Use Persona Marketing to Reach Healthcare Decision-Makers

A busy mom trying to manage annual check-ups, immunizations, and occasional sick visits for her kids and husband. A middle-aged woman working full-time while caring for a parent with Parkinson’s disease and helping her recent college graduate stay up-to-date with preventive care. An active senior woman who’s exercising, eating well, and looking for other ways to keep her mind and body healthy.

These healthcare personas are examples of your target audiences – the people most likely to view marketing content and make healthcare decisions for themselves and their families. Here are some strategies for effectively connecting with these audiences.

How to Personalize Healthcare Content to Attract and Retain Patients

  1. Start all your marketing efforts with personas.
    You can develop detailed descriptions of your target audiences by examining data about your customer base. Common healthcare personas include young moms caring for children and husbands; middle-aged mothers caring for senior parents, adult children, and spouses; and active senior women trying to take better care of themselves and their spouses. Approximately 80 percent of healthcare decisions in households are made by women, and women are more likely to take care of family members when they get sick.
  2. Segment your marketing strategies to fit the behaviors of each persona.
    Social media content is a solid strategy for reaching women of all ages. Running a healthcare access campaign on Facebook? Use photography and copy that speaks to each age group/life stage, targeted to the appropriate Facebook audience. Then direct to specific landing pages from these targeted ads, increasing opportunities for conversion. Creating brochures, postcards, blogs, or billboards? Consider targeted patient testimonials. Women want to know what your healthcare organization has done for other women and their families.
  3. Determine what’s most important to each persona – and provide it.
    Moms of young children want to know about vaccinations and common childhood illnesses, as well as where to go for care if kids are sick at night or on weekends. Middle-aged women need information on important screenings for themselves as well as healthcare specific to their senior parents’ and adult children’s needs. And active senior women want convenient care close to home as well as resources to help them live longer, healthier lives. Assessing your personas’ biggest needs – and frustrations – when it comes to healthcare can help you market your system’s strengths effectively.

Healthcare Personas infographic


Hospitals and health systems across the country have turned to Lightstream for help in reaching an increasingly sophisticated audience of healthcare consumers. Reach out today to learn more.