AltaMed’s mission is to eliminate disparities in health care access and outcomes by providing superior quality health and human services through an integrated world-class delivery system for multi-ethnic and underserved communities in Southern California.
Marketing to Priority Populations White Paper
Our tips and tricks for reaching highly targeted populations with healthcare and social campaigns.
The majority of AltaMed’s clients are LatinX families and senior citizens, traditionally conservative populations, with a solid secondary audience in the LGBTQ populations of Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) and Males who have Transitioned to Female (MTF). Effectively addressing the disparate healthcare needs and social tastes of these two groups was nearly impossible content-wise. They also consume messaging differently with one population consuming traditional print or TV ads and the other primarily demonstrating social media engagement. How to best serve everyone in the AltaMed community required a creative approach.
AltaMed’s priority in teaming up with Hydro Studios was to find a way to effectively connect MSM/MTFs of color to HIV and STD care. The sub-brand AltaPride was created. Communicating directly with this priority population with an au courant flair, AltaPride’s separate social media channels are flush with original content, edgier than regular healthcare sites and AltaMed’s social media. Additionally, a campaign landing page was established to house content and drive conversions.
Within a mere six months, AltaPride became a social presence that surpassed the parent brand, AltaMed. Their new presence in the LGBTQ community was utilized across social channels to raise awareness about PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), a method to prevent an HIV-negative person from contracting HIV when exposed to the virus.
Stars of Kiki n' Brunch toast with mimosas.
Demographics
To launch the campaign, the AltaPride priority population of MSM/MTF’s of color (ages 18-34) were geo-targeted in cities with a target demographic of young multicultural LGBTQ members with gay related interests. US Cities included: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Diego, Sacramento, Chicago, Miami, New York, Portland, Austin, Seattle, and New Orleans. Our secondary audience, which included the transgender population, women ages 18-45, at-risk LGBTQ youth, and friends and family of the LGBTQ population, were targeted in the same markets.
Our tertiary audience included California medical professionals (doctors, nurses, nurse practitioners, clinicians, and family practice providers) and social workers who were geo-targeted in major cities throughout California and delivered content that addressed stigma and best practices around delivery of care.
Social Media Outreach
Hydro Studios planned and executed a social and paid media strategy to drive awareness of the AltaPride PrEP Enroll Campaign by increasing video views and website visits. The set goals were exceeded within six weeks! Ongoing testing and optimizations throughout the campaign resulted in strong engagement rates across channels.
The key to Hydro’s strategy was honing AltaPride’s message of LGBTQ empowerment through personal expression and self-agency over health choices. The two energized video series, Fierce and Kiki n’ Brunch, brought a consistently current voice and hip aesthetic to the campaign. Highlighting these series with strategic posts around Pride Month, LGBTQ holidays, and related events consistently drove traffic.
Facebook was by far the most effective channel. The Facebook content strategy resulted in an organic reach consistent with its paid reach and accounted for 72% of engagements. AltaPride experienced a 577% audience growth during the campaign, far exceeding their goal.
AltaPride’s Twitter audience increased by 670% during the campaign. However, as the Cost Per Follower proved to be significantly higher on Twitter than Facebook, those media dollars were eventually redirected to Facebook. Regardless, effective content strategies and engaged community management continually contributed to organic growth, routinely adding new Twitter followers each month.
While a soft focus during the campaign, AltaPride’s Instagram community grew organically through engaging content, effective community management and opportunities for interaction with the video series’ talent.
The Website Click Campaign was the most effective vehicle for generating overall website traffic on YouTube. Exceeding expectations, the set goal of 100k visitors was impressively exceeded by 28% with a minimal investment.
AltaPride's PrEP landing page.
Results
Over the course of the three-month PrEP Enroll campaign, 168k+ unique MSMs & MTFs in Los Angeles and Orange County were engaged via positive PrEP related messaging. Beyond awareness and engagement, the campaign drove PrEP enrollment appointments at a Cost Per Appointment of $332.
Conclusion
The AltaMed and Hydro Studios collaboration in creating AltaPride was a success beyond expectation. Awareness of the PrEP Enroll campaign resulted in a demonstrable connection to care for AltaMed’s priority population of MSMs and MTFs. AltaPride’s brand is flourishing as it continues to sustainably nurture, educate and engage this vibrant population in greater health now and into the future.