Earlier this month, HME industry advocates convened at VGM headquarters in Waterloo, Iowa, for a People for Quality Care workshop on using digital marketing and social media to drive grassroots legislative efforts on behalf of the HME community.
Sponsored by VGM Group and facilitated by Cure Medical vice president of marketing Lisa Wells, the two-day PFQC Grassroots Advocacy Workshop educated attendees on:
- Best practices for recruiting and engaging consumer advocates who rely on HME products and equipment.
- Methodologies for deploying HME advocacy campaigns using people-first language, video content, and specific social media channels
- Ways to create messaging that drives powerful engagement, and
- Choosing appropriate imagery that properly reflects HME consumers in an authentic way.
Participants included representatives from People for Quality Care, American Association for Homecare, NCART, MAMES, SWMESA, Essentially Women, VGM Group, VGM Forbin and US Rehab.
“For the first time in HME history, representatives from all of these industry groups have joined forces to better engage the communities we serve through grassroots campaigns on social media, with a unified intention of advancing legislative efforts that protect and serve our customers and HME providers,” Wells said.
“As a member of the People for Quality Care Advisory Board, we share a passion for educating and activating end users and family caregivers so they can self-advocate for the issues impacting their lives,” said Ashley Plauché, manager of government affairs at AAHomecare. “This workshop gave valuable insight into how we can deepen our connection with these groups and leverage technology to create an even stronger voice on The Hill.”