Julia Y.
Public Relations Coordinator, Social Media Consultant, Online Content Provider: writing and video
Is there a place for social media in the healthcare industry?
The hospital I work at is considering implementing social media into their marketing strategy. Is this appropriate? Will it work? Does anyone have suggestions for what to do?
Answers (15)
Banner Health has an excellent social media system in place. I would recommend checking out their website www.bannerhealth.org and checking out their links to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube at the bottom right of their page. I subscribe to their Twitter feed and constantly find it informative, and their Facebook page is also excellent. That should give you some suggestions to start with! As a sidenote, I believe there is a place for social media in every industry, but some force you to be more creative and resourceful than others. My industry is not the easiest to do social media PR work in, but when you get it right, it's very rewarding.
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Brian O.
Owner/Consultant: Conversation Starters Public Relations
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Absolutely. I was at the recent social media summit in Atlanta and several health care organizations were there. If you have a message to share, social media is critical in sharing that message. Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube should be your priorities for reaching out to the public.
Alan S.
Marketing communication strategy and words
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Hi from Dertroit to Denver, Julia:
Jay Krall, a social media relations blogger at Cision, addreses this very well from a health care perspective in a February 2010 post at the first link below.
The second link is to a related post by him last September.
Lastly, I link to a brief case study by Detroit area digital strategist Shauna Nicholson, who advises a hospital system imaginatively about SM media engagement. She tells how to "honor patient privacy (and HIPAA) while connecting with the social web community" by presenting healthy living tips and condition-specific advice.
"Just like major health magazines – and even the government – providing topical health information is very much on the table," Nicholson says.
Good luck applying best practices for your client!
Links:
- http://blog.us.cision.com/2010/02/5-great-social-media-case-studies-in-phar...
- http://blog.us.cision.com/2009/09/regulation-and-healthcare-in-social-media...
- http://shaunanicholson.com/working-within-social-media-red-tape-5-rules-a-c...
Alan S. also suggests this expert on this topic:
Great question! It will be interesting to see what kind of response that you get. I would think that the answer about the need for social media. I hope that your particular social media program will work for you.
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Charles K.
Specialist at Consolo Services
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Yes. Others have answered this question very well from the "provider" standpoint. I'd like to see social media used more as a vehicle for "patients" to connect with support systems. Like "care pages", only more contemporary.
Yes, of course! Not just internally through an intranet work group site, where best ideas among researchers (both internally and globally) are shared, but also as a source of getting vital public health information out. I can think of a million ideas for using it in this capacity. Among my clients, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey schools of medicine and associated hospitals use plain old Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about important new developments. I guess I'd need to know more about the type of healthcare setting you are in to provide more information than this - but the simple answer is yes.
andrew G.
media strategy: finance, energy, public policy.
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Will it work? That's tough to answer without knowing the details of what the hospital wants to achieve and the nature of the programs it has in mind.
I manage a new-media strategy for a regional group of healthcare clinics in the midwest, and our efforts "work" inasmuch as everyone involved is pleased with the results thus far.
In terms of what to do, I'd suggest developing a strong content strategy before anything else. Where is the hospital's content to come from, and where is it to go?
Christine H.
Have you grabbed your copy of my FREE Report yet? Get "Top 11 LinkedIn Profile Success Secrets" now at: vsb.li/QFe3RP
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Sure, there's an audience to engage in every industry. Start providing relevant, high-value content for best results.
Elizabeth T.
Freelance Writer & Marketing Communications Expert - We help organizations communicate effectively with their audiences
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You should find out how other hospitals are using social media and speak with industry experts before you jump in.
Ed Bennett, director web strategy at the University of Maryland Medical System, is an expert on social media use by hospitals and a frequent speaker at health care conferences on this topic. He is also on LinkedIn.
Ed follows U.S. hospital social media sites. A recent study of his shows 557 health system hospitals have 1090 social media listings including 254 YouTube channels, 336 Facebook pages, 430 Twitter accounts and 70 blogs. The larger hospitals and children's hospitals are more likely to use social media.
Alert Presence, an internet marketing and consulting business, ranks hospital Facebook pages using some of Ed Bennett's research. The link to this site is provided below.
Hope this helps!
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Sahar A.
Diversity&Inclusion| Leadership Training| Social Media Marketing| Employee Engagement|Public Speaker|Cultural Competence
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Julia:
there is a place for SM in any indistry provided the proper research, planning and strategizing are done properly and customized to that indistry in general and to the oranization in specific
For example there are a lot of diveristy problems and cultiral conflicts happening in the hospitals and what certaing ethnicities accept and dont accept like women giving borth from some cultures not accepting male doctors or some asians consider a no no to touch their head, some videos using youtube for example can raise awareness about these services and the diversity of staff that hospital offers for example
You can use bloging and build communities online where you can educate people about your goals and mission
Yes, There are lot of it. I can highly recommend this site i have given to you. They offer a lot of healthcare services.
See in: http://www.jaycalvertmd.com
Links:
Hi Julia,
It's certainly appropriate for a hospital to use social media. The key is to understand how it's different from other media/outreach vehicles, and use the right social media applications so you don't invest a lot of time and effort into something that doesn't produce a result.
Social media is a two-way conversation. The goal should be to engage your different audiences (patients, families, your locality/service area, supporters, etc.) in a dialogue.
Traditional advertising and marketing is a one-way conversation. It's you giving them information
One quick caveat... I make these suggestions while recognizing that the hospital must be very careful to protect patient confidentiality. (legally, too)
Hospital Website
Does it have blog/discussion board areas for patients recieving certain long-term treatments, ie. dialysis or chemo? Present it to pateints as a place for them to share hopes, aspirations, tips for coping and minimizing side effects, and connect with others undergoing similar treatments. Staff can join in with words of encouragement, tips of their own, etc. Have everyone use a "handle" or username, so you don't violate confidentiality. Staff can also use this to announce news about new treatments, medications, etc.
Facebook
Sure, but it's important to make sure someone doesn't voilate a patient's privacy rights by posting a name or picture. You can use it to announce news, etc. just as you would through the media/advertising, Create an FB "Ask the Dr. or Nurse" campaign... and have fans ask questions about everything from how to get rid of poison ivy, to what does coronary thrombosis mean? Stack the deck with ringers to get this started. Encourage fans to submit home remedies for common minor ailments such as poison ivy, stomach aches, their own healthy diets etc. (Check with your legal department about any liability concerns they might have on that)
Twitter
Hmmm... maybe for some of the speciality services such as dialysis or chemo... breaking news about new treatments, a quick tip for staying healthy, etc...
Just a couple of thoughts on how to make it work. Most importantly, you'll have to get all of the staff, administration and MD's, RN's onboard with it, and active in promoting it, but if you do, you'll get a great two-way conversation going.
Best of luck to you.
Sarah N.
Marketing professional
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I recommend spending some time observing or "listening" online via google alerts or twitter search to better understand the market behavior and interaction within the health care industry.
Once you understand the conversational dynamics, you can build a framework that sets the stage for your content strategy.
There are so many tools available to help educate your patients, build value, and create an active patient community. Many organizations find that through creating content like videos, blogs, or e-books patients arrive at their first visit educated on how you can help them.
Best of luck to you!
Here is a great example from the Mayo clinic.
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Jonathan R.
VP, Product Marketing at Zipscene
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It's absolutely appropriate if done correctly. You certainly wouldn't be the first. Attached is a link to a list of other hospital social media efforts that includes:
* 557 Hospitals total
* 254 YouTube Channels
* 336 Facebook pages
* 430 Twitter Accounts
* 70 Blogs
(http://ebennett.org/hsnl/)
That's some precedent for you to consider. Take a look at how some of these approach social media and get a feel for what's working. The best (in my opinion) is the Mayo Clinic. Start at their "hub" for all their social media efforts and observe what they're doing: http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/
Links:
Yes, there is a place for Social Media as long as there is a place for humans in the healthcare industry.
