Hospitals, just like any other organization, need to market what they do. Medical services aren’t, strictly speaking, a consumer product for obvious reasons. But the brand that a hospital creates can have a dramatic impact on how much people are willing to pay for services and where they want to receive treatment when they get sick. A hospital’s branding, reputation, and healthcare marketing strategy has a profound effect on the prestige of the institution.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at the top ten best hospitals in the US, according to Newsweek, and how they market themselves to the general public.
10: University of Michigan Hospitals – Michigan Medicine
Coming in at number ten is the University of Michigan Hospitals – Michigan Medicine. This hospital is not so much a medical clinic but more of a campus, stretching over a vast area and providing practically every kind of treatment you can imagine.
The hospital is famous all over the country for its pediatric specialities – the services offered to children.
The hospital markets its activities through a variety of channels, including blogs for the general public, information about patient care for patients, and research papers and press releases on the latest discoveries by hospital researchers.
9: The Mayo Clinic – Phoenix
The Mayo Clinic in Phoenix is a spin-off from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester (the one everyone thinks about when they hear the name). The Mayo Clinic Phoenix offers support for the primary marketing operations of the entire franchise.
The Mayo Clinic positions itself as an online thought leader. It provides thousands of medically-related articles on everything from the latest cancer research to nutrition and provides information to patients in a language that they can understand. Part blog, part health education, it’s clear that the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, wants to provide people with accurate medical information.
8: Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
The Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center is the top-ranked hospital in California. The hospital uses several innovative methods to market the quality of its healthcare services and encourages care quality. The “share your story” page on its website lets patients tell others about their experiences at the UCLA Medical Center and why they’d recommend it. The hospital also makes it easy for patients to send a “care compliment,” making it easy for members of the community to engage with staff and provide feedback.
7: Brigham And Women’s Hospital
Brigham and Women’s Hospital is a teaching hospital at Harvard Medical School and one of the most renowned medical institutions in the world. The way that the hospital markets itself is subtle. Because it is an academic leader in the field of medicine, the hospital spends a lot of time promoting itself as a center for “thought leadership,” encouraging students and practitioners of medicine to apply.
6: New York-Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia And Cornell
New York-Presbyterian Hospital – Columbia And Cornell, which stands just outside the top five according to Newsweek rankings, specializes in a vast array of medical and surgical services. The hospital is highly forward-thinking in its marketing. Most days, it publishes tweets on its Twitter account sharing photos, tips, and comments about the world of medicine. Each story is designed to evoke people’s interest and provide real-world examples of how the hospital is helping to improve patient health.
5: UCSF Medical Center
UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco provides a range of inpatient services and markets its team using video. If you hop onto the organization’s website, you’ll find a section called “Our Calling.” Here, you’ll find the personal stories of members of the hospital’s medical team and why they’re committed to patient care. Patients can see first-hand just how much the hospital’s medical professionals care about what they do. UCSF Medical Center uses its video marketing to make it clear that it puts the quality of patient care above all other considerations.
4: Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital, based in Boston on the East Coast, has an active cancer focus. The hospital, therefore, provides regular news and podcasts on topics to do with cancer, including research, the treatments available, and cancer survivorship.
The hospital also regularly issues press releases covering everything from “how our bodies coddle cancer” to how new weapons are being developed in the fight against the disease.
3: The Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital was founded in Baltimore in 1889 by wealthy city merchant Johns Hopkins with $7 million. The hospital soon grew to become a leader in biomedical research and teaching. The hospital makes use of Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to tell the world about the remarkable work that it does.
2: The Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is an academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio. It is one of the most famous hospitals in the world and uses practically every digital tool at its disposal to share its output. The company has Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts, as well as many more on minor sites. It regularly publishes news stories on the web on the latest scientific and research developments, and stories that it feels have medical significance.
1: The Mayo Clinic
The Mayo Clinic based in Rochester, Minnesota, tops the list of hospitals in the US, owing to its groundbreaking therapies and quality of patient care.
Just like Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Mayo Clinic was founded in 1889 and now employs more than 4,500 physicians across its campus, as well as a further 58,400 administrative staff.
The Mayo Clinic makes extensive use of Instagram and regularly publishes “snippets” – short videos which make a punchy, concise point. It tries to pick topics that it thinks will create a buzz, such as bullying in school, the latest craze for over-the-counter cannabis products, and how to administer first aid. It is also a leading publisher of online blogs and articles designed to help people find out whether they need to seek medical advice. (And, of course, recommending itself in the process). Through a mixture of well-judged humor and educational content, it’s built a large following online.