is capturing
attention and then motivating action conversion. As a cost aware
healthcare marketer who's worked and some projects where we were
(17:51):
asked to be scrappy everybody's favorite marketing word, I've always
prioritized elevating patient acquisition costs, right, So having that in
the center and knowing my lifetime value from different patients.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
There are some healthcare networks.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
That have a really wide range of lifetime value depending
on the type of patient that they have. So being
aware of the content that drives earns different patient types
and that cost of acquisition and the ultimate lifetime value
and then just that percentage of new patients attributed to
the organic channel through that content. These metrics ensure that
(18:25):
I'm driving not just traffic, but also attracting the right
patients in a sustainable way. And then I have to
admit I remain a little cautious about the role of
ads in essential or high acuity healthcare specialties, and I know,
I know I can feel some of my peers going boo.
You know, I remain cautious about it because these are
areas of exceptional sensitivity. There's a level of trust, right
(18:49):
and the messaging. The messaging can feel over sales y
sometimes and if it feels transactional, I think that can
clash with the gravity of the patient needs and just
gives a little bit of a warning signal. So while
ads certainly play a role, and there are so many
fabulous healthcare marketers out there that are incredible at paid ads,
(19:10):
but particularly for brand awareness, I definitely want to say
I understand why that's important, but I believe organic content
is foundational to those trust driven strategies and it often
provides that most effective and sustainable foundation for patient acquisition.
So ads are great, and your ads often give you
a little bit bigger of a fast kick, But if
(19:31):
you're not also building content that supplies that organic content
that's trust driven, I think there is a natural well,
there's just greater trust to something that they feel they
came upon and they're educating. They're in a mode of
feeling educated and empowered through their own research versus seen
in ad.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yeah, I mean there's sensitivity for sure around that. And
that's why it's so important to rank organically and to
concentrate on your SEO. And that's why I do a
lot of search is my main focus, because you want
to rank for those keywords people are already searching for,
and that is building good content around that instead of
just selling to people.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Amen. I love yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
And so for the providers who may lack robust resources
or teams, what are some practical tips you have for
maximizing impact while keeping their content strategy manageable?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So if you're a sole practitioner without a marketing team,
I recommend first, and this is maybe a little bit
of a pivot, but focus on building out your Google
business profile formally Google my business, not just for your
clinic or your business that you work for, but for
you yourself as a clinician, unless it's you know the
two are one and the same, in which case, go
for it. This is, in my opinion, the single most
impactful marketing effort a clinician can take on independently. And
(20:48):
I know that it might feel a little yucky at first,
little uncomfy, but it shouldn't. It's your reputation and your
Google profile is a direct way to help patients who
need to find your expertise. You're really doing yourself a favor,
You're doing them a favor, and it's one of the
more powerful things you can do is just to encourage
your patients to leave reviews and encourage your patients, even
(21:08):
with sort of a clever outline, to talk about the
symptoms they had the treatment that hesitation, So they're not
just saying doctor Smith was incredible, really love her, she
was great. They're sharing a little bit of their story
in their review right, And you can make this easy
for your patients to do. You can hand them maybe
a small card with a QR code that leads directly
to your review profile, and you can kind of give
(21:30):
them a little hints about what you'd love for them
to talk about and encourage them and let them know
too they're helping others. Those positive reviews with a little
bit of a story touch will build trust, will also
improve the visibility, and it will ensure more patients will
benefit from your care. So that's a practical approach, and
I would say even if you are in a network
and they're not opposed to you building out your own
(21:52):
business profile and refer parting me your own reviews. I
love that for you. Please do that, take that opportunity
and start early because there's such equity in it.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Oh, patients stories and testimonials are key, right, you know
you want to hear from people who have been through it.
It's the first thing I did when I was looking
at where I was going to go for fertility treatments.
I want to know did this work for other people?
What were people's experiences, what were the hardships? I wanted
to know everything, and I went to real people. I mean,
(22:22):
it's how we buy things on Amazon, It's how we
do everything, so why wouldn't we do it for healthcare?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I so agree? I agree.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
So you emphasize the importance of highlighting a healthcare's brand's
unique value proposition. How can providers showcase what sets them
apart while remaining authentic and patient focused?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Absolutely? I love this questions.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I want to highlight an article that you recently wrote
and published that I really enjoyed that Back to Basics,
the Rediscovery Foundations of marketing. I loved that article, Miki,
it was great and I know wonderful. If you haven't
read it, folks, go ahead check it out. I'm longing
for my blog. I love it. I think it does
a great I am in agreement with what it is
(23:03):
that you're saying here because I think there are times
where we get lost in some of the fancy. Right
you're building a house on sand if it's just the trend.
So highlighting healthcare brand unique proposition doesn't always require overthinking
or grandiose claims.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
For that patient.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
The unique value for that patient maybe that you accept
their insurance, you're within a convenient radius of their home,
you have a star rating of above four, and you
appear approachable and trustworthy. So I'm asking folks to consider
step away from the unique value proposition as a brand
presentation for a moment and consider what is uniquely valuable
(23:40):
to your patient on a practical level.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
And sometimes it's those things, right, So get.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Those conveniences definitely veians.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Yeah, I will say I traveled forty minutes to go
to kind Body because I can't and it was because
of the value proposition that you guys were putting out
there and closer to DOINGUI I had to go every
day at eight am forty minutes for about a week
and a half before work.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
It's very real, just as a pluged to kind Body,
and it was what you felt that they were female led,
they listened, they had great world class doctors.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
They truly were patient focused, They put us first, and
I just felt like another number at some of the
other places that I had explored and actually had a
couple opportunities to talk to doctors there, and I won't
name names because them up, but I felt very seen
and heard at kind Body that.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
One of the other things I love about kind Body
is the optimism of the environment and of the brand. Right,
so it's very much like we will figure this out
for you, we are in it with you. And I
think they do a great job with their brand visuals
and we do a great job with that.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I totally agree with that.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
It was a very optimistic and you know, where you're
going through something that you're not sure how it's going
to turn out, you need that to encouragement and optimist.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I will say when with a specialty with an elective aspect,
so say specifically fertility, that's usually preservation is more the
elective or dermatology or aesthetic. Then yes, I think an
approach talking about an approach, talking about your holistic philosophy.
I think that brand unique value proposition is key. It's
very important. And the trick there, of course is not
(25:23):
the trick, but it's just to be consistent to know
what is authentic to your doctors, to your core that
is their treatment commitment. It's not something you made up.
It's something that's true, that feels true when you walk in,
when you speak with everyone, and it's not just something
they slapped on. It absolutely has to be part of
that culture. And so once you understand that, then it's
easier to communicate as a marketer.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Yeah, I completely get that. So what are some of
the biggest challenges healthcare providers face when implementing said patient
centered content strategy and how can they overcome some roadblocks
they're going to face.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Absolutely, I'd say, honestly, it's just getting started is the
biggest challenge.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
When people overthink this a lot.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Healthcare providers often overthink or they delay because the process
can feel overwhelming. But the key is to start small,
focus on those high impact topics like common symptoms or
frequently ask questions, oh, please please have a frequently asked
questions page that is relevant to your patients, right, and
build from there. I say progress beats perfection every time,
(26:22):
so begain investing in building out and yes, the things
that are interesting to you and to other clinicians, I
love that for you, that's great, But just go back
and think about the conversations that you're having with your
patients day and day out and allow that to inspire
your content building. Another challenge I would say can be
if you're a marketer and you're in a wider team,
(26:42):
is leadership sort of expecting an immediate return on investment
the ROI because content creation is a bit of a
longer term investment. It takes time to build and earn
that organic traction. So gaining leaderships trust that's key. Helping
them understand that the patient mindset, you know, sometimes they're
overwhelmed and sometimes they need a slow education, and that
importance of investing in quality content to attract and engage
(27:06):
those patients over time will pay off handsomely.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I completely agree with that education to both the leadership
and the patients. It goes hand in hand. So for
healthcare startups or providers just getting started, what's one piece
of advice you'd give to prioritize content that resonates with patients.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Talk with your doctors. They are the experts who interact
with your patients daily. So if you don't have a
setup already where you're interacting really graciously and hearing authentically
from your patients, start by talking with your doctors. Experts,
they understand the root causes, they understand the conditions that
they treat, their early symptoms of the patients that they
experience these questions. Ask your doctors about that. Ask what
(27:45):
questions their patients ask them most often. These insights are
going to be very valuable for creating patient centered content.
And then you can ask your CX what are the
most common questions that you guys are getting right, and okay,
let's create content that addresses the concerns. And then you
can valid of course with search volume tools that give
you that solid foundation for your strategy. And beyond that,
as a marketer, when you're speaking with your doctor, you
(28:06):
get to know them, which is really cool because then
you know a little bit more about their approach, You
learn about them as a human. Their humanity becomes more
clear to you, and you see them truly caring for patients,
which is almost always the case, right, So if you
spend time observing or just interacting or seeing how they
interact with their patients, you're going to understand what they do,
and it becomes so much more than just creating content.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
You become fortunate enough.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I've been fortunate enough to work with incredible doctors and
I've been really lucky in this regard. So it makes
my marketing for them and attracting patients for them really
exciting and inspiring, and I can add a little bit
of flair when I'm talking about that doctor. I do
believe that our doctors should be presented back. It's important
that clinicians remain sort of the true stars of the show,
(28:50):
the center of the stories, and presenting them as those
experts and being partners in the patient journey. So showcasing
them is a big part of it. So you can
do that best once you know them a little bit,
So just experiencing with them and being around them is
a great way to go.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
I completely agree.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
I actually encourage a lot of my clients to really
showcase exactly what you're saying. The doctors as part of
the community. These are people that live in your community.
They are mothers, fathers, keyball coaches, like a PTA members.
These are people who are in your everyday community that
you want to showcase. Those as people who are going.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
To be there for you, absolutely, and your admiration for
their work and for who they are. It will naturally
fuel your efforts. It'll shine through in the content that
you create off them. Yeah, yes, absolutely, I agree, I
completely agree.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
So what trends do you see shaping health care content
strategies in the next few years, especially as digital healthcare
continues to evolve.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yeah, I'm interested in what you think about this too.
I would say we're going to see interactive content. I
think you'll see symptoms checkers and decision tools and AI
driven chatbots. I think that will come in to bigger play, certainly,
and I am not scared of generative AI. Know that
you're also.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Bring it up, Larry mugetrais you too, I'm ready.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
I'm so excited about it. But as those tools come in,
I think trust building will remain critical, and in fact,
I think they'll become all the more critical because it's
going to be easier to put out mass produced content.
So trust building and authentic patient stories that are clinic
led content that person voice from clinicians. That's going to
(30:29):
become just as important or will have a pendulumce going
back to how important that is, because we know it's
easy to just generate content that maybe clinician never even
saw our thought about. So that'll become even more important
in the crowded digital space. But I would love to
know what do you think is we're going to see?
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yeah, I think a couple of years ago everyone was
talking about voice to like Google and just doing that,
but I never saw that as something that healthcare was
going to do.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
No one is talking to their Google like, hey, my
head hurt. Do you think it might be a tumor?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
But what people are doing now is they're using AI
and video content like TikTok as a search engine and
TikTok to do it. So video content is going to
be key, and those AI chat pots need to be
on their game because you know, you don't want people
looking up AI and it's telling them misinformation.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Absolutely, I so agree with that.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah, so finally we are coming to and unfortunately, though
I could talk to you all day, i'd love to
know what inspires you to keep pushing for innovative and
meaningful solutions in the healthcare and particularly fertility space.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Absolutely infertility.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
We always say that once you get into family building,
it's really hard to go back to anything else. You
literally help people with having a child. It's it's a
very compelling, it's awesome work. And so infertility is that
profound knowledge that the doctors I work with can truly
change lives. So when I earn a lead and a
patient and I get them to connect with that doctor,
I know that I've given that patient the best path option,
(32:01):
the best passable shot of having a child. They've always
streamed up and I just give myself chills, Like it's
still after ten plus years. It's very compelling, it's very exciting,
and just yeah, connecting patients beyond that, beyond just fertility,
I would say, I am driven by a mission to
elevate true medical experts, true medical expertise. Right, So the
(32:21):
folks who have dedicated their lives to science and to
patient care, I want to help put them back in
the forefront of healthcare. I appreciate influencers as influencer patients,
but I don't know that influencers without medical degrees or
clinical backgrounds. I don't want them the ones influencing the
content that results early. So those who've taken the hippocratic oath,
(32:41):
I want to help put them in center stage. That
just feels like a purpose worthwith suing. It's worked out, matters,
and I'm really really proud to be part of it.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I can tell how passionate you are about this, and
I just love that. It's truly inspiring to hear you.
When you love something and you love what you do,
it truly makes you an expert. You live it and
breathe it every day. And I am just so honored
you are here to share with my listeners. And thank
you so much for being on the show today. It
was truly my.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Pleasure, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Thank you so much, Minke, you so appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Thank absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
That wraps up another episode of Top Digital to Me,
where we uncover the latest trends and topics in digital marketing, tech,
AI innovation, and the strategies for personal and professional growth.
I hope Jesse's insights into creating patience centered content inspired
you to rethink how your brand can build trust and connection.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
If you enjoyed this episode.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Share it with a
friend or colleague who could benefit from these insights, and
subscribe on whatever platform you are listening to me now
until next time, keep building trust, crafting stories, and making
a difference.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
See you soon.
In the world of healthcare marketing, creating content that connects
with patients goes far beyond simply sharing information. It's about
building trust, meeting patients where they are, and crafting authentic
stories that resonate. In today's episode, we're exploring how to
prioritize content topics in healthcare, starting with what patients search
for first and guiding them through every stage of their journey.
(00:26):
Joining me is Jesse Feist, a healthcare marketing leader with
over a decade of experience in content strategy, patient engagement,
and SEO. Jesse has spent her career helping healthcare brands
connect with patients in meaningful and impactful ways. I'm your host,
Nikki Ramirez, and this is top Digital to Me, a
podcast where I explore the latest trends and topics in
(00:49):
digital marketing, tech, AI innovation, and strategies for personal and
professional growth. This is episode eighteen, Google to Diagnosis building
trust through stories. Hi, everyone, I am here with Jesse Feiss.
(01:10):
Jesse is an impressive and dynamic marketing pro with over
a decade of experience building content and systems to achieve
business goals, enhance patient experience, and amplify brands Most recently,
she has been focused on highlighting patient stories, developing refer
provider strategies, and driving SEO initiatives as the director of
(01:30):
Product and Physician Marketing at kind Body. Today, we are
here to talk about a topic every healthcare marketer needs
to master, prioritizing content topics. As a digital health provider.
In a world where patients are turning to Google before
they ever even speak to a doctor, how can healthcare
brands create content that is not only educational, but also
(01:50):
engages and builds trust. Jesse's going to walk us through
a practical, proven approach to meet patients where they are,
starting with what they search for first symptoms and guiding
them all the way through diagnostics, conditions, and treatments. Jesse,
I'm so excited to have you on the show today.
Thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 3 (02:09):
Nikki, I'm honored to be here and for the opportunity
to share with your audience.
Speaker 4 (02:13):
Absolutely so.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
I have a little bit of a confession to make
to my listeners. I have a very personal connection of
why I wanted you to be on the show today,
and that is because kind Body is a place I
hold space for in my heart as it's the reason
I have my now two year old son. Kind Body
was where I turned to after my PCOS diagnosis and
was able to do IUI fertility treatments to get pregnant.
(02:37):
So now I am very, very estatic to have you
here today, and that being said, I'd love for you
to tell the listeners a bit about your background and
what drives your passion for improving the client experience, particularly
in healthcare and reproductive health space.
Speaker 3 (02:51):
Absolutely well, thank you so much for sharing your story
with us, Nikki. It's incredibly moving to hear that you
have that special connection with kind Body. It's a very
special company. I love it you have that connection. Stories
like yours are exactly why I'm so passionate about what
it is that I do. I've spent the past decade
in healthcare marketing focusing on connecting patients with the care
that they need during deeply personal moments, right, So what
(03:13):
drives me is knowing that behind every search or appointment
there is someone hoping for answers, and being part of
that journey is just inspired.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
That is so great. So I want to go ahead
and start diving into the good stuff. So we'll get started.
You've worked in fast paced startup environments such as kind Body,
how has that shaped your approach to content strategy and prioritization.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
Okay, I am an unabashed like enthusiast about this topic,
so bear with me as I get very excited just
to start. Before we dive into the content strategy, I
think it's important if I may to sort of set
the stage and revisit just what we need with content.
So website content specifically, many folks when they think about
a website, they think about the homepage as the front door.
(03:59):
And I know that that's not the case of your
savvy listeners who are are marketing specialists, probably, but that's
the case for a lot of folks. So as digital marketers,
we know that that's not necessarily true.
Speaker 2 (04:08):
Right.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
Most traffic actually comes to those content rich landing pages
or those optimized for specific topics, certainly treatment, diagnosis, and therapies.
And this is especially true in healthcare, where our patients
often start their journey searching for symptoms right or solutions
long before they know about a brand, so that they
could get to the home page. So that's why I
encourage people to start thinking of website content than their website,
(04:32):
not as a single entrance point, but as a hallway.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Of doors of entry points.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
And that each door is a page that meets a
patient where they're at, invites them to come in to
learn from us, whether they're searching symptoms, researching options, exploit treatments.
Our job is to make those doors engaging, accessible and
connect those patients who may not even know that that
brand exists, if they don't know to type in our
name in a Google search.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Treck right.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
So at kind body, I focused on the doors to
speak that were most likely to attract patients. So those
symptoms that diagnostics the treatment, but specifically symptom, they get
that special emphasis in my content strategy because that's where
the patient journey so often begins. When someone starts experiencing
health concern, their first instinct is to search for answers
(05:17):
what I mean, should I be worried? Is this normal?
And being there with your content to provide trusted guidance
in that moment is incredibly powerful. Side note, approximately five
to seven percent of all Google daily searches are healthcare related,
so that equates to about seventy thousand healthcare queries per
minute or over a.
Speaker 2 (05:37):
Billion each day.
Speaker 3 (05:38):
So, as you said, we know people are going to
Google and the symptoms is where is often that starting point?
Speaker 1 (05:44):
That is incredible. I did not know it was that
many Google searches. That is insane. And of course that
is how I found kind Body. I was obviously googling
my diagnosis. They gave me a diagnosis of PCOS and
I was like what does that mean? And I got
home and was like, okay, I need to do something,
(06:04):
and that's how I found Kind Bodies. So good job
on your few words, served so great things. So you've
mentioned that a practical content funnel starts with symptoms and
then it moves to diagnostics, then conditions, and then to treatments.
Can you break this down for us and explain how
each stage plays a role in guiding a patient's journey.
Speaker 3 (06:27):
Yes, absolutely, Well, I just wanted to touch back and
the symptoms content is so critical because that search is
occurring when the patient's healthcare journey has just been finer.
They haven't yet committed to a medical authority, so at
that stage they're asking those questions, right, so they're not
yet aligned with a healthcare provider. So in that sense,
you're engaging with net new patients. As a marketer, we're
(06:48):
asked to create new lead NPVs, new patient visits, so
you're speaking or engaging with individuals who haven't yet begun
to seek care. Oftentimes so they're not yet part of
an existing referra pathway. It is very hard to interrupt
and existing referral pathway. Once a person has engaged with
the primary care physician, they are often going to be
(07:08):
looking at the specialists that that healthcare that primary healthcare
physician is referring to.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
So as a.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
Healthcare marketer, having great content that explains and captures their interest.
Speaker 2 (07:20):
In those early phases is key.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
So while that diagnostics, the diagnosis, the treatment services, those
are all very important and those come next. Again, I
think it's very exciting to get that early work. So
focusing first on your symptoms and you're building that entry
point and you are talking about their pain points. Really
at that very top of funnel, you're reaching potential patients
who may not even realize they need your expertise, but
(07:43):
they're actively searching for answers. So when it comes to
identifying which symptoms to address, I love to use the
professional organizations and regulatory bodies often to collect some incredibly
valuable data, specifically causes and contributing factors within their fields.
So in different fears fields it's going to be different, right.
But in fertility, the area that I've worked in for
(08:03):
a really long time, the Society for the Assisted Reproductive
Technologies or START, they've been a key resource, a key organization.
They've been gathering detailed data on the quote causes or
the needs or the reasons why patients who ultimately got
treatment why they needed that treatment.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
So they're a great resource.
Speaker 3 (08:20):
So back in twenty eighteen, when I first began sort
of exploring and developing content for a system for creating content,
I remember thinking why I should leverage these insights, right,
So there's this data that can show me what kind
of content is most compelling to those that ultimately get treatment.
And there was one statistic that stood out, just as
I remember twenty eighteen. It was that twenty eight percent
(08:41):
of the cases of those who used artificial or assisted
reprotective technology, part of me, twenty eight percent of those
involved male factor infertility, right, And so I thought, oh,
that's really interesting. What can I do with that? And
then a side note, the World Health organization. They'll tell
you that about nine percent of the global population is
his experiences in fertility, which is defined as an inability
(09:02):
to conceive after twelve months of regular, unprotected attempts. And
yet there are some studies or studies that will show
that only fifty six percent of those of that nine
percent will actually seek medical care.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
So I was.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Thinking, all right, it's interesting to speak to those that
have the condition or have the symptoms, but why not
go further and make certain that the content I'm creating
is even more tailored to those who ultimately seek treatment,
because I know that there are a lot of other
reasons why people don't seek treatment. So they might experience
the condition, but because of the nature of the treatment,
(09:37):
negative thinking, social or cultural factors, they don't proceed in
even seeking medical treatment to solve. So I thought, okay, well,
why don't I go back to the research that shows
me the root cause for those who sought treatment? And
so I was being asked. Of course, as most healthcare
marketers are to drive patient acquisition secure appointments, so I
wanted to develop content marketing around that portion of that population,
(10:00):
and so it sparked a key question for me. So
if male factor infertility is affecting nearly one third of
the patients who seek treatment, what are those searches like?
Speaker 2 (10:09):
What did those look like?
Speaker 3 (10:10):
And I found that there was significant search volume specifically
around female partners, women who are looking for information about
male factor and fertility. They suspected that perhaps there were
my partners were contributing, or that that was part of
maybe the delay to conception. And yet I did a
little bit more research and I saw there was very
little high quality content addressing this concern, this barrier, this anxiety.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
And I thought, well, what.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
If we start developing actionable guidance for this concern one third,
it impacts one third of the population that we know
are ultimately going to move to treatment. Let's get a
really good page out there, really great content out there.
So it was a bit of a light bulb moment
where I realized that healthcare marketers can use sort of
that untapped content opportunity, inspiration from healthcare.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Organizations that have great statistics.
Speaker 3 (11:00):
And it fills in that critical gap that helps us
build trust and deliver real value to those who are
seeking answers.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
That's such a good point, I mean, that is truly
what the goals are is to build the trust and
I love that. I could hear you talk about these
stages all day, but that is just the healthcare marketing
NERD and MACE and for healthcare providers juggling multiple content needs.
Speaker 4 (11:23):
What's your process for prioritizing which topics to focus on
first as you're looking at building that trust and what
people are searching for.
Speaker 3 (11:31):
Yeah, absolutely, I do think symptoms align nicely with that
awareness stage. Where As marketers are all familiar with the stage, right,
so patients often begin searching. So symptoms awareness stage, make
sure that you have enough doors that acknowledge those. So again,
in my specialty, it's irregular periods or regular cycles, but
for other specialties it'll be muscle sortuce or tiredness or
(11:54):
figure out what it is that they're experiencing early so
you can become an authority on that, or they might
come to you early and understand. And then of course
that diagnostics stage, maybe they've gone to a consultation and
they are in that consideration phase. You want to have
a very healthy diagnostics content that shows them what it
is that they can expect that I see oftentimes it's
(12:16):
making certain that they feel good about what they're about.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
To step into for that new patient appointment.
Speaker 3 (12:21):
So, okay, what is this testing? What is this all about?
We have a lot of type as who want to
know what it is that they're stepping into and the conditions.
When you start to developed conditions content that often aligns with
that decision making stage. All right, so I have a condition,
the doctor's given me a diagnosis. What does that mean?
What are the dual diagnostics? You know, what are the
sister conditions? What does this mean? Is? Or how can
(12:42):
I understand it better? There's some identity consideration going on there.
And then, of course treatment treatment is when you know
there's sort of an action step and they're almost being
sold I hate to use that word, but almost being
asked to take action. And that's when a doctor has
sort of given them a treatment plan and they want
to understand that treatment. I think there's a temptation off
been to product tize and talk about your treatment and
services and really dig into those pages. And certainly you
(13:06):
need to have a great product page that talks about
your treatments. But if you want to earn your net
new patients, you've got to get those symptoms of diagnosis
in this condition, treatment content out there as well, because
that's really what's going to get you those leads.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yeah, it's always complicated to talk about our patients as
someone we're selling to. You have to look at it
like that, and it makes it a little complicated and
you kind of have the moral dilemma with it.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
But the ultimate goal is to.
Speaker 1 (13:34):
Get them what they need, and that is unfortunately comes
with the territory of having to sell what your treatments are.
Speaker 3 (13:41):
And to your point, I think for me creating content
and aiming at new patient visits right stabilizing those acquisition costs,
I always emphasize that it should meet three criteria, so
your keywords should have a healthy search volume. There are
so many times where you speak with maybe at a
startup or a really enthusiastic a larger organization, and they
want to talk about something that the doctor just did
(14:01):
and it's really cool and they're pumped about it, but
there's zero interest in those real cys.
Speaker 5 (14:07):
Well, breaking down healthcare terms is very complicated, absolutely, Yeah,
and then there's the terms, you know, like you've got
really long words that get put into like ACIB and
things like that, and you have to try to explain
that to people that aren't in our world every day.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
Yes, absolutely, so I always say I love that and
I love that enthusiasm, and that's the sort of thing
that maybe I want to talk about on that doctor's
page is like their specialty. But when I'm building content
to earn leads, I want there to be content around
keywords that have a very healthy search volume, and I
want those keywords to have commercial intent, right, So, like
there are times where we're informing. That's better when it's informational,
(14:44):
but there's also commercial intent around. And then this is
one that I always sort of recenter ourselves around, which
is is this content or is this keyword content?
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Is this topic?
Speaker 3 (14:54):
Is it relevant prior to a point of conversion? Because again, Americans,
once they get in that fun of referral, oftentimes depending
on what kind of healthcare we're dealing with, if they've
already have a trusted medical provider that they're going to
listen to them, and they're going to listen to who
it is that they tell them to go to next,
And so developing content that high in search volume commercial intent,
(15:15):
and then challenge yourself to write content that is relevant
to prior that point of that conversion of them selecting
a healthcare provider, and then that makes for some really
great content. And of course there is always room for
sort of second opinion content or people who are second
guessing or maybe thinking about going to a different doctor
or seeing a different clinician.
Speaker 4 (15:33):
But that is not many layers.
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Yeah, there's many players, but I'm going to start. I'd
say you start with those first three criteria.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, absolutely, I mean, and that brings me to a
really good question about balancing education. So how can providers
balance educational content about symptoms and conditions with the need
to build trust and encouraged for patients to seek the
care they need.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Yeah, I so appreciate this question.
Speaker 3 (15:57):
I think balancing educational content and build trust and encouraging
patients to seek that care is all about human connection.
It comes back to us being humans, right. So one
of the most effective ways to achieve this is by
weaving in authentic patient stories. So these stories will resonate deeply,
They'll reflect that real life experience of others who face
similar challenges. I like to make certain that my authentic
(16:21):
patient stories go so far as to mention the symptoms
that they were having, right, so that maybe an early
patient or early user your website say.
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Oh yeah, wait, those are the symptoms I'm having.
Speaker 3 (16:33):
Right, So it's not just all about the story doesn't
start ideally when you're asking your patients to share their narratives.
It doesn't start with them shaking hands with the doctor.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
It starts with them.
Speaker 3 (16:42):
Going, I was nervous because I had never felt like
this before. I was dizzy. And making sure that those
are included in your patient stories is important because that
helps connect people with hey, that's me, and then having
their stories full be authentic, have setbacks, include considerations, concerns, bearers,
reasons why they almost didn't do it, but then they
did do it. They went forward with treatment or they
(17:04):
went forward with the diagnostic, they understood more, and then
their outcome. And I think that that's incredibly powerful for
weaving it all together.
Speaker 2 (17:11):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
I think that's a really really good way of looking
at everything. I'm going to do a little bit of
a transition into data and ROI and measuring ROI and
healthcare content can be tricky. So what KPIs or metrics
are you focusing on to ensure the content funnel is
driving results.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Absolutely, metrics they just don't lie, right, So those sessions
from those organic search traffic that's especially important for our
high value keywords that we're targeting. That's a key indicator
for me. Metrics like impressions click through rates for those
pages will show you how well that content is capturing
attention and then motivating action conversion. As a cost aware
healthcare marketer who's worked and some projects where we were
(17:51):
asked to be scrappy everybody's favorite marketing word, I've always
prioritized elevating patient acquisition costs, right, So having that in
the center and knowing my lifetime value from different patients.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
There are some healthcare networks.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
That have a really wide range of lifetime value depending
on the type of patient that they have. So being
aware of the content that drives earns different patient types
and that cost of acquisition and the ultimate lifetime value
and then just that percentage of new patients attributed to
the organic channel through that content. These metrics ensure that
(18:25):
I'm driving not just traffic, but also attracting the right
patients in a sustainable way. And then I have to
admit I remain a little cautious about the role of
ads in essential or high acuity healthcare specialties, and I know,
I know I can feel some of my peers going boo.
You know, I remain cautious about it because these are
areas of exceptional sensitivity. There's a level of trust, right
(18:49):
and the messaging. The messaging can feel over sales y
sometimes and if it feels transactional, I think that can
clash with the gravity of the patient needs and just
gives a little bit of a warning signal. So while
ads certainly play a role, and there are so many
fabulous healthcare marketers out there that are incredible at paid ads,
(19:10):
but particularly for brand awareness, I definitely want to say
I understand why that's important, but I believe organic content
is foundational to those trust driven strategies and it often
provides that most effective and sustainable foundation for patient acquisition.
So ads are great, and your ads often give you
a little bit bigger of a fast kick, But if
(19:31):
you're not also building content that supplies that organic content
that's trust driven, I think there is a natural well,
there's just greater trust to something that they feel they
came upon and they're educating. They're in a mode of
feeling educated and empowered through their own research versus seen
in ad.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yeah, I mean there's sensitivity for sure around that. And
that's why it's so important to rank organically and to
concentrate on your SEO. And that's why I do a
lot of search is my main focus, because you want
to rank for those keywords people are already searching for,
and that is building good content around that instead of
just selling to people.
Speaker 2 (20:10):
Amen. I love yeah, I love that.
Speaker 1 (20:13):
And so for the providers who may lack robust resources
or teams, what are some practical tips you have for
maximizing impact while keeping their content strategy manageable?
Speaker 3 (20:23):
So if you're a sole practitioner without a marketing team,
I recommend first, and this is maybe a little bit
of a pivot, but focus on building out your Google
business profile formally Google my business, not just for your
clinic or your business that you work for, but for
you yourself as a clinician, unless it's you know the
two are one and the same, in which case, go
for it. This is, in my opinion, the single most
impactful marketing effort a clinician can take on independently. And
(20:48):
I know that it might feel a little yucky at first,
little uncomfy, but it shouldn't. It's your reputation and your
Google profile is a direct way to help patients who
need to find your expertise. You're really doing yourself a favor,
You're doing them a favor, and it's one of the
more powerful things you can do is just to encourage
your patients to leave reviews and encourage your patients, even
(21:08):
with sort of a clever outline, to talk about the
symptoms they had the treatment that hesitation, So they're not
just saying doctor Smith was incredible, really love her, she
was great. They're sharing a little bit of their story
in their review right, And you can make this easy
for your patients to do. You can hand them maybe
a small card with a QR code that leads directly
to your review profile, and you can kind of give
(21:30):
them a little hints about what you'd love for them
to talk about and encourage them and let them know
too they're helping others. Those positive reviews with a little
bit of a story touch will build trust, will also
improve the visibility, and it will ensure more patients will
benefit from your care. So that's a practical approach, and
I would say even if you are in a network
and they're not opposed to you building out your own
(21:52):
business profile and refer parting me your own reviews. I
love that for you. Please do that, take that opportunity
and start early because there's such equity in it.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
Oh, patients stories and testimonials are key, right, you know
you want to hear from people who have been through it.
It's the first thing I did when I was looking
at where I was going to go for fertility treatments.
I want to know did this work for other people?
What were people's experiences, what were the hardships? I wanted
to know everything, and I went to real people. I mean,
(22:22):
it's how we buy things on Amazon, It's how we
do everything, so why wouldn't we do it for healthcare?
Speaker 2 (22:27):
I so agree? I agree.
Speaker 1 (22:28):
So you emphasize the importance of highlighting a healthcare's brand's
unique value proposition. How can providers showcase what sets them
apart while remaining authentic and patient focused?
Speaker 2 (22:41):
Absolutely? I love this questions.
Speaker 3 (22:42):
I want to highlight an article that you recently wrote
and published that I really enjoyed that Back to Basics,
the Rediscovery Foundations of marketing. I loved that article, Miki,
it was great and I know wonderful. If you haven't
read it, folks, go ahead check it out. I'm longing
for my blog. I love it. I think it does
a great I am in agreement with what it is
(23:03):
that you're saying here because I think there are times
where we get lost in some of the fancy. Right
you're building a house on sand if it's just the trend.
So highlighting healthcare brand unique proposition doesn't always require overthinking
or grandiose claims.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
For that patient.
Speaker 3 (23:18):
The unique value for that patient maybe that you accept
their insurance, you're within a convenient radius of their home,
you have a star rating of above four, and you
appear approachable and trustworthy. So I'm asking folks to consider
step away from the unique value proposition as a brand
presentation for a moment and consider what is uniquely valuable
(23:40):
to your patient on a practical level.
Speaker 2 (23:42):
And sometimes it's those things, right, So get.
Speaker 4 (23:44):
Those conveniences definitely veians.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Yeah, I will say I traveled forty minutes to go
to kind Body because I can't and it was because
of the value proposition that you guys were putting out
there and closer to DOINGUI I had to go every
day at eight am forty minutes for about a week
and a half before work.
Speaker 3 (24:05):
It's very real, just as a pluged to kind Body,
and it was what you felt that they were female led,
they listened, they had great world class doctors.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
They truly were patient focused, They put us first, and
I just felt like another number at some of the
other places that I had explored and actually had a
couple opportunities to talk to doctors there, and I won't
name names because them up, but I felt very seen
and heard at kind Body that.
Speaker 2 (24:35):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (24:35):
One of the other things I love about kind Body
is the optimism of the environment and of the brand. Right,
so it's very much like we will figure this out
for you, we are in it with you. And I
think they do a great job with their brand visuals
and we do a great job with that.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I totally agree with that.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
It was a very optimistic and you know, where you're
going through something that you're not sure how it's going
to turn out, you need that to encouragement and optimist.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
Absolutely absolutely.
Speaker 3 (25:02):
I will say when with a specialty with an elective aspect,
so say specifically fertility, that's usually preservation is more the
elective or dermatology or aesthetic. Then yes, I think an
approach talking about an approach, talking about your holistic philosophy.
I think that brand unique value proposition is key. It's
very important. And the trick there, of course is not
(25:23):
the trick, but it's just to be consistent to know
what is authentic to your doctors, to your core that
is their treatment commitment. It's not something you made up.
It's something that's true, that feels true when you walk in,
when you speak with everyone, and it's not just something
they slapped on. It absolutely has to be part of
that culture. And so once you understand that, then it's
easier to communicate as a marketer.
Speaker 1 (25:44):
Yeah, I completely get that. So what are some of
the biggest challenges healthcare providers face when implementing said patient
centered content strategy and how can they overcome some roadblocks
they're going to face.
Speaker 3 (25:56):
Absolutely, I'd say, honestly, it's just getting started is the
biggest challenge.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
When people overthink this a lot.
Speaker 3 (26:01):
Healthcare providers often overthink or they delay because the process
can feel overwhelming. But the key is to start small,
focus on those high impact topics like common symptoms or
frequently ask questions, oh, please please have a frequently asked
questions page that is relevant to your patients, right, and
build from there. I say progress beats perfection every time,
(26:22):
so begain investing in building out and yes, the things
that are interesting to you and to other clinicians, I
love that for you, that's great, But just go back
and think about the conversations that you're having with your
patients day and day out and allow that to inspire
your content building. Another challenge I would say can be
if you're a marketer and you're in a wider team,
(26:42):
is leadership sort of expecting an immediate return on investment
the ROI because content creation is a bit of a
longer term investment. It takes time to build and earn
that organic traction. So gaining leaderships trust that's key. Helping
them understand that the patient mindset, you know, sometimes they're
overwhelmed and sometimes they need a slow education, and that
importance of investing in quality content to attract and engage
(27:06):
those patients over time will pay off handsomely.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
I completely agree with that education to both the leadership
and the patients. It goes hand in hand. So for
healthcare startups or providers just getting started, what's one piece
of advice you'd give to prioritize content that resonates with patients.
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Talk with your doctors. They are the experts who interact
with your patients daily. So if you don't have a
setup already where you're interacting really graciously and hearing authentically
from your patients, start by talking with your doctors. Experts,
they understand the root causes, they understand the conditions that
they treat, their early symptoms of the patients that they
experience these questions. Ask your doctors about that. Ask what
(27:45):
questions their patients ask them most often. These insights are
going to be very valuable for creating patient centered content.
And then you can ask your CX what are the
most common questions that you guys are getting right, and okay,
let's create content that addresses the concerns. And then you
can valid of course with search volume tools that give
you that solid foundation for your strategy. And beyond that,
as a marketer, when you're speaking with your doctor, you
(28:06):
get to know them, which is really cool because then
you know a little bit more about their approach, You
learn about them as a human. Their humanity becomes more
clear to you, and you see them truly caring for patients,
which is almost always the case, right, So if you
spend time observing or just interacting or seeing how they
interact with their patients, you're going to understand what they do,
and it becomes so much more than just creating content.
Speaker 2 (28:28):
You become fortunate enough.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I've been fortunate enough to work with incredible doctors and
I've been really lucky in this regard. So it makes
my marketing for them and attracting patients for them really
exciting and inspiring, and I can add a little bit
of flair when I'm talking about that doctor. I do
believe that our doctors should be presented back. It's important
that clinicians remain sort of the true stars of the show,
(28:50):
the center of the stories, and presenting them as those
experts and being partners in the patient journey. So showcasing
them is a big part of it. So you can
do that best once you know them a little bit,
So just experiencing with them and being around them is
a great way to go.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
I completely agree.
Speaker 1 (29:08):
I actually encourage a lot of my clients to really
showcase exactly what you're saying. The doctors as part of
the community. These are people that live in your community.
They are mothers, fathers, keyball coaches, like a PTA members.
These are people who are in your everyday community that
you want to showcase. Those as people who are going.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
To be there for you, absolutely, and your admiration for
their work and for who they are. It will naturally
fuel your efforts. It'll shine through in the content that
you create off them. Yeah, yes, absolutely, I agree, I
completely agree.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
So what trends do you see shaping health care content
strategies in the next few years, especially as digital healthcare
continues to evolve.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Yeah, I'm interested in what you think about this too.
I would say we're going to see interactive content. I
think you'll see symptoms checkers and decision tools and AI
driven chatbots. I think that will come in to bigger play, certainly,
and I am not scared of generative AI. Know that
you're also.
Speaker 2 (30:04):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Bring it up, Larry mugetrais you too, I'm ready.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
I'm so excited about it. But as those tools come in,
I think trust building will remain critical, and in fact,
I think they'll become all the more critical because it's
going to be easier to put out mass produced content.
So trust building and authentic patient stories that are clinic
led content that person voice from clinicians. That's going to
(30:29):
become just as important or will have a pendulumce going
back to how important that is, because we know it's
easy to just generate content that maybe clinician never even
saw our thought about. So that'll become even more important
in the crowded digital space. But I would love to
know what do you think is we're going to see?
Speaker 1 (30:46):
Yeah, I think a couple of years ago everyone was
talking about voice to like Google and just doing that,
but I never saw that as something that healthcare was
going to do.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
No one is talking to their Google like, hey, my
head hurt. Do you think it might be a tumor?
Speaker 1 (31:00):
But what people are doing now is they're using AI
and video content like TikTok as a search engine and
TikTok to do it. So video content is going to
be key, and those AI chat pots need to be
on their game because you know, you don't want people
looking up AI and it's telling them misinformation.
Speaker 2 (31:20):
Absolutely, I so agree with that.
Speaker 1 (31:22):
Yeah, so finally we are coming to and unfortunately, though
I could talk to you all day, i'd love to
know what inspires you to keep pushing for innovative and
meaningful solutions in the healthcare and particularly fertility space.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
Absolutely infertility.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
We always say that once you get into family building,
it's really hard to go back to anything else. You
literally help people with having a child. It's it's a
very compelling, it's awesome work. And so infertility is that
profound knowledge that the doctors I work with can truly
change lives. So when I earn a lead and a
patient and I get them to connect with that doctor,
I know that I've given that patient the best path option,
(32:01):
the best passable shot of having a child. They've always
streamed up and I just give myself chills, Like it's
still after ten plus years. It's very compelling, it's very exciting,
and just yeah, connecting patients beyond that, beyond just fertility,
I would say, I am driven by a mission to
elevate true medical experts, true medical expertise. Right, So the
(32:21):
folks who have dedicated their lives to science and to
patient care, I want to help put them back in
the forefront of healthcare. I appreciate influencers as influencer patients,
but I don't know that influencers without medical degrees or
clinical backgrounds. I don't want them the ones influencing the
content that results early. So those who've taken the hippocratic oath,
(32:41):
I want to help put them in center stage. That
just feels like a purpose worthwith suing. It's worked out, matters,
and I'm really really proud to be part of it.
Speaker 1 (32:49):
I can tell how passionate you are about this, and
I just love that. It's truly inspiring to hear you.
When you love something and you love what you do,
it truly makes you an expert. You live it and
breathe it every day. And I am just so honored
you are here to share with my listeners. And thank
you so much for being on the show today. It
was truly my.
Speaker 2 (33:09):
Pleasure, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (33:10):
Thank you so much, Minke, you so appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Thank absolutely.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
That wraps up another episode of Top Digital to Me,
where we uncover the latest trends and topics in digital marketing, tech,
AI innovation, and the strategies for personal and professional growth.
I hope Jesse's insights into creating patience centered content inspired
you to rethink how your brand can build trust and connection.
Speaker 4 (33:33):
If you enjoyed this episode.
Speaker 1 (33:35):
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Share it with a
friend or colleague who could benefit from these insights, and
subscribe on whatever platform you are listening to me now
until next time, keep building trust, crafting stories, and making
a difference.
Speaker 2 (33:49):
See you soon.
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