Four ways to improve your rural hospital marketing strategy

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Four Ways To Improve Your Rural Hospital
Marketing Strategy
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• Marketing strategies arent always top
  priorities for hospitals and clinics in small
  communities. Marketing tends to be done as ideas
  come up and needs arise. While its good to be
  flexible, not committing to planning a rural
  hospital marketing strategy can mean lost
  opportunities and lost revenue. 
• Sitting down to update your marketing
  strategy and identify areas of opportunity will
  help your hospital save time in the long run by
  setting expectations and giving you a schedule
  that fits your resources. 

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Set Goals And Look Ahead

• The key to planning ahead is knowing
  where you are so you can make the right steps for
  your rural hospital marketing plan. Assess where
  your marketing strategy is now and decide where
  you want it to be during a specific and
  measurable period of time. 
• Budgets are always on the minds of rural
  healthcare leaders. Knowing what is realistic to
  accomplish using the resources you have will help
  you adjust your strategy when necessary and
  prevent you from going over budget. Its also
  important to know what aspects of your rural
  healthcare marketing strategy get you the most
  bang for your buck. For many rural hospitals this
  could be the swing bed program or physical
  therapy. 
• Look at what is coming up on your
  hospitals calendar. Think about the types of
  events that seem like a natural fit for the
  hospital or events that you want to highlight.
  In May, for example, you could focus your
  marketing materials on Hospital Week and Nurses
  Week as opportunities to raise awareness of your
  rural hospitals healthcare team.

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Choose The Right Marketing Tools For Your Goals

• Its important to prioritize your
  marketing materials so you can maximize exposure
  and engagement. A press release in the local
  newspaper, for example, is worth 3 to 5 times the
  cost of an advertisement of similar size. This is
  because it is a story and not a paid
  advertisement.
• Also consider other marketing
  opportunities, such as a radio advertisement or a
  newsletter or direct mailer.
• Think about how you can use your online
  presence to add to your rural healthcare
  marketing and public relations strategy.
  Leveraging your rural hospitals social media
  presence is an important and cost effective way
  to connect with your community.

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Dedicate the right person for the job

• Rural hospitals often dont have enough
  money in the budget for a dedicated marketing
  team. Thats why they often choose to spread some
  of the responsibilities to various members of the
  team.
• While this is a good way to get more out
  of your marketing budget, it can prove difficult
  to coordinate when team members dont know
  exactly what they are supposed to be doing. 
• Dedicating the same person to check the
  main email account every morning will ensure hat
  it isnt forgotten. Having one person to update
  the social media accounts will make sure you
  speak with the same voice. Consistency and
  clarity are key to a smooth marketing operation.

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Be Prepared

• Having your rural healthcare marketing
  materials ready in advance will alleviate the
  rush to get everything done as events and
  deadlines approach. Knowing at the beginning of
  the month what needs to be done every week will
  help guide you and your team toward what you are
  preparing for. If you have your marketing
  materials on hand and ready to use, you will be
  able to meet your goals!

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A rural healthcare marketing strategy will pay
dividends

• It is no secret that rural hospitals
  have small budgets, and resources for rural
  hospital marketing are often the first things to
  go. However, keeping your healthcare facility in
  front of your community and raising awareness of
  your providers will help improve trust and slow
  out-migration. The key to doing that is working
  on your marketing strategy making a plan,
  knowing your resources, and dedicating the right
  person for the job. 
• SRJEasyHealthcare.com is a
  membership-based program that takes the stress
  out of rural healthcare marketing by providing
  the marketing tools and support you and your team
  need. As a member, you have access to powerful
  marketing tools such as press releases, social
  media posts, advertising and more so you can
  spend more time on your other myriad tasks. 
• To learn more, check out member
  benefits or call us at 1-800-411-7401 for a free
  consultation.