The World's Greatest Example Of Content Marketing

I have a confession: I watch more kids’ shows than I do grownup shows, because kids, you know?

We have a family movie night once or twice a month and we end up watching cartoons because my kids are still little. Recently, our family movies were The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Movie 2. It was a hit all around - partially because my son shares a name with the main character, and partially because who doesn’t love talking toy bricks?

And then a strange thing happened...I found myself wanting to hit up Target for all the little building brics I could fit in my cart. How did that happen?

It hit me that these movies are some of the best forms of content marketing I’ve seen. EVER.

Most content marketing sucks.

Most inbound marketing content can be summed up in one word… boring. Especially in digital health, we tend to focus on tech specs and product features instead of creating powerful moments for our customers.

We forget that health care customers are human, and humans experience pit moments and peak moments, according to Dan Heath and Chip Heath, authors of The Power of Moments.

When we neglect to create these moments through our content, it becomes boring or worse…salesy. The content focuses more on the company than the customer.

What we can learn from a kid’s movie

Digital health and health tech marketing companies need to take a page out of this popular brand’s playbook. I’m not saying go out and create a movie, but be willing to think outside the box.

IT MET A NEED

I’m a mom. I have a major need. I need to keep two kids entertained so I can actually sit on my comfy couch for a few minutes.

And guess what? While my kids watched this movie, I got to do exactly that. We also got to hang out as a family with no kids screaming, crying, or knocking each other over for almost two hours. That’s what I call a win.

IT WAS ENTERTAINING

I keep talking about how my kids loved these movies, but what the heck… I’m enjoyed them, too. My husband and I got a few good laughs in, and now I walk around singing all the songs.

There are so many crossovers with health tech marketing here, but I’m going to point out one VERY important one. A lot of times health tech marketing has to reach multiple levels of health care infrastructure - doctors, department heads, heads of financial boards, etc. And that’s exactly what this movie did - it was exactly what my kids wanted to watch, and I didn’t mind the experience either.

THERE WASN’T A SINGLE SALES PITCH

There wasn’t a single sales pitch in this entire movie. No one ever even told me where to go to purchase their product. Not a single call-to-action. They literally just gave me a good, memorable experience with their brand, resulting in me remembering them next time I hit up Target.

The whole point is this - they NEVER told me to go buy their product. All they did was help me remember how a pile of little bricks can inspire a kid’s creativity.

IT WAS A GOOD STORY

The human brain processes information best through stories, and this movie capitalized on that common human trait. The information stuck in my head better than a list of facts and features about the product, so instead of going to the store and comparing lots of toy brick brands, I’m only going to purchase the brand that I remember.

Your turn. You can become the world’s greatest example of content marketing

Now you might be thinking something along these lines: “Cool, but I don’t sell toys. We sell an EHR. Do we really have that much in common?”

I get where you’re coming from. But there are several marketing principles here that you can take with you.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO BE CREATIVE

I’m not going to pretend that I was in on any strategy sessions behind this movie when someone pitched this idea, and I don’t know the concept process they went through. It’s entirely possible they never even intended the it to be marketing.

But the reality is that at some point someone pitched a crazy BIG idea… and no one shut it down.

In digital health marketing, people want to play it safe (and with good reason). While it’s true that traditional strategies still work, health tech marketing is one industry that desperately needs innovation.

If health tech companies only ever market like their competitors, how can they ever expect to be seen?

TELL A STORY

If your health care marketing focuses on facts and statistics, you may persuade your buyer’s reason, but you’ll never persuade their emotions. What does this mean for sales? Buyers may rationally agree with you, but it will be a much bigger battle to get them to buy from you.

The best way to market is by telling a story - a story that makes your customer the protagonist and ultimately the hero. When your audience sees themselves in the story, they’ll begin to connect with your brand emotionally and be more ready to buy what you are selling.

ADD VALUE TO YOUR CUSTOMER’S EXPERIENCE

Meet a need for your prospect…even if they never buy from you, solve a problem. This may not instantly convert millions of buyers, but it gives you the chance to show your buyers that you care about their problems more than anyone else.

Over the long run, if your content adds value to your customers’ experience, it will continue to build an audience while driving inbound leads into your sales funnel. In short, content marketing strategies are an investment in the future - your future relationships and reputation.

DON’T SELL

I’m not saying don’t ever sell. It’s pretty obvious that if you’re going to stay in business, you have to eventually sell. My point is that your marketing doesn’t ALWAYS have to sell.

You’re free to create content that allows your prospects to experience a powerful moment that is either helpful or entertaining or both.

Ready to build a health tech marketing strategy that gets results? Read our Ultimate Guide To Create A Health Tech Marketing Strategy:

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