Three Ways to Create a Healthier Media Mindset - Tips from the Healthcare Practice

There’s no question that the world is in the midst of many changes that are significantly impacting industries across the board - travel, real estate, retail, technology, and especially healthcare. News headlines are flooded with stories focused on the proposed ACA repeal, government funding for health IT development and women’s health access. While many reporters now solely focus on politics, others - even at trade media - are finding ways to link their stories to the impact of new policies on their industries. With both healthcare and the media landscape undergoing a major shift, it’s now more important than ever to connect your news with the news.

At InkHouse, we are thinking everyday about how to effectively tell healthcare-based stories - everything from health IT software and medical devices to consumer health startups - while also inserting them into ongoing conversations. Here are a few different approaches that have been successful - check ‘em out!

Build a foundational piece of content

Developing eBooks might require heavy lifting from start to finish, however, once completed, the possibilities are endless. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but they act as an excellent resource to repurpose expert commentary, build insightful content and grow your executives' thought leadership platforms within the rapidly evolving media landscape.

Still not convinced? Last year we created a four chapter eBook for PatientKeeper. By strategically slicing and dicing the content, we secured 12 pieces of media coverage in both business press and top trade publications including TechCrunch, Huffington Post, MedCity News and Health IT Outcomes. Investing in a foundational piece of content can fuel an entire campaign over several weeks, elevating your point of view and generating opportunities to proactively and reactively comment on the industry news du jour.

Develop a strong blog

With so many reporters focused on policies and the political climate, it’s can be harder to get a word in edgewise and reach your audiences. So it’s wise to also use your blog as a home for your points of view, your data insights, product news, new hires, customer wins and so on. The goal here is to build your blog into a industry resource, a destination for industry players in your space. Key to this is to use social media to drive readers to your posts as well as syndicating and republishing your content on sites like LinkedIn and Medium. And don't forget to engage in social conversations around the topics you are blogging about.

Determine what’s relevant

What can you do if your executives aren’t isn’t interested in or comfortable taking a stance on what's happening on Capitol Hill? An alternative is to identify something in your industry news that directly impacts your audiences and formulate a strong, validated opinion. For example, a March 2017 study revealed that inactivity can lead to weaker bones in teenagers. This could present health tracking apps with opportunities to comment on their role in monitoring wellbeing and use the study as a timely hook for media outreach.

It’s always crucial to keep your fingers on the pulse of this changing media landscape. Foundational content, a killer blog and paying attention to what’s relevant and timely will help you break through and be relevant.