5/15/2018

Content Conundrum? Content as a Service Brings a Lot to the Table

Libby Adams, Strategic Account Manager

Editor’s note: In this blog series, we’ll explore ways that structured content adds value to healthcare organizations who need new ways to create, manage, and distribute large amounts of content. In this post, we’ll look at what healthcare marketers like about what CaaS has to offer.

I often see healthcare organizations reach a point where they need far more health content than they have available or can maintain. But they still need to provide consistent patient education across the continuum of care, and they want the freedom to use that same health information on their marketing websites and other digital media to better engage their online audiences. So they need a flexible solution that offers evidence-based, up-to-date content to blend seamlessly into their marketing websites.

 

Healthcare marketing experts at hospitals, health systems, and provider organizations are taking a deeper look at Content as a Service (CaaS) as they expand their content strategies. CaaS provides the flexibility to blend Healthwise-created content with an organization’s custom content to deploy a digital marketing strategy that’s both efficient and effective.

Quality and quantity—for websites and beyond

Healthcare marketing and content teams realize they need more health content than ever before. The content needs to be available in smaller chunks, so it’s easy to read and understand, engaging, and scannable. One health system in the Northeastern U.S. recently began a CaaS pilot program. This system doesn’t have the resources to create and maintain health content and go through a lengthy review cycle every time they need to publish it in another channel. They want content that can be published in multiple places and updated automatically while keeping opportunities open to boost their brand and message. This image shows how they plan to use CaaS online with three examples of publishing options for just one piece of content.

structured content examples

The online experience is crucial to an organization’s success in converting consumers to patients. Overall, here’s what healthcare marketers tell me they find appealing about what CaaS has to offer:

  • Consistency
    Organizations want to give their patients consistent health information whether it’s from one of their providers, available on their website, published on social media, or accessed through a patient portal. CaaS makes it easier to ensure content has the same voice and tone wherever consumers get their content.
  • Accuracy
    Content must be evidence-based, accurate, and current. Inaccurate medical information can harm patients, conflicting health education can confuse them, and contradictory messages can harm an organization’s credibility and trustworthiness. CaaS provides one source of information to help minimize these risks.
  • Efficiency
    Expectations for what content can do are growing. Healthcare marketers want content that’s ready to be delivered instantly to patients and consumers. CaaS helps organizations improve efficiency because content is developed just one time, ready to publish to many formats.
  • Growth
    Many organizations are investing in their websites to drive traffic and convert consumers to patients. CaaS makes it easier to build and maintain complete webpages that include health information, clinic locations, physician directories, class schedules, and more. People can find what they need now and what they may need next—without leaving the website.

I enjoy solving problems for people. CaaS gives me a new option to help marketing teams who struggle to keep up with the demands of creating, publishing, and managing content. I look forward to seeing CaaS become an integral part of an enterprise-wide patient education solution for more organizations who want to provide an excellent online consumer experience.