social media in health care feb 2011
DESCRIPTION
I presented this webinar for Ragan Communications on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2011 with colleagues Ryan Paul and Tripp Underwood. It covers how to use blogs, Facebook and Twitter to accomplish your health care communications and marketing goals.TRANSCRIPT
Today’s agenda• Overview (20 min)– Why social media? – From SEA to shining SEA– The three C’s of social media
• Blogging (15 min)• Facebook (15 min)• Twitter (10 min)• Q’s and A’s (15 min)
Why social media
• Our jobs have changed• Our tools have changed• Our audiences, their needs and expectations
have changed• Incredible opportunities to inform and engage,
all while building your organization’s brand
Social Media at Children’s• Blogs
– Thrive: pediatric health– Vector: science and innovation
• Facebook– 19 pages– Departments and programs such as Heart Center, Advanced
Fetal Care Center, Cleft Lip and Palate• Twitter
– 15 feeds– Some overlap of Facebook pages, but most are general
• SocialText– CHB about to launch internal collaboration software
Complete listing at chbos.org/socialmedia
Social Media:From SEA to shining SEA
SEA: Strategic
• Strategize: Let your goals be your guide– Reputation building? Volume building? Name
recognition? Thought leadership? Patient support?• Execute: Use the right tool for the specific goal• Assess: Was it successful?– If yes, evaluate what went well and replicate.– If not, that’s OK. Learn from successes and
failures.
SEA to SEA
SEA: Tactical• Share– Find great stories, personalities, voices, images, videos– Give yourself time to share the content you create
• Engage– Identify and connect with those most likely to be interested
in a topic or story – Share your content in as many ways as possible– Be personal—and not just when you need something– Return the favor
• Amplify– Use internal resources to spread the word– Then get help from others outside your organization
SEA to SEA
SEA: TacticalThe Three C’s of Social Media
Collaboration!Coordination!
Communication!
SEA to SEA
SEA: TacticalHuddle
• Encourages the three C’s• ½ hour EVERY DAY• Reps from social media, media, web, physician
and patient comm, etc• Can respond to news in real time…• Plan for the week ahead…• And look down the road in a strategic way
SEA to SEA
Huddles help you get your ducks in a row.
Blogging• Children’s has two blogs:– Thrive: Pediatric health, wellness and parenting– Vector: Science and innovation
• Benefits:– Two-way communication– Share timely, relevant news and info– Real-time feedback on content– Control messaging– SEO benefits– Brand building
Blogging
• Just do it—but be smart• Decide what your blog is—and isn’t• Don’t build it on your own: great, simple,
EXISTING blog platforms—use one• HIPAA disclaimer• Don’t be afraid to fail• Follow the data
Blogging• Different medium, same rules– Great stories, organizational benefit, separate yourself
from the pack• Let others do the talking– Doctors, nurses, patients, parents, employees– Find and cultivate strong voices– Make illness, recovery and challenge come to life
• If it’s a no-brainer, don’t waste your time– Fireworks safety on July 4th, tooth-brushing tips during
Dental Health Month
Children’s on Facebook
• Facebook.com/ChildrensHospitalBoston– 507,000 likes as of February 21, 2011– Largest hospital Facebook page in the world
• 19 total pages (more: chbos.org/socialmedia)
• Facebook is: Facebook isn’t:– Wall posts and comments — Websites– Photos —
Blogs– Custom tabs —
YouTube
Children’s on Facebook
• Great way to push out content• More interaction than blog comments• …but that doesn’t always relate to clicks• Even negative comments are a good thing• Our posts have been viewed over 88 million
times (equals $225,000 in ad savings)
Facebook as political engager
Connecting on Facebook
• Don’t use it only to push your content• Create something that will engage your
audience• 57% of our Facebook audience is women
between ages 18-44. What do moms like?• People on Facebook love to talk about
themselves. Give them the opportunity.
Connecting on Facebook
Children’s on Twitter
• 15 Twitter handles, all separately maintained• 11,500 total followers• @ChildrensBoston and @ThriveChildrens are
the most widely read and shared
See chbos.org/socialmedia for a full listing
Twitter 101
It’s all about who you know. Like Hollywoodor high school, the company you keep on Twitter says a lot about you. Connect and interact withreputable, likeminded groups and organizationsthat can help you spread your message—andyou theirs. When it comes to followers, qualityover quantity is key.
@Positives vs. @Negatives Benefits
• Real-time communication• Personal touch• Cheap and easy to maintain
Challenges• Unpredictable• Extremely limited window of opportunity• Twitter-verse is overpopulated; it can be difficult to
stand out
How to’s• Keep it relevant– Avoid tweets that don’t push conversation forward or
contain relevant, timely information – Share focused, interesting and current info – Makes your feed less likely to get lost in the din
• Share and share alike – Push your own content, but share the work of others
doing similar things – Promotes good will among likeminded organizations– Often leads to more re-Tweets of your content,
thereby extending your message and brand
Adding followers
• Clearly define and target a specific audience• Listen to what followers are saying. Adjust
editorial content to reflect trends and attitudes.
• Make sure content is always timely and relevant
• Share content outside of your organization
The last word• Let each tool do what it does best• Share the good stuff; make a plan for dealing
with the bad stuff• You can’t buy buy-in• Health care’s compelling, important, always
relevant—communicate that
Contact us
• Matt Cyr – Director, Patient and Family Communications@mattcyr or [email protected]
• Ryan Paul – Social Media Specialist@RYANdashPAUL or [email protected]
• Tripp Underwood – Writer/Blogger@ESUIII or [email protected]
Questions?