Newsjacking, focus on staff and sharable content elevate MD Anderson’s Cancerwise blog

MD Anderson Cancer Center is a model of health care content marketing, the centerpiece of which is its blog Cancerwise—the winner of this year’s award for “Best Blog” in Ragan’s 2016 Health Care PR and Marketing Awards. 

Presented as a content portal, Cancerwise draws on current news for many of its posts, such as a recently released study on ovarian cancer and another exploring the link between meat and cancer. Other posts feature doctors and other specialists from the MD Anderson staff, presenting them as thought leaders in addition to delivering compelling content. Other voices are recruited through a variety of means, maintaining fresh perspectives and a diverse array of diseases, treatments and experiences.  

Because Cancerwise is an example of content marketing—not just a blog—MD Anderson employs search engine optimization tactics to ensure its posts surface when people are searching for information. A single post on addressing what to say to a cancer patient, to cite one example, earned nearly 7,000 page views in a 90-day period, demonstrating the value of applying SEO best practices. 

Cancerwise improved even more with a redesign, which was one reason the blog experienced a drop-off in the number of posts over a three-month period. However, during that time Cancerwise still earned 13 percent more page views than before the redesign. 

For continuing to lead the healthcare blogging pack, MD Anderson’s Integration Media Communications team is to be congratulated.