Lessons from the Pandemic – Using Primary Care Physicians to Reach the Unvaccinated

Woman physician image by Daniel Damn outsideclick from Pixabay

Let’s face it, the current efforts by local, state, and federal governments are falling way short of the target number of vaccinations needed to reach community herd immunity. While availability and access of the COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, convenient, and free,  the efforts by anti-vaxxers, science deniers, conspiracy theorists and disinformation 12 continue to gain followers and support.

While many efforts are underway to reverse the trend, from state lotteries, free giveaways, public relations, etc., it’s just not working. Now comes the finger-pointing and blame game focusing on the social media tech giants as the source of the problem by allowing COVID-19 misinformation to be shared.

What hospitals and health systems are now facing as the COVID Delta variant spreads like wildfire, as society opens up, is the fourth wave of the pandemic, that of the unvaccinated.

It’s time to stop blaming third parties and adjust the strategy, distribution, tactics, and messages to get the unvaccinated vaccinated.

Think of it this way; if your marketing and business strategy didn’t have the desired result, you’d figure it out and probably change or tinker around the edges, the strategy, message, tactics, and channels to achieve the desired result.

While you can get vaccinated for free at nearly any pharmacy, grocery store chain, mass vaccination center, as a walk-in, the unvaccinated are not going to take advantage of that. You can have all the public health officials and politicians in the world pontificating on vaccinations; the messages fall on deaf ears.

Enter the independent primary care physician and hospital-employed primary care physician.

All levels of government have ignored primary care physicians as a source of trusted Coronavirus information and active location vaccine distribution.

Vaccine vial image by Spencer Davis from Pixabay 

If you want to vaccinate the unvaccinated, then you go where they are, using their trusted source for information and vaccinations. That trusted source is the primary care physician. It’s not the government or politicians, public health officials, or media mavens parroting what others say.

As they say in politics all the time on important issues, which I have adapted, “it’s the primary care physician.” People more than anything else trust their primary care physician.

I recommend that it is time to change the focus of current vaccination efforts and pivot to grassroots marketing techniques in partnership with primary care physicians independent and hospital-employed to reach and get the unvaccinated vaccinated.

For your consideration, seven primary care grassroots marketing tips to reach and vaccinate the unvaccinated. 

Person considering image by Gerd Altmann form Pixabay

1.       Use emotional triggers to spread the word that primary care physicians now have the vaccine and see your trusted doctor for the real story. 

2.       Create a PR buzz on social media. People are on social media and can where they can be found, period.  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, and other social media platforms are where the efforts are needed.  You need to be creative and attention-getting. 

3.       Be ready to capitalize on trending topics. Part of the grassroots campaign is to dispel as quickly as possible harmful or dangerous COVID-19 information using the primary care physician.

4.       Get creative with ambient ads. Ambient advertisements are ads that run in unusual locations or in a unique way. These ads stop people in their tracks, making them one of the most compelling examples of grassroots marketing. 

5.       Use tear-off flyers. I know that is old school, but it works, and this is where the partnership can come in between the primary care doctor, hospital, and local business. Tear-off flyers are cheap and effective, even with the cost of colored ink and perforation to spread the word. Be creative with the design, messaging, and offer. 

6.       Since social media and social sharing are crucial components of grassroots marketing, you will have to rely on word-of-mouth. People trust the recommendations of family, friends, and other people they know.  Incentivize your “influencers” to share on social media and in social settings. Times are desperate, and there is no longer any safe or middle ground in the pandemic. The key here is not to be tone-deaf or insensitive with the message or optics. 

7.       Direct messaging. Take word-of-mouth and social media efforts further and get active with direct messaging (DM) texts and content to enhance communication. If you find the same people engaging with your posts or those of your influencers, send them a message.

Current methods for outreach to vaccinate people are failing. It’ time to step back, make a change, and go where the unvaccinated reside, work, play and seek medical care.

If you don’t change the approach, message, and tactics by adding in the primary care physician, whether independent or hospital-employed, get ready for the reinstitution of gathering restrictions and closings again.   And that is something no one wants.

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters, is read in 52 countries and is listed on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites ranked at No. 3 on Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow American College of Healthcare Executives. An influencer in healthcare marketing strategy, communications, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, you can email me at michael@themichaeljgroup.com. 

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The opinions expressed are my own.