Never forget who your audience is.

When you’re communicating complex data, you must be able to be as technically adept as any professionals, but also able to boil the concept down to its elements for a novice audience.  And, you must always remember to which audience you’re speaking.

Using the right language to communicate to them will improve your audience’s understanding and engagement every time.

Take a look at the rest of our health care PR tips from our “25 Years, 25 Lessons” series.

Patients can be surprisingly willing to share their stories, especially when a therapy has made a dramatic and positive impact on their life. Communicating their struggles and triumphs puts a human face on the value of pharmaceuticals and is at the core of all we do in healthcare public relations.

Take a look at the rest of our health care PR tips from our “25 Years, 25 Lessons” series.

Leading pharma analytics company and MCS client Qforma (www.qforma.com) was featured this week in NJBIZ, in a section called “Making It,” which profiles how different NJ businesses are handling the economic downturn’s challenges and opportunities.  Al Reicheg, Qforma’s Chief Commercial Officer, was interviewed and photographed for the full-page article, which appeared in yesterday’s issue of NJBIZ. The article explores the colorful history, unique services and recent success of this company, which has offices in Princeton and SantaFe. Check out this week’s issue to read the full article, which NJBIZ subscribers can also access online by clicking here: http://www.njbiz.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83689:targeted-marketing-keeps-firms-on-track&catid=135:other-news&Itemid=2

With a novel, you read 400 pages to get to the conclusion – but with a media interview, you must begin with the end.

Arm yourself with the single most important point you want them to take away. Then make every effort to incorporate that message into your response to the reporter’s first question – because there may not be a second question.  Use the entire interview as an opportunity to bridge back to that message whenever possible and relevant.

And when the journalist wraps the interview and asks: “Thanks, I have what I need, is there anything you care to add?” – don’t miss this opportunity to reiterate your key message one final time.

You want the last thing your interviewer hears, to be the first thing they remember.

Take a look at the rest of our health care PR tips from our “25 Years, 25 Lessons” series.

In the classic film “The Front Page”, reporter Jack Lemmon files a story about the execution of a criminal. His editor, Walter Matthau, asks if he included certain details. “Yes, it’s in the second paragraph,” replies Lemmon. The cantankerous Matthau barks, “Nobody reads the second paragraph!” 

This adage still holds true. When you issue a press release, make sure the key points that you want your audience to take away are in the headline and the first paragraph. Save the quotes and supporting details for the rest of the release. Especially in these times of 24/7 coverage, Google, search engine optimization and social media, the old rule still applies: make sure the bottom line is at the top.

Take a look at the rest of our health care PR tips from our “25 Years, 25 Lessons” series.

With social media becoming increasingly ingrained in everyday communications, there are plenty of consultants positioning themselves as experts. Unfortunately, you don’t need much to hang up your shingle as an expert. Check their credentials. Being active on a variety of social media platforms is admirable… but it might not give you all the help you need.

Do they lecture on the topic? Do they publish? Are they listed by others in the industry when naming people who know their stuff? What projects have they done, and what results have they gotten?

And once you’ve vetted them, make sure they’re not putting you into a panic unnecessarily. Social media is not the Wild West. It is not the Last Frontier.

Social media is communications. It’s talking to your target audience. It’s doing exactly what you’ve been doing, in some new arenas. So yes, it helps to have consultants who know the space and understand your goals. But if your “guru” is trying to tell you that it’s the biggest and scariest thing you’ve ever done – they might be trying to sell themselves instead of solutions.

Take a look at the rest of our health care PR tips from our “25 Years, 25 Lessons” series.