Healthcare PR Archives | Page 2 of 3 | G2 Communications Inc.-Medical Practice Marketing

Jan 22 2014

Healthcare PR Advice from Editor Donald Tepper

Donald Tepper is editor of PT in Motion, a publication for members of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). PT in Motion covers relevant legislation and association news, and “discussion of professional issues and ideas in physical therapy practice.” G2Comm works with a wide range of healthcare providers so I talked to Tepper to get his take on working with PR professionals.

Tepper provides some sage advice for PR folks who want to impress editors by delivering useful and valuable stories.

Know Your Story Inside and Out

Tepper has encountered PR pros who know virtually nothing about their own products or company beyond the press release. “If I’m interested in pursuing a story, I find it frustrating to ask basic questions and the PR person knows absolutely nothing,” says Tepper. “They can’t clarify anything in the press release or speak to anything beyond what’s in it.”

“A lot of PR people think their main function is to pitch. Trouble is they don’t know what to do next. They don’t know how to tailor a pitch to a particular news outlet.” It helps if PR reps have some honest curiosity and interest about what they’re pitching. Don’t just do a robo call.”

Know My Story Too

Tepper once worked in PR. “When I was on the PR end, reporters would call to ask questions; they knew the subject and the publication and I knew theirs. He doesn’t expect PR people to be experts on his publication but knowing Tepper’s story means knowing what’s relevant to his readers. “I may get a pitch about a chiropractor who offers a product or service but—because the focus is on the chiropractor—it’s not relevant to my physical therapy readers. But if the product helps PTs do their job, I’m interested. Tell me why it’s relevant.”

Know What Makes a Story Valuable

“Why should our readers care?” questions Tepper. “If [PR pros] can answer that, I love it. The size and exposure of your company is not important; the topic and angle you’re pitching is. Pitch me an interesting topic that readers haven’t read before; nuggets of useful advice.

Value for PTs means information that helps them operate their businesses better. For example, “we would write about what questions you should ask when evaluating EMR [electronic medical records] systems. Or concept pieces such as ‘What is Crowdsourcing?’ Both have relevance for PTs.”

If you’re pitching a product, the same value criteria apply. “One inventor developed a new cane – Swiss army knife of canes — that found its way into a larger article on inventors. We wrote about how the inventor came up with the idea, then how the product was developed and commercialized. That type of article goes over well.”

Know What Journalist’s Look For

Journalists are always looking for credible and knowledgeable sources. Make your pitch attractive by providing a source “who is willing to be quoted and talks beyond yes and no answers.”

“We prefer to talk to clinical people at smaller companies. More productive interviews have been with clinicians who’ve founded and grown their own practices. They have both a business and clinical perspective.”

Highlighting contrarian points of view is also important to journalistic integrity. Tepper uses multiple methods to identify diverse sources, including social media platforms. “We’ve had articles where we’ll do basic online research and turn up great sources that way. We also have an editorial advisory group…[and] rely on APTA staff specialists.” If your sources understand the POV you bring to a larger story, you can make it easier for journalists to integrate their voices into their articles.

Know How to Write

Don’t let weak writing stand in the way of your story. “Many of the news releases and announcements I receive are not well written,” says Tepper. “If it’s poorly written or has grammatical errors, it reflects poorly on the message of the release. I recognize that releases are written to please the client, but it would be nice if PR people attempted to inform the client that if changes were made to the release it would make it far more effective.”

Good grammar is the minimum. To really stand out, you need strong, compelling language as well. “Too many releases use ‘PR language’ with terms such as revolutionary, extraordinary, and cutting-edge.” Cliches make readers tune out. Grab editors’ attention with clear, fresh language that explains the specific value of your story.

Think Before You Pitch

Tepper’s bottom line: “PR professionals need to understand that PR is more than pitching stories.” Before blasting editors, know the details, context, value, and interest of your story.

Image provided by Donald Tepper

Jan 13 2014

How to Pitch a Healthcare Influencer: Q&A with Forbes Columnist &Tech Innovator Robert Szczerba

“Rocket Science meets Brain Surgery” is the attention-grabbing personal slogan of Healthcare innovator Robert J. Szczerba. And he can back it up: Szczerba started out in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, where he performed research with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He then spent more than 15 years at Lockheed Martin as a Chief Engineer and later Corporate Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences.

Today, Szczerba is out to revolutionize Healthcare through advanced technologies. He left Lockheed in 2013 to form X Tech Ventures, a company built on William Gibson’s famous quote: “The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.” For Szczerba, this quote captures “a simple message: that the answers to some of our most complex problems may not be light years away but may simply require a more informed look at the present.”

Why did Szczerba turn his focus from aerospace to healthcare? “My interest in healthcare arose about 6 years ago when my son was diagnosed with autism,” he explains. “That experience gave me insights into the deficiencies of the healthcare industry and also motivated me to find ways to improve it.”

At X Tech Ventures, Szczerba oversees incubation and acceleration of technologies for diverse companies. He also writes a column at Forbes exploring the “intersection of technology, innovation, and healthcare.” I did a Q&A with Szczerba to learn how healthcare PR pros can connect and collaborate with industry thought leaders and innovators.

Do you see the Forbes column as a media trend, where industry executives–not journalists or editorial columnists–are viewed as thought leaders?

“I’d compare the media trend today of using industry executives as columnists with a similar situation in sports broadcasting from several years ago. In that case there was a lot of controversy when a professional player went directly from the field to the broadcast booth. The feeling from traditional broadcasters was that the player ‘didn’t pay his dues’ as they had. But the athletes became color commentators and were paired with traditional broadcasters to produce a higher quality product. I’m not a traditional journalist: I provide “color commentary” on the technology and healthcare space. I’m an opinion writer.”

What strikes you as good subject matter for a column?

“The subject matter that I’m most interested in revolves around looking at problems from different or unique perspectives…Can we take a common technology in one domain and apply it to another? Like the intersection of the aerospace and healthcare industries. Flight simulation is common in aviation to train pilots in very complex and stressful situations. You can test complicated scenarios on a simulator in a low-risk, low-cost environment.

So, what would happen if you built a ‘flight simulator’ for a hospital to train people on new procedures in the ICU or ER? Why should a nurse have to read a 200 page manual to learn how to use a new medical device when they could practice using the same device modeled on their smart phone?”

What do you find frustrating with PR people who contact you?

“I really don’t like ‘attack pieces.’ People often pitch me stories that attack another person, product, or concept. I have no issue with writing a critical piece about another person’s idea, as long as I have an alternative approach to put forward.

Destruction is easy; but creation is difficult. When people pitch ideas that criticize products or concepts I always ask what their approach is and why it’s better. Unfortunately, more often than not they rarely have a good answer.”

What do you find helpful?

“I appreciate it when someone sends me comments or suggested topic ideas, but not as part of a formal pitch. For example, sometimes people send me comments on my recent articles suggesting another article for me to look at that takes a different point of view.

I also appreciate it when PR people have done their homework on what I write about and are able to give a quick 30-second summary of why this topic might be of interest to my readers.”

Who or what is your ideal source?

“I don’t think my ideal source falls into any one particular category. I tend to reach out to people who are passionate about their topic. Someone who wants to change the world and is cocky enough to think they can. These are the people I want to talk with.

Who says that the greatest ideas need to come from the chief of surgery from a major hospital as opposed to a charge nurse in a rural clinic? The best ideas don’t always come from where you’d expect them.”

How do smaller companies grab your attention?

“For my columns, I don’t differentiate between large and small companies; I only differentiate between large and small ideas.”

Image provided by Robert Szczerba:

Nov 20 2013

Pitch the Extra Mile: PR Dos and Don’ts from Life Science Leader magazine chief editor Rob Wright

Rob Wright is Chief Editor of Life Science Leader, where he also pens a blog for healthcare and pharmaceutical industry execs. Life Science Leader is targeted to key players in the life sciences industry, delivering informative content on current events, technology, policy and regulations, and best practices for the field.

Though Wright’s day (and inbox) is full to the brim, he is remarkably available to people, including skilled PR pros. “I am striving to engage, network and learn with and from people, and you never know when that learning might occur,” he explains. “My biggest frustration is I can never get caught up on all the ideas I have for articles. So, I appreciate a PR person who can help me do this, without wasting my time.”

Wright offered me a few do’s and don’ts for life sciences PR pros who want to be the helpful type.

DON’T Recycle a Pitch

“First thing, PR people should understand that they are a valuable resource,” says Wright. “But when I can tell it’s a pitch that’s been recycled, such as my name appearing in a different size or color font, or they call the magazine by the wrong name, that is when they lose credibility.”

“I make very effective use of the delete key,” he warns, “especially if it’s been pitched 50 other places. Do yourself a favor and get to know Life Science Leader’s audience, then “pitch something specific that is a fit.”

DO Follow Guidelines

Wright takes time to “provide some direction, as well as a submission guide, so [PR people] have the best chance of getting their articles published.” Understandably, he says it’s “frustrating when I receive an article where…it is obvious the direction was flat out ignored. If I say, ‘don’t include references’ and they put them in there, or I give them a word count and they run over by 500 words, they aren’t setting themselves up for success.”

It’s not that hard to get it right with LSL. “Our focus is not on reviewing technology. It’s more about what spurred the company to create the technology or implement the strategy; how it was done, and what the company would have done differently. Our goal is to provide best business practice editorials with actionable information for our readers.”

DON’T be Long Winded

“Your pitch should be elegant,” instructs Wright. Elegant means concise–even more concise than you think. “Cover it in 2 sentences. Better yet, give me 3 or 4 bullets up front. If I need more information I will ask.”

“Telling me about how terrible a disease is and including a bunch of metrics on morbidity and mortality, and then how company ‘X’ has the revolutionary solution is typical and not required in a pitch. I want you to get to the point about why I should care about company ‘X’ or executive ‘Y’.”

The longer the pitch, the less likely he is to even skim, figuring “a long pitch was put together to be emailed to as many publications as possible and probably not a fit for the magazine anyway.”

DO Plan Ahead

“We frequently see PR professionals who will…contact me about a planned topic and offer a source,” says Wright. That would be a good idea, “except often, they are calling way too late. An article that appears in say, the August issue, may have had the interview conducted in June, so it can be finalized for layout the first week of July.”

Make that mistake once, and Wright will politely correct you. Make it twice, and your emails will end up in the trash. “One PR company sends me a monthly email referencing our ed cal, offering up a source when it is way too late,” he shares. “I don’t even bother to open their emails anymore.”

DON’T Just Self-Promote

Wright puts it plainly: “Press releases that promote the company’s newest offering (i.e., they moved a button so the product is new and improved) are not valuable to me.”

Other press releases that Wright can use share “quarterly results and the potential impact on the company’s stock,” or news of “the company winning an award by an independent organization” or “signing a deal with a major pharma.” (That is, as long as you can mention the pharmaceutical company’s name.) Ultimately, “press releases that have the most value have metrics, actionable types of information, and are not self-serving.”

DO Be a Connector

Wright is quick to affirm that “good PR people are really fun to work with.” What makes a PR person “good?” Useful connections, for starters. “One PR person introduced me to executives within their company at a trade show. I was able to get into deep discussions which can often lead to interesting articles. When I get in these discussions, it’s because the PR person was so good at giving me enough time to help me do this.”

A good PR person says, “‘I want you to meet so and so.’ Then they’ll come back in 15 minutes and introduce me to someone else. So they are helping me network.” And they “don’t hover and remind their client/executive what they should talk about.”

DON’T Send an Inappropriate Source

To pitch a great source, you have to thoroughly understand LSL’s audience and mission. “PR people who pitch to me that I should interview the CEO of a vendor or potential advertiser for a…feature story have obviously failed to understand our audience,” says Wright. However, “a vendor who can bring a pharma or biotech executive, or another type of key opinion leader to the table” can wind up in “a successful departmental article.”

The ideal source depends on the article type. “When I interview a CEO we’re looking at something very high level like the importance of innovation for the U.S. economy.” On the other hand, “for a particular strategy to supercharge the company’s [research and development] innovation engine, I want to talk to the VP of R&D who actually implemented and executed upon the CEO’s vision.”

Smaller companies can gain an edge by pitching an irresistible source. “I want a leader who is willing to be provocative and mix things up,” explains Wright. “I’m interested in people who are shaping the industry.”

DO Get on the Phone

One of the most surprising facts about Wright is that he likes to answer his phone. “I have been amazed what can happen,” he says, “as I have been delighted to have a reader call with a suggestion for an article, or a top industry consultant call me with an idea, or an entrepreneur share their story — unsolicited.”

He also uses the phone to vet and connect with new social media contacts. “This can be very time consuming but can pay huge dividends,” he reasons. “Someone tweeted me about connecting on LinkedIn. We scheduled a phone call. This person then connected me to an executive, who connected me to a best-selling author, who contributed an article, who connected me to a communication consulting expert who has consulted very high level folks including Hillary Clinton.”

Help Wright Help You

A good PR person makes everyone’s job easier. Their “pitch is concise and on target…they follow through when they say they will,” and, “if something falls through the cracks, they let me know.”

In summary, Wright says “a good PR person (1) knows our audience, (2) follows through, and (3) helps me beyond what is in it for them.” Whether it’s paying close attention to guidelines; planning ahead with his editorial calendar; sharing valuable metrics and information; helping him make industry connections; or getting on the phone; that extra step can be worth miles of PR success at Life Sciences Leader.

Photo: Life Science Leader

Nov 12 2013

How to Build Trust with a Health & Science Journalist: Insights from Ivan Oransky

Ivan Oransky is VP and global editorial director of MedPageToday, and a former executive editor of Reuters Health. He also co-founded the blog Retraction Watch, founded Embargo Watch, and served as managing editor, online, at Scientific American, and deputy editor at The Scientist.

Oransky gave me his candid opinions on PR professionals, and allowed me to share them with you. The health journalist pulls no punches, while offering constructive advice that may help your pitches make it to a choice media outlet.

Do Your Research

“What bugs me is PR people not bothering to find me and follow me so they can figure out what I’m interested in,” says Oransky. “I have my own blogs and I tweet regularly; it’s not that hard to find me.” The surest sign you’ll be ignored by him? You email him an irrelevant press release.

“I get releases about country music!” he says. “I get about 300 emails a day; 200 are from PR people who send out press releases using the Howitzer approach. They are automatically discredited. They can’t possibly know what I cover if they’re sending me press releases via email that I haven’t asked for; 99% of the releases I get are irrelevant.”

Get Focused

Expertise in one field indicates integrity. In Oransky’s view, “The most credible PR people tend to be the ones who work at boutique firms and have taken the time to figure out what I care about. They tend to only focus on one industry. They’ve taken the time to study me – and therefore it’s worth investing my time. I have relationships with these people and with others at larger firms who’ve taken the same approach.”

“Pitch Less, Tip More”

The best way to develop a relationship with Oransky is to share “a study that really fits with what [I] do that no one seems to have yet.” “Pitch less and tip more” is another way of saying, “Help me out; create some trust there.”

This approach benefits PR pros in the long run: “If a clinical study comes out, provide me with a source who doesn’t have a dog in this fight, even if he or she isn’t a client. It may not seem that it directly helps you in the short term, but it means I’ll take your calls next time, when you have something to pitch.”

Show, Don’t Tell

Oransky hates “when PR people use nonsense words like ‘breakthrough study’.” If that’s true, show him, don’t tell him. Backing up your claims is especially important these days, when so many studies are funded by companies. Want to use hyperbole? Better back it up with evidence and credible sources.

While at Reuters Health, Oransky learned that when “the authors have significant relationships with companies, you’ll tend to see more positive results for the companies’ products.” To battle bias, he and his staff had “to put these studies in context.” They would “talk to proponents as well as skeptics of the study” and “look at similar studies from the past.” The more context you can add to your pitch, the more useful it will be to health journalists like Oransky.

Dare to Be the Skeptic

“Having my staff interview your client as a source only when they’ve published a study is missing the other bite of the apple,” he explains. “You can also be the outside expert. We want sources who are skeptical – not just the experts in your company.”

In covering studies we don’t look at journals as high priests of truth. They’re more useful than scientists shouting their alleged breakthroughs from the mountaintop, but we’ve seen how the sausage gets made. There, I mixed several metaphors!”

Think Before You Tweet

“Do not blindly pitch me on Twitter,” Oransky exhorts. ”Sometimes people don’t realize that Twitter is public, and they send me embargoed press releases.” Do, however, use Twitter to learn what Oransky cares about and connect with him via his interests.

When done right, tweeting can be more effective than email: “People who only know to contact me through my work email with the same press release they’re sending to hundreds or thousands of other reporters don’t know me,” he says. “They are self-selecting themselves out of my source gene pool.”

Put Down the Phone

Oransky is blunt: “Don’t ever call me to see if I got your press release. If you’re calling to do that, I can’t imagine we have a relationship. Not only is it a waste of time, but you’ll get a mini rant. It won’t be pleasant.” If you need more convincing, here’s a preview of just how bad a mini-rant might be.

The Relationship Comes First

Oransky’s recommendations echo the advice of most other health care and health IT journalists I’ve interviewed. Overwhelmingly, they are asking PR people to think like a journalist. Get to know Oransky–who’s made himself highly findable–and send him tips he can use. If you’re consistent, without flooding his inbox, you’ll build trust–and he just might give your next pitch a second glance.

[END]

Photo source: MedPage Today

Oct 31 2013

Social Media Shines Spotlight on Healthcare IT

How can your healthcare IT company be a savvy adopter of social media best practices? Here are three ideas:

1. Be an Insider

One of the greatest challenges of using social media is the clamor of voices competing for attention; nothing new there. In order to reach providers, your social content must speak to their daily needs and interests. Most providers are looking for quick access to current and highly-credible news and insights in their industry. Kevin Pho, MD has over 80,000 Twitter followers because he offers first-hand accounts of his use of health I.T. and weighs in on broader technology/health care issues and policies. Pho has a trusted identity. Put a face like his on your brand and people will listen.

HIT can be a complicated and time-consuming aspect of physicians’ and administrators’ jobs. Make customer support representatives and technicians available through social channels. Make it known that you’re there for them in real-time: “Got a question about a product or EHR implementation? Tweet us!” Integrating social media channels with customer support can increase your interaction with providers and help you better understand their needs.

2. Extend your reach at conferences

Utilizing social media before, during, and after HIMSS 2014 and other healthcare conferences can increase your brand awareness and recognition with fellow attendees. Conference-goers are there because they want to question, connect, converse and learn. Start a hashtag to bring the conversation online, and track and preserve it for those who weren’t able to attend. Make sure your chosen hashtag and social media accounts are visible on all conference materials and swag you distribute, and have speakers invite people to live tweet thoughts and questions during your session.

Set your social media goals and craft messages ahead of time. Then be sure to monitor your accounts in real time, responding to everyone who engages your brand. The momentum you build with health IT customers during the conference can lead to phone calls, meetings, product inquiries, articles and more.

3. Build industry connections in your most relevant communities

Next Wave Health launched only months ago, but they’ve already debuted Smart Social Media (SSM 2.0). This customizable social media platform invites “hospitals to share insights with each other on health IT current events .” SSM 2.0 will allow Next Wave to build communities around ICD-10 and EHR implementations. It can also build communities specific to doctors, CIOs — and healthcare IT PR pros.

The brilliance of this application is that now the company doesn’t have to go in search of these segmented audiences across 10 separate platforms. As they invest in these online communities and give users ownership of the content and conversations they are building trust with prospective consumers.

If you can’t build your own platform, you can still focus your social media outreach to existing online communities where your demographic is already engaged. Linkedin has many groups dedicated to different healthcare niches, as does Google+. There are also multiple social networks built exclusively for physicians. Do a little digging to uncover where your target market is actively listening, then become a valuable contributor.

Social Media is Only as Relevant as You Make It

Social media will become increasingly relevant to healthcare IT professionals as long as they use it to assist and genuinely connect with their audience. If you want doctors and administrators to take an interest, deliver valuable content, pertinent conversations, and responsive service through the platforms that serve them best.