Today, marketing-savvy hospitals and healthcare networks are leveraging a combination of in-person, virtual and hybrid events to engage with their communities, build unified brands, attract new patients, and increase their marketing and events ROI.

On September 30, 2021, Stewart Gandolf, MBA, and CEO of Healthcare Success joined forces with Shahab Kaviani, Head of Community at Localist, to discuss strategies to optimize success, even in the age of Covid-19, through “healthy living” community events. These events motivate healthcare consumers to improve their lifestyles, and consequently, have the capacity to ultimately lower healthcare costs.

Community events also offer unique benefits:

• A deeper, more personal connection with community members. Communities cannot thrive without engagement.
• Increased brand loyalty. The community begins to think of your hospital first, and customers feel a sense of belonging which helps foster long term relationships.
• Engagement on a local level. Healthcare itself is local and community marketing is on the ground level.

It’s important to offer a wide variety of offerings, and frequently, to maintain engagement -- from workshops on managing illnesses, to health fairs, fundraisers, and hospital department tours. Virtual events are especially important to connect with consumers who may be isolated during the pandemic, or who are elderly with mobility issues. "This is a very real public health crisis,” says Lisa Marsh Ryerson, president of AARP Foundation. “Decades of research on prolonged social isolation and loneliness … [shows that it is] worse for health than obesity and as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day."

While hospitals and healthcare systems may have the vision and interest in holding an array of beneficial events throughout the year, the marketing and management of multiple events may sound cumbersome and daunting. Resources may be particularly limited when all hands are on deck battling the repercussions of a global pandemic.

Localist can help you solve this dilemma.

The Localist platform combines event management and marketing automation tools to grant you the power to focus on the quality of the event itself, while also attaining valuable post-event insights. Organizations including Kennedy Krieger Institute and Mount Sinai rely on Localist to enhance their communities and achieve overarching business goals.

If you missed the event, please watch a full recording of “How to Build Your Brand and Increase Community Engagement Through Live & Virtual Healthcare Events.” Shahab Kaviani and Stewart Gandolf will show you how to build attendance, essential elements of virtual events, key marketing strategies implemented by hospitals, and more.
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To find out more about the Localist's event calendar software, and how it can help your healthcare organization reach your audience, schedule a personalized demo.

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About the Speaker:

Stewart Gandolf, MBA
CEO, Healthcare Success

Stewart Gandolf, MBA, is Chief Executive Officer and Creative Director of Healthcare Success, one of the nation’s leading healthcare and digital marketing agencies. Over the past 20 years, Stewart has marketed and consulted for over 1,000 healthcare clients and communities, ranging from practices and hospitals to multi-billion dollar corporations. He is a contributor to the Wall Street Journal, Medical Economics, American Medical Association, Dental Economics, Optometric Management and Physicians’ Practice magazines,