What is Social Media?(and why should we care?)

Social Media

• Social Media is the democratization of information, transforming people from content readers into publishers. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism, one-to-many, to a many-to-many model, rooted in conversations between authors, people, and peers.1

1. Solis, Brian. "Defining Social Media: 2006 - 2010." Brian Solis Defining the Convergence of Media and Influence. 7 Jan. 2010. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.briansolis.com/2010/01/defining-social-media-the-saga-continues/>.

Social Media

People trust peer reviews or personal interactions more than advertisements.

The old communication model is a monologue.

The new communication model is a dialogue.

vs

Why Do People Engage in Social Media?2

• Keep up friendships• Make new friends• Succumbing to social pressure from existing

friends• Paying it forward• Altruistic impulse• Prurient impulse• Creative impulse• Validation impulse• Affinity impulse

2. Li, Charlene, and Josh Bernoff. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Boston, MA: Harvard Business, 2008. Print.

Social Media• Social media is redefining virtually everything including how we:

– Work– Play– Learn– Share– Discover– Create– Complain– Celebrate– Mourn– Applaud– Influence– Collaborate– Investigate– Evaluate

Facebook

• 630 billion users in the world3

• Breakdown of users in the United States3:

3. Burbary, Ken. "Facebook Demographics Revisited – 2011 Statistics | Social Media Today." Social Media News, Strategy, Tools, and Techniques | Social Media Today. 7 Mar. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://socialmediatoday.com/kenburbary/276356/facebook-demographics-revisited-2011-statistics>.

Why should we care?

• Tapping into new demographic• Targeted marketing• Builds relationships• Information travels quickly• Cost-efficient4

• Eco-friendly4

• Drives more traffic to our website• Helps build loyalty to our hospital5

• Improved search rankings4

• Easier to listen to customer’s opinions5

4. "5 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing." Top Ranked Website. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://toprankedwebsite.com.au/5-benefits-of-social-media-marketing>.

5. Suto, Wendy. "Top 14 Benefits of Social Media Marketing." SiteProNews. 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.sitepronews.com/2011/02/13/top-14-benefits-of-social-media-marketing/>.

Objectives of Social Media6

• Listen– We will better understand our customers

• Talk– Spread messages about the hospital

• Energize– Supercharge our customers to increase “word of mouth”

• Support– We will have tools that our patients can help support each other

• Embrace– We will have an opportunity to integrate our customers on how

we conduct our business

6. Li, Charlene, and Josh Bernoff. Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Boston, MA: Harvard Business, 2008. Print.

Five Phases of Social Media Adoption (How We Will Do It)

• Observation7

– Research and observation to see what people are saying about our industry, our hospital, our competitors, and what social platforms they use

• Preparation7

– The hospital needs to decide the objectives, who will be involved, and what are the guidelines

• Participation7

– Have an employee create desired platforms (ex. YouTube channel, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)

• Integration7

– Use other departments such as HR, planning, and operations to help coordinate the effort across the hospital

• Adaptation– Over time, we will need to readjust our focus on certain initiatives and

platforms

7. Pick, Tom. "Social Media - The Four Essential Phases of Social Media Adoption."MarketingProfs: Marketing Resources for Marketing Professionals. 13 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011. <http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2011/4221/the-four-essential-phases-of-social-media-adoption>.

Recommendation

• Initially, the hospital should invest in a 0.5 FTE employee for social media purposes. This employee should be located in the marketing department.

• The marketing director will need to work with this employee in creating metrics for effectiveness (ROI).

• Administration will need to develop policies for social media for the hospital.