Universal literacy is defined as the ability to read and write. However, not all people are literate in their native language or are even fluent in any language. This often leads to an issue with accessing information that is vital to their health.
The Foundation for Universal Literacy has identified four key steps of universal literacy: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. By taking these steps into consideration when building your health content strategy, you can make sure that everyone has access to information about how they can improve their health!
1. Identify Key Health Topics
A strong health content marketing strategy should begin with an understanding of the key topics that affect your audience’s lives, including wellness, disease prevention, medication adherence, and how to manage chronic conditions.
Start by making a list of the 5-10 topics that are most important to your audience, then prioritize them.
2. Make Plans for Content Creation
Once you have identified which topics are the most relevant to your audience, you want to think about how much content you will need in order for each topic area. For example, if medication adherence is a key topic for your audience, you will probably need to create more content than if it is only a minor topic.
The number of pieces you have in each area should be relative to the importance of that topic to your audience’s lives
For example, suppose one of your target communities has an infant mortality rate that is 6X higher than the national average. In that case, you might want to create more infant-related content than if your target communities have healthy infants.
This may interest you: What Is Medical Digital Marketing.
3. Build an Online Health Library
Start creating a library of health resources that are available online for easy access by the community you serve without having to leave your website
It is important to organize these resources so they can quickly be found on your website.
Start with a homepage that allows readers to access resources by clicking on different topic areas, such as “Wellness,” “Healthy Living,” and “Diseases and Conditions.”
You can also create separate landing pages for each of the topics with links back to the homepage. Give each resource a unique title and description, as well as tags that will help readers find the information, they’re looking for quickly.
4. Think Digital First
With so many pieces of health content available online, it can be daunting to decide which ones to create and where to publish them. A good starting point is to think about the digital channel you want to use and how it can be adapted to each channel
For example, if your website is the primary channel for your health content strategy, your blog can be used as a resource hub for all of your written resources, such as e-books and articles. Most social media platforms offer formats that are conducive to specific types of health content, such as infographics on Pinterest and videos on YouTube. If your resources are tailored to the unique features of each channel, you are more likely to attract engaged audiences who are truly interested in learning about relevant health topics.
5. Ask What the Community Wants to Know
One of the best ways to create content that will be relevant and useful to your audience is by asking them what they want to know. You can do this through surveys and consultations with community members, as well as talking with social workers and other professionals who work closely with the communities you serve. This will help you to write more effective content that is customized to the specific concerns and questions of your audience.
This article has provided you with some helpful tips for building your health content strategy, but it is only the beginning. Your medical digital marketing team should always be looking to improve and adapt its strategies to stay ahead of the curve in today’s changing digital landscape.
