Have you found it a struggle to point more of your content towards the customers you want to reach? Does it feel like whatever you do, you just can’t quite forge a greater connection with them? This has been a concern with content marketing since the very beginning. Whether we’re rehab, lawyer search engine marketing (or marketing for anyone else) there’s something I always come back to when I’m stuck. If I can’t think of what to write or say, there are two words that help to provide clarity. One of them is “specificity.” The other: “honesty.”  

A Lesson from Cancer Marketing

  Today, I read this really great piece from Stat, a site that reports “from the frontiers of health & medicine.” The piece was about cancer marketing, marketing products, procedures, and therapies for those who have cancer. One of my main takeaways from the piece was that too often, cancer marketing is inaccurate and out of date. The idea is that so much of cancer marketing revolves around the “bald cancer patient.” To quote the piece, that “evokes sympathy: (the bald cancer patient) admirably humanizes a terrible disease. But if you’re someone who was recently diagnosed with cancer, or their loved one, the bald cancer patient can elicit a quite different response: fear.” The author goes on to say “few people conduct more online searches than recently diagnosed cancer patients and their loved ones. They want answers and they want them fast.” The “bald cancer patient” doesn’t really do that. It’s not specific to those who are doing the searching (and ultimately) the buying. Nor is it necessarily honest, as the author says “using stereotypes and inspiring false hopes raises ethical questions that the health sector has been struggling to resolve for years.” This doesn’t even seem to be a very successful way to market cancer treatments and products. As the author states: “but companies selling products to patients as well as to physicians are not the ones facing cancer or providing care.” When engaging in cancer marketing, it would be very easy and “fast” to just show a picture of a bald cancer patient. But, it might be too “easy.” Too “general.” As such, it could keep you from the customers that you want. This is true for marketing just about anything. If you’re selling a new product or service, you want to show the new product or service, obviously. But, don’t just rely on “what’s worked in the past,” or “what people are going to expect.” If you think about it for just a while (or hire someone like our rehab and lawyer search engine marketing to help) there might be a better, more specific and honest depiction.  

An Example from Our Clients

  Dr. Rojas does incredible work at the Venice Beach Surgical Center. “Tummy tucks,” “Mommy makeovers,” “HD Liposuction,” and many other treatments – he helps people to look their very best. As you might imagine, there are plenty of pictures and content showing beautiful models. This is aspirational, with the idea, “hey, you get this treatment, maybe you’ll look like this.” But, importantly, that’s not all that Dr. Rojas and the team show. Additionally (and crucially) they show real “before and after” pictures of people going through these procedures. So, you can see what folks just like you look like before and after. That’s specific. That’s honest. For help with all of this or anything else related to growing your business online, you can reach us at (888) 477-9540.   About the author: Website Depot Inc, is a full-service digital marketing agency. Website Depot was founded and incorporated in May 2012 in the state of California, with a primary office in Van Nuys. After fast and rapid growth, we have settled in Silver Lake, Los Angeles and later on Expended into Atwater Village, Los Angels, next to Glendale.