What Healthtech Startups Can Learn from the Mayo Clinic About Content Strategy

Search nearly any medical term on Google and it’s highly likely that the Mayo Clinic will be at or near the top of the results. They’ve been a reputable and well-established clinic since the turn of the century, but so have many others, yet you don’t see them in the results nearly as much. So how does the Mayo Clinic do it and what can you learn from them?

At Workdom, we eat, sleep and breathe content strategy, and we understand the unique challenges of the healthtech industry. That’s why in this week’s blog post, we decided to take a closer look at the Mayo Clinic’s content strategy to see how they’ve been able to turn their humble clinic into a content marketing behemoth.

They Target Patients Specifically At Their Time of Need

According to Mayo Clinic’s CMO, John Weston, “Digital marketing allows healthcare organizations to meet the consumers where they are, targeting patients at their specific moment of need.” Two thirds of their marketing budget is devoted to digital (yes, you read that right!), and they spend a great deal of that budget making sure their content appears not just when people are looking for it, but where they’re looking.

They don’t just concentrate on a single touch-point, but on being anywhere and everywhere their prospects are. That means not only do they have MILLIONS of followers on social media, but they empower them to help spread the word. For example, rather than just promoting what Mayo Clinic does, they involve their followers, encouraging them to share hashtags, selfies, stories and more.

Patients Feel Included and Understood

Mayo Clinic has wholeheartedly embraced UGC or user-generated content. Recovery stories, tales of medical triumphs and more are often shared on social platforms. The Mayo Clinic has also touched on alternative therapies, pain management, herbal medicines, rehabilitation and more in order to reach patients where they are and make them feel heard and most importantly, understood.

When others share their stories, it brings the world a little closer and makes people feel not so alone. By leveraging user-generated content, it saves the marketing team time and also helps promote timely stories or events (like breast cancer awareness, colon screenings and other tests that are necessary but often get put off)

They Use Their Content to the Fullest

One of the best tactics the Mayo Clinic uses as part of their content strategy is that they’re ALWAYS testing something, always creating and always publishing. Rather than just writing an article about, for example, the importance of cardiovascular health, they’ll create a video, invite users to share their stories, maybe tie it to a hashtag campaign and much more. There’s never a “one-off” marketing campaign.

This constant cycle of content ensures that there’s always something fresh and interesting to talk about, a unique angle to take or a discovery to share.

If you’re ready to take your content strategy to the next level, you should know that it takes consistent work and an ongoing investment in building that strategy, and that the kind of results that Mayo Clinic enjoys don’t happen overnight. Still, if you have questions about whether or not your content strategy is hitting the mark, or you’d like to take the next step toward broadening your influence with your target audience and attract more customers to your product or service, Workdom is here to help.

Our content professionals can work with you to devise a strategy that works to attract and retain more prospects, spread the word about your brand and what you have to offer, and keep key decision-makers informed as your offer evolves. Contact us today to learn more!