Digital Strategies for Health Communication Competitive Analysis

1. Digital Strategies for Health CommunicationCompetitive Analysis Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, ScM, Course Director Tufts University School of Medicine July 17, 2013

2. Competitive analysis • Definition • Process • Examples Design Goals Personas Content Existing digital strategy New digital strategy SWOT Competitive analysis Technology Evaluation

3. Quote from Robyn Alie, Monday • If others are doing what we do, we partner or we “do it better”

4. Competitive analysis defined • Have a successful online presence by • Borrowing from what your competition does well • Avoiding what your competition does poorly • Distinguishing yourself to stand out from your competition based on your strengths • Conduct competitive analysis • Who are your competitors? A broad view can be advantageous – and realistic • Systematically review – surface or behind the scenes • Distill what you learned

5. You rarely know what goes on behind the scenes A Source: amctv.com

6. How do you select competitors? • A broad view can be advantageous – and realistic • You may know many of them already • Identify others by considering the tasks your target users (or personas) would try to accomplish • Select the 3 you think you can learn the most from

7. Are “competitors” most visited health sites?

8. Competitive analysis worksheet 1 • First impression • Purpose: How clear are the purpose and goals of the site at a glance from name, tagline, logo, and imagery? • Target audience • Users: Are the target audience(s) clear through text, images, stories, or testimonials? • Organization • Organizational branding: Are the organization and site purpose clearly portrayed through name, tagline, logo, imagery, or text? Is there a mission statement or an “about us”? • External affiliations: Is there branding from other organizations, accreditation (such as HONcode), sponsorship, or advertising? Are there celebrity sponsors? • Design • Design: How professional is the design? Characterize the design (modern, dated, simple, busy, etc.) and if the design seems effective for the site purpose and users. • Section organization: Is information segmented by content type, user roles, or user needs? • Layout and navigation: How organized are the layout and navigation? Are options apparent and clearly labeled? Does content seem easily accessible or buried?

9. Competitive analysis worksheet 2 • Content • Expert content: What are the expert-generated components (including text, graphics, audio, video, blogs, directions, ask an expert, and quizzes)? Are there supporting titles, synopses, links, and imagery? • Authorship and oversight: Are authors listed and, if so, are their credentials available? Is there an advisory board or clinician involvement? Is there a review process? • Currency: Does information seem timely and recent? Are dates included for when content was published and reviewed? • Health literacy and readability: Is the content easy to understand? Is there any confusing language, jargon, or abbreviations? Are the reading and health literacy levels appropriate? • Language: Are languages available besides English? • User-generated content: What are the user-generated components (including stories, blogs, discussion forums, videos, likes, ratings, and reviews)? Is user-generated content clearly delineated from expert content? • Policies: Are there explicit privacy policies or ones for how user-generated components are managed, organized, or moderated?

10. Competitive analysis worksheet 3 • User participation • Registration: Can users register or create profiles to personalize content or appearance? Can users login and, if so, what are their benefits? • Notifications: Can users subscribe to newsletters or new content alerts? • Transactions: Can users make donations or purchases? • Social media and mobile presence • Mobile: Is there an app or a mobile website? • Social media and user participation: Which social media technologies are used? Are they integrated into the site or a set of icons? Can content be shared, commented on, or “liked”? Is “most read” or “most emailed” content listed? • Overall assessment • Overall assessment: What are the best and worst features of the site?

11. Borrow, avoid, or distinguish • Assess: • What you want to borrow – what does your competition do well? • What you want to avoid – what does your competition do poorly? • How can you distinguish yourself – what do you have that you can capitalize upon to stand out from your competition?

12. Ex: MGH Benson-Henry Mind Body Institute Source: http://www.massgeneral.org/bhi/

13. Source: www.gaiam.com

14. Competitive Analysis: Gaiam Yoga • Borrow • Blog and social media use • Instructional videos including welcome video • Avoid or do better • Make website purpose clear including imagery • Organize all subpages more logically • Framework should be consistent for subpages • Segment target audience better • Distinguish yourself • Organizational and affiliation branding • Use Dr. Benson, The Relaxation Response, and research appropriately • No advertisements or shopping links

15. Competitive Analysis: Gaiam Yoga • Borrow • Blog and social media use • Instructional videos including welcome video • Avoid or do better • Make website purpose clear including imagery • Organize all subpages more logically • Framework should be consistent for subpages • Segment target audience better • Distinguish yourself • Organizational and affiliation branding • Use Dr. Benson, The Relaxation Response, and research appropriately • No advertisements or shopping links

16. Quiz: Which changed the most? • MGH Benson-Henry Mind Body Institute • Gaiam Yoga

19. Worksheet and example in binders