Melanie Hilliard

Most healthcare marketing is solving the wrong problem. 🎯 Everyone focuses on 'getting more patients.' But what if the real problem is: 1. Poor patient experience leading to low retention? 2. Inefficient systems wasting marketing dollars? 3. Unclear value proposition confusing potential patients? 4. Misaligned services and market demand? Sometimes, the best marketing strategy is to fix your operations first. I've seen organizations virtually double their revenue without increasing marketing spend, just by improving their patient journey and retention rates. Marketing amplifies what you already have. If what you have isn't working, amplifying it won't help. #HealthcareMarketing #PatientExperience #OperationalExcellence"**

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A recent article in Marketing Brew explored how expectations of marketing leaders are shifting. CMOs are being recognized more for soft skills and collaboration, but many CEOs still feel their marketing teams aren’t fully reaching their potential. I see that as an invitation, not a criticism. Marketing has changed. A lot. It’s no longer just about generating leads or launching splashy campaigns. It’s about asking the right questions, staying curious, and adapting in a fast-moving world. When I build a marketing team, there are a few qualities I look for: 🧠 Thinkers who can translate complexity into simplicity 📖 Storytellers who know how to connect, not just convert 🤝 Collaborators who care about the mission and metrics 🤖 Strategists who use AI as a tool, not as a replacement At XP Health, we’re helping people access something essential: a modern approach to vision care. That takes deep empathy for the people we serve. To my fellow marketing leaders and agency owners: What do you look for when hiring a marketer? https://lnkd.in/eebhKwHS #MarketingLeadership #HealthcareMarketing #PurposeDrivenMarketing #CMOInsights #VisionCare

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💡 *Top 10 Qualities of Successful Marketers You May Not Find on Job Descriptions*... After 15+ years of leading marketing teams, I’ve had the privilege of working with some incredibly talented marketers. Recently, I reflected on the key qualities that have consistently set the most successful marketers apart. I’d love to hear your thoughts—what qualities do you think make a marketer truly excel? Share in the comments! 1️⃣ *Curiosity*: Constantly being eager to learn to stay ahead of trends is key to adapting and raising the bar in the ever-evolving marketing world. 2️⃣ *Emotional Intelligence (EQ)*: Understanding your audience’s needs and building meaningful relationships is as important as the campaigns themselves. 3️⃣ *Storytelling*: The ability to craft compelling, emotional, relatable narratives that resonate with customers and drive action. 4️⃣ *Analytical Thinking*: Beyond crunching numbers, it’s about interpreting data to drive strategy in unique ways to move the business forward. 5️⃣ *Resilience*: Taking calculated risks and learning from failure are part of the journey to success in marketing. 6️⃣ *Adaptability*: The best marketers can pivot quickly and adjust strategies when needed, keeping up with changing trends and evolving business priorities/needs. 7️⃣ *Cross-Functional Collaboration*: Great marketers know how to work with different teams from across the organization to drive alignment and execution. 8️⃣ *Creative Problem Solving*: Thinking outside the box to overcome challenges and find innovative solutions is what sets marketers apart. 9️⃣ *Growth Mindset*: today’s marketers are expected to nurture/generate leads and accelerate the sales funnel. Being focused on delivering and monitoring ROI is non-negotiable. 🔟 *Customer-Centricity*: Putting yourself in the customer's shoes and thinking about their experience from start to finish is what truly drives long-term success. #Marketing #CareerGrowth #Success #Leadership #MarketingTips #SkillsMatter #Diagnostics

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💥 Every mid-to-large sized b2b company needs a *Chief Communications Officer* in the C-suite. Full stop. 👇 If you can afford a marketing leader you can’t afford NOT to have a dedicated comms leader. It’s not either/or. It’s not the same job. It’s both—especially in an AI world that serves up answers based on *earned media* and *3rd party validation* vs owned content and ads. The game has changed. Don’t sleep on the head of Comms. This is the way ✊

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This morning, I scrolled through LinkedIn and couldn’t help but notice the numerous (like every single one) posts about AI, but also the impact of AI in the communications and marketing industry. I see PR agencies hyping new AI tools built to identify messaging gaps faster or automate crisis-communications workflows. I see copywriters/creative talent posting looking for work and in the same feed, generative-AI boot camps, and “how to deploy Gen AI for your brand” webinars. It got me thinking, we really are moving at the speed of light sometimes, so what’s next? What does this all add up to? I came up with three general ideas for those of us in communications, marketing and creative: 1. Speed + scale = new baseline. The speed of automation now means that identifying “what’s going wrong” (in a crisis or messaging-gap sense) is no longer the advantage, it’s the minimum. If you’re not using tools that monitor, model and respond in real time, you’re falling behind. The PR piece of the equation is evolving from “make it right” to “make it almost invisible.” 2. Creative talent dynamics are shifting. With more AI tools entering the workflow, the role of the copywriter, strategist or creative is changing with less about “write every word” and more about “design the narrative architecture,” “ensure tone & authenticity,” “interpret AI outputs and elevate them.” The human talent equation is still critical, but the skills profile is changing (AI-savvy + human-judgement + strategic lens). 3. Crisis communications is morphing into anticipatory communications. Traditional crisis response (reacting to something) is being overtaken by tools that forecast issues, monitor sentiment, detect anomalies and highlight messaging gaps before they erupt..it’s the age old saying “work smarter, not harder.” So where are we netting out? Here is where I’m putting my bets: • The word “AI-augmented” become generic in communications briefs: “We need an AI-augmented comms strategy for launch X.” • Larger focus on AI focused roles like “Creative technologist” or “Comms + AI strategist” instead of purely “copywriter” or purely “PR specialist.” • A subtle divide: those who treat AI as a tool (for augmentation) vs. those who treat it as a substitute (risking loss of nuance/trust). And the winners will be those who manage the human-plus-machine hybrid thoughtfully. Would love to hear from other in marketing and comms. What are your predictions? #Marketing #PR #AI #CrisisCommunications #FutureOfWork

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Here's a lesson worth stealing: I once worked with a marketing leader who completely reframed how I thought about giving feedback. We were reviewing a newsletter draft from an agency. It was long, clunky, and clearly designed for print, not digital. My first reaction would have been to say: “This looks like it was designed for print, not digital.” I was focused on pointing out what it looked like. She was focused on opening a conversation. Instead, she asked: “Could you tell me your thought process behind designing it this way?” That single question did three things: 1. Gave the agency space to explain their rationale 2. Kept the conversation collaborative, not defensive 3. Turned a critique into an opportunity for learning Do: Ask with curiosity. Don’t: Lead with judgment. 👉 What’s one feedback technique that’s changed how you approach difficult conversations? #StealThisLesson #ErinHasNotes #ContentAndThenSome #ContentStrategy

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House Call Chicago wasn't just an event. It was a refreshing reset. Healthcare marketers, operators and compliance leaders came together not to debate what's broken, but to build what's next. The message was clear: privacy-first design in digital marketing can fuel your growth when you reframe it and align your team around it. I'm proud of what our community put on the table. Effective strategies, meaningful wins, and real conviction. We covered a lot of ground, but here are four insights that stood out to me 👇

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3 content marketing New Year’s Resolutions, inspired by Eric Doty’s post and the wisdom of the Superpath community: 1. Focus 80% of the team’s effort on the biggest impact activity. For 2026, that’s webinars/events, LinkedIn employee advocacy, and our email program. (Is 80% too low? Too optimistic? We'll see!) 2. Tell a consistent story everywhere we appear. This year, our goal is for 1+1 to equal 3. If we’re talking about our cancer solution on LinkedIn, it’s also in our newsletter, on a webinar, in our internal communications, etc. 3. Write once, share 10 times. When a colleague says to me, “We should really do X” and X was created 6 months earlier, I’m both happy to send over the link, and disappointed that we didn’t do a good enough job “marketing the marketing” for them to know it already existed. Everyone is busy. Mentioning something once in a passing Teams messages isn’t going to cut it. Your turn!

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🦷 Misinformation is widening the trust gap between patients and providers. And the opportunity is hiding in plain sight. 👀 A new LINUS Group report states that 59% of young physicians believe patient confidence will continue to erode by 2035. Edelman’s 2025 Health Trust Barometer echoes the same concern. But here’s the win: brands can help bridge this gap (and grow) ✔ Clinically backed brand portfolios ✔ Quick-turn, human-centered storytelling ✔ Trusted, transparent messaging + marketing 🔹 Dental and medical marketers have a content goldmine just waiting to be tapped. Here are 5 ways to earn trust and drive growth in your next campaign 👇 #1 Turn to AI Tools + Multi-media Strategies: 🎥 Use platforms like HeyGen, Adobe Firefly, ChatGPT-4, and Meltwater to create engaging, quick-turn content: Video explainers Infographics Bite-sized social posts #2: Share Success Stories: 📢 Social Proof Drives Confidence Highlight real-world use cases of innovations that improved outcomes. ✔ Clinically backed ✔ Patient-first ✔ Sharable + searchable #3: Lead with Transparency 🔎 Be Open. Be Specific. Today’s patients crave clarity. Share: Behind-the-scenes product info Data-driven results The “why” behind your brand #4: Go Direct to Patients🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Build Community, Not Just Campaigns Work with providers to: Host Q&A sessions Co-create campaigns Invite patient feedback #5: Educate in Sound Bites: 🧠 Smart + Simple = Sticky Turn complex science into patient-friendly content: 30-sec video tips Social-ready slides 💬 So, what trust-building content is sitting idle in your brand library right now? #HealthcareMarketing #DentalMarketing #PatientTrust #DigitalHealth #ContentMarketing #DSO #HealthcareBrands #TrustInHealthcare

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Marketers: If you’re spending more time with ChatGPT than your customers, you’re doing it wrong. It’s almost too easy to craft mundane, trope-laden, rhetorical-constrast stuffed marketing content with a just one click and a whiff of human oversight. It’s fairly easy to publish good campaigns with a clear framework, editorial guidelines, and a strong vision. As someone who’s built successful marketing strategy pre and post AI, the difference between pretty good and great is: Knowing. Your. Audience. It’s a tale as old as time. And it matters now more the ever. If you’re spending more time with your favorite LLM than your audience, you’re missing out on meaningful content and context that can truly move your brand. So push for those conversations, call transcripts, audience trends, fresh research, podcasts, thoughtful interviews, and advisory chats. I promise it’ll be much more interesting to craft and consume.

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