With hospital CIOs focused on a range of health IT issues, your social networking policy may be gathering dust. “It's low on their list," says a Gartner healthcare analyst in InformationWeek Healthcare. “Most hospital CIOs just ban social media sites from hospital websites. If only life were that simple. It isn't.” Social networking helps healthcare professionals and patients exchange information, assists doctors with research—and patients with similar conditions are engaging with each other online. How do you convince your exec that hospitals need to be using social media—and educate employees on the do's and don’ts in the digital age? –Erin Macartney
We know managing social media at your hospital is tricky. You don’t want to be caught misrepresenting your hospital’s specialties, breach patient confidentiality, or limit your business growth. But there are ways you can avoid major pitfalls. Here is a taboo we liked a lot: Lack of imagination. "This may be the worst sin of all,” says Biz Savvy Therapist. “We can send humans into space for months at a time, do all our banking securely online, and video chat with people on the other side of the world. I think we can find a way to make the technology of social media work for healthcare. Don’t you?” Exactly. What are some things you do to re-charge your creative juices?—William Ruben
Invitrogen Corp. in California is looking for a senior marketing communications specialist. This person will be responsible for providing guidance that allows executive management and businesses to communicate the Life Technologies story through media interactions. Thanks to @HlthcarePRjobs on Twitter for this alert.
Fox Chase Cancer Center’s "Love Versus Cancer" campaign was a big hit on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. In this webinar case study, you’ll learn how to create your own social initiative for your hospital. Sign up now: The webinar is tomorrow. Click here for more details.
Are your hospital employees new to social media? This post might help guide them. We liked this one: Keep professional and social relationships separate. “By dividing social and business lives, a healthcare professional can maintain a professional demeanor on one hand and socialize with friends and family on the other,” says Healthcare on Social Media News. “It is not appropriate to ‘friend’ patients on Facebook or to follow them on Twitter.” What do you think? —William Ruben
You'd better write a catchy headline for your hospital’s Twitter feed. Here’s why: On average, eight out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only two out of 10 will read the rest of the copy, according to digital marketing consultant Jeff Bullas. We live in a world of 140 characters or fewer, so headline writing is more important than ever. So how do you get people to click your Twitter links? Bullas provides numerous tips and resources to help you improve your headline writing skills. — Matthew Royse, PR Daily
If you're a savvy smartphone user, you’re probably already thinking about how to harness the power of mobile health–or mHealth–in your patient communications. From texting to apps, cell phones are a popular way to help people with health or fitness goals. "I call it medical minutes," says Dr. Richard Katz of George Washington University Hospital. The Associated Press reports that Dr. Katz and other researchers are now going a step further and scientifically testing whether personalized cell phone-based programs can link a patient’s care with their doctors' disease-management efforts to provide lasting health improvement. What do you think–do these newer mHealth technologies work long-term when it comes to patient communications and compliance?—Erin Macartney
Is your organization still focused on traditional one-way communications, such as print and radio advertising? Or have you started to embrace social media? Blogger Reed Smith argues that most healthcare marketers are still preoccupied with old-school ways of communicating. “We spend too much time worrying about Yellow Page advertising than looking at how to maximize our presence on Yelp.” We’re more focused on print and outdoor advertising than exploring new mobile apps or SMS texting campaigns, he writes. Healthcare marketers, do you agree with Smith’s assessment? Are we stuck in the past, or are we beginning to evolve with the times?—Melissa Tizon
SOCIAL MEDIA IS EXPLODING IN HEALTH CARE COMMUNICATIONS!
You know Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogging and other social media channels have changed forever how health care companies talk to patients, employees and stakeholders.
Don't miss The 2nd Annual Social Media Summit Health care public relations, marketing and internal communications September 27-29, 2010 • Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. REGISTER HERE
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