It was the perfect storm of a social media event. A self-proclaimed new media journalist with sleeping problems was recruited by a PR agency to take part in what was billed as “the first ever social media sleep up” for Sleep Medicine Associates of Swedish Medical Center in Seattle. The journalist, Paul Balcerak, agreed to allow live video of him sleeping—yes, sleeping, during a sleep study—to be shown on the Web as doctors commented on what was happening and Swedish’s social media team tweeted about the event using #SleepUp as a hashtag. The result? Lots of buzz on Twitter and lots of media coverage. Read more here. –Tom Hughes
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
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
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
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
And we hope you are, too. HMC News will not publish on Labor Day. And if today’s version of the news seems a little abbreviated—that’s because, well…let’s just say our vacation starts now. See you back here on Wednesday, Sept. 8. Enjoy the holiday.
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
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