| Course | HCS 472 Marketing in the Health Care Industry (HCS/472) |
|---|---|
| Week | 4 |
| Paper type | Digital promotion plan |
| Length | about 1,010 words, 4 double-spaced pages plus title page and references |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | University of Phoenix |
| Program | BS in Health Administration |
| Updated | September 2026 |
Free sample paper for HCS 472 Week 4
A Tour Video, Four Midwives and No Patient Faces Without Consent: A Digital and Social Media Promotion Plan for a Birth Center, Within Advertising and Privacy Rules
[Student Name]
University of Phoenix
HCS/472: Marketing in the Health Care Industry
Week 4 Assignment
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The birth center, its channels and its budget are composites written for a model paper; legal requirements and research come from the sources listed.
At a planning meeting for a composite nonprofit birth center, one founder proposed posting birth photos she had taken over the years of families she knew through her previous practice. The images were beautiful and would have made powerful social media posts. They also illustrated the central challenge of health care promotion: the most persuasive material is often the most legally and ethically restricted. This paper presents the center's digital and social media promotion plan and the rules that shape it.
Messages From the Positioning
Last week's positioning centered on continuity with a small, named team of midwives, an honest hospital transfer plan and a home-like building. Three messages follow from it. Know your midwife: meet the four midwives who will care for you. Honest about the plan: learn exactly what happens if you need the hospital. Clear about cost: see what your plan covers before your first visit.
The Website
The website is the center of the plan, because every other channel sends people there. It is organized around the questions families ask: Can I have a birth center birth after my first was in a hospital? What does my insurance cover? What happens if I need to transfer? Who are the midwives? Each page answers one question in plain language, in English and Spanish, with a button to book a tour. Pages are written for the phrases families search, such as birth center after hospital birth or midwife-led birth covered by Medicaid.
The Tour Video
A three-minute video walks through the building with a midwife explaining each room, the tub, the family kitchen and the equipment kept for emergencies, and ends with a drive to the partner hospital timed at nine minutes. It features staff and volunteers, not patients, so it requires no patient authorization.
Social Media
The research phase found that second-birth families in the county spend time on two platforms: a photo-sharing platform and local parent groups on a larger social network. The center will post three times a week, rotating midwife introductions, answers to common questions and behind-the-scenes posts. Richter et al. (2014), studying how hospitals use social media, found that many hospitals used it mainly for one-way promotion and saw opportunities for more engagement and education. The center's posts will answer questions and invite comments rather than simply advertise.
Search Advertising
Most of the paid budget goes to search advertising on specific phrases, because families searching for birth center care, midwives near them or vaginal birth after a hospital birth are already deciding. Ads link to the matching website page and the tour booking form.
Reviews
Ratings shape choice: in national survey data, a majority of adults said physician rating sites mattered to them when picking a doctor (Hanauer et al., 2014). The center will invite every family, after the postpartum visit, to leave a review on two major sites, never offering incentives for positive reviews.
Partner Materials
For pediatric offices, the health department's prenatal program and the community health center, the center will provide bilingual brochures and a short referral card, backed by in-person visits from a midwife.
The Rules on Testimonials and Endorsements
In 2023 the federal consumer protection agency updated its guidance on endorsements and testimonials in advertising. Under that guidance (Federal Trade Commission, 2023), endorsements must reflect the endorser's honest experience, advertisers are responsible for misleading claims in testimonials they use, and an advertiser should not present an unusual result as typical unless it clearly discloses what people can generally expect. A post saying one family avoided an induction thanks to the center would need care: it cannot imply that every family will. In health care, the most moving story is the one that most needs a sentence explaining what usually happens.
The Privacy Rules on Marketing
Under HIPAA, using a patient's health information for marketing generally requires the patient's written authorization, and a provider responding to an online review cannot confirm that the reviewer is a patient or discuss the care (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). The founder's birth photos cannot be used without written authorization from each family, and even then, the center will not use images from births that occurred elsewhere to promote its own services. Replies to reviews will thank the reviewer in general terms and invite private contact.
Accessibility and Language
Every channel must work for the families the center hopes to reach. Website pages meet common accessibility standards for screen readers and color contrast, videos carry captions in English and Spanish and printed materials use large type and plain words. The Spanish-language pages are written by a bilingual midwife and reviewed by two community members rather than produced by machine translation, because a mistranslated sentence about coverage or transfer could mislead a family about the most important decisions they will make.
Content Calendar
A sample month includes four midwife introductions, four answers to common questions, two posts about the transfer plan, two posts about coverage and one live question session with a midwife.
Budget
The first-year promotion budget of $48,000 includes $14,000 for the website, $18,000 for search advertising, $6,000 for video production, $5,000 for partner materials and $5,000 for tour events.
Measures
The center will track website visits from search, tours booked, the share of tours leading to enrollment, referrals by source, the average online rating and the number of reviews. Follower counts and likes appear in the monthly report for context only; the plan is judged on tours and enrollments.
Conclusion
The center's promotion plan turns its positioning into three messages and puts them where second-birth families look: search results, a clear website, a tour video, two social platforms, reviews and referral partners. Federal advertising guidance and privacy rules shape how stories and reviews are used, turning the founder's photo idea into a staff-led video and consented stories that describe typical experience. Next week, the full marketing project plan will be presented.
References
Federal Trade Commission. (2023). Guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. Federal Register, 88, 48092. https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-14795
Hanauer, D. A., Zheng, K., Singer, D. C., Gebremariam, A., & Davis, M. M. (2014). Public awareness, perception, and use of online physician rating sites. JAMA, 311(7), 734-735. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.283194
Richter, J. P., Muhlestein, D. B., & Wilks, C. E. A. (2014). Social media: How hospitals use it, and opportunities for future use. Journal of Healthcare Management, 59(6), 447-460. https://doi.org/10.1097/00115514-201411000-00011
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Marketing. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/marketing/index.html
What the HCS 472 Week 4 instructions ask
HCS 472 Week 4 commonly focuses on promotion, often through digital and social media, within the student's marketing project. Students may be asked to choose promotional channels, develop key messages, plan content, set a budget and explain how results will be measured. Many prompts also ask about ethical and legal considerations, such as truthful advertising, testimonials, patient privacy and responses to online reviews. Some versions compare traditional and digital promotion. The paper is usually a few pages with sources. Strong submissions choose channels where the target market actually spends time, tie every message to the positioning, explain specific legal limits on health care promotion and include measures beyond likes and followers.
How this HCS 472 Week 4 example is built
The paper opens with a founder's idea to post birth photos from families she knew, and explains why that idea cannot go ahead as stated. It restates the positioning from last week, continuity with the same midwives, and turns it into three messages. Channels follow: a website organized around the questions families ask, a three-minute tour video, two social platforms, search advertising on specific phrases, a review program and printed materials for partner offices. A legal section explains federal guidance on testimonials and endorsements and the privacy rule's limits on marketing and patient information. A content calendar, a $48,000 budget and measures from tours to enrollments close the plan.
HCS 472 Week 4 grading rubric: where the points go
The promotion week is typically graded on the fit between channels, messages and the target market, and on attention to health care's ethical and legal limits. Instructors reward specific channel choices with reasons, messages tied to the positioning, a realistic content plan and budget and measures that connect promotion to results such as appointments or enrollments. Correct explanation of rules on testimonials, advertising claims and patient privacy earns significant credit in a health care course. Support from research or official guidance strengthens the plan. Organization and APA formatting complete the grade. Plans that list every social platform, rely on patient images without consent or measure success only in followers tend to lose points.
HCS 472 Week 4 help: mistakes to avoid
The trap most students fall into in HCS 472 Week 4 is choosing every channel. Pick the few your target market uses and explain why. Another is forgetting health care's legal limits: patient photos and stories require written authorization, testimonials must reflect typical experience or say otherwise and responses to reviews cannot confirm someone is a patient. Tie each message to your positioning statement. Plan content for a calendar month so the plan is concrete. Put money where decisions are made, often search and the website. Measure what matters, such as tours booked or appointments, not just engagement. Finally, cite official guidance for any legal point rather than a marketing blog.
Related HCS 472 sample papers
Other HCS 472 week samples
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- HCS 472 Week 2: Market Environment and Target Market
- HCS 472 Week 3: Marketing Strategy and the Four Ps
- HCS 472 Week 5: Marketing Project Plan Presentation
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HCS 472 Week 4 questions, answered
What does HCS/472 Week 4 usually ask for?
Many sections ask students to plan the promotion element of their marketing project, often through digital and social media, including channels, messages, budget, measures and ethical and legal considerations.
Where can I find a free HCS 472 Week 4 sample paper?
The birth center digital promotion plan is laid out on this page for free, with side notes on each channel and rule. For your own service, the first custom plan costs nothing.
Can health care providers use patient testimonials in advertising?
Yes, with the patient's written authorization, and under federal advertising guidance endorsements must be truthful and not suggest results most patients will not get unless that is clearly disclosed.
How should a health care organization respond to online reviews?
Politely and generally, without confirming the reviewer is a patient or sharing any health information, and by inviting the person to contact the organization privately.
What should a health care marketing plan measure?
Results tied to goals, such as inquiries, appointments, tours, conversion rates, referrals by source and patient experience, along with reach and engagement.
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