Marketing Your Site—Reach Out to Your Community

To succeed in your mission to provide health care to the residents of your community, as well as recruit and retain quality clinicians, you need to let them know that you are there and that you can help them. Here are some actions you can take to promote your clinic and its services to those in your area.

+ Get involved in the community

Participate in community events like health fairs and educational events, and connect with health clinics in local schools and on college campuses. Sponsoring local events or providing services to people through special events not only will raise the visibility of your clinic, but also will benefit the residents of your community.

+ Get connected with the community

If you and your staff are not already plugged into your community’s leadership, you should be sure they get to know you. Serve on the boards of local organizations, advisory panels, or community councils. They may be able to help you make the connection to the people you’re there to serve.

+ Work your connections and resources for free advertising

National Health Service Corps member clinics have engaged in all kinds of marketing activities. Here are some ideas from the field to help spark your own creative thinking, but the main point is to use your imagination! Each community has its own unique resources—look around and use what is available to get your name out there.

+ Draft a press release to send to the local newspapers about your clinic and about new clinicians you bring to the community

+ Place public service announcements (PSAs) on local radio and TV stations, as well as in newspapers

+ Post flyers in high traffic areas, such as laundromats, community centers, churches, libraries, and grocery stores

+ Join your local Chamber of Commerce and attend city council meetings

+ Design sandwich-board signs (A-frame stand-alone signs) to place at locations around town, such as local homeless shelters, teen centers, and community centers

+ Solicit the assistance of a local celebrity or prominent figure—or bring back a celebrity who grew up in the area—to help you promote your clinic at an event or through PSAs

+ Work with local sports figures or teams to help gain visibility for your clinic

+ Hold a fund-raiser at a local restaurant

+ Start after-school programs to benefit local youths

+ Check to see if an NHSC Ambassador is on a campus within your area, and have him or her promote your clinic

+ Develop a Web site for the clinic and see about linking with other local groups

+ Go ahead—pay for advertising

If you have the budget for advertising, it could bolster your other promotional efforts. Sometimes, paid media placement is the best way to reach the people you want to find.

+ Place ads in local newspapers and magazines; consider writing the ad in the languages spoken by people in your community

+ Advertise at local movie theatres, e.g., flyers, sandwich boards, signs, or on-screen ads

+ Place an ad in the Yellow Pages

+ Don’t do it all by yourself

Launching marketing activities is a time-consuming process that requires strategy, planning, and creative thought. If you don’t have the kind of budget that allows for hiring an experienced marketer, here are some ways you can develop winning approaches on a shoestring.

+ Consult local colleges or universities for design help; you may be able to connect with art students and business students interested in building a portfolio of work

+ Find volunteers to help you with your strategic planning; if you sit on various community boards or councils, you may be able to tap into the resources of people in your community who are willing to help you think things through

+ Designate one or more of your current employees as outreach coordinators with specific responsibilities; some staff members may welcome the opportunity to learn new skills