- By Christine Hockemier, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CNEcl
Marketing managers can learn practical strategies for content automation to improve the healthcare workflow, save money and time, and increase brand awareness.
Today’s patients are tech-savvy and expect to have up-to-date information at the click of a button. Marketing managers are responsible for ensuring the client receives personalized, visually appealing information on demand. Daunting as it may seem, automation will offer improved productivity and workflow efficiency to marketing managers.
Understanding Content Automation
Content managers have a full plate with the creation of email and social media, business campaigns, and website updates, so any time-saving opportunities are welcome. Content automation streamlines the healthcare workflow and reduces manual tasks. You can automate duties like prescheduling blogs, social media posts, and newsletters; avoiding manual intervention.
Benefits of Content Automation for Healthcare Teams
Automation can improve productivity for healthcare marketing teams. For example, when a client clicks a link on your website to schedule an appointment, they automatically receive a link to self-schedule on your calendar, which saves everyone time and increases accuracy.
As the marketing manager you can accomplish the following with automation:
- Tailor personalized social media posts
- Enhance scalability to meet changing content needs
- Increase accuracy in scheduling and content production
- Improve patient engagement
Today’s consumers are tech-savvy and expect regular, personalized, up-to-date information quickly. This task can be daunting as a business grows. Automation of simple tasks will improve productivity and increase accuracy for healthcare marketing teams.
Routine Tasks Healthcare Teams Can Automate
Content automation delivers opportunities for content managers to increase brand awareness with little to no effort. You can automate the following routine tasks:
- Templates and content suggestions powered by AI
- Content scheduling and publishing across multiple platforms
- Content creation
- Content performance tracking
You can carry out manual tasks using templates and generate content ideas. With content marketing handled, you free up time for healthcare teams to focus on more personalized marketing needs.
Best Practices for Implementing Content Automation in the Healthcare Workflow
Change can be difficult for everyone, but it doesn’t have to be a painful process if done correctly. Here are some easy tips for an easy transition into content automation:
- Select the right tools based on needs and budget.
- Loomly makes scheduling via social media easy and fast.
- SafetyCulture fosters healthcare compliance in the workplace.
- Flodesk automates personalized emails reliably and consistently.
- Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Follow the steps to develop and implement SOPs by creating a plan:
- Create a first draft.
- Implement internal and external reviews.
- Test each procedure.
- Post the SOP.
- Train or retrain as necessary.
- Monitor and Adjust. Regularly monitoring automation outcomes is a must to improve performance. Make a plan for quarterly check-ins to ensure your team is meeting goals, and adjust as necessary with growth and change.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
Studies show that patients prefer human contact to automation because automation can remove the ‘care’ out of healthcare. Workers also may feel disempowered by automation taking over their job roles. Be sure to avoid these pitfalls:
- Over-automation that leads to impersonal content.
- Ignoring data privacy and compliance.
- Neglecting human oversight in automation.
To maintain a healthy relationship with employees and improve the workflow, take a holistic approach while designing and implementing automation processes. Consider the interrelationship among technology, individuals, and the system by understanding what they want to accomplish from automation, not leaving them feeling like they’re about to be replaced. Ensure that not everything the client experiences is automated, which may lead to impersonal content. For example, send a handwritten thank you card after earning new business instead of having a generalized automated reply that can seem impersonal.
Real-Life Success Story
Melanie Hammond, MSN, FNP-BC, a family nurse practitioner and small business owner of Priority One Health and Lifestyle Management, uses content automation to remind her patients of appointments, which saves her staff time and improves workflow efficiency. Hammond states that automation “helps reduce last-minute cancellations and no-shows,” and saves her clinical about 5 hours a week. She is also thrilled that a happy birthday text is sent, showing her practice is patient-focused and service-oriented.
Boosting Efficiency with Content Automation
Content automation boosts healthcare workflow efficiency and frees marketing teams to delve into their creative talents and focus on strategic initiatives. Automation also increases employee and patient satisfaction because it saves time, provides convenience, decreases employee burnout, and makes everyone happier overall. Contact WriteRN today to learn more about how content writing services can help you.
FAQs About Content Automation in Healthcare
What is content automation, and why is it important for healthcare marketing?
Content automation uses software to improve the healthcare workflow, making the job for content managers easy, convenient, and reliable because new updates and social media posts will be sent out on a schedule across all platforms.
How can I integrate content automation tools without disrupting current operations?
The first step is to gain employee buy-in. Once the users feel they will benefit from new software implementation and see it as convenient, you can more easily integrate automation tools. Ensure that proper education and follow-up assistance are available 24-7.
Are there compliance risks with automating healthcare content?
Content automation software has HIPAA and compliance factors built in to ensure safety and privacy. Teams must choose the correct software based on individual needs.
Which tasks should I prioritize for automation?
Base prioritization on individual goals. To understand what to prioritize, you can perform a close system and documentation review. Many marketing managers choose to automate follow-up appointments via phone and email.
What’s the ROI of investing in content automation for healthcare teams?
Content automation has many ROIs, including saving time from daily, mundane tasks, saving money because employees are freed up to complete deeper thinking and work, and having less burnout, which saves even more money in the long run as employees feel valued. Patients also enjoy the carefree reminders of appointments and follow-up surveys.
References
Caburao, E. A. (2024, December 20). Healthcare compliance software 2025. SafetyCulture. https://safetyculture.com/app/healthcare-compliance-software/
Khavandi, S., Zaghloul, F., Higham, A., Lim, E., de Pennington, N., & Celi, L. A. (2023). Investigating the impact of automation on the health care workforce through autonomous telemedicine in the cataract pathway: Protocol for a multicenter study. JMIR Research Protocols, 12, e49374. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10731565/
Nare, M., & Jurewicz, K. (2024). Assessing patient trust in automation in health care systems: Within-subjects experimental study. JMIR Human Factors, 11, e48584. https://humanfactors.jmir.org/2024/1/e48584
PennState Extension. (2023, February 24). Standard operating procedures: Developing and implementing. https://extension.psu.edu/standard-operating-procedures-developing-and-implementing
Reddy, S. (2024, March 15). Generative AI in Healthcare: An implementation science informed translational path on application, integration and governance. Implementation science, 19(27). https://implementationscience.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13012-024-01357-9

About the Author
Christine Hockemier, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CNEcl
Christine is a freelance nurse writer and a certified clinical nurse educator. She has been a nurse since 2010 and has worked in many specialties including Intensive Care Units, and travel nursing, and currently teaches nursing school at a local community college. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, dancing, and spending time with friends and family.