Best Uses of Social Media in Healthcare

Demystifying Social Media & Making It Relevant to Healthcare Dan Dunlop, President Jennings May 8, 2009

How I Got Started In Social Media: Fear of Becoming Irrelevant

Social Media Defined “The democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into content publishers.” Wikipedia “Social media contributes to informed choices by aggregating and making available to the interested individual the collective experience and resultant conversation.” Dave Evans, Social Media Marketing

Why is Social Media Important? 1. Marketing has been redefined 2. Moving from professional story tellers to conversation managers and facilitators 3. Marketing is now a dialogue, not a monologue 4. Engagement is what we’re after 5. Today, being absent from social media is conspicuous 6. The conversations are happening with or without us 7. The quality of info being shared is suspect, so we have an obligation to get involved

Social Media has its Detractors • Andrew Keen - “The Anti-Christ of Silicon Valley” • “The Cult of the Amateur” • Distrusts the wisdom of the crowd • The demise of the expert • The Great Seduction: http://andrewkeen.typepad.com

My Sister Kerry • Essiac Tea - Alternative treatment for cancer • Lots of chatter on cancer patient online communities • National Cancer Institute studies showed that it actually promotes tumor growth

Online Communities & Patient Resources • PatientsLikeMe.com • Medhelp.org • DailyStrength.org • Organizedwisdom.com • Everydayhealth.com • Revolutionhealth.com • ACOR.org (OncoChat.org) - Online cancer support community

Why is Social Media Important? Think of this perspective: • She (your patient or a family member) may have a blog • Or, she may have 1,200 friends on Facebook

Google Alerts

Hive Marketing • Providing a gathering place for active supporters of your brand • Then activating them so they can go forth and tell your story • Brand evangelists • In this era of citizen journalism, brand advocates are more credible (to some) than professional marketers

Question: How can you be expected to monitor these conversations and manage your institution’s brand if you are blocked from these sites? Today, your reputation lives online. Discussion?

Write a Social Media Marketing Plan

http://www.wordpress.com

http://www.ning.com

Hospitals Adopting Social Media • For examples of hospitals using social media, go to http://ebennett.org/hsnl/ • Maintained by Ed Bennett of the University of Maryland Health System

Tufts Medical Center vs. BCBS

www.YouTube.com http://www.youtube.com/user/mayoclinic

ICYou.com & Flip Video http://www.icyou.com/channel/dan-dunlops-channel

www.facebook.com http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=20088101947

LMC & The State Newspaper Mobilizing Brand Advocates

Lexington Medical Center Blog • Great internal communications tool • On average 200 employees visit each day • Beneficial external communications tool • Allows us to tell the LMC story without media filters

Lexington Medical Center Blog

Seven Blessing and Seven Sins of Social Media

Seven Blessings 1. Search engine marketing & rankings 2. Hive Marketing - Activating brand advocates 3. Engage grateful patients and employees 4. Communication without media filters 5. Crisis communications expeditor 6. Quick publicity for physicians and service lines 7. Low cost communications tools

Seven Sins 1. Failing to have a strategy before you start 2. Fear - A loss of control; sudden transparency 3. Cowardice - Panic in the C-Suite 4. Requires vigilance and responsiveness 5. Sloth - Social media requires time commitment 6. Free speech isn’t always pretty; someone is always looking to be negative 7. Gluttony - Too much, too fast (temperance is better)

“Only Really Young People Use Social Media. Right?”

Who Uses Social Media? • Nielsen 2009 Social Media Survey – Two thirds of the World’s Internet population now visit online communities – Account for 10% of all Internet time – Time spent on social media sites growing at three times the rate of overall Internet growth – People 35 to 49 are Facebook’s fastest growing audience – In the last year, Facebook has added twice as many 50-60 year old visitors (14 million) as it has 18 year olds. – One third of Facebook’s audience is 35-49

“What if Someone Says Something Bad?” • They’re going to speak out whether you provide a forum or not • Wouldn’t you rather know what’s being said and have a chance to address it? • Most likely, five people will jump in and say something good; very democratic • Difference between a brand detractor and an unhappy customer; you can win back an unhappy customer

“It Will Take Too Much Time” • A partial truth • Be strategic in your use of social media • Repurpose content: – Website – Blog – Facebook

“It’s Too Complicated and Only for Tech-Savvy People” • If I can do it, anyone can do it • Start by getting involved • Join Facebook if you’re not already there • Get a feel for social media • Start a blog but don’t make it public; live with it for a while

Online PR Tools • PRLog • LinkedIn • EPR-Network • Pitch Engine • Flickr - Photo sharing http://www.flickr.com/photos/3 2512493@N03/

Next Steps & Homework

Read a Book About Social Media • Groundswell, Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff • Join the Conversation, Joseph Jaffe • Social Media is a Cocktail Party, Jim Tobin and Lisa Braziel • PR 2.0, Deirdre Breakenridge • The New Rules of Marketing & PR, David Meerman Scott

Homework • Write a social media marketing strategic brief for your hospital; keep it to two pages • Start following a blog regularly • Join Facebook & LinkedIn • Join my Healthcare Marketing Community at http://healthcaremarketing.ning.com • Share an article, whitepaper or book about social media with your executive team

Contact Information • Dan Dunlop, President • Jennings • Blogs: – http://thehealthcaremarketer.wordpress.com – http://healthcaremarketing.ning.com • Website: www.jenningsco.com • Email: Ddunlop@jenningsco.com • Phone: 919-929-0225

Best Uses of Social Media in Healthcare

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