corporatecustom servicespublicationsweb solutionswellness booklets

Coffeyblog

Build trust in your marketing content

Feb 15, 2010 by Coffey Communications

Whether custom or syndicated, keep your consumer health information accurate and up-to-date in order to build trust.  

Some people say television programming is terrible these days. Others say there is more quality programming now than ever before; you just have to sift through the muck to find it.  

The same challenge exists for health care consumers looking for quality content on the Internet or in print: unlimited resources, only a fraction of which could be considered dependable, accurate and trustworthy sources of information.  

As a health care marketer, do you want to be cast into the vast muck of unreliable content? Or would you rather be among the highly valued minority of content providers that readers return to again and again for quality health information?  

Delivering quality  

Good things take time. Bad things, such as inaccuracy, take no time at all to resonate with readers. Protect yourself against that possibility by offering your audience the most accurate, most up-to-date, most relevant content available.  

Kip Kelly, senior vice president for business development at Coffey Communications, Inc., says that planned, or syndicated, content is the safest way to go to ensure accuracy.  

“The quality of planned content tends to be higher from the standpoint of general health information. It’s more thoroughly researched, there is more time taken for proofreading and fact-checking. Sources are of the highest level, and the material is up-to-date, detailed and applicable to a large audience.  

“Custom content is the trendy choice these days. But unless you’re willing to put more time, effort and budget into doing a truly custom publication, you might be better off spending less and getting more for your money.  

“If you’re going to go custom, go all the way, don’t just write your own copy so that you can include local doctors and sources,” Kelly adds. “We can do that with our planned content and save you money.  

“Testimonials, patient success stories—that is where the additional time and money can add value. Custom content should provide readers with content they can’t get anywhere else, not just sources they can’t get anywhere else.”  

A healthy balance  

At Coffey, part of the effort that goes into planned content libraries is balance—balance across a wide spectrum of relevant, interesting and helpful health topics, with an emphasis on the most heavily searched topics, such as heart, cancer and diabetes. We also have a balance—reflected in the end product—between the content provided by Coffey and the custom content incorporated at the local level.  

“That’s where people often misunderstand what Coffey means when we talk about syndicated, or planned, content versus custom content,” Kelly points out. “What many people would consider custom we just happen to call planned. But we plan with you, our clients, in mind.  

“When used properly, our planned content doesn’t look syndicated at all. The stories are branded to our clients’ facility with the proper logos and colors, and they contain quotes from your local doctors and information specific to services offered by your organization.”  

Best of both worlds  

Whether you choose custom content or planned content, Coffey’s award-winning staff will deliver results. “Once we’ve captured the readers’ attention, they’ll be exposed to whatever specific customization you’ve incorporated into the stories, such as your doctors’ names and contact information, quotes from your experts and information on your hospital’s specific services, equipment and events,” Kelly says.  

“Our custom products are fully custom—design, topics, editorial philosophy all chosen by you and then brought to life by Coffey,” he says. “And our planned products are really custom articles that just haven’t been customized yet. They provide a template for you to fill in—like a kid’s coloring book. We provide the outline, the big picture, then you color it in and make it yours with whatever information you wish.”
Previous post: Build better relationships with multichannel marketing
Next post: Sharing common ground: Building a positive relationship with your hospital foundation