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By Colin Hung
March 28, 2018

Tapping Into HITMC: 5 Outlets to Find and Flaunt Healthcare Marketing Expertise

For four years I have been a part of the Healthcare IT Marketing & PR Community – HITMC. The community welcomed me, made me feel right at home and has given me so much knowledge as well as inspiration. I feel that HITMC is the closest thing I will ever have to a professional association.

The fifth annual HITMC Conference is just around the corner – April 4-6 in New Orleans. This year we have quite a number of first-time attendees, which is fantastic. I thought it would be nice to write a piece about HITMC for these new friends so that they can connect with the community beyond the conference.

The Health IT Marketing and PR Community is an offshoot of the grassroots initiative that bore the first Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference (HITMC) into reality in 2014. That initial assembly brought together the health IT public relations and marketing professionals in a way that had never been done before.

Unlike other marketing conferences, HITMC fuses the trends of the in-flux healthcare industry with an educational forum that proffers peer collaboration over competitive hustle. The event offers an industry-specific, profession-oriented outlet to those navigating the unique challenges of connecting with hospital executives, clinicians, and practice managers.

Since 2014, HITMC has blossomed from first-time conference to full-time community. Here are just a few of the places you’ll find HITMC just a click away.

#HITMC on Twitter

#HITMC Twitter chats are a fantastic way to connect with and learn from healthcare marketing gurus. February’s chat, for example, highlighted the “Ultimate Marketing Tech Stack,” culling feedback on the apps, tips, and tools favorited by #HITMC community members.

Follow @HITMarketingPR on Twitter for notices on up-coming chats and access to past chat archives.

HITMC LinkedIn Group

The HITMC LinkedIn Group offers an equally handy avenue for collaborating with healthcare IT marketing minds. Whether you are looking for SEO expertise or advice on the best content management system, this group puts the hive intelligence right at your fingertips, anytime.

HITMC Blog

The HITMC blog is another great forum for tapping into the latest learning opportunities and ideas from fellow healthcare marketing thought leaders. From perusing past HITMC presentations to these tips on building an effective HIMSS18 media plan, the blog is your way to stay in the know between shows.

Sign up for the HITMC newsletter so you never miss a beat.

HITMC Marketplace

The HITMC Marketplace offers healthcare professionals a great point of introduction to health IT marketing and PR resources available to support branding, media, and messaging initiatives. Companies are broken down into the following helpful categories:

  • Developer
  • Healthcare Database
  • Full Services PR/Marketing Agency
  • Tools
  • Content Creation
  • Media

Request meetings through the Marketplace or reach out to HITMC organizers for help with more tailored recommendations and warm introductions.

HITMC 2018 Conference

The 2018 HITMC Conference is your opportunity to network with a couple hundred of your healthcare B2B and B2C marketing peers in New Orleans over engaging sessions on topics like content strategy, marketing automation, event PR planning and more.

If you are joining us this year then I wish you safe travels to New Orleans. If HITMC18 isn’t in your travel plans, then I hope you will participate online via the #HITMC hashtag next week!

 

By John Lynn
March 20, 2018

The Future of Healthcare Marketing & PR – #HITMC Twitter Chat Topics

This month’s #HITMC Twitter chat is hosted by Colin Hung (@colin_hung), CMO of Healthcare Scene, Health IT Expo, and HITMC on Tuesday, March 27th at Noon ET (9AM PT) on the topic of The Future of Healthcare Marketing and PR.

We thought a great primer for the 2018 Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference would be a Twitter chat looking at the future of healthcare marketing and PR.  It will give you a small flavor of what happens at the conference.  Plus, it’s always great for the community to meet and connect online before meeting in person in New Orleans.

Plus, along with looking forward into the future of healthcare marketing and PR, we also invite you to join us and share your challenges, problems, etc.  Let’s help each other overcome the challenges we all face.

Please join us Tuesday, March 27th at Noon ET (9AM PT) for the monthly #HITMC TweetChat where we will be discussing the following topics:

T1: What trends do you see impacting the future of healthcare B2B marketing and PR? #HITMC

T2: What trends do you see impacting the future of healthcare B2C marketing and PR? #HITMC

T3: What questions do you not know the answer to that would help you better understand the future of healthcare marketing and PR? #HITMC

T4: What are you doing to prepare now for these future changes to marketing and PR? #HITMC

T5: Looking forward to the #HITMC conference, what questions, problems, challenges, etc would you like help with from the community? #HITMC

Bonus: Which session are you most looking forward to at #HITMC 2018? If you’re not able to attend, what session would you like the community to live tweet as much as possible? #HITMC

For those not familiar with Twitter chats, just hop on Twitter and search for #HITMC on Tuesday, March 27th at Noon ET (9AM PT) and you can join in.  We look forward to seeing you online!

By John Lynn
February 6, 2018

The Ultimate Marketing Tech Stack: Apps, Tips and Tools – #HITMC Twitter Chat Topics

This month’s #HITMC Twitter chat will be hosted by Chris Slocumb (@CSlocumb), CEO of Clarity Quest Marketing, on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, at Noon ET (9 AM PT).  The topic will be The Ultimate Marketing Tech Stack: Apps, Tips and Tools.  

New marketing tools and apps come out every day.  The average large enterprise uses 91 cloud-based marketing tools! There are platforms, software, dashboards, mobile apps, internally-built systems, and more. The options can be overwhelming.  

How do you decide which ones to use and which ones to invest in? Each tool has its purpose, value proposition, and pros and cons.  The #HITMC community has a ton of experience with marketing tech stacks, so we hope you’ll join us and share your insights, recommendations, experiences, and perspectives. If you are new or considering a tool purchase, bring questions!

Please join us Tuesday, February 13th at Noon ET (9 AM PT) for the monthly #HITMC Twitter chat where we will be discussing the following topics:

T1. Is there a marketing tool you can’t live without? #HITMC

T2. Which marketing tools give your organization the best return on investment? #HITMC

T3. Do you use different marketing tools for different stages of the sales and marketing funnel? #HITMC

T4. Do you have a marketing need that isn’t filled by current tools? #HITMC

T5. How do you convince management to give you the appropriate budget for marketing tools? #HITMC

Bonus. If you could design your dream marketing tool(s) what would it be? #HITMC

Just hop on Twitter and search for #HITMC on Tuesday, February 13th at Noon ET (9 AM PT) and you can join in. We look forward to seeing you online!

If you haven’t signed up for the 2018 Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference, registration ends March 7, 2018.  Also, take a minute to look at our wide array of conference sponsors including Clarity Quest Marketing who is hosting this Twitter chat.

By John Lynn
January 31, 2018

What Attendees Can Expect at the 2018 Healthcare IT Marketing & PR Conference?

Attendees of the 2018 Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference (or “HIT-Mc” as it’s colloquially known) will convene in New Orleans, April 4-6, for the event’s fifth annual gathering. Marketing and PR professionals from leading organizations throughout healthcare will come together for a line-up of educational sessions on topics ranging from digital strategies for brand discoverability to tips on drafting winning speaker proposals.

This year’s attendees can expect more of the inspiring and insightful sessions that the HITMC conference is known for as they assemble to swap tactics and network with hundreds of fellow health IT marketing peers. Still not sure what to expect? Last year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Gary Rhoades, the Stephen Mack Covey Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship at Brigham Young University, delivers a prime example of the fresh perspective that attendees can anticipate walking away with.

Can you feel the love?

In his 2017 HITMC opening session, Creating Customer and Employee Engagement, Dr. Rhoades makes the astute observation that we, as marketers, tend to focus on negative customer feedback to the detriment of our own success. He proposes that we shift our perspective to instead focus our energy on better understanding the things that our customers and workers love about our organization and its offerings.

Dr. Rhoades suggests that companies foster passionate performance among employees and brand advocacy among clients by emphasizing the aspects of the business that motivate customers and workers to engage. To create this momentum, he encourages organizations to spend time listening to the feelings of highly engaged members and to always communicate to internal and external stakeholders through the eyes of those members. He warns against getting tripped up by the concerns of the disengaged

As Dr. Rhoades puts it, “Most organizations spend 80 percent of their time on things that are ‘on fire.’ Instead, spend 80 percent of your time on why people are passionate about your products and services. You get the insights on how to develop engagement from your ‘love’ group.” He offers four avenues marketers can take to develop inspired brand champions:

  1. Align member values with those of the organization.
  2. Find a hurdle to jump over that other firms fail to do.
  3. Ride waves of momentum.
  4. Find a Goliath to slay.

Watch Dr. Rhoades’ HITMC keynote to learn more and to get a feel for what you can expect from HITMC’s experienced presenters. (Trust us – humor, real-world examples and great stories abound!)

Come see for yourself

Healthcare marketers and communications professionals have until March 7, 2018, to register to attend the 2018 Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference. Over the three-day conference, attendees will choose from roughly 40+ conference sessions designed to inspire and inform just like the one above. Select tracks that align to your specific area of interest, including but not limited to content marketing, marketing automation, event marketing, healthcare public relations, branding, media relations, and much, much more.

Want to learn more? Check out our 2018 HITMC program details.

By John Lynn
January 5, 2018

Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Careers – #HITMC Twitter Chat Topics

This month’s #HITMC Twitter chat is hosted by John Lynn (@techguy), Founder of Healthcare Scene, Health IT Expo, and HITMC on Tuesday, January 9th at Noon ET (9AM PT) on the topic of Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Careers.

As we head into a new year, many of us start looking at our lives and thinking about goals for the new year. With that in mind, we thought for January’s HITMC chat we’d talk about careers in healthcare marketing and PR. We hope you’ll join us and share your insights, experiences, and perspectives. Plus, if you’re searching to hire a marketing and PR professional or if you’re looking for a marketing and PR job, join us as well and maybe we as a community can help you out.

Please join us Tuesday, January 9th at Noon ET (9AM PT) for the monthly #HITMC TweetChat where we will be discussing the following topics:

T1: How did you get into healthcare marketing and PR? What’s your story? #HITMC

T2: What are the keys to being successful in healthcare marketing and PR? #HITMC

T3: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten for your career? #HITMC

T4: Share your biggest success story and why it mattered to your career. #HITMC

T5: Where do you want to take your career in healthcare marketing and PR? #HITMC

Bonus: If you’re looking to hire a healthcare marketing and PR professional, let us know. If you’re searching for a job, let us know (privately if preferred) and we’ll try and connect you. #HITMC

For those not familiar with Twitter chats, just hop on Twitter and search for #HITMC on Tuesday, January 9th at Noon ET (9AM PT) and you can join in.  We look forward to seeing you online!

By John Lynn
December 7, 2017

PR and Getting Media Coverage at Events – #HITMC Twitter Chat Topics

This month’s #HITMC Twitter chat is hosted by Dennis Dailey from @mobihealthtimes and @PowerPressParty on Tuesday, December 12th at Noon ET (9AM PT). The Power Press Party is a media event that happens the night before #HIMSS18 and brings together 100 members of the media: Journalists (national and industry), Key Analysts, Influencers and Social Media Ambassadors. Check out and click on the image below for more info on the Power Press Party.

As many in the #HITMC community prepare for the massive HIMSS18 conference in Las Vegas, we thought the perfect topic for this chat was to talk about doing PR and getting media coverage at events. For those of you not participating in HIMSS18, you can apply these principles to your favorite events. There are a lot of different strategies to stand out from the crowd at large events like HIMSS18. In this chat, we hope you’ll join us and share what has and hasn’t worked for you and your company.

Please join us Tuesday, December 12th at Noon ET (9AM PT) for the monthly #HITMC TweetChat where we will be discussing the following topics:

T1: What PR strategies work for getting media coverage at conferences? #HITsm #HIMSS18

T2: What PR strategies don’t work at conferences? #HITsm #HIMSS18

T3: What are your pre-event vs on-site strategies? When is too early to start? When is too late? #HITsm #HIMSS18

T4: Which topics should be saved for media at events compared to pitches outside events? How do you handle when you have news vs when you’re building relationships? #HITsm #HIMSS18

T5: Where is the best place to find media at a conference? The Press Room, A Media Event, After Hours Parties, the Exhibit Hall, etc? #HITsm #HIMSS18

Bonus: Which media do you most want to see and get covered by at #HIMSS18 (or insert your favorite events)? #HITsm

Just hop on Twitter and search for #HITMC on Tuesday, December 12th at Noon ET (9AM PT) and you can join in.  We look forward to seeing you online!

Note: HITShow and Power Press Party are sponsors of the 2018 Health IT Marketing and PR Conference.

By John Lynn
November 14, 2017

Health IT Marketing and PR Community (#HITMC) Featured on What’s My Tagline

Carol Flagg from Answers Media Network recently launched a new show on her popular HealthcareNOW Radio channel called What’s My Tagline. The new show is focused on healthcare marketing and healthcare social media influencers and so I was happy to be a guest on this new show.

Carol and I cover a wide variety of topics including how Healthcare Scene got started, what prompted us to create the Health IT Marketing and PR Conference, the value of social media, and the newly launched Health IT Expo.

You can listen to the full interview embedded below:

It was great being able to sit down with Carol Flagg and talk about the HITMC community. She was at the first Health IT Marketing Conference and Answers Media Network has sponsored the last two conferences.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on social media and influencers. Do you agree with what we talked about in the interview embedded above? Is social media valuable to your organization? How do you leverage influencers in your marketing efforts?

By John Lynn
November 3, 2017

Healthcare Marketing and PR Budgeting – #HITMC Twitter Chat Topics

Healthcare Marketing and PR Budgeting

This month’s #HITMC Twitter chat is hosted by Colin Hung from @HealthcareScene.

It’s healthcare marketing and PR budget season. We all know how fun it is to plan a budget, justify the budget to your executive team, and select what stays in the budget and what gets cut. Let’s share our insights into the budgeting process. What tips do you have that have helped you? We can all learn and commiserate together.

Please join me Tuesday, November 7th at Noon ET (9AM PT) for the monthly #HITMC TweetChat where we will be discussing the following topics:

T1. What do you have to do to make your marketing budget understandable for non-marketing execs? Who do you have to convince? #HITMC

T2. What % of revenue does your company dedicate to Marketing? What should it be? #HITMC

T3. Where are you spending more/less next year? Are you experimenting with something new? #HITMC

T4. What criteria do you use to decide whether to fund a program/conference/campaign/etc? #HITMC

T5. How do you incorporate flexibility into your budget? #HITMC

BONUS: What’s the funniest question you have gotten on your budget? Any ridiculous items on your budget? #HITMC

Just hop on Twitter and search for #HITMC on Tuesday, November 7th at Noon ET (9AM PT) and you can join in.  We look forward to seeing you online!

By John Lynn
October 1, 2017

Webinars or No Webinars – #HITMC Twitter Chat Topics

Webinars or No Webinars – Which Path Is the Right One for You

This month’s #HITMC Twitter chat is hosted by Lea Chatham, Director of Content Marketing at SolutionReach.

It seems like almost everyone does webinars now as part of their content marketing. There are even annual reports about webinar best practices and success metrics. If you aren’t doing webinars, how do you know if you should do webinars? And if you are doing webinars, how do you know if you are doing it right? If you’ve been asking either of these questions then this #HITMC chat is for you. Let’s talk about when webinars are the right path and how to make the road smooth so you can reach your goals.

Please join me Tuesday, October 3rd at Noon ET (9AM PT) for the monthly #HITMC TweetChat where we will be discussing the following topics:

T1. Are webinars always the right fit for content marketing?

T2. How do you know if you should add webinars to your marketing repertoire?

T3. Which is more effective – hosting your own webinars or being featured on someone else’s established webinar series?

T4. What makes a webinar successful? What best practices have you seen?

T5. What webinar metrics should be monitored and tracked to determine success?

BONUS What was the best webinar you ever attended and why?

Just hop on Twitter and search for #HITMC on Tuesday, October 3rd at Noon ET (9AM PT) and you can join in.  We look forward to seeing you online!

 

By John Lynn
August 25, 2017

Healthcare Tradeshow Marketing and PR Twitter Chat Summary

We’re a little slow in getting this posted, but this month’s #HITMC Twitter chat on Healthcare Tradeshow Marketing and PR was too good. Plus, the great people at KNB Communications put together this nice slideshow summary of the Twitter chat. I thought it was a great way to capture some of the insights offered during the #HITMC chat.

See what I mean below (I suggest clicking to make it full screen):

In case you want to dive into the topic of healthcare tradeshow marketing in more detail, you can read through the full #HITMC Twitter chat transcript here.

Note: KNB Communications is a sponsor of the Health IT Marketing and PR Conference.

Welcome to HITMC!

We're glad you found the Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Community (or as we affectionately call it...HITMC). This blog is a place for healthcare IT marketing and PR professionals to come together and share their insights, skills, expertise with other people trying to make healthcare better through the use of technology. This blog grew out of the Healthcare IT Marketing and PR Conference which is held annually. We look forward to connecting and learning from you. Please feel free to reach out to us on our contact us page if you have any questions.

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