Healthcare marketers understand the value of social media, but may not feel prepared to participate in such a tightly regulated space. How can you join the conversation while protecting your organization? With these five documents, you can safely enter the world of social media while reducing your liability and maintaining a consistent company message. Visit us at www.GreyMatterMarketing.com

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2. Social Media & Health Care
• 81% percent of U.S. adults use the
internet, and 59% say they have
looked online for health information
in the past year.
• 35% percent say they have gone
online specifically to try to figure out
what medical condition they or
someone else might have
• 57% say a social media connection
with a hospital was likely to have a
strong impact on their decision to
seek treatment at that hospital
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“A hospital without an
engaging social media
presence soon may be
viewed with the same
suspicion as a business
that has no website”
– The Healthcare
Association of New York
Only 16% of hospitals actively
use social media

3. Social Media & Health Care
• Brand Monitoring
• Crisis Management
• Customer Service
• Referrals & Recommendations
• Fostering Communities
• Brand Awareness
• Customer Input
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Not long ago, terms such
as liking, following,
tagging, and stumbling
all had very different
meanings.
But in the era of social
media, they provide the
clues that could lead to
higher quality care, more
loyal customers,
efficiency, and even
revenue growth.”
-- The Health Research
Institute
”Social media ‘likes’ healthcare: from marketing to social business" Health Research Institute. April 2012. Available at:
<http://pwchealth.com/cgi-local/hregister.cgi/reg/health-care-social-media-report.pdf>. Accessed August 8, 2013.
Divol, R., Edelman, D. and Sarrazin, H., ”Demystifying social media." McKinsey Quarterly. April 2012. Available at:
<http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/marketing_sales/demystifying_social_media>. Accessed August 8, 2013.

4. Internal Readiness
• Risk management starts with
having procedures in place
that are accessible and easy
to understand
• Start with five key
documents to:
– Allow your organization to
enter the world of social
media while
– Reducing liability and
– Maintaining a consistent
company message
Internal
Readiness
Social Media
Policy
Social Media
Guidelines
Conversation
Guide
Response
Protocol
Community
Guidelines
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5. 1. Social Media Policy
Interacting with social media at work
• A legal document that covers how employees
can use social media at work and on your
behalf
– Usage during working hours
– Applicable state and federal law (e.g. HIPAA)
– Confidentiality & competitive intelligence
– Conduct between employees
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Many businesses block
employee access to social
media in the office.
It’s difficult for your
employees to be
advocates when they can’t
even access the platforms.
Employee training can
translate into involvement
and enthusiasm.

6. 2. Social Media Guidelines
Interacting with social media as a
whole
• Provides employees best practices for
interacting on social media as an employee
but not on behalf of your organization
– Disclosures (make it clear you are speaking on your
behalf and not on the behalf of the company)
– Use of company name and logo
– Mention of customers, partners or suppliers
– Simple common sense guidance (“be respectful of
others’ opinions”)
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In late 2012, the
National Labor
Relations Board issued
a series of rulings that
effectively said that
companies cannot
legally issue blanket
social media policies
that prohibit employees
from speaking about
work or work
conditions on social
networks.

7. 3. Conversation Guide
A style guide for social media
• When employees are interacting on social
media on behalf of your organization, this
ensures consistent branding and voice
across accounts
– Tone of voice
– Types of images
– Naming protocols
– Hashtag use
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How you structure
your naming protocol
etc. matters less than
consistent use across
platforms and
accounts.
Remember, social
media is an extension
of your brand.

8. Content
discovery. Is it
positive or
negative?
Assess
Who is
commenting?
What is their
intention?
Evaluate
If necessary,
respond or
triage to the
appropriate
professional.
Respond
4. Response Protocol
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What to do in case of emergency
How to respond to positive & negative feedback
Response considerations:
• Transparency (disclose who you are)
• Sourcing (cite your source)
• Timeliness (how soon to respond)
• Tone (see conversation guide)
• Influence (who as commented)
• HIPAA

9. Response Protocol & HIPAA
• Patients who join and share do so
voluntarily
• Consider directing inquiries to a
private phone line or use the
direct messaging function
• Always use your standard
consent forms when re-posting
patient information
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“As health
organizations
collect more detailed
information on its
patients, proper
safeguards will be
needed to ensure
privacy and security”
-- The Health
Research Institute

10. 5. Community Guidelines
How you expect others to behave
• Keep it on topic: we request your keep
your comments within the purposes of our
Fan page
• Keep it clean: please don’t post comments
that are unlawful, abusive, defamatory,
offensive or contain profanities
• Keep away from: in your comments
please avoid specific mention of …
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Remember: your
customers understand the
regulatory environment
you work in.
Don’t use legal jargon to
explain your internal
regulatory policies.
Tell customers exactly
what they can expect (e.g.
a 24 hour delay for posts).

11. Always Be Prepared
Five documents for social media readiness
1. Social media policy
2. Social media guidelines
3. Conversation guide
4. Response protocol
5. Community guidelines
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12. THANK YOU!
Any Questions?
Valerie Barro
www.greymattermarketing.com
valerie@greymattermarketing.com
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