Health and social care organisations operate in a high-stakes space – with lives, trust and deeply personal needs depending on how they communicate. Done badly, marketing can erode credibility, confuse service users and even damage recruitment. As a creative communications agency with a passion for purpose-driven work, we know some mistakes are simply not affordable. Here are the key marketing missteps health and social care organisations must avoid – and what to do instead.

Skipping Real Audience Insight

One of the most common – and damaging – mistakes is neglecting genuine, in-depth audience research. In health and social care, your stakeholders are not just “customers”: they can be patients, family members, commissioners, frontline staff and carers. Each group has its own priorities, fears and ways of communicating.

Without listening to them, you risk producing campaigns that miss the mark entirely. Your messaging may feel tone-deaf or irrelevant. Worse, you can alienate the very people you’re trying to reach.

What to do instead: Invest in qualitative research: interviews, focus groups, co‑design sessions with people who use your services. Use that insight to build personas, shape your content, and guide strategy – so that your communications are rooted in lived experience, not assumptions.

Using Jargon or Clinical Language

Health and social care is full of technical jargon and acronyms. While that language may make sense to internal teams, it can be bewildering to service users and families – especially when emotions are already running high.

If your communications read like a medical manual rather than a human conversation, you risk putting people off. They might feel confused, patronised or simply disengaged.

What to do instead: Use clear, accessible language. Explain medical or technical terms without diluting their meaning. Use analogies, visuals and storytelling where appropriate. Think about readability – write like you’re speaking to a caring friend, but with professional clarity.

Under‑Investing in Employer Branding

Recruitment and retention are among the top challenges in today’s health and social care sectors. Yet many organisations overlook their employer brand. They don’t showcase the spirit, purpose or day-to-day reality of working there.

If potential employees don’t understand your values or see themselves in the stories you tell, they might go elsewhere or struggle to connect emotionally with your mission.

What to do instead: Build a compelling employer value proposition (EVP). Share authentic stories from your teams. Highlight career pathways, work culture, impact and values. Use video, case studies and “a day in the life” content. Make your organisation a place people want to join – not just because it’s a job, but because it means something.

Ignoring Accessibility and Inclusion

Accessibility in communications is non-negotiable in health and social care. Excluding people through poor design or language not only limits your reach; it can harm your reputation.

Common pitfalls include inaccessible PDFs, low-contrast graphics, videos without captions, and communications that aren’t tailored for different literacy levels or languages.

What to do instead: Commit to inclusive design. Ensure content is WCAG-compliant, offer easy-read versions, provide translations and use plain English. Use images that reflect the diversity of your audience and consider different formats (audio, video, text) so you’re not leaving anyone behind.

Lacking a Clear Strategy or Metrics

Too many organisations “do marketing” reactively – creating social posts, leaflets or campaigns without a clear plan. The result? Disjointed messaging, unclear goals and wasted resources.

Without a strategy, there’s no way to measure what’s working. Without metrics, you can’t prove ROI or learn for next time.

What to do instead: Build a robust, measurable marketing strategy. Define your objectives (awareness, service take-up, recruitment, engagement, etc.) and tie them to specific KPIs. Use analytics tools to track performance and regularly review the data to refine your approach. That way, every pound you spend is purposeful and optimised.

Inconsistent Branding and Messaging

Consistency matters. In health and social care, where trust is everything, mixed messages can undermine your credibility. If your brochures, website and social channels don’t feel like they come from the same organisation, people will notice.

Inconsistent tone, outdated logos, conflicting messaging – all of these things chip away at authority and coherence.

What to do instead: Put in place a clear brand framework. Build guidelines for tone of voice, visual identity and messaging. Create templates for common materials (reports, leaflets, newsletters). Audit your communications regularly to ensure everything aligns and make sure all teams (internal and external) stick to the same playbook.

Why These Mistakes Matter – and Why Fixing Them Pays Off

Getting these elements right isn’t just about looking good. In health and social care, communications have real-world impact. When you build trust, you improve service uptake. When you speak clearly, you engage more people. When you brand yourself authentically, you attract the right talent. And when you measure impact, you can reinvest intelligently.

A creative communications agency like ours doesn’t just craft pretty campaigns – we help purpose-led organisations tell their stories in ways that resonate, persuade and drive change.

If your health or social care organisation is struggling with any of these issues – or if you want to take your marketing to the next level – we’d love to talk. Our team specialises in insight-driven strategy, accessible content and bold, human storytelling. Get in touch to see how we can help you communicate more effectively and make a bigger impact.