As the world begins to “return to normal,” there are some innovations, processes and habits we picked up during the COVID-19 lockdown that actually weren’t so bad – in fact, there are a few COVID adaptations I think we should keep.

Springtime is finally here in Boston, and along with it came some rain, the promise of summer, and our new intern, Sean Chase. We welcomed Sean to the Aria team for the spring semester, and we are happy to announce he has decided to stay for the summer. I sat down with Sean to learn a bit more about him, and in order to get all the details, I decided to ask him the five W’s (and one H) – who, what, when, where, why, and how? Read on to learn more!

It has been a whirlwind few weeks in the healthcare industry (and the whole country) between the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 presidential election. However, we shouldn’t let this news totally overshadow another important headline in the health IT space: “ONC pushes back compliance dates for info-blocking rule.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating to global society and economic activity, and we will surely be coping with its aftereffects for many years to come.  However, there have been some silver linings, such as less pollution, normalization of remote work, accelerated use of telemedicine.  In our work, we have also seen a real boost for health care PR and thought leadership.  Healthcare and the ideas and technologies that make it work have become headline news, and while our clients have benefitted from the 24/7 COVID-19 news focus, we are starting to see the total dominance of that issue in the media begin to give way to interest in other stories.  As a result, we are working with our clients to start preparing to adapt their strategies to a next phase, where it’s not “all pandemic all the time,” and other news and ideas can get attention.

Happy Halloween! As Halloween is the time to share horror stories, we here at Aria came together to discuss the scariest and most ghastly PR nightmares we’ve seen this year. Bad press can kill, and as PR pros, we got the goosebumps watching these eights stories unfold this year:

Six months ago, Aria Marketing welcomed me with open arms as a new-to-the-industry intern to join their team of PR pro’s, and I have been grateful for that moment every day since. Coming in with little knowledge of healthcare IT, and limited PR experience, Aria Marketing showed me the ropes and introduced me to the ever-changing world of healthcare PR. 

Celebrities are doing it, your kids are doing it, the media is doing it, and even the president is doing it! These days, it seems like everyone is communicating in 160 characters or less. But should your business be #tweeting? We get this question a lot from our healthcare IT clients, and the answer is “yes” – as long as you are tweeting strategically. Companies from every industry are now utilizing Twitter to increase brand awareness and connect with target audiences. Here are the top six reasons why we think your healthcare company should get a handle (Twitter handle that is) on the popular social media platform:

As PR professionals, we are constantly working to get our clients in the conversation – from securing press opportunities and speaking slots to announcing new product launches and strategizing social media programs. The goal of all of this, of course, is to get in front of decision-makers that will be moved enough to take out their wallets – but it’s challenging to directly link PR results to sales, or even to leads. Every once in a while, I get a call or email from someone that read an article about a health IT client and wants to discuss purchasing their technology, but it’s a rare (yet oddly satisfying) occurrence.

A couple of weeks ago, a few members of our team attended the annual Thrive Summit, put on by our client, Virgin Pulse. This three-day conference was jam-packed with inspiring wellness messages delivered through motivating keynotes, client testimonials and other informative sessions. Here are some of our takeaways and highlights.

When it comes to new media, we here at Aria are big fans of podcasts, and we are obviously not alone as new podcasts continue to pop up all the time. Podcasts are a great way for our healthcare IT clients to share their messages, thought leadership and provide valuable insights on timely issues. As PR practitioners, it is our job to make sure our clients are well-prepared for any and all media opportunities. In that spirit, for any of our readers who may one day participate in a podcast, see our below tips and best practices to prepare:

Last month, Aria attended the third annual Health IT Marketing and PR Conference in Atlanta. At the show, our longtime client, Rick Weissinger, VP of corporate marketing, at Craneware, gave an interesting presentation on best practices for tackling a company rebrand. We connected with Rick after the show to dig a bit deeper into what a rebrand really is, and why Craneware, a company well-known for championing revenue integrity, chose to give its brand a face-lift. Check out our Q&A with Rick below to learn more about his experience and insights:

Working in the healthcare PR industry, it is our job here at Aria Marketing to keep up with the latest industry news, including regulatory changes, new trends, major company announcements, and much more. E-newsletters are a great way to keep our fingers on the pulse of the news cycle as they summarize the top stories of the day and package them up in an easy-to-consume format. However, with hundreds of healthcare e-newsletters to choose from, it’s difficult to know where to start or which ones have the most value. To save your inbox, we’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite e-newsletters to keep you informed on the latest industry news.

Wow, it feels like just yesterday I was Googling “how to pronounce interoperability” while Ubering to my first interview for an internship with Aria Marketing. Not only did I think I would never figure out the correct pronunciation, but I also never could have imagined what the following two years (and counting) had in store.

Prior to my college graduation this past December, I had the opportunity to work as an intern at Aria Marketing for eight months. During that time, I was able to not only explore the world of healthcare PR, but also gain first-hand experience working in an active marketing agency. Communicating with reporters, drafting monthly reports, and tracking events/awards were a few of my daily tasks that allowed me to expand and enhance my skills learned in college. It was even more exciting to learn that, at the end of my internship, Aria wanted to offer me a full-time Account Coordinator position. There is nothing more satisfying than knowing you have a job waiting for you right after college.

Aria Marketing, a leading healthcare public relations and marketing communications agency, announced it was selected as the agency of record by VisualDx, a diagnostic clinical decision support system used by over 2,300 hospitals, health clinics, and medical schools worldwide. Since April, Aria has launched a robust communications strategy to raise awareness of the role VisualDx’s solutions play in the COVID-19 response, as well as kicked off a PR effort to promote the company’s mission and the thought leadership of CEO and Founder Art Papier, MD.

If I had to sum up the goals for The Pitch, I would say that they are:

• Provide useful information that helps healthcare marketing and PR professionals to do their work.
• Give our clients, employees, prospects and prospective employees a closer look at who we are, what we are interested in and what life is like at Aria.

As we begin the New Year, we can’t help but do some reflecting. So, for this first blog post of 2018, I sat down with an Aria veteran, EVP Jessica Cohen, to uncover some of the lessons she has learned working in healthcare PR, her thoughts on the changing industry, and why she has called Aria home for more than a decade.

The change of administration resulting from the November election will surely have big implications for the healthcare industry.  Just how big remains to be seen, as Georgia’s two Senate seats and the fate of the Senate majority remain in question.  With or without the Senate, the Biden administration will have a very different agenda than the previous administration with regard to the future of the ACA, pharmaceutical pricing, and many other issues at hand for the US healthcare system.

I started working at Aria Marketing just over a month ago, and one of the first things that impressed me about the company is that there are so many people who have become “Aria lifers” (Scott, Jessica, Ross, Nancy, Chanel and Katie). So, I set out to find out what keeps people at this PR agency. Is it the #BreakfastWednesdays (a habit hard to break, once you get used to it), the diversity that each one of Aria’s clients brings to the table, the continuously evolving and exciting field of healthcare, the energetic and passionate  team, or Aria’s monthly #HappyHour event? To get to the bottom of the “Aria lifer” trend, I decided to go right to the source(s). Here’s what they had to say:

Over the past 15 years, LinkedIn has changed the way people network, interact with their professional audience and even apply/recruit for job openings. With more than 500 million professionals actively using the site, getting your company onboard should be a no-brainer. While we can digress into a number of different uses of this professional platform, this blog will focus on our top recommendations for leveraging LinkedIn for your organization.