Step-by-step guide to developing a successful healthcare campaign

Before launching a healthcare campaign, follow this step-by-step guide to set clear goals, establish purposeful strategies and get measurable results.

1. Define goals

Consider what you want to achieve—whether it’s increasing awareness of a specific health service, promoting a new facility, or encouraging preventive measures, such as screening, health checks, or immunisation. Goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. For example, a goal could be to increase participation in a health screening program among Pasifika communities by 25% within six months.

2. Research diverse groups’ communication needs and preferences

Understanding your audience is fundamental. Conduct research to identify the communication needs and preferences of the diverse groups you aim to reach. This may involve:

• Demographic analysis: Examine age, ethnicity, income, education, and other factors that shape communication styles and preferences.
• Cultural insights: Understand cultural norms, values, and beliefs that influence health behaviours and perceptions of healthcare, including the language used. Specific healthcare ‘lingo’ is a factor with some diverse groups.
• Preferred channels: Identify the most effective communication channels for each group—social media, community events, local newspapers, television or radio broadcasts, or trusted associations and community leaders. Explore adoption of community champion approaches and ways to empower them with information that is simple and easy for them to disseminate.
• Creative considerations: Understand the format of how groups prefer to consume healthcare information – this is critical for effective execution of your campaign. These could include video, information sheets, handouts, brochures, pamphlets, posters, guides, step-by-step instructions and verbal education.

Engaging with community leaders and conducting surveys or focus groups can provide valuable insights into how best to communicate.

3. Craft the message

Once you understand your audience, you can craft messages that resonate with them. Tailor your messaging to address the specific health concerns, values, and cultural contexts of each group.

Key considerations include:

• Language: Use clear, culturally relevant language. For non-English speaking communities, translating materials into their preferred languages incorporating the correct ‘lingo’ is essential.
• Cultural relevance: Incorporate cultural references and symbols that resonate with the audience. Make it relatable but avoid stereotypical depictions of individuals and groups.
• Emotional appeal: Use storytelling and emotional appeal to connect with the audience on a personal level. Aim to be as relatable as possible.

Narrative storytelling approaches have emerged over the past decade as powerful tools for promoting positive health behaviour change in multicultural communities. Stories can function as a foundation for learning, providing both the context for understanding and internalising new information and a framework for remembering what is being conveyed. Stories also enhance memory and, therefore, increase the chance that audiences will retain information.

4. Choose channels

Selecting the right channels is critical for effective communication. Consider the preferences identified during your research. Some effective channels may include:

• Social media: Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok can be effective for younger audiences, while older adults may prefer platforms like Facebook or community-based websites.
• Community engagement: Host health events, workshops, and informational sessions in local community centres or places of worship to engage directly with diverse populations.
• Traditional media: utilise local newspapers, radio, and television stations that serve specific communities to reach audiences that may not engage online.
• Community leaders: often play a crucial role in diverse groups acting as trusted channels for communication, helping to bridge gaps and foster understanding among different community members. Their influence and respect within the community make them effective in disseminating information, mediating conflicts and promoting inclusivity.

A multi-channel approach ensures you can reach a wider audience effectively.

5. Measure results

To understand the effectiveness of your campaign, implement measurement strategies from the outset. Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with your goals. Consider metrics such as:

• Engagement rates: Track interactions on social media, website visits, or attendance at events.
• Conversion rates: Measure how many individuals take action, such as scheduling appointments or attending health screenings.
• Feedback: Collect qualitative feedback through surveys or interviews to understand how the campaign resonated with the audience.

By analysing these metrics, you can determine what worked, what didn’t, and how to improve future campaigns.

Connect with us

At Phillips Group, we use evidence-based approaches and undertake extensive research to develop health education campaigns. We offer end-to-end services including research, design and production of health education information.