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You’ve Developed the Next Greatest HIT Tool. Now What?

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Key elements to a successful product launch

In most industries, and especially with technology, continuously innovating is a requirement for maintaining and expanding market share. Releasing new products and features requires several months of strategy and development, the completion of which is met with great fanfare within the company. Now, you need to share this advancement and sell it to customers.

In a world that is always looking to the next greatest thing from iPhones and the latest Star Wars installment to artificial intelligence how do you stand apart? Here are some points to hit so your new product/significant upgrade receives the appropriate attention.

Know the level of your announcement: Put yourself outside of the company for a moment. Is this an enhancement or tool that will matter to current or potential customers? Sometimes, companies are tempted to announce tools that may have required a fair amount of development work but are not significant to their general audience. Refrain from issuing a press release with all of the bells and whistles unless it is a new product or a significant upgrade, such as version 2.0. Targeted e-mail outreach may be a better medium for reaching your desired audience if only a subset of customers will find it pertinent.

Focus on the benefits: The tendency for many is to talk about features and discuss innovation for innovation’s sake. Don’t fall into this trap. At the end of the day, the goal is for people to use your new widget. Think about the benefits this solution brings to current and potential customers, and focus on those. If you have an idea of how much efficiency will be realized or money will be saved, consider creating an infographic that will visually demonstrate these advantages.

Include quotes: The customer is always king, or queen, and there is no exception with new product announcements. As much as people want to be on the cutting-edge, the minds of potential buyers are put to ease knowing that someone has been there first. It also shows that a peer views this as a good idea. Another way to show market demand is through a quote from an industry analyst.

Show market demand: This can be accomplished through a quote from an industry analyst or through survey results. It is great to point to a survey that finds 90% of people struggle with a problem and then announce you have the solution. Show that you are listening to the market and addressing its concerns.

Ensure spokespeople will be available: The press release is out and members of the media want to write about it. Make sure the people quoted in the press release, or a close approximate, are available for interviews in the days following the announcement.

Educate internal teams: It is easy to get tunnel vision with the launch of a solution and forget to involve additional teams that may be impacted by this announcement. Have sales and support been brought up to speed? If someone calls about the new product just announced, will they know how to answer basic questions? Many companies have been guilty of missing this step, at one time or another, although it is important. If this is a significant release, or one that differs from your core business, consider developing an FAQ that internal teams can reference to learn more.

Fill your marketing toolkit: Where will your customer learn more about this new solution? On launch day, be ready with some, if not all, of the following:

  • Press release announcing the new solution
  • Product-related product page/microsite
  • Data sheet
  • Screen/product shots
  • Pre-approved social media posts
  • Beta customer references (if available)

A product launch is an exciting event with many moving parts. With the proper planning and coordination, it can be executed seamlessly and show your company as the experienced innovator it is.

Keeping the Drum Beat Going on Marketing

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Summer conjures many images that are symbolic of a slower pace relaxing by the beach, sipping lemonade by the pool or reading a book under the shade of a tree. These relaxing pictures of a simpler time rarely include your marketing efforts, although they can fall into this summer haze if you don’t take steps to keep them amped up and the drum beat cadence strong.

New customer wins, moving into an expanded headquarters and launching innovative products are obvious reasons to keep your name in the public eye; however, summer seems to have a way with slowing down major events such as these. How do you stay in front of your main audiences without appearing overly promotional?

Conduct Surveys Can you survey your customers to discover a new point of view? Do you have access to de-identified data within your product that could point to an industry trend? One example would be discovering which state’s residents are more likely to take their medication as prescribed than in any other state. Facts and figures are generally well-received and can support your company’s position. These results can be used for a press release, infographic, social media and media relations outreach.

Create a Campaign Develop videos, blog posts or other content addressing problems that your product solves and position yourself as a thought leader. Champion a cause or highlight a struggle like Healthsparq’s #WhatTheHealthcare and athenahealth’s #LetDoctorsBeDoctors campaigns. Branch out as a mover and a shaker to help fix a problem even if your product alone won’t do the trick. Doing this shows you as a trusted ally and advocate.

Offer a Fresh Perspective Your company has knowledge and a viewpoint that is unique. Does your CEO have a fresh position on leadership? What insights can you bring on the industry? Refine that information and share it through media relations, webinars and bylines. Reporters are looking for new ideas that shed light on a relevant topic in a vendor-neutral manner.

Whether done on your own, with a customer or through partnering with a publication, webinars are a great avenue to harness your knowledge about a topic and share it in a way that gives a personal connection. Attendees can get a taste of your personality, in addition to knowledge on the topic, and the chance to ask questions depending on how the session is structured. Contributing articles to publications is also a great way to extend thought leadership by sharing your perspective in your voice.

Support a Charity There are many great causes. Perhaps your company already supports a charity, which would benefit from an event or donation. Another option is to find an organization that allows personal involvement, such as sponsoring a build day with a Habitat for Humanity site near your office. Not only will it be a great team-building exercise, you could get some local press for your efforts. Employees and customers enjoy working with socially responsible companies, so it is a win from all sides.

Everyone hits a slow news cycle at some point. Use this time to refine your position, create a conversation and support a great cause. Each of these methods will extend your brand and deliver more content, including for your social channels.

5 Things Social Media Managers Never Do

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Grab your Instagram-worthy coffee and make sure you are not guilty of these social media crimes.

Social media marketing is fast paced. Not only does your well thought-out and carefully sliced up 140-character tweet have a short shelf life, but each platform changes almost daily. However, there are some nuances that remain the same. These are my top 5 mistakes to avoid in the ever-evolving social media game.

1. Use old, wrong or low-quality logos

Twitter’s logo is a bird, not a plane and not a weird version of tumblers “t”. The official logo became the bird with no text in 2012. No, I’m not paid by Twitter’s branding manager, but I am fired up about getting everyone on the same page about the logo misuse!

Whenever you need a social media platform’s logo, it is best to visit their branding guidelines or resources. Usually, you can download a free kit that has the logo in many colors and every type of file format.

Another important logo faux pas to watch out for is the dreaded, low-quality profile picture or thumbnail. Nothing screams “We don’t care about this” more than a bad photo as your profile picture. It’s the first impression your potential customers see and you want it to be a good one! Don’t forget to look at your entire digital presence to make sure you have at least one high-quality photo listed with your brand. Google search is a commonly missed opportunity. Don’t worry, it’s an easy fix! Google uses their very own social network information first to populate the search results side bar. Make sure you gave a great photo or high-quality logo and accurate information listed on your Google+ account.

 

2. Spam following attacks

Managers that do this are like the sign spinners of social media marketing.

I understand how this strategy developed as you can get short-term results from using this tactic. But these followers are hardly worth your efforts and are most likely either spam-bots or accounts that are not linked to your decision makers.

You should still keep your ratios clean (follow fewer accounts than you have followers) and follow industry leaders and influencers. The key is to focus your efforts when it makes sense for your strategy, not sporadically and aggressively. Twitter will actually step in when it becomes too much of a problem, but please, never get to that point.

3. Miss an engagement or sales opportunity

Uh, hello? It’s called SOCIAL media. Be social! Especially if you are a B2B organization, this type of engagement just isn’t as common as the B2C counterparts on social media. Capitalize on the opportunity as it arises! There is no shortage of free software available to help manage your engagement. Find brand champions that aren’t tagging your account, yet still praising your name, fix customer problems or complaints and develop new sales leads.

Make sure your engagement is timely and relevant. Search all hashtags used or links shared before posting or replying. Also, make sure the account you are engaging with is a real person not just a bot or an irrelevant twitter user.

4. Forget to sign out of the company account

Yikes! This is an ugly one. People get fired over this and it is not a great situation to be in. Personally, as a practicing social media manager, I steer clear of posting politics on my personal social accounts and I keep it PG. This choice decreases my risk of posting something truly terrible on a company account. Newton’s law of gravity doesn’t apply to the internet. What goes up, stays up on the internet.

There are too many examples like the twitter accident that happened to Chrysler.

Social media managers need to be sure they're not posting personal thoughts on company accounts

5. Assume you have learned everything

The beauty and challenge of social media marketing is that it’s always changing. It’s hard to be the ultimate expert in something that is always changing and moving! Stay in touch with reality and assume there is always something new to learn and observe. I find it to be the best way to approach social media.

Hashtag conversations and meanings can change hourly, platforms have repositioned based on users habits and algorithms change all the time! The Internet is a place where traditional marketing practices and new forms of communication can be used in collaboration to create meaningful engagements with your audience.

Here are a few methods I use to stay up-to-date on my social media marketing skills:
Use social media platforms for personal use
Read and subscribe to social media marketing blogs and news outlets
Listen to podcasts on the digital strategy
Attend webinars on social media marketing
Look at competitors or other industries and figure out what is working for them

Make sure not to commit any of these social media mistakes and comment below with other social media rules that stand the test of time.

Healthcare IT Agency, Amendola Communications, Releases Top 7 Blog Posts for Spring Cleaning your PR & Marketing

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Agency insiders give tips to refresh and reenergize content marketing, tradeshows, social media and more

SCOTTSDALE, AZ., May 9, 2017 With more than half of the year still on the horizon, healthcare IT marketers and communicators are evaluating next steps to promote their companies. To jumpstart creative thinking, check out the following series of blog posts from Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and healthcare IT public relations and marketing agency.

“The Four P’s to Think Like a Marketer.” As marketers prepare their budgets, a few perennial questions emerge. Should more of the budget be allocated to content marketing or advertising? On trade shows or public relations? There is no shortage of options vying for the marketer’s dollar, but savvy marketers get that a balanced approach is better than risking most of their budget on a single strategy. With that, a terrific process exists to get the most results out of existing resources.

“Don’t Judge a Book by its Sales: Tips for Making Your Book a Relationship Magnet.” It’s a marketing vehicle tapped by relatively few companies, but a book can attract attention, credibility and leads galore. For executives seeking to establish their thought leadership or steer their way to media attention, penning an authoritative book could be the most direct path they take.

“Content Marketing: Remember to Ask “And Then?” A blog post or video that’s gone viral, a webinar that attracted lots of sign-ups”¦too often these are considered ideal end goals, when what they really should be are the starting points. Wise marketers plan ahead to make sure there’s always a next step in place to guide prospects to the sale.

“Tips for Social Media Success.” A social media presence is almost as important as a brick-and-mortar address, at least from a public relations and marketing standpoint. Yet for many companies, social media remains an enigma, especially with so many social media platforms to learn and navigate. And make no mistake, each does have its own set of best practices. The good news is there are universal guidelines to quickly become a competent practitioner of social media marketing and PR.

“HIMSS is Over, Now What?” Sure, HIMSS is several months in the rear view mirror. But there is still time left to leverage the investment made in the show, and act on the contacts and opportunities that were made to secure analyst coverage, bylines and more.

“The Press Release: Marketing’s Swiss Army Knife.” Just like the Swiss Army knife performs a multitude of functions, so too does the press release. In fact, this staple of public relations turns out to have a surprisingly versatile set of benefits for marketers, from SEO to lead gen. This is in addition to the good public relations and media attention that a strong press release can still generate.

“How to Make the News, Even When You’re Not the Headline.” Companies often hire PR agencies with the intent of getting front page coverage on USA Today or the Wall Street Journal or to star in an in-depth feature in a widely read trade publication. However, such a score rarely happens at the beginning of one’s PR effort; even Steve Jobs had to wait years to become a media darling. However, there are plenty of other ways to garner attention from the press that are of great value to any company.

Amendola’s blog posts cover all things public relations and marketing. A go-to source for communications professionals, the blog publishes on a weekly basis and features over a dozen subject matter experts in every aspect of publicizing and marketing healthcare technology companies.

About Amendola Communications
Amendola Communications is an award-winning national public relations, marketing communications, social media and content marketing firm. Named one of the best information technology (IT) PR firms in the nation four times by PRSourceCode, Amendola represents some of the best-known brands and groundbreaking startups in the healthcare and HIT industries. Amendola’s seasoned team of PR and marketing pros delivers strategic guidance and effective solutions to help organizations boost their reputation and drive market share. For more information about the PR industry’s “A Team,” visit www.acmarketingpr.com, and follow Amendola on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Marcia Rhodes, Amendola Communications, 480.664.8412 ext. 15 / mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com

Meridian Medical Management Selects Amendola Communications as Content Creation Partner

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 04, 2017 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and healthcare IT public relations and marketing agency, announced today that Meridian Medical Management, a leading provider of revenue cycle, business intelligence, EMR and system integration services for large, multi-specialty physician groups and academic practice plans, has engaged the agency for its content creation services.

“Meridian Medical Management requires an agency that understands our market and produces quality results,” said Bill Stone, executive vice president of sales & marketing for Meridian Medical Management. “We searched for a partner with the ability to elevate and extend our marketing reach. Amendola Communications experience and capabilities in our industry will be of great benefit as we continue to grow and gain market traction.”

With more than 20 years of experience, Meridian Medical Management aids independent medical groups and leading academic medical centers, helping them realize new revenue sources. The company promotes quality and revenue growth initiatives through delivering technology, analytics and revenue cycle services to its customers.

“Meridian Medical Management enables healthcare organizations to optimize their revenue cycle, including identifying new opportunities,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola Communications. “Our proven track record in promoting healthcare IT companies will be valuable in getting the word out about Meridian. We are excited to work with Meridian to develop content that will drive their marketing goals.”

The agency will work to elevate the Meridian brand to the forefront of the healthcare revenue cycle and analytics market. Under this agreement, Amendola will be responsible for delivering content demonstrating the thought leadership and expertise of Meridian Medical Management ‘s subject matter experts including blog posts, case studies and other materials.

About Meridian Medical Management
Meridian Medical Management, a portfolio company of The Gores Group, is a leading provider of revenue cycle, business intelligence, EMR and system integration services for large, multi-specialty physician groups and academic practice plans. Leveraging over a decade of experience, Meridian’s team of professionals provides revenue cycle performance, business intelligence and practice growth to some of the most prestigious medical groups in the country. For more information, please visit www.m3meridian.com.

Media Contact: Marcia Rhodes | 480.664.8412 ext. 15 | mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com