Hospital Impact

More than 1,200 hospitals have a social media presence, according to Ed Bennett, who keeps an ongoing list of hospitals engaging in social media. And while some hospitals, such as Mayo Clinic and Boston Children's Hospital, have used social media to build their brand and create thought leadership, nearly 3,800 of the nation's community hospitals still haven't staked their claim in social media. Why?

Some may be afraid of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violations, while others may not have the dedicated staff needed to "feed the beast" and regularly post meaningful content on Facebook and Twitter.

But take heart. There are some simple social media strategies hospitals can implement that won't raise your blood pressure.

Hospital social media: Less may be more

June 6th, 2012

In today's super-sized world, people seem to think that bigger is better. However, when it comes to healthcare marketing, less can be more. People today are multi-taskers, who have a hard time reading a blog, let alone "War and Peace." We're all looking for ways to get smarter faster, and do more with less.

Here are some things to think about:

You can have too much of a good thing--even Facebook pages: Everyone seems to love Facebook, so why shouldn't your hospital have seven or eight Facebook pages? After all, you can have one for each hospital in your system or each service line. While this may make sense at first, the danger is that you'll end up building the brand for the local hospital or the service line at the expense of the larger system. In addition, having multiple Facebook pages can make management unwieldy and result in static pages or the same information being posted on multiple pages.

Reclaim your healthcare social media voice

April 11th, 2012

As hospital marketing professionals, our job is to help our clients find the right words. Whether it's developing key messages, helping them tell their story or handling crisis situations, we've become masters of diplomacy and the sound bite. The challenge: We've gotten so good at helping others find their voice, we sometimes lose our own.

This can pose a problem, since our work increasingly requires us to engage in social media, which rewards those who speak their minds and make snarky comments. Nowhere is this more relevant than when it comes to writing a blog, which is all about creating thought leadership and having a unique point of view.

Should your hospital have an interest in Pinterest?

February 20th, 2012

by Nancy Cawley Jean

Yes, there's another social network that is all over the news. It's called Pinterest, and it seems you can't read a newspaper or scroll through your RSS feed without stumbling upon another post or article about this hot new network. Even the Wall Street Journal is covering it.

So what is Pinterest? It is described as a "virtual pinboard" that allows users to create bulletin boards by "pinning" images and videos they come across on the web, and categorize customized boards. Common themes for boards include "books I've read," "places I've traveled to" and "favorite recipes." Apparently, users have called it completely addictive. Its largest demographic is women.

Hospital marketers need to think like graphic designers

February 9th, 2012

A picture is worth a thousand words--especially when it comes to social media.

Hospital marketers have typically relied on words to create content and build brands. However, times have changed, and marketers need to think more like graphic designers and focus on images.

While it may seem like a drastic shift, it actually follows a basic tenet of good journalism: Don't tell me, show me. So it really shouldn't be surprising that the hottest social media trends today have a strong visual component. Let's consider four: Pinterest, Infographics, SlideShare and YouTube.