Regional One Health’s mission is to improve access to health care, and that means reaching patients where they are.

Valeo Digital, a local firm, has been our digital marketing partner for 10 years, helping connect patients with care through our website and other digital resources.

Valeo continues to adapt to ever-changing technology, helping Regional One Health provide information that patients can use to access the care they need.

One of Regional One Health’s main goals is to improve access to health care. In today’s world, that means making sure patients, families, referring providers, etc. can go online and quickly find the information they need to connect with doctors and services.

For the past 10 years, a local company has played a key role in that process.

James Hutto founded Valeo Digital in 2005 to provide expertise for a variety of digital marketing needs. From website design to search engine optimization to lead generation, the company helps clients harness the power of the internet to grow their business.

“Our clients fall into two main categories. If you sell something online, it’s very direct – we try to improve your sales. If you don’t sell online, it’s about lead generation – trying to reach a prospect like a patient or client,” Hutto said.

“At the end of the day, we’re trying to raise awareness, because ultimately marketing is telling a good story in a way that creates demand for your product or service. We try to find out the fastest way to do that using the fast-changing world of the internet.”

Hutto comes from the world of IT. He started a website design company in 2001, but when the dotcom bubble burst, he started looking for new opportunities.

“I thought, ‘What am I going to do next?’” he said. “We used to build your website, shake your hand, and wish you the best. But we had people say, ‘How do we get traffic to our website?’”

At Regional One Health, that question focused on using the internet to help patients find care through their own research or to reach referring providers who can direct patients to Regional One Health.

When people research health care options, they turn to the internet. Valeo Digital partners with Regional One Health to help patients access information on the care the hospital provides.

Valeo helps manage Regional One Health’s website at www.regionalonehealth.org, where visitors can search for providers, learn about services, read informative articles, find out how to make appointments, and more.

“Once you get people to the website, you can capture the lead,” Hutto said. “Then, you work on the follow-up and how to guide them through making a decision.”

He noted, “Very rarely do people make an impulse decision when they buy a product or service, especially with health care. There’s so much that goes into how people evaluate what they buy or use. We try to understand that journey and help our clients build online content and reputation that helps people make their decision.”

Getting patients and referring providers to the website is the first step, and Dawn Boyette, SEO & SEM Project Manager, uses a variety of tools to do so.

Boyette started her career in tech support, helping clients get rid of computer viruses and other IT hassles. She decided she wanted a chance to use her creativity along with her technical mindset: “I love puzzles and math – but I also love the creative side,” she said. “I started working with Valeo, and I kind of dove into SEO. It’s a perfect combination of the two.”

SEO, or search engine optimization, aims to get a website to show up at the top of the results in an online search. Boyette uses “keyword research” to figure out which terms patients type into the search bar when they’re looking for information about a specific medical need. By using those terms in the content on the website, its search ranking improves.

Digital advertising also plays a big role, with messages going to targeted audiences on platforms like Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Valeo has started placing ads on streaming services as they’ve skyrocketed in popularity.

Valeo uses tools like keyword research, digital ads, and search engine optimization to help patients find and connect with Regional One Health providers.

Social media marketing, blogs and videos, search advertising, and more also help guide people to Regional One Health’s website.

Hutto and Boyette say the process is constantly evolving as new technology emerges. The latest new frontier is artificial intelligence.

“Things are changing very quickly as technology continues to evolve. It will be interesting to see what happens as AI tools become more and more a part of day-to-day life,” Hutto said. “That’s going to be a huge part of our work – how we can look for new opportunities and apply some of these things in thoughtful, ethical ways for our clients.”

They look forward to using their knowledge and experience as Regional One Health continues to work toward building a new hospital. They see a wealth of opportunities to use digital marketing tools to support the plans and keep making it easier for patients to access the care they need.

“We look forward to continuing to partner with Regional One Health. We have this deep history and this view of where we’ve been and where we’re going, and there are so many things coming in the near future that we’re excited to be part of,” Hutto said.

“I love what I do,” he added. “To be able to do it with clients we enjoy that are doing something to benefit the community and make a difference is very rewarding.”

Learn more at https://valeomarketing.com/ and www.regionalonehealth.org