The other creative considerations

So, in addition to size, here are some of the other creative considerations...

6. Think single-focus offer. Nail this one down tight. Postcards are offer-driven, meaning that it is the precise, strong offer that needs to be communicated instantly. There is no time or space for long or detailed text in this media. Start and end with the main point–a clear and compelling offer. You need to grab attention and communicate a single-focus message in just a few words. 7. Think benefit. Within the confined space, connect the offer/message to a benefit of importance to the reader. The offer is the "why they should act now," but the bigger-picture benefit is "what's in it for them." Maintain focus, but there may be more than one benefit. 8. Think bold graphics. The visual elements of a postcard (color, picture, symbol) need to be strong to help get attention and be directly supportive of the message. Anything weak is not seen, and an unrelated graphic is meaningless, confusing or distracting. 9. Think call to immediate action. A well-composed creative message inspires response, so the means of response–your phone number, for example-needs to be obvious. (You would be surprised at how often we find that the phone number is not obvious and sometimes missing.) And having a clear deadline, expiration date, limited quantity or consequence of inaction that is connected to the offer communicates immediacy and increases response.

These considerations are part of the formula for success and, frankly, it's a tough creative challenge to manage all these tasks with few words and small size. You can call us to discuss how postcards may have a well-considered place in your marketing program.

For more enquiries, please email us at sales@medicalamrketing.com.hk or call us at 852-25801059 in office hour HKT 10:00 to 14:00 / 15:00-19:00.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

Hire us! Why? Because we have …

1.      Solid experience in management of medical-related projects.

2.      Ability to collaborate and work well medical professionals.

3.      Good understanding of usability, conversion funnels, web analytics, web design, and information architecture design.

4.      Good understanding of technical requirements of organic search

5.      Good medical writing skills and HTML skills

6.      Similar approach and philosophy about organic search as yours.

7.      Familiarize with Google’s webmaster guidelines.

If you have interest on the web marketing in Asia, you are also recommended to visit www.asia-web-marketing.com as well.

 

Think about Twitter as a place to build relationships - Adapted from best practice of “twitter”

Instead of approaching Twitter as a place to broadcast information about your company, think of it as a place to build relationships. Put into practice, that means you could do things like:

Include in your Bio and/or custom background the names (or @usernames) of the people twittering from your company account. It’s also a good idea to include additional contact info, like email addresses.

Listen regularly for comments about your medical products—and be prepared to address concerns, offer customer service or thank people for praise.

Tip: In addition to keeping an eye on your @messages, you can use our Saved Searches feature to easily track mentions of your medical services, etc. From your Twitter home page, simply run a search, and then at the top of your results page, click “Save this search.” A link with your search term will appear on the right side of your page, and whenever you click it, you’ll get real-time results for that query. To delete a search, just head to the top of your results and click “Remove this search.”

Use a casual, friendly tone in your messages.

While you shouldn’t feel compelled to follow everyone who follows you, do respond to some questions or comments addressed to you.

Post links to articles and sites you think folks would find interesting—even if they’re not your sites or about your company.

Make sure your tweets provide some real value. You know better than we do what is valuable, but here are few examples to spark ideas:

• Offer Twitter exclusive coupons or deals
• Take people behind the scenes of your company
• Post pictures from your offices, stores, warehouses, etc.
• Share sneak peeks of projects or events in development

Don’t spam people. Twitter’s following model means that you have to respect the interests and desires of other people here or they’ll unfollow you.

For more enquiries, please call us at 852-25801058 for more information.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

Facebook Gets Closer to a Trademark on the Word ‘Face

Abstracted from Kim-Mai Cutler

 

Facebook moved one step closer to securing a trademark on the word “Face” when it’s used with online chat rooms or bulletin boards, after receiving a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today.

After this, the company has six months to file a statement of use and pay a fee. An examining attorney can either approve the statement, file a refusal or ask for additional requirements. If it’s approved, then the patent and trademark office will usually issue a registration within two months.
Facebook first filed for this trademark almost five years ago in December of 2005. That was when it had only raised its first venture round of investment from Accel Partners and was still a college social networking site.
The trademark would cover the word “face” when it pertains to:
Telecommunication services, namely, providing online chat rooms and electronic bulletin boards for transmission of messages among computer users in the field of general interest and concerning social and entertainment subject matter, none primarily featuring or relating to motoring or to cars.
If Facebook is awarded a trademark on the word “face”, it shouldn’t interfere with Apple’s mobile video calling service Facetime, since the Cupertino-based device maker has a trademark on that term itself.
Facebook has also tried to trademark other words. It has at least 15 trademark applications around the “like” buttons it launched in April, some of which cover the word “like” itself.
The social network tends to be more aggressive with its trademarks than its patents, which it has implied it acquires mostly for defensive purposes. The company is currently embroiled in a dispute with parody site Lamebook, which takes user-generated screenshots of off-color interactions on the social network. It also sued social network aggregator Power.com for trademark infringement last year.

For more enquiries, please call us at 852-25801058 for more information.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

Three key elements to maximize your efforts on medical marketing – ask patients to refer, maximize online exposures and “first phone call”.

 

It's also important to work the top gateways, and they may not be what you think. Gateways into the practice may have shifted in the new marketing landscape. People don't come in the door because you "do everything." They opt for elective care that answers a specific need-a marketing gateway-that you can provide to them.

If you're wondering where to start—and your marketing war chest is strained—begin by beefing-up your internal marketing effort. In our experience, communicating with present and previous patients via email is often underutilized or totally forgotten. Email is a low cost tool, especially when compared to full-page, color print ads in up-scale magazines.

Don't be reluctant to ask for patient referrals. It's a task that shouldn't be delegated or neglected. Satisfied patients are not only a great source for referrals, they are often eager to respond. (Increasingly they use digital and social media for recommendations and referrals.) But you have to ask—and make it a habit.

Online marketing tools are relatively low in cost and the payback can be good. Tune-up your internet strategy for maximum leverage. Are you getting the most from your internet investment or is your website overdue for updates? Are you pulling people into the site with email, online advertising, a video strategy, and other tools? Do you have new marketing gateways to present? Is your website attracting visitors and page views, but the phone isn't ringing?

Your website needs regular attention, but blogs and social media have become an important part the new landscape. Do you have a blog, a Facebook page, and/or a Twitter account? Many practitioners have adopted these communications channels with impressive results. Here again, the cost is low, but the highly individualized nature of these tools—often delivered to a personal smart phone—makes them exceptionally effective.

It's also important to know exactly what's happening at your front desk. More often than you'd like to hear about, a lot of potential business is lost in the first phone call. It takes a special talent, training and experience to handle inbound phone inquiries and convert these calls to office appointments. Many first-time callers are curious, but not convinced. And without the right person helping them, they often disappear.

For more enquiries, please call us at 852-25801058 for more information.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

Trend of web marketing

 

Today, big and mid-size corporations reallocate huge advertising budgets from traditional promotional activities to internet marketing options. To understand why, take a look of the following list:

•  Captive market – the people who are using search engines are definitely looking for something. Unlike facebook, people who open an internet browser or search engine are going to engage in a hunt that will brig a result as a part of a motivational activity; they do not visit the search engines necessarily to have fun, to relax…
• Attracted buyers – this market has a high chance to purchase and a receptive to engage in a transaction.
• Interested market – The user’s curiosity about the product or service has been established.
• Traceable market – the audience and its activity on each web site can be detailed and identified in order to be analyzed form a marketing perspective
• Interactivity factor – Cross selling and promotional outcomes as a result of users’ interactivity with your interface.

For more enquiries, please call us at 852-25801058 for more information.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

QUICK TIP on working on a medical practice blog

Before you start your practice blog ask yourself these questions:
• What do I want to accomplish?
• Who is my target audience?
• Will my blog be personal or corporate in tone?
• Will I write the blog alone or with a group or guests?
• How often will I post?
• What kinds of media can I use?
• Once you are clear about why you are starting a blog, you’ll need a title and a tagline. They let visitors know what your blog is about when they reach your page.

For more enquiries, please call us at 852-25801058 for more information. www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

Will Facebook kill email? Not any time soon for healthcare practices.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg introduced a new messaging platform this week that takes aim at one of the Internet's first applications, e-mail. Declaring e-mail past its prime in the age of texts and instant messages, he said e-mail was just one component of the company’s plans to build a modern, multi-faceted messaging system for its users.

The ways we get our information and communicate with one another is definitely changing. Today’s patient may be away from their computer, but still has the internet at their fingertips. Mobile devices have become staggeringly powerful. Their e-mail Inbox is only a few clicks away on their phone and they expect businesses to communicate through all of the channels they prefer, including text and social media like Facebook.  The desire to interact with your practice from any channel reinforces the importance of integrating social media into your marketing plan. The expectation extends to being able to reach information about your practice whenever the patient wants and FROM whatever they want. 

For more enquiries, please call us at 852-25801058 for more information.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk

How can I use a blog to promote my practice?

There are over 200 million blogs currently online and more being started every second! Your patients are most likely interacting with a blog on a daily basis, whether they know it or not.  Many websites integrate a blog into their site so that content can consistently be updated.  First, your medical practice website could benefit from consistent and keyword rich updates because fresh content is a key component of the Google algorithm in determining web site placement on searches.  The blog section of your website could simply be called “blog” or something more specific such as “From Dr. Smith’s desk” or “Medical updates.”   Whatever the name, the content you use in your blog and add to your healthcare website will need to be comprised of timely topics of interest to your current patients, potential patients, and referral sources. 

Interested in learning more about blogging and social media in healthcare?  Please call Robbie Ho at 852-25801058 for free enquires.

www.medicalmarketing.com.hk