Lee Aase discusses how social media tools like blogs, podcasts, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter can be leveraged by healthcare organizations like Mayo Clinic to spread information about their services and treatments. Aase notes that Mayo Clinic's social media presence has grown organically at little to no cost, and highlights examples where patient stories shared on social media went viral and led to millions of views. Aase argues that healthcare organizations should embrace social media as a new form of word-of-mouth marketing that allows them to directly share their messages and stories with the public.

1. Is Social Media the new Word-of-
Mouth (WOM) for e-Mental Health?
Lee Aase
Manager, Syndication and Social Media
Mayo Clinic
#ementalhealth09
October 15, 2009

2. 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

3. Disclosure of Conflicts
• No financial interest in any product or
service mentioned in this presentation
• Full-time salaried employee of Mayo
Clinic

4. 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

5. A Grandpa who appreciates the
power of Facebook

7. No genius necessary...

8. The MacGyver Mindset

11. Hospitals Using Social Media
(via @EdBennett)

12. Growth of YouTube vs. Twitter

14. • Get link to European list?

15. Mayo Clinic’s Social Media
Experience

16. Mayo Clinic’s Origin
http://tinyurl.com/32xbjx

17. Sources of Information Influencing
Preference for Mayo Clinic
Word of mouth 84
Stories in the media 57
MD recommendation 44
Advertising 27
Internet/Websites 26
Personal experience 24
Mailings to home 18
0 20 40 60 80 100
17

18. 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

19. Mayo Clinic Medical Edge
News Media Syndications

20. First Foray in New Media
• Existing Medical Edge radio mp3s
• Launched Sept. ‘05; Downloads up
8,217 percent Oct. vs. Aug.

21. Step 2: More, Longer Podcasts

26. Total Cost for Mayo Clinic
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter
$0.00

27. 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

28. Cost for a Standard Definition
Flip Video Camera
$150.00
HD available for an additional $80

29. HD: Worth the Investment

30. podcasts.mayoclinic.org

31. newsblog.mayoclinic.org

32. 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

33. sharing.mayoclinic.org

35. Complying with Privacy
Regulations
• Comments moderated to prevent privacy
breaches
− Patients can divulge own info in
comments
− When comments aren’t from patient, de-
identify
• Get HIPAA releases for special
comments or video we shoot and upload

36. 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

37. Other Blogs...
• Health Policy Center Blog
• Physician Update Blog - For referring
MDs but not limited to them
• Diversity in Education Blog
• Advancing the Science - Medical
science blog - our medical version of
Scientific American

38. Yearly Cost for a
Customized Blog
$75.00

39. The Next Big Thing:
Radio Syndication

40. Healthline becomes Medical
Edge Weekend
• Host is Mayo Clinic M.D. with 20 years
local radio experience
• Previous syndication not feasible
− 1999: Unlikely profitable
− 2008: $20K/month unavailable
• Opportunity for creative application of
social media tools

41. The MacGyver Syndication Plan
• Production continues at KROC-AM
• Segments delivered to affiliates as
mp3 files for next week’s broadcast
• Topic for live production posted to
blog, promoted via Twitter
• Listen live through audio stream from
flagship station
• Podcasts posted 9 days later

42. Official Launch Last Month
• Already a “win”: formerly local
program now on >10 stations,
including international
• Gradual growth is practical because
costs are nearly $0.00
• Unbridling a physician’s passion
• Significant new social media content
• Questions “tweeted” from four
continents

44. Follow Medical Edge Weekend
Progress
• radio.mayoclinic.org
• #mayoradio
• @mayoclinic

45. Stephen Covey’s “8th Habit”
Going beyond effectiveness to greatness

46. “8th Habit” Opportunity
I can go to any group, and I do it all the time, all over the world, and I
ask a simple question: “How many honestly believe that the vast
majority of the workforce in your organizations possess more talent,
more intelligence, more capability, more creativity, more resourcefulness
than their present jobs require or even allow them to use?” Literally,
almost everyone raises their hands…. Think of the loss of what we could
call “voice,” of people’s intelligence, capability, creativity. And yet I
can ask the next question: … “How many feel pressured to produce
more for less?” and you know what, the same amount of hands go up.
Now just put those two questions together: Here there’s this enormous
capability and talent and intelligence, and also this great pressure to
produce more for less, and they’re not able to even use it.
-- Stephen Covey

47. Stephen Covey’s “8th Habit”
Going beyond effectiveness to greatness
“Find your voice and inspire
others to find theirs”

48. Giving Voice to Some Stories...

49. Twitter Case Study: Listening

51. Ensuing Conversation

54. 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.

57. Jillayn Hey’s “Remarkable” Story
“One statement has stuck out above
all of the medical jargon written by
the surgeons and various nurses who
cared for me, and that is this:
‘patient's stay was unremarkable.’
Well, although things went fairly
smoothly after a difficult surgery, I
would like to say that there was
nothing unremarkable about my
experience with Mayo.”

58. Therapeutic Storytelling...
“I recently read an (Utne Reader) article ... (which said) that
through telling our personal stories of illness and disease, we
assist in creating a new story of wellness that facilitates
healing and in turn directs a person towards recovery. This is
just one aspect that Sharing Mayo Clinic provides. It is not
only an opportunity for many patients and perhaps future
patients to tell their unique stories to work their way towards
health but it also provides a voice for its employees to share
parts of their daily work which I know must include joy and
sorrow as some of us become well and some of us
unfortunately do not. In my opinion, this is just another area
that Mayo is ahead of the curve in caring for its patients and
obviously their employees as well.”

60. Don’t (just) pitch the
media.
Be the media.

61. Enhancing Distribution of
Patient-Generated Content
• Alerted to interesting video of elderly
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

62. The next day...

63. Six days later...

64. April 22

65. Sunday, May 3

68. May 4

69. Cinco de Mayo

70. May 10

72. May 11

73. May 12

74. A sampling of the comments...

75. May 15

76. Early Morning May 26

77. May 26, 2009: Live in Studio
Good Morning America

79. May 28, 2009

80. Results to Date
• More than 4.6 million views on YouTube
• More than 1.4 million views on Sharing
Mayo Clinic
• Before posting to Sharing Mayo Clinic:
1,000 views in six months
• After posting, Facebooking and
Tweeting: 5,000 views per hour

81. Lessons
• Your mileage may vary, but...
• You’ll go a lot farther if you get a car.

82. Summary
• Twitter, Facebook, YouTube: $0
• Sharing Mayo Clinic blog: $75
• Bringing joy to the world through
music: Priceless

83. Immense Potential
• Marketing we couldn’t buy at any price
− 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

85. Tips on Personal Steps to
Explore
• Establish a permanent personal email
• Get profiles in Facebook, LinkedIn
• Get a Twitter account
• Get a Flip camera (or iPhone 3G S?)
• Create a personal YouTube account
• Start a personal Blog

86. Visit Mayo Clinic Social Media
Sites
• Follow, subscribe or “Fan”
− http://twitter.com/mayoclinic
− http://www.youtube.com/user/mayoclinic
− http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/
− http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mayo-Clinic/
7673082516
• Consider sharing your Mayo Clinic story

87. Starter Steps for Organizations
• Claim your Twitter “handle”
• Create a Facebook “fan” page
• Create a YouTube channel
• For Extra Credit: If you have
organizational commitment, create a
multi-author blog

88. • Married with Children
• Baywatch
• Charlie’s Angels

95. “Kids will take a chance.
If they don’t know,
they’ll have a go.”
-- Sir Ken Robinson, TED 2006

96. “Your kids aren’t
smarter than you are.
They’re just not
afraid to look dumb.”