When healthcare organizations want to redesign or launch a site, they often call a web design firm first. But that's kind of like buying a gift, starting with the gift box. Here's why a content strategy should be step one.

1. Healthcare website redesigns:
Start with a content strategy
...not a web designer...
Monday, October 7, 2013

2. A marketing team goes into a room with a web design
firm. Months later, they come out with a site.
Website designers don’t:
✓Develop or edit content
✓Figure out your organization’s goals
✓Know your target audience
✓Like tons of major revisions
Here’s the problem…
Unless they
can charge
Monday, October 7, 2013

3. Calling the web designer first is like
building a house with an interior
designer instead of an architect
You need something to design first,
the content
Monday, October 7, 2013

4. “But we already have content”
: S T A R T W I T H A C O N T E N T S T R A T E G Y
Is the current web content still relevant?
Did you talk with any patients or other members of your
target audience to develop this content?
Does the still content drive traffic and influence target
audience to act?
Do the main landing pages rank high on search engines
for relevant key terms?
Okay. Consider these questions:
Monday, October 7, 2013

5. If the answer to all of these questions is
yes, then call the web design firm.
If the answer is no,
Here are 5 reasons why your
healthcare organization
needs a content strategy first:
Monday, October 7, 2013

6. 1) To avoid guessing
Know exactly what information your
patients need and how to give it to
them in 3 clicks or less
: S T A R T W I T H A C O N T E N T S T R A T E G Y
Monday, October 7, 2013

7. 2) To prioritize
It’s easy to say, “We want this… and this…and that on the website.”
But...
That rules out obese websites with unnecessary content.
A content strategy focuses on the healthcare organization’s
goals and the patients’ needs. That’s it.
52%
of smartphone owners use their
phones for health information
: S T A R T W I T H A C O N T E N T S T R A T E G Y
Monday, October 7, 2013

8. 3) To get patient and
stakeholder input
The best way to know what patients and
stakeholders expect on the website:
Research it before launch
: S T A R T W I T H A C O N T E N T S T R A T E G Y
Monday, October 7, 2013

9. 4) To determine how
the site should function
Such as...
How will people
find the key
landing pages?
Scroll, hover,
click or slide to
navigate?
How should the
site work on
mobile devices?
What about
graphics, photos,
and videos?
Who will
manage the site?
What should the
SEO tags and
key terms be?
: S T A R T W I T H A C O N T E N T S T R A T E G Y
Monday, October 7, 2013

10. 5) To save time, money
and stress
Content strategies help healthcare
organizations avoid building ineffective
sites and then backtracking to fix them.
And paying
for it by
the hour
: S T A R T W I T H A C O N T E N T S T R A T E G Y
Monday, October 7, 2013

11. When your healthcare organization...
✓ Has a thorough content strategy
✓ And awesome, engaging, near-
final drafts of content
THEN, call the web design firm
Monday, October 7, 2013

12. Thanks!
C a r e C o n t e n t . c o m
Monday, October 7, 2013