7 Winning Digital Marketing Strategies for 2018 Medicare AEP

Scott Levine, Senior Vice President Strategy

Published on Jun 15, 2017

Medicare Marketing for 2018 AEP is going to have a distinctly different

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1. KERNHEALTH 7 WINNING DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES For 2018 Medicare AEP kernagency.com | (818) 703-8775 | info@kernagency.com

2. KERNHEALTH Medicare Marketing for 2018 AEP is going to have a distinctly different digital flavor. That’s because this year’s Boomer audience now consumes more of their media digitally. According to a Limelight Networks report, “Baby boomers spend more time online than millennials: 51% of baby boomers spend 15 hours per week online, while only 41% of millennials spend the same amount of time online. And according to Pew Research, nearly 80% of Baby Boomers are Internet users. Medicare marketers who have relied on the tried and true workhorse of direct mail to deliver their Medicare Marketing messaging, will have to evolve to and become immersed in the world of digital marketing -- ready or not. What’s more, direct mail isn’t going away anytime soon. So the added complexity of integrating multiple channels of media with direct mail and understanding both the integration and the attribution of these channels has caused many Medicare marketers to stop, and take notice that a new digital day has dawned in Medicare marketing. And some are simply not ready. Many marketers experienced in direct mail and print haven’t felt the need to move into digital, since the prior generations of Medicare recipients weren’t patronizing digital channels. Now all that has changed. And with it, so has Medicare marketing. Let’s discuss the 7 proven winning digital marketing strategies for 2018 Medicare AEP. KERNHEALTH

3. KERNHEALTH Direct mail, DRTV and print are all still vital and important channels for Medicare Marketing. Including digital should be just that- INCLUDING, not adding. When you think of all channels as an Omnichannel effort, the integration between those channels and the orchestration of that integration is turning into high response with lots of applications for those Medicare marketers who have built their strategies for offline and online together. By orchestrating the flighting of DRTV to match the digital support all around the direct mail drops can significantly increase response rates in ALL of these channels. This is one strategy that without a doubt is the biggest winner.

KERNHEALTH OMNICHANNEL (INTEGRATED ONLINE AND OFFLINE) CAMPAIGNS 1 OMNICHANNEL: KERN HEALTH MARKETING TIP: Orchestrate your digital PPC, Display, Video and Social Media advertising to “surround” your direct mail drops during AEP. This practice has been known to significantly raise response rates in all channels, specifically the digital channels.

4. KERNHEALTH 4KERNHEALTH 2 SEM: SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING The channel that Medicare marketers most likely have experimented with is Search Engine Marketing. Also known as PPC (Pay Per Click), most of the action in this category takes place on Google. Those who have tried this, understand that there are keywords to bid on, whether those are industry terms, or terms most likely to be searched by an audience, such as product or service terms like “Medicare” or “Medicare Information.” Strategy: Expand your experimentation with SEM/PPC by learning about, and trying strategies such as using BRAND KEYWORDS, or TARGETED NON-BRAND KEYWORDS, along with CONQUESTING, which uses your competitors brand or name as a keyword so that when prospective members are searching for your competitor on Google, your brand also is returned as a sponsored (PPC) ad listing.

SEM: KERN HEALTH MARKETING TIP: Get an unfair head-start on your digital PPC Medicare campaigns by taking advantage of the brief period in early October and advertise when click-through rates are high and cost-per-click is still lower. At the start of AEP, click-through rates start to increase and they remain relatively high throughout AEP, while competition starts heating up and driving cost-per-click up until the enrollment deadline passes.

SEM (EXTRA TIP): KERN HEALTH MARKETING TIP: The Federal Government Doesn’t Advertise. Bid on Healthcare.gov, ACA and Medicare related terms. The federal government relies on organic search traffic and doesn’t advertise.

5. KERNHEALTH When your organization is running or sponsoring an event, you might want to experiment with GEO FENCING. With GEO FENCING, you can draw a virtual circumference around your event and only serve PPC ads to those within your identified circumference. This could be especially effective when your event is part of a larger event, such as a county fair. Those attending the fair would receive your organization’s PPC ad on their mobile devices alerting them of your attendance at the fair and the location of your booth. With GEO TARGETING which is different from GEO FENCING, you can have your PPC ads delivered to those within a specific geographic location such as a zip code or a DMA (Designated Marketing Area). 5KERNHEALTH GEO FENCING & GEO TARGETING 3 GEO FENCING & GEO TARGETING: KERN HEALTH MARKETING TIP: Geo-target several zip codes with PPC (SEM) during your AEP DM campaign. Match the zip codes that you’re mailing into, and create some “air cover” that will lift response of both direct mail and PPC efforts. Be sure to measure the results which will aide you in obtaining more test funding for next year’s AEP.

6. KERNHEALTH 6KERNHEALTH 4 RETARGETING Retargeting can be used for both PPC and digital display, and is a very effective strategy for Medicare marketers. When a prospective applicant visits your website as a result of a PPC or Display Ad and doesn’t convert, often organizations aren’t even aware that a prospective new member has visited. With retargeting, everyone who’s visited your site as a result of PPC or Banner ads can be retargeted with banner or PPC ads on the entire ad network. You’ve seen banner ads that follow you around from site to site- that’s retargeting. What’s attractive to Medicare marketers about retargeting is that you are now “nurturing” that prospect who once visited your site instead of being able to do nothing. Your banner or PPC ads will “follow” that prospect to other unrelated websites, reminding them that they visited your site, and will prompt them to revisit your site.

RETARGETING: KERN HEALTH MARKETING TIP: Use Google’s retargeting capability when creating your PPC campaigns. Develop compelling banners to engage when prospective members who have visited your website are visiting other sites within the Google ad network. This increases your chances of convincing them to visit you again.

7. KERNHEALTH Youtube continues to gain users each and every day, and many of those users are now the audience that we are attempting to reach- Boomers and those eligible for Medicare. Nothing is more distracting, compelling and engaging than the medium of video. There are three types of video ads: in-stream video, out-stream video and in-banner video. In-stream video plays within a video player, as it does on YouTube™. Out-stream video plays independently as with a video player which can be placed anywhere on the page. In-banner video plays, as you guessed, within a rich media banner. While all three are used, valued and recommended to their clients by agencies, there is no definitive data on which works best for Medicare marketers. What we do know is that relevantly compelling video is a powerful way to communicate your message to online Boomers and the Medicare audience. And it is of paramount importance to carefully craft the story of the video to enable your message to be seen, heard and understood. You can also implement these video ads exactly as you would a PPC campaign, so you most likely already have someone with that skillset on your team.

KERNHEALTH DIGITAL VIDEO ADVERTISING 5 DIGITAL VIDEO ADVERTISING: KERN HEALTH MARKETING TIP: Edit down your Medicare DRTV spots into 15 second spots, link those spots to your digital advertising landing page, run them right before and during AEP, as pre-roll and mid-roll digital video advertising on YouTube and be sure to include Facebook video, utilizing the same targeting techniques used for PPC and Facebook. And most importantly, be sure to measure the results so you can refine your strategy for the next AEP campaign.

8. KERNHEALTH 8KERNHEALTH 6 EMAIL Nurturing leads through email is a tried- and-true practice in almost every marketing instance, EXCEPT for Medicare marketing. And really, it’s something that every organization can do immediately with incredibly strong results, yet many aren’t even trying. Setting up a drip-email campaign to those that have visited your site is a no-brainer, natural way to nurture those in the market to either enter Medicare (Age-In) or switch (AEP) to your plan. A consistent measured cadence between email communications along with informative, helpful messaging can endear both new applicants and switchers to your offer. This solution will require you to find a way to capture and collect email addresses along with opt-in responses (CMS rules) but once you do, this is a golden path to more digital acquisition.

RETARGETING: KERN HEALTH MARKETING TIP: It’s essential that all of your digital and offline lead capture efforts include capturing the email addresses of prospective members. Create a 6 to 12 touch email drip campaign to specifically nurture those whose email addresses you’ve collected. Keeping your plan “top of mind” for this audience is vital, should they become dissatisfied with their current plan or provider. Having emails arrive from your plan can be the “tipping point” to adding new members.

9. KERNHEALTH More than 55% of those ages 61 to 70 are active on Facebook. And about 40% of those who are 71 and older are also on Facebook. Those Medicare marketers who are experimenting with Facebook are experiencing great results. Both lead generation and awareness display ads on Facebook are quite effective with our audience, however, a lack of knowledge and experience is causing many Medicare marketers to ignore this vibrant and fertile channel.

KERNHEALTH SOCIAL MEDIA 7 KERN HEALTH FACEBOOK

MARKETING TIP: : Include Age-In marketing with your AEP efforts. On Facebook, target those who are within your geographic area, currently 64 years of age and have an upcoming birthday, with a lead- generation Facebook ad. The benefits are two-fold- you’ll be generating bona fide leads for the sales team, while creating general awareness for the audience you most want to communicate with. The following example is for the entire state of California, those who are currently 64 years old and have an upcoming birthday.

10. KERNHEALTH SUMMARY Even if you’ve dipped your toe into digital marketing through search and display, there is a definite learning curve to digital strategies. Strange new terminology to absorb and learn with best practices, methodology and jargon are evolving every day. Many organizations simply don’t have the infrastructure to support the inclusion of digital. And old habits die hard— direct response historically has been successful, so why change? What’s more, few organizations really have the expertise to enable relationship marketing. If Medicare marketers don’t go with the digital flow, they’re destined to fall behind projections, not make their numbers or achieve their goals. So think digitally. Because your competitors already are. If you’d like to learn more about Medicare Marketing in Our Digital World, KERN HEALTH has developed and published a new eBook: “Medicare Marketing In Our Digital World: A Medicare Marketers Definitive Handbook for Digital Marketing.” Download your copy today at: URL If you are unfamiliar with KERN Health- we pride ourselves in creating effective marketing at every step of the customer’s journey. KERN has a specialty focus on large-scale Medicare member acquisition through our expertise with competitive acquisition industries. We have a strong foundation in developing progressive personas for Medicare populations and using them to target consumers at the right time with the right information. KERN HEALTH clients include Tufts Health Plan, Group Health Cooperative and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. We strive to develop creative that makes an emotional connection. From digital display ads to DRTV commercials to direct mail, our creative is designed to resonate with your Medicare audience to achieve your immediate marketing goals and support your long-term strategies for building brand awareness and membership advocacy. KERN Health brings healthcare insurers a powerful agency partnership for large- scale Medicare member acquisition. Contact Scott Levine, SVP of Strategy at KERN HEALTH to learn more. slevine@kernagency.com www.kern-health.com (818) 703-8775 Ext. 265

11. KERNHEALTH kernagency.com | (818) 703-8775 | info@kernagency.com KERN Health has a specialty focus on large- scale Medicare member acquisition through our expertise with Medicare and competitive acquisition industries. We have a strong foundation in developing progressive personas for Medicare populations and using them to target consumers at the right time with the right information. We strive to develop creative that makes an emotional connection. From digital display ads to DRTV commercials to direct mail, our creative is designed to resonate with your Medicare audience to achieve your immediate marketing goals and support your long-term strategies for building brand awareness and membership advocacy. KERN Health brings healthcare insurers a powerful agency partnership for large-scale Medicare member acquisition.

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