The health care industry is constantly growing and developing. Technology continues to move at an alarming pace, creating space for new companies and new health devices to emerge. And there are more and more new businesses popping up every year to fill that space: By 2021, health tech startups will collectively raise an impressive $29.1 billion.
New healthcare startups are popping up every day, and one of the most important steps to growing your startup is getting the word out about your company. While health tech startups naturally focus their sales pitches on what makes their products and services unique, it’s important to establish themselves as thought leaders and differentiate themselves in the public eye.
Many marketing tools can help companies do this, but one of the most effective and flexible is PR. Whether you hire an agency or bring your efforts in-house, PR can help establish your company not only as a technology leader, but as a credible voice on the future of the field. That is, when your PR is actually done.
Information-driven marching
One of the best ways to boost your company’s reputation is to get influential journalists to write about you and your company. But first, you need to know which publications and which journalists will be interested in your story.
In PR, the most impactful stories are those that reach the right audience at the right time. To do this, you need to find the right journalists in the right publications. You no doubt know the power of data. Data makes the world go ’round, and that’s as true in PR as it is in healthcare.
You can be a journalist by instinct, but you’ll be more successful with a data-driven approach. For example, if your health technology startup revolves around medical transcription services for healthcare providers, you may want to gather as much information as you can from publications that write about medical records. Who writes these stories? What publications do these people write for? What have these writers covered about this topic before, and how can you add to that conversation with your industry perspective?
With this information, you can easily write personalized emails targeting the right journalists. This will increase your chances of getting their attention.
Acquired media in health care
While getting mention in New York Times Or Forbes Certainly a feather in anyone’s cap, there are real benefits to targeting industry-focused publications at high-profile media outlets. For one, you’ll have a much better understanding of the typical readership of a publication targeting your industry. New York Times It reaches a very wide and varied readership so your coverage will inevitably have some interested readers, but it will also reach many less interested readers.
Niche healthcare industry publications have clearly defined audiences, which can bring you greater ROI for your PR efforts. Healthcare industry publications are more focused, so it’s possible to create a more personal voice to get the attention of journalists, or to publish your own article with your top line.
Finally, industry publications are often dependent on the part of the sphere you want to reach. A major benefit of earned media as opposed to paid advertising is that endorsements from an independent, trusted source are more effective in building customer trust, which is critical for health tech startups. It’s also much cheaper than ads.
Use your data well
Now that you have all this information about pubs and journalists, you can make your pitch. Remember, journalists want stories. You don’t want ads. Even if your target publication readership believes your health technology product is a perfect fit, the journalist writing the story doesn’t care.
Journalists are focused on providing valuable information to their readers, and are not particularly interested in your marketing ROI. So you have to give something that you can use. And let me make it painfully clear: they don’t want to write about your products and services. Now, let me repeat that: You don’t want to write about your products and services. If you want coverage, you have to give journalists what they want, not what they want.
Writers and editors can easily identify a template or blanket. They can tell you to copy and paste what he sent to the 49 other journalists I met on Mukrak. Instead, you can tailor it by taking the time to reference previous posts and explain why you can present a new angle or idea. Show them that you’ve done your research, that you know the type of story the publication typically runs, and that you have something genuine to add to the conversation.
So, if you’re a health tech startup that sells software to hospitals to test patients, you might notice that writer Katie Adams writes for MedCity News about optimizing software scheduling. But don’t send her one vote for an article idea about the same thing. Reference that story in your pitch to make sure you’re paying attention, but offer her a new idea, such as the financial costs of outdated CMS software in hospitals.
Publications and journalism as current, relevant and story-driven ideas. Don’t think of them as gatekeepers. Think of them—and treat them—as partners instead.
PR has evolved as much as healthcare.
In the old days, PR was about who you know: your PR agency’s personal connections in the media and the exclusive access they can give you as their client.
Today, PR is a more democratic field where a great story pitched to the right person is more likely to make waves in your field. By using data to find journalists and publications, you can ensure your health tech startup gets the coverage it deserves.
Photo: Digital Vision, Getty Images;
