Public relations in the healthcare or medical industry can be described as the practice where communications tools (e.g. press release, social media, traditional media, etc.) are utilized to spread a key message or bring attention or awareness to a relevant discussion in a strategic way that engages various stakeholders. It brings companies, policy-makers, investors, and the general public together to participate in active discussion for the purpose of generating an innovative solution. PR is a mere guide that narrates where the spotlight of the industry should be focused on, and it stresses on the most important figures within the field - experts, thought leaders, people with generated knowledge, practice, and expertise.
At PRLab, we work closely with our clients and always keep a stable communication channel, since it is most important to have clear key objectives in the collaboration and PR campaign ahead. We then analyze earned and owned media channels, including target outlets, online feedback, impressions, discussions, engagement, and web traffic. Depending on your specific needs, we establish clear methods of tracking success, which vary as the objective of the campaign differs. However, public engagement, and online web traffic numbers, as well as Return on Investment (ROI) are stable and often used ways to measure the results of any PR strategy.
The planning phase is the most delicate stage of the PR campaign, because it determines the course of the rest of your collaboration with your PR agency. As such, we pay extra attention to several things in order to ensure that nothing is unexpect. The most important considerations are your target audience and your key message(s). Who do you want to reach and what exactly do you want to spread? This will determine the course of action in the content creation phase, as well as the media outreach, since target audiences are different for different outlets and journals. Additionally, it is often overlooked that you must prepare for any threat to your reputation. The planning phase is also the phase where you anticipate negative PR (which can escalate into a crisis) and make a note on how to tackle such potential issues. The more prepared you are on these factors, the smoother the rest of the process will be.
Unlike other sectors, healthcare is universally applicable in that it affects every single person on the planet. Whether it is indirectly or directly, it eventually concerns you what the developments are. With such an enormous target audience, it is often more challenging to narrow down and single out groups of people based on certain interests or values. Which is the main difficulty in the industry. Contrary to its general application, the sector is increasingly specialized and regulated, which leaves a much narrower number of people that are considered experts. PR firms have to juggle these two contrasting features, and be able to deliver to the targeted media outlets a piece of content that is highly technical, yet comprehensive for the wider audience.
Healthcare public relations is a broader industry that deals with any developments and hot trends in the medical field and healthcare sector. This can be any medical breakthrough that is irrespective of technology, such as the discovery of a new substance, medicine, treatment, etc. On the other hand, healthtech deals with any type of innovative technology in the medical sector. Any new technology that is created or put into use that makes the work and progress of the medical industry go smoother and aids the speeding process of solutions is considered healthtech. Healthcare is a substantial breakthrough. HealthTech is the technological breakthrough that then is utilized in the wider healthcare sector.
Healthcare marketing and PR have different focuses and key objectives. Marketing in the healthcare industry is only focused on acquiring new customers, keeping the existing ones, and generating direct leads as well as increasing the profits that come from the product or service of the company. Public Relations, on the other hand, is here to establish your brand identity.
It is not focused on the profits and the business side of your company, but rather the brand development. In that sense, it aims to establish strong relationships with relevant stakeholders in your industry (investors, customers, media outlets, etc.) and spread your image in order to increase your reputation and hold you as an object of knowledge and expertise (or an assistant) when it comes to the healthcare industry.
