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Opinion Pieces: Take a Stand to Stand Out

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In public relations, we work with most of our clients on thought leadership bylined articles. These articles frequently include the client’s opinions, most often about how healthcare provider organizations or payers can improve productivity, efficiency, patient care and other aspects of running their businesses.

In healthcare business-to-business PR, however, we rarely get the opportunity to work with clients who truly want to take a critical stand on an issue, not necessarily political, but one that some readers may interpret as (gasp!) controversial. This is understandable considering businesses often do not want to alienate any potential clients based on their position.

At the same time, it’s a shame because writing opinion pieces generates credibility when the article is carefully researched, speaks from a place of knowledge and experience and is well-written. Opinion pieces also elicit a stronger emotional response in readers and are more likely to be shared online. One study by a marketing research company analyzed the 10,000 most shared articles across the web and categorized them by feelings, finding that “awe” was the most common emotion among the highly shared articles. “Laughter” and “Amusement” were the other top emotions, but that’s not typically our goal with opinion pieces.

The firm’s analysis echoes an earlier study conducted by The New York Times several years ago which asked readers why they shared a story they found online. Among the top reasons was to “bring valuable and entertaining content to one another” and “get the word out about causes they care about.” A good opinion article accomplishes both those goals and can inspire awe or at least a strong sense of admiration in the reader who may share the piece with key decision makers in the healthcare organization. When writing opinion articles, keep in mind the following:

Think of the reader

Certainly, the CEO or other thought leaders at your company may have an opinion about a healthcare industry problem or regulation, but is it what the reader also cares about? If not, the lack of relevance will make for a forgettable article. Instead, determine one of the most common pain points among your customers (and one that your solution may address) and focus on the opinion piece on that issue.

Do your research

Eliciting emotion is crucial for opinion pieces, but the piece will fall flat without the facts to back them up. Opinion articles, like any sort of persuasive writing, need ample statistics from credible sources to support this position. Don’t go overboard, though. Too many numbers may get confusing or cumbersome and may overshadow the story you’re telling and the personality of the writer, both of which must come through.

Establish credibility

The Duke University Communications Office offers a great, quick content and style guide for writing opinion articles. In their tips, they recommend that the writer “play up your personal connection to the readers” to increase relevance and build credibility. For their guide, Duke is referring to local consumer newspapers and publications. For trade and national business media, it’s helpful if the writer demonstrates their deep healthcare knowledge by sharing a bit about their background in the industry, if they have some. Readers tend to trust people more who have been in their shoes, so showing you’ve felt their pain firsthand can elicit a stronger sense of admiration and drive action. If the writer lacks personal experience in healthcare, describing an anecdote about a client or several clients can be just as effective.

Ruffle some feathers, respectfully

With facts and credibility established, the writer needs to take an unequivocal position on an issue, even if some or many readers will not agree, or even object to it. Taking a bold stance on an issue that is relevant to readers demonstrates confidence, strength and leadership, all qualities that healthcare leaders are looking for in partners. At the same time, demonstrating humility by explaining why you can understand the other side of the issue or the limitations of your position, is also important to show that this is a well-considered position.

Offer solutions

If an opinion article just criticizes and offers no solutions then it is no help to anybody, including your company. Describe at a high level how this issue could be solved focusing on all aspects. It may be tempting to reference your company’s solution at this point, but refrain from self-promotion as much as possible. Nothing weakens the integrity of an opinion article like an obvious sales pitch. Ideally, the content will drive readers to explore your company and download a deeper dive into your solution through a white paper or eBook. The article is meant to highlight the knowledge, expertise and vision of the people behind the solution, which is just as important as the tech.

Use sparingly

Opinion articles may seem risky to some, but with so much thought leadership content available online, it can be difficult to stand out. A strongly held opinion articulated and argued effectively using credible evidence can differentiate the writer above other thought leaders in B2B healthcare, but also help readers see those leaders as people”¦and maybe even inspire “awe.”

Why Are You Reading This?

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News Flash: There is a lot of written content on the web. That means it is challenging to grab a reader’s attention and even more difficult to hold it. One study, from way back in 2014, found online readers generally click away after 15 seconds. Five years and billions of smartphones later, it’s probably closer to 12 or 11 seconds.

That’s why when creating PR or marketing content, we constantly need to consider the reader first. Certainly, companies have their own goals for every content piece they create, but the reader’s experience, what’s meaningful to them and their goals for reading your content must be the first priority.

Here’s how to grab a reader’s attention in written content and hold it to the last word.

Identify your reader

This is the most important question. Whether crafting a thought leadership article, email blast or white paper, it needs to be laser-focused on who the reader is because as soon as they sense a piece of content isn’t relevant to them, they’ll delete, click or scroll away to something else. It’s a tougher question than it appears. If you set your sights too narrow, you risk alienating a lot of prospects; if you aim too broad, you risk being ignored by everybody.

Headline and lead paragraphs are the most important

What did you think of the headline for this blog post? Did it pique your curiosity? If so, good, because that’s what headlines need to do. Readers typically decide to continue an article after the headline and first few lines, so these two introductory elements are perhaps the most important parts of the content in most writing.

Style matters

The type of content will often dictate what style you use for your headline and lead as well as for other writing choices. A blog post, like the one you’re reading, allows for a little more causal headline, lead and language, but regardless of the style, it needs to be relevant and easy to read. Longer pieces, like white papers, should also move the reader along, even if they are written in a more formal style.

Tell the reader why they should stick with you

There are many ways in those lead paragraphs to encourage the reader to keep reading. Options include presenting a common, pressing problem that they want to solve, asking a provocative question that they will want to answer, or enticing them with ROI. For example, in B2B (and even in B2C) dollar signs always grab readers’ attention. Obviously, if the content has no financial element, then that’s not feasible, but sharing quantifiable numbers automatically establishes interest and often relevance in the reader.

Make every paragraph meaningful

Keep the reader engaged through the entire content piece by putting information in every paragraph that they care about or include actionable data they can begin applying today. The overriding goal of PR and marketing content is, of course, to attract prospects, but writing about only your solution is a turn-off, even presented in a vendor-neutral fashion.

One size does not fit all

I was going to title this subhead: “keep it short,” but one study shows that a 1,600-word length for most pieces is ideal, even for blog posts. Other research contradicts that finding. For a white paper, eBook or byline, that length or longer seems appropriate, but with blog posts, we say keep them shorter and then drive the reader to download the longer content piece.

What nearly all the research says, however, is if it is quality content, the reader will stick with it, regardless of length. In healthcare B2B PR, which is where we at Amendola Communications live, quality content means relevance to the reader, their job or their business. Stay on that track and you’ll have them reading to the last word, which is what I hope you’re doing right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Value of the Vendor-Neutral Opportunity

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One of the biggest changes that has happened in healthcare IT (HIT) public relations over the last 10 years is the increased demand for vendor-neutral byline articles, blog posts, and other materials.

It makes sense from the publications business model perspective. With ever-thinner margins they can’t afford to keep a legion of writers on-staff, or even to pay a legion of freelancers to write for them.

So, they supplement their own articles with content provided by various vendors. The caveat, of course, is that it must be vendor-neutral. In other words, it can’t overtly promote a particular company’s products or services. Instead, it must address a general industry topic, or adopt a general industry point of view.

While it makes sense to those of us directly involved in HIT PR, the idea of being vendor-neutral doesn’t always appeal to everyone within the organization. Especially those who are closest to the products, such as product managers.

“What’s the point of writing an article or a blog post if we can’t link back to our product (or service)?” they’ll ask. “Do we think customers or prospects will hunt for it on their own?”

While it’s easy to understand their concern, it represents transactional thinking. They expect readers will be so wowed by a product or service that they’ll click on the link immediately. And start engaging in the sales process.

That would be nice. But it doesn’t represent reality. Most products and services in HIT tend to have long sales cycles due to the cost, complexity, or disruption involved in replacing what an organization is already doing with a new solution.

That begs the question, “If the goal isn’t to secure a direct sale, then where’s the value in contributing the article at all?” Actually, there are several benefits.

Opening the conversation

In some cases, organizations who have been doing things a certain way for a long period of time may not realize they have a need. Or there is a different, better way to accomplish what they’re doing.

For example, a health payer may have systems and technology in place that enables them to process claims at a rate that keeps them profitable. But they may not realize they could be doing it in one-quarter of the time at one-eighth of the cost.

Or a provider may have analytics that are giving them a comprehensive view of what is happening in the organization. But they may not realize the same data could be telling them what to do next instead of looking back on what they’ve already done.

The vendor-neutral article or other materials become the opening salvo, alerting them to possibilities they haven’t even considered. That doesn’t mean they’re going to run right out with a credit card in their hands. But if they come to realize everything isn’t as hunky-dory as they thought, it creates an opening where none existed before. And guess who they’re going to look to when they start looking into solutions?

Establishing expertise around a topic

What if they organization realizes on its own that it needs to make a change? If the decision-makers don’t know how to address it internally, or they don’t have the resources to dedicate to it, most likely they’re going to perform some type of search to see who has expertise around that topic.

Returning results tied to articles from respected industry publications will have far more credibility than simply returning sales sheets. It will show your organization understands the problems HIT faces and is trying to help solve them. As opposed to your competitors who are simply trying to sell products.

Offering these vendor-neutral articles or other materials in a knowledge center on your website also helps establish your expertise. And your desire to work with them as a partner.

By demonstrating you understand what is happening within the big picture of healthcare, customers and prospects will get more of a feeling you’ll help them address their specific issues. Rather than just try to sell them whatever product you have that comes closest.

Once they feel you understand their needs, you can direct them to the product(s) or service(s) that address their issues.

Building your brand

Most vendor-neutral materials are created with the express desire to have an immediate impact on sales at some level. But they also provide another valuable function. They help build the brands of companies as well as the individuals attached to the materials.

Typically, we will ask clients what they want to be known for in a branding exercise. The answer is never a product. It’s always some sort of solution to an industry problem.

There’s no better way to get that message out there than to create materials that support this point of view. If you want to be known as the company that simplifies collecting from patients, producing a series of materials that explain what the need is and what needs to be done, at a high level, helps you capture that position. Especially if all your competitors are only offering up product-related materials on their own websites.

Establishing a strong brand gives buyers confidence that they are making a safe choice in a risky, uncertain world. That’s especially valuable for start-ups and/or companies venturing into new areas. You’ll be chosen more often if you look like the smart choice.

Accelerating the sales cycle

One of the least-understood aspects to public relations, especially in the digital age, is the value doesn’t come solely from the original placement. It’s what you do with the placement afterwards that really makes the difference.

A vendor-neutral article that has been published in a respected industry media outlet opens up all sorts of additional, sales-accelerating opportunities.

It can be added to your website, preferably in a knowledge center as mentioned earlier. That way, when a customer or prospect is looking around your website they get a sense that your organization is an industry expert, not just a seller of products.

It gives salespeople another reason to contact customers and prospects with a twist. An email that shares knowledge from company experts is far more likely to be read than another overt sales pitch.

Sales can use it both in an email blast to everyone and as an answer to specific inquiries, too. Imagine the power of a response that includes both the vendor-neutral article and the product or service that fulfills the needs the article lays out.

Vendor-neutral materials are perfect for sharing on social media. The organization can use its own channels, and even post in groups it belongs to (where appropriate). High-quality content will be of much greater interest than a product message that can be easily dismissed.

The more you use them, the more customers and prospects will become groomed to the idea that you have the solutions they need.

Taking the long view

For most HIT products and services, the sales cycle is a long one. It takes multiple touches, many of which will come before you’re even aware a buyer is interested.

Authoring vendor-neutral articles, blog posts, or other content helps you raise awareness of your organization. It also demonstrates you understand the challenges facing customers and prospects. It’s then a shorter leap to demonstrating how your products or services solve those challenges.