Energizing Word of Mouth
through Social Media
Lee Aase
Manager, Syndication and Social Media
Mayo Clinic
Community 2.0 Conference
San Franciso
May 12, 2009

About Lee Aase - @LeeAase
• B.S. Political Science
• 14 years in politics and government at
local, state, national levels
• Mayo Clinic since April 2000
• Media relations consultant
• Manager since 2004
• Media Relations/Research Comm
• Syndication and Social Media
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Behold the power of Facebook...
• Evelyn’s existence
• Video to her grandparents
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Disclaimers
• These results not typical
• Use as directed
• Read and follow label directions
• Side effects may include vertigo, watery
eyes, crackberry thumb and iPhone
application addiction
• Social media tools are an essential part of a
balanced communications diet
• If insufficient media coverage persists,
consult your communications doctor
• Your mileage may vary
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Mayo Clinic’s Origin
http://tinyurl.com/32xbjx

Brand Preference
• Thinking about healthcare institutions
such as hospitals, medical centers and
clinics -- suppose your health plan or
personal finances permitted you to go
anywhere in the U.S. for treatment of a
serious medical condition which
required highly specialized care such as
neurosurgery, sophisticated heart
surgery or complex cancer treatment...
• To which one institution would you prefer to
go for treatment?

Top-of-Mind Brand Preference
U.S. Consumers
Mayo Clinic 11.7
Hospital E 3.1
2006 Study
Hospital D 2.3
Hospital C 1.8
Hospital B 1.3
Hospital A 1.0
Don't know 40.9
0 10 20 30 40 50
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Sources of Information Influencing
Preference for Mayo Clinic
Word of mouth 84
Stories in the media 57
MD recommendation 44
Advertising 27
2006 Study
Internet/Websites 26
Personal experience 24
Mailings to home 18
0 20 40 60 80 100
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Mayo Clinic Medical Edge
News Media Syndications
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Mayo Clinic and Word of Mouth
• 91 percent of patients surveyed say
they have said “good things” to an
average of 40 people following a
Mayo visit
• 85 percent say they recommended
Mayo to a friend
• Advised an average of 16 to come
• 5 actually came
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Mayo Clinic Social Media Progression
• Reach people directly
• Started with Medical Edge
• Produce economically to fit medium
• Provide platforms for sharing
• Create outposts on popular sites
• Energize word of mouth
• Leverage social media with mass media
and vice versa
• Sharing Mayo Clinic
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Developing a MacGyver Mindset
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First Foray in New Media
• Existing Medical Edge radio mp3s
• Launched Sept. ‘05; Downloads up
8,217 percent Oct. vs. Aug.

Step 2: More, Longer Podcasts
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Total Cost for Mayo Clinic
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter
$0.00
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Key Tool: Flip Video Camera
• Affordable for all campuses (and you)
• Recording interviews (with tripod)
improves existing processes
• Authenticity without writer’s cramp
• Provides potential blog resources
• Audio of full interview
• Video excerpts
• Limited group of video editors to
ease adoption, ensure quality
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Cost for a Standard Definition Flip
Video Camera
$150.00
HD available for an additional $80
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podcasts.mayoclinic.org
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newsblog.mayoclinic.org
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Next Step: Launched 1/22/2009
Sharing Mayo Clinic
• Gathering global Mayo community
• Patients telling their stories
• Employee bloggers recruited from
throughout organization
• Video profiles of patients/staff
• Hub to integrate Mayo social media
• Interactive companion to print edition
• sharing.mayoclinic.org
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sharing.mayoclinic.org
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Benefits of Comment Threads
• Patient stories most popular on .org
• Outlet for grateful patients who want
to tell their stories
• Prompts patients to think about
sharing stories
• Alerts us to great stories we may
want to feature in publications,
Medical Edge, media pitches
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Where Sharing Mayo Clinic Fits
• News Blog - Breaking research news;
“Hard” news - Like U.S News, Time
• Podcast Blog - Evergreen “news you
can use” - Like Prevention
• Sharing Mayo Clinic - Features;
behind the scenes at Mayo Clinic,
and stories from patients in their own
words - Like People
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Total Yearly Cost for Three
Customized Blogs
$165.00
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Sharing Some Stories...
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Affirming our Employees
Dear staff,
This 4 minute video actually made me tear
up…the patients mentioning our Judd
Sessions, classes and pamphlets…in relation
to their satisfaction with their care. How
wonderful to hear.
The patient/family testimonials reminded me
how we are making a difference through patient
education in the lives of our patients/families.
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Don’t (just) pitch the media.
Be the media.
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Enhancing Distribution of
Patient-Generated Content
• Alerted to interesting video of 90 y.o.
couple playing piano in Gonda atrium
• Embedded in Sharing Mayo Clinic,
posted to Facebook, Tweeted on 4/7/09
• Video had been seen 1,005 times in six
preceding months since upload
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The next day...
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Six days later...
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April 22
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Sunday, May 3
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May 4
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Cinco de Mayo
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May 6
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Thursday, May 7
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May 10
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May 11
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This Morning...
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A sampling of the comments...
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Lessons
• Your mileage may vary, but...
• You’ll go a lot farther if you get a car.
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Summary
• Twitter, Facebook, YouTube: $0
• Sharing Mayo Clinic blog: $75
• Bringing joy to the world
through music: Priceless
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Immense Potential
• Marketing we couldn’t afford to buy
• 500,000 annual unique patients,
50,000 employees as ambassadors
• More efficient care delivery
• Patient support groups
• Chronic disease management
• Workplace Collaboration
• Free versions let you prove concept,
gauge readiness
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For Continuing Education ...
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Contacting Me
• Google Lee Aase or SMUG U to find
SMUG
• Twitter @LeeAase or @mayoclinic
• Friend me on Facebook
• aase.lee@mayo.edu
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