You’ve seen them on blogs as handy visual aids that spotlight keywords from page content. Word clouds make it easy for web surfers to determine if any given blog or post interests them enough to keep reading. But for marketers, word clouds offer communication tools that can be used outside the blog as well.

At their most basic level, word clouds make text on a page look more exciting than, well, text on a page. You can use them to convey data and information in a way that breaks the mold of standard presentation formats like slides, spreadsheets and pie charts.

Looking for a creative way to share marketplace feedback to your executive and board leaders? Instead of a report with lengthy quotes and testimonials, consider presenting a word cloud that displays what consumers are saying in one quick, easily digestible image. Information that’s easy to absorb at a glance resonates more with readers.

Word clouds can also help you take a keen look at the content on your website, particularly if you’re not employing search engine optimization and marketing tactics. In seconds you’ll know exactly what words appear most frequently on key pages. You can use the results to assess whether or not you’re communicating what you want—and don’t want—to say. Try the same thing with key pages from your competitors’ sites to compare and contrast key messages.

And speaking of your Internet presence, do you know what’s being said about your organization online? Word clouds are a great way to determine if your online press is positive and aligns with your key messages. Search on Google for your organization or a specific topic, then enter text from the search results into a word cloud app. You’ll get an instant visual representation of your online image and what it says about you.

Your consumers and employees have suggestions for improvement – do you know what they are? Word clouds can help you figure it out. Just as they can be used to draw attention to your strengths, they can also uncover weaknesses. Without making it public, try making a word cloud to zero in on specific areas needing improvement.

There’s no shortage of word cloud generators available online. Look around on sites like Wordle, Tagxedo and Word It Out (to name just a few). Pick the app you like the most and discover what it can reveal about your marketing and communication efforts. Why not start right now? It’s easy, it’s creative, and it’s fun.

It’s a time of year when many people toss healthy ideas aside in favor of indulging too much. So, we took to the streets one Friday afternoon in December to search the city for fun ways to stay healthy during the holidays.  In our Healthy Holiday Scavenger Hunt, we split into teams, each tasked with healthy challenges to complete before our annual holiday party. Teams documented and shared photos of their adventures at the party.

Challenge #1: Grow, all ye faithful

Tucked away in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas, is a small organic not-for-profit farm (Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture) used by urban farmers for educational research.  Here, each team fulfilled a KCCUA wish list which included storage containers and wheel barrows. It was our small way of contributing to a vital resource in the community. Donations like these help the farm operate year round. If you’d like to help, check out more information at the KCCUA website.

Challenge #2: There once was a man from Nantucket…

A limerick. We’ve all heard them, right? But have you ever written one? It’s not as easy as it you might think! In true creative fashion, each team sat down at Harry’s Country Club in the River Market to share pomegranate martinis and write a catchy holiday rhyme. Allegedly healthy Pomegranate martinis, made with the antioxidant and cancer-preventing power of the pomegranate, are not only tasty but packed with essential nutrients.

Challenge #3: Get fit!

Staying fit and healthy during the holidays is a challenge many people face. Once you find an exercise that works for you it’s important to stick to a routine, even during the holidays. Since exercise can be a lot more fun with friends, our teams each developed a 20 minute group workout.

Challenge #4: Share a feast 

In the final challenge, teams were tasked to find a healthy snack to enjoy and to give to someone in need. Each team donated cash, fruit, veggies (or a sandwich) to a worthy recipient; choices included a homeless man and a Salvation Army bell ringer. It was a healthy reminder of the reason for the season.

Our adventure was a fun way to give back to our community and remind ourselves what it means to have a healthy lifestyle. Happy New Year from everyone at the Group 3 Solutions companies: Dobies Healthcare Group, Hickerson Wahaus Advertising and Marketing, and Widick Marketing! And here’s to another healthy, successful year in 2011!

Are Search Engines Responsible for Cyberchondria?

We’ve all done it. Suffering from a sniffle that lasts a bit longer than usual, we’re off to a search engine to self-diagnose our mystery illness. Depending on the search results (and our levels of persistence and paranoia), either we are comforted that we’ve simply contracted the common cold…or we’re convinced that we’ve developed a CSF leak and the fluid that surrounds our brain is escaping through our nose!

Those of us who believe the second diagnosis are likely falling victim to cyberchondria:

“… the unfounded escalation of concerns about common symptomatology, based on the review of search results and literature on the Web.”

And as health content on the Web continues to grow, we risk becoming cyberchondriacs with every Google or Bing search query.

To help curb cases of cyberchondria, some believe it is the responsibility of the search engines to provide results the public can trust. While we agree that search engines play a role, the solution begins with healthcare marketers and Web writers.  We have the responsibility to work with physicians, nurses and other medical professionals to produce complete, accurate and understandable information for the search engines to deliver to the online community. Studies show this kind of quality information is not always available for certain conditions, which leads medical experts to warn against relying too much on the Internet for education.

Ultimately, however, it falls to healthcare consumers to do their part.  While it is important to be vigilant advocates for our health and make an effort to educate ourselves, we must be prudent in our research, both online and off, and remember to balance our findings with the first-hand opinions of medical professionals.

Kelly Hemmingsen, a Dobies Healthcare Group account coordinator, specializes in copywriting and editing, market research, project coordination and public relations services. She also runs support for their interactive team, specializing in social media, search engine marketing, e-PR, and Web content and development.

Despite having more than 400 million active users, Facebook still has its skeptics. Some common complaints include:

• “It’s a waste of time!”
• “Who needs an update on what I’m eating for lunch?”
• “Why do I need to be a Fan of anything?”

Okay, sure. Status updates aren’t always riveting or note-worthy (see: “Dear Coffee, Marry me. Xoxo, Kelly”) and I’m not ashamed to say I “like” a Fan Page called “I Don’t Feel Like Folding My Laundry So I Just Restart The Dryer.”

But while I’m not alone in using the Status Update and Fan Page for innocuous fun, some people are using these basic Facebook features to help improve their health … and even save their own lives.

Like this guy, who decided to quit smoking and inadvertently created a support group among his Facebook friends simply by updating his status with the number of days he’d been smoke free.  As his friends followed his progress, they “liked” his status as the number of days increased and left comments of encouragement when his updates expressed wavering resolve.   Having a virtual audience to not only hold him accountable but also to offer him support no doubt helped contribute to his continued success.

Then there’s this woman, who is using Facebook to help her find a kidney donor.  Living in a state that ranks among the nation’s lowest in percentage of licensed drivers who are registered organ donors, she got creative and set up a Page called “Mel Needs a Kidney.” As of the end of May, she had heard from about 100 people who offered to get tested to see if they were a match.  In addition to increasing her chances of finding a donor, her efforts are also helping raise awareness of organ donation and registration in Michigan.

So while it’s true many Facebook users limit their activities to tending virtual farms or tagging friends in party photos, there are some who are using the platform to improve their lives.  And that’s something I’ll “like” any day.

Kelly Hemmingsen, a Dobies Healthcare Group account coordinator, specializes in copywriting and editing, market research, project coordination and public relations services. She also runs support for their interactive team, specializing in social media, search engine marketing, e-PR, and Web content and development.

Developing key messages is perhaps the most essential practice of a strategic communications department or company. We all know the stress and anxiety of writing the perfect headline or lead sentence, but how often do you sit with your colleagues or clients to diligently develop phrases that represent the main ideas you want to convey to your audience(s)?

If you are a PR professional, you’re probably familiar with this practice; it’s how we develop talking points for clients. However, the act of identifying the features, advantages and benefits (FABs) into phrases that form compelling unique selling propositions (USPs) is a skill I learned years ago.

While talking points ensure everyone says the same thing (especially to the media), key messages developed using FABs ensure that all marketing materials consistently promote the benefits of the offering. Most of us can speak or write about features and some can even follow a feature with an advantage, but this isn’t always easy. Following an advantage with a benefit requires practice and a commitment to connect emotionally with your audiences. Using benefit language is challenging when promoting a service – especially a healthcare service.

Before you begin your next marketing campaign, gather internal experts and other stakeholders to nail down the FABs of your product, service or company by target audience(s). We take our clients through this exercise in the planning stages of a new campaign or initiative. And while the process can prove tedious, the results will pay off time and again. A well-written set of “go-to” phrases that serve as the backbone or core of the campaign creates:

• Consistent, targeted messages across all communication platforms
• Talking points for leadership and other spokespersons
• Up-front buy-in, which often means faster turn-around time for copywriting and approvals
• A cohesive team who is “on the same page” due to the time spent brainstorming to develop verbiage that best reflects the essence of the brand and its audience
• Focus on the features that are most compelling to the audience
• Patient-centricity!

What are FABulous messages?

Auto manufacturers are expert FAB’ers — watch carefully the next time you see a television commercial for a new car to see if you can follow the pattern.

I’ll bet you’ll be able to identify the three components:

• Feature: A prominent part, characteristic or special attraction
  • “The new Cadillac CVS has pop-up navigation, a 40 gig hard drive, wood trim and a sunroof.”
• Advantage: A favorable impression or effect (of the feature)
  • “It’s a luxury vehicle…”
• Benefit: Something that promotes well-being (from the perspective of the recipient)
  • “…that will turn you on.”

Auto manufacturers drive home the benefit by using sound and images. They create their brands on television and rely on the internet and dealerships to sell them.

How to create FABulous key messages

Develop a grid for each offering for each target audience, and if needed, a separate grid for the company. Don’t try to combine products/services or audiences. In the end, there may be enough repetitive phrases to consider combining audiences, but you won’t know this initially. Start first by listing the unique features that differentiate your product from your competitors. Choose selectively as not every feature will benefit every audience. Ideally, features should be ranked by relevance and value.

Next, list an advantage of each feature. Sometimes, one feature will have several advantages or one advantage could apply to several features. While this is tiresome to plot out, you will soon understand the significance of the repetition: patterns may emerge that lead to further exploration — “all of our features have the same advantage; should we combine them to create one message?” or “one feature has multiple advantages and the others have just one; should we focus on the one feature and consider the others low priority?”

Lastly, develop benefit statements for each advantage. Remember, benefits can and likely will be repetitive. They should appeal to our basic human needs — survival, security, social, ego and growth. Often this is the most difficult step to complete. Be patient and ask your favorite professional FAB’er (me?) to help. Soon you’ll be creating FABulous messages with confidence!

Developing key messages is perhaps the most essential practice of a strategic communications department or company. We all know the stress and anxiety of writing the perfect headline or lead sentence, but how often do you sit with your colleagues or clients to diligently develop phrases that represent the main ideas you want to convey to your audience(s)?

If you are a PR professional, you’re probably familiar with this practice; it’s how we develop talking points for clients. However, the act of identifying the features, advantages and benefits (FABs) into phrases that form compelling unique selling propositions (USPs) is a skill I learned years ago.

While talking points ensure everyone says the same thing (especially to the media), key messages developed using FABs ensure that all marketing materials consistently promote the benefits of the offering. Most of us can speak or write about features and some can even follow a feature with an advantage, but this isn’t always easy. Following an advantage with a benefit requires practice and a commitment to connect emotionally with your audiences. Using benefit language is challenging when promoting a service – especially a healthcare service.

Before you begin your next marketing campaign, gather internal experts and other stakeholders to nail down the FABs of your product, service or company by target audience(s). We take our clients through this exercise in the planning stages of a new campaign or initiative. And while the process can prove tedious, the results will pay off time and again. A well-written set of “go-to” phrases that serve as the backbone or core of the campaign creates:

• Consistent, targeted messages across all communication platforms
• Talking points for leadership and other spokespersons
• Up-front buy-in, which often means faster turn-around time for copywriting and approvals
• A cohesive team who is “on the same page” due to the time spent brainstorming to develop verbiage that best reflects the essence of the brand and its audience
• Focus on the features that are most compelling to the audience
• Patient-centricity!

What are FABulous messages?

Auto manufacturers are expert FAB’ers — watch carefully the next time you see a television commercial for a new car to see if you can follow the pattern. I’ll bet you’ll be able to identify the three components:

• Feature: A prominent part, characteristic or special attraction
  • “The new Cadillac CVS has pop-up navigation, a 40 gig hard drive, wood trim and a sunroof.”
• Advantage: A favorable impression or effect (of the feature)
  • “It’s a luxury vehicle…”
• Benefit: Something that promotes well-being (from the perspective of the recipient)
  • “…that will turn you on.”

Auto manufacturers drive home the benefit by using sound and images. They create their brands on television and rely on the internet and dealerships to sell them.

How to create FABulous key messages

Develop a grid for each offering for each target audience, and if needed, a separate grid for the company. Don’t try to combine products/services or audiences. In the end, there may be enough repetitive phrases to consider combining audiences, but you won’t know this initially. Start first by listing the unique features that differentiate your product from your competitors. Choose selectively as not every feature will benefit every audience. Ideally, features should be ranked by relevance and value.

Next, list an advantage of each feature. Sometimes, one feature will have several advantages or one advantage could apply to several features. While this is tiresome to plot out, you will soon understand the significance of the repetition: patterns may emerge that lead to further exploration — “all of our features have the same advantage; should we combine them to create one message?” or “one feature has multiple advantages and the others have just one; should we focus on the one feature and consider the others low priority?”

Lastly, develop benefit statements for each advantage. Remember, benefits can and likely will be repetitive. They should appeal to our basic human needs — survival, security, social, ego and growth. Often this is the most difficult step to complete. Be patient and ask your favorite professional FAB’er to help. Soon you’ll be creating FABulous messages with confidence!

Randee Gannon is a professional FAB’er, and director of client service, for the Dobies Healthcare Group. She has more than 20 years of experience in marketing, public relations and advertising. Her area of expertise includes developing, implementing and measuring strategic healthcare marketing plans.

A brand is only as strong as the connection between the organization’s actions and its messages. After all, your brand is more than what you say – it’s what you do.

So how do you determine what your brand is really saying?  Two words: Brand audit.

A brand audit systematically assesses the company’s brand from three vantage points:

1. Communications: How authentically the company appears in documents, proposals, advertising, Web sites and other venues
2. Internal: What employees think
3. External: What the customer believes

An audit is like peeling an onion one layer at a time to expose the core essence of the brand, and reviewing these three areas can help leadership understand how well the brand aligns with the organization’s strategic priorities and core values. Plus, it creates a road map for both marketers and executives to use in improving the brand’s overall authenticity. 

To learn more, check out our article on brand audits and take the first steps toward truly living your brand.

About the Author

Carol Dobies of Dobies Healthcare Group has 30 years of marketing experience in privately operated and publicly traded healthcare firms. She serves as project leader and creative director, and her expertise is in marketing strategy development, product/service line branding, creative and interactive communications, public relations and internal/team communications.

Earlier this year, we showed how online engagement after the earthquake in Haiti helped prove that people are using social media to connect with others in meaningful ways.  Today, we bring you yet another example, this time in relation to healthcare.

A study by direct marketing agency Epsilon reports that 40% of online consumers are turning to social media for health information.  And they’re not just talking about medical conditions, diagnoses, treatments and news.  The study found the primary reason for using social media was emotional:

“…many healthcare social media users want reassurance, support, and a sense of intimacy from people who are going through a similar experience.”

But according to a recent New York Times article and Pew Research report, this won’t come as a surprise to the many Americans affected by chronic illnesses.  Over the last few years, social networking has become a lifeline for many who are living with a chronic disease or life-changing condition.  By blogging, chatting and engaging with others on social networking sites like PatientsLikeMe, Diabetic Connect and CureTogether, they are able to share advice, war stories and empathy with others in similar situations.  Best of all, this can all happen from the comfort of home, a great advantage for those whose illness has left them homebound.

As social media continues to grow, look for more hospitals and physician practices to better connect with patients (and ultimately improve the patient experience) by complementing their informational Web content with virtual support groups and online forums.

About the Author

Kelly Hemmingsen specializes in copywriting and editing, market research, project coordination and public relations services for Dobies Healthcare Group. She also supports the Group 3 Solutions interactive team, specializing in social media, search engine marketing, ePR, and Web content and development.

Jill Whalen

I hear from many people who want to be told exactly what they need to do to get high rankings and bring more targeted search engine traffic to their websites. I wish I could provide them with a straight answer, but every site has its own needs when it comes to SEO. Which means there’s no exact rule that will work each and every time for any website.

One thing, however, that can help you figure out how to SEO your site is to learn the whys behind the specific techniques you always hear about. But to understand the whys, you first need to get the gist of how search engines work. Sounds scary, I know, but I’m going to make it as simple and painless as possible – so stick with me!

In very simplistic terms, there are 2 main components to the search engines: the crawler and the algorithm.

The crawler, which is sometimes referred to as a spider, a robot, or simply a bot, is what goes out on the web and fetches all the pages of information that it can get its virtual spidey legs on.

The algorithm (or algo) is basically the ranking formula that each search engine uses to determine the relevancy of any page that the crawler finds.

The search engines use this formula to decide – out of the pages that were previously fetched – which pages they should show for which keyword phrases that any searcher might type into the search box. Those keyword phrases are also sometimes referred to as a person’s “search query.”

While the algo is a formula, it’s so complicated that it’s not something you can simply reverse-engineer. The engines look at hundreds of factors and weigh them all differently. This is why you’ll find that automated SEO software doesn’t work well to increase your rankings.

Here’s an interesting point – those hundreds of factors that go into the relevancy algorithm boil down to two major things:

What you say about yourself, and what others say about you.

Really. It’s as simple (and as hard) as that!

“What you say about yourself” means the information you provide on your website, or the words that you write on your pages. The Internet is mostly a word-based medium. Every single web page has its own story to tell. Each page should be relevant to one or more search keywords or phrases. And each page’s story helps the search engines understand which search queries the page is relevant to.

Make sense?

So now let’s look at what others say about you. This aspect of how the search engines determine relevancy is known as the “off-page” criteria, and it’s typically done through links.

That is, another site owner likes what you say or offer on your site, and wants to tell their own site visitors about it. The way they do this is by linking to your site – or a specific page of your site. Search engines take these links into account because what others say about you provides an additional layer of trust beyond what you say about yourself.

Still with me?

These two major factors – how search engines work and what they’re looking for – help clarify what you need to do SEO-wise to keep them happy.

First, you need to steer clear of any technical issues that can impede the crawler from finding, reading and indexing the pages of your website. The easier you make it for them to do their job, the better chance your pages will have of showing up for relevant searches.

Which means you need to start on the SEO of your website from the very beginning. You’re going to need lots of up-front research on keywords and other elements. You’ll also need to make sure your content is written to appeal to both your users and to the search engines. While all of this *can* be done later, you’ll save yourself tons of time if you plan your SEO before you ever start developing your website.

Then, once you’ve got a crawler-friendly website, you’ll need to create pages that conform to the search engines’ algorithms by making sure they are not only relevant to what people are looking for, but interesting and unique enough for others to want to link to them. You’ve also got to spend time getting the word out about your website, because even the greatest content in the world won’t market itself!

I hope I’ve simplified the search engine process and SEO enough that you understand why you need to use the specific tactics that are involved. If you always keep the two major factors that search engines are looking for in mind – what you say about yourself and what others say about you – you’ll always be able to make the right decisions for your website.

It’s those two factors that drive the SEO process and fulfill its goal of helping your target audience find your website when they’re seeking out exactly what you offer.

Jill Whalen, CEO of High Rankings a Boston SEO Consulting Agency, has been providing SEO services since 1995. Jill is also the host of the High Rankings Advisor newsletter and the High Rankings SEO forum.