Do you want to learn how to use Facebook for your hospital? We’ve got the webinar just for you. We’re doing a re-broadcast of one of our most popular healthcare webinars. Ryan Squire, from OSU Healthcare, will also take all your new questions at the end of the re-broadcast and talk about the new changes with Facebook.

Are you guilty of any of these 13 social media mistakes? We hope not. But this list is a good refresher of what you shouldn't do. Here is one: “#Placing a #hashtag #before #each #word of a #tweet.”

As far as underlying Twitter philosophies go, this question is perhaps one of the more intriguing, says Ragan Communications. “But it’s only a part of Bon Secours Medical Center’s aggressive and highly successful social media strategy.” Read more here about how the hospital became more involved with Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets.

You may not think of clinical professional associations as being hip to Web 2.0. But here’s one that’s got a pulse on social media. The American College of Cardiology recently launched a private social network for its members. CardioSource.org gives cardiologists a place to “add content and start conversations with one another.” With a regular blog and an active presence on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, this is one group that’s jumped head first into social media. Do you know of other clinical societies that have made the leap? —Melissa Tizon

In the blogosphere, the secret to publishing a successful blog is not necessarily what you know, but how many people know you, writes Copyblogger’s Dean Rieck. “In other words, success isn’t necessarily about competence,” he writes. “It’s often about likeability. People like to spend time with people they like. The same applies to blogs. Success often depends on likeability. How you come across. Your vibe. Your attitude and personality.” He offers seven tips for upping your popularity. —PR Daily

PR pros love to debate which social media tools are fleeting trends—fads even—but there’s little talk about which trends never go out of style. PR pro and PR Daily contributor Susan Young applied her 25 years of experience in news media, PR, and communications to create this list of timeless trends in the world of public relations. —PR Daily

As our kids head back to school, what will we do with all of our “free” time? The Texas Health Moms blog is dedicated to the experience of being a mom and offers advice from their health experts at Texas Health hospitals. It shares real stories about motherhood and tackles issues, such as the death of a family pet (a chicken), a son going off to college, and tips on helping children deal with school bullies. —Holly Potter

For 50 percent of the population, reading is a difficult task. A recent study from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion said that people not only struggle to read websites, but also have difficulty retaining and managing new information when moving through a website. What can you do to help? These 5 steps will help you figure out a plan. Here is one: "Use short chunks of text and bulleted lists. This may seem obvious to the experienced Web writer, but according to this study, users skipped over any paragraph more than three sentences,” says Online it ALL Matters.

This fall, medical students at Stanford University are sporting a stylish new accessory—the iPad. Stanford is giving iPads to every one of its incoming medical students. Dr. Charles Prober, Stanford’s senior associate dean for medical education, believes that the iPads will be useful tools in helping the students explain medical conditions and procedures to patients. The school also expects that the iPads will help it cut down on paper costs. —Dan Dunlop

Making sure that your website is searchable is one of the most important parts of driving eyeballs to your site. Mashable co-editor Ben Parr highlights six best practices to make your website search-optimized. My favorite tip: Use the Hubspot tool, website grader, which gives you a report card on where your site stands. With a couple of improvements, you are on your way to an “A” in search. —Matthew Royse, PR Daily

It’s time to assess your e-mail marketing efforts. Carissa Newton, the director of marketing at e-mail software maker Delivra, shares her list of marketing e-mails you should avoid, including e-mails that are longer than one screen and those without social media links. Don’t let them anywhere near your inbox. —Susan Young, PR Daily

In Massachusetts, doctors are trying “prescription produce” to encourage people to eat locally grown fruits and veggies. Specifically targeting children of low-income families, physicians give coupons to farmers markets in an effort to encourage people to stay away from fast food.  Gus Schumacher, chairman of Wholesome Wave, says, “If the pilot project is successful, ‘farmers’ markets would become like a fruit and vegetable pharmacy for at-risk families.” What innovative ways is your hospital promoting preventative health? —Renée Berry

There’s nothing like coming home from a conference brimming with inspiration and ideas. But sometimes there are too many to keep track of. Fortunately, this blog lists the highlights from two big healthcare marketing conferences this summer. Here are a few to whet your appetite: Building custom tabs on Facebook, developing mobile-versions of your website, setting up profiles on Foursquare, and using YouTube for internal communications. What ideas would you add to this list? —Melissa Tizon

Do you think Facebook Places is no big deal? (Kind of like when you thought Facebook itself was just a phase.) Think again. This blogger says that Facebook Places will be even more valuable to healthcare marketers than Yelp or Foursquare. Take a look at this prediction: “I believe we will see several location-based marketing opportunities for medical practices,” Fox ePractice says. “For example, when a Facebook user does a virtual check-in to your practice, or perhaps a check-in somewhere in the neighborhood, they could receive a short communication message/special offer from your practice.”

 

Do you consider yourself a traditionalist with digital communications skills or a digital communications professional with a background in PR? Perkett PR’s Crystal Macaulay reminded us that even in the digital age, the core of successful PR lies in relationships, solid pitches, and doing your homework. She reminisced about compiling clip books for clients, collating glossy (and pricey) media kits, and faxing press releases. Turns out even though we have morphed into a PR culture of 140 characters, podcasts, and online press releases, much remains the same. —Susan Young, PR Daily

Mom always said “brush your teeth.” Did you listen? If you did, you might have a leg up in the world of social media. Amber MacArthur believes social media is a lot like toothpaste. Why? Well, for starters: “There's always more. Just when you think that Web users have thought of everything, someone squeezes out something new.” Hope you listened to Mommy. And don't forget to floss. —Jackson Wightman, PR Daily

Ever wonder how some people get to be so good at Twitter? Here’s a blog posts that lets you in on their secrets. It all comes down to five simple steps: 1) Follow wisely; 2) Take full advantage of search.twitter.com; 3) Time your tweets; 4) Aim to get mentioned on Fridays (one of most popular days of the week); and 5) Limit your characters so it’s easy for people to re-tweet your posts. Give these tips a try, and let us know if they make a difference for you. —Melissa Tizon

 

Summer came and went. Did you take a vacation from work—or are you one of those communicators who just can’t seem to "break away" from the social media frenzy? Pixel & Pills warns that if you don’t take a vacation, you’ll lose perspective, energy, and shortchange your team. Drill this mantra in your head: “Count, assign, sit back, relax.” Got it? Good. Let’s book that trip to Tahiti. —Erin Macartney

We know how much you love reading Ed Bennett’s ‘Found in Cache’ blog.  How would you like to meet him? He’ll be keynoting our second annual Health Care, Marketing, Internal Communications and PR Social Media Summit at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., from Sept. 27-29. Ed will show you the latest hospitals that use YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to communicate.  Click here for details.

Kevin Silberman of Ogilvy Public Relations recently met with YouTube's healthcare team to chat about the latest trends in video watching. What he learned may surprise you. For example, 32 percent of YouTube's 180 million viewers watch health videos. That's a bigger percentage than those who watch food or celebrity videos. Also, of those health video viewers, 79 percent have watched videos about their own specific condition, and 93 percent take action after viewing health videos. It’s no surprise that big companies, such as Johnson & Johnson and Ortho-MacNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, now are launching YouTube channels to take advantage of this trend. Read more here. —Tom Hughes

Most kids don’t like going to the doctor. But Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital wants to help parents figure out the best way to get them there. This press release and video gives parents some tips—and could even spark a story idea or two for a healthcare journalist. We liked this one: “Let your child be involved when possible, even in a simple decision,” Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital says. “This gives them a sense of control in an unpredictable environment.” How does your healthcare organization reach out to the press or parents? —Renée Berry

Social media is here to stay, so you need to remain up to date on the trends. Good thing Barb Dybwad, senior editor at Mashable, penned this article for Open Forum about the top five trends to watch right now. And you probably can guess No. 1: location, location, location. But an interesting trend that may not be on your radar: mobile payments. —Matthew Royse, PR Daily

A new survey by the Oriella PR Network, a group of 15 PR agencies worldwide, found that 75 percent of journalists polled said that an e-mailed press release from a PR pro is useful if the content is “high quality and well targeted.” Nearly 16 percent of journalists find social media press releases useful, the study also noted. How do you pitch the media? (Read below to find out what Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is doing.) —PR Daily

Is your hospital falling behind with social media? We can help. Come to our second annual Health Care, Marketing, Internal Communications and PR Social Media Summit at Mayo Clinic. You’ll learn what social media can do for your hospital. Join us in Jacksonville, Fla., from Sept. 27-29, click here for details.

Patients have a lot to navigate when they enter a medical center, but thanks to Mercy Health System’s “MercyPulse” website, people can learn about Mercy’s social networking channels, all in one place. Mercy created this “one-stop” social media resource to help visitors to their website understand the different social media channels and to invite people to join them online for more conversation. Whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, a hospital blog, or RSS Feed invite, this medical center has made its social media more “social” for patients. What is your organization doing to help patients become fans of healthcare social networking? —Erin Macartney

The number of parents seeking e-mail or Internet communication with their child’s physician is growing. In a recent poll, 50 percent of parents say they would like electronic communication with their child’s physician, but only 15 percent of parents actually have that communication. “Electronic communication between parents and their children's healthcare providers offers a lot of potential benefits,” says Matthew Davis, M.D., director of the poll. This kind of communication can also serve as an asset to time management. “For administrative tasks that almost all parents need to complete, electronic communication can reduce wasted time and minimize frustration for both parents and office staff,” Davis says.—William Ruben

Some doctors are nervous about using Twitter. “Twitter is new technology,” Physicians Practice blog says. “Doctors don’t like new technology. In fact, not only do we ignore new ideas, we go out of our way to find faults and discount something new. We don’t embrace something new unless some other schmuck has endorsed it first. We are skeptics.” Yikes. How can your hospital help doctors see the benefits of social media?—William Ruben