To blog or not to blog the hospital? That is today’s social media question.

One of the easiest ways for hospital and health system to take advantage of social media is blogging. Thousands of stories of quality care. There are the stories of dedicated and highly educated and trained professional employees.  There are physicians on the medical staff whose collective knowledge and practice of medicine tallies in the hundreds of years, with stories of quality, care and compassion to tell.  Volunteers coming in daily who have heartwarming stories of engagement and loyalty.  Consider the story lines of patients who would freely and willingly tell their stories of successful high quality care, engagement and treatment at the hospital or within the health system.

No additional resources needed for this effort. The communications talent in your marketing department is already in the building, ready to provide compelling content and context surrounding the hospital or health system.

Best of all you control the message.  The hospital or health system can link to the web site. Post to Facebook. Broadcast on twitter. Engage potential employees and followers on the hospital page on LinkedIn. And use the blog as a mechanism for establishing a strong media relations program to develop a press following.

And only 209 hospitals nationwide blog per the Mayo Clinic “Health Care Social Media List”?

I really don’t understand why, and please don’t site HIPAA.  There is nothing in blogging that requires the release of or identification of patient information. That is nothing but a smoke screen used to not engage in social media.

Let me pose to you this question.  How many times has the hospital or health system marketing staff, completed a Google search to see who is blogging and writing about the hospital or health system? Just because an organizations doesn't engage in an aspect of social media, doesn't mean that it’s not happening in the broader community.  Remember that the healthcare consumer is the new paparazzi.

But beyond that little exercise, blogging should be part of the structure of a strategic and fully integrated organizational marketing plan. It’s a method for communicating. It’s a method for building brand.  It’s a method of engaging not only the patient, but the newly minted health insured and the burgeoning healthcare consumer.  They are all out there searching for information, so why not provide them with the meaningful content?

Now that being said, this isn’t about fluff. Oh look at the new building. See our state-of-the-art cardiac cath lab.  Or the ever popular we have wireless internet and HD TVs!  This is about providing meaningful engagement content and using the blog inventively.

Since so few hospitals and heath systems blog, this is really a blue ocean strategy for reaching out and engaging. If a hospital or health system is the first in a market to blog, then the tone, tenor and terms of communication are established via content that has contextual clarity.   And that ladies and gentleman, makes everyone else in the market a me too.

 To blog or not to blog the hospital?  I think the question has been answered.

Where should a hospital start the social media effort?

I say start from the easiest and move progressively forward into more sophisticated social media platforms.  It would be easy to bite off more than one can chew in social media. After all, with the availability of more than you can imagine social media outlets, an organization could pick too many the first time out and fail at all of them.

The most important point, and I really cannot emphasis this enough, is that social media is not a mechanism for being a billboard for hospital programs and services. Social media is a platform and medium to engage the healthcare consumer in order to create a meaningful engagement dialogue. A dialogue that is transparent, meets the healthcare or patients needs, provides meaningful information and enhances the experience with the hospital or health system.

But let’s start about what not to do. That can actually be more important than doing.

Sometimes a story is the best way to learn.   There was a hospital that will remain nameless, that I was following on Facebook. It wasn’t the most engaging or enjoyable experience.  The hospital postings were all about them. Nothing about the value brought or even the reason why a healthcare consumer or patient for that matter would actively engage with the hospital. 

The crowning moment came one day when the hospital marketing department posted a picture of the marketing staff, standing behind a table full of marketing communications award trophies for various campaigns and activities. In the end all it did was loudly proclaim as well as the content provided, look at us. It’s all about us.

Really? And the point of that Facebook post was? I hate to tell you this but the healthcare consumer doesn't care.  

So please, when you start the social media program to engage the healthcare consumer, try to control the organizational impulses of leadership who have little understanding of social media  and marketing.  Things like this only devalue the brand and make an organization look foolish.

Now it’s time for what to do.

These five steps taken sequentially can get the hospital started in social media. As experience and expertise builds you can expand.

1.       Understand organizationally that social media is alive. It is not static and unchanging. Social media platforms change and evolve on a constant basis. This means the organization has to monitor to see what people and competitors are talking about and sharing. Build internal support and educate the entire healthcare organization.
2.      Do the market research. If you don’t know what social media platforms the healthcare consumer and patients are engaging in, then how can you decide what social media platforms to choose? Oh, and because one may engage in social media, that is a meaningless experience to use as a basis for program decision making. Know the audience. Know the markets. Know what information the healthcare consumer is searching out. Know what social media platforms they use to gather information and engage. Secondary research may give one clues in how to proceed with primary market research in the hospital service area, but these are guides only. 
3.      Build a social media plan that is integrated into the overall marketing plan and strategy of the hospital or health system. Include in your plan, goals and objectives, key messages, engagement strategies. How it will be measured and evaluated and who is responsible for executing the plan. What gets measured gets done. Obtain executive by-in. If leadership does not support the plan or is not engaged in the effort, stop now and go find something else to do.
4.            Don’t boil the ocean. An organization has to build capacity, experience and expertise in social media.  Start with one platform. Be the best you can be on that social media platform and then expand and add capacity. Learn what the healthcare consumer likes and doesn't like. Test messages. Test engagement strategies.  Fail fast and become the learning organization and not repeating the same mistakes.
5.           Engage and build a meaningful relationship with the healthcare consumer. Stay away from meaningless fluff and anything that looks like it’s all about the organization. And listen. Listen very carefully to what is being said in social media and responds accordingly.

Okay, time to get started. The market is changing and the hospital is being left behind.

Is social media in hospitals easy?

Last week I wrote about what don’t hospitals  get  about social media. This week’s topic, is social media in a hospital or health system easy,  is about some ideas to re-energize and move forward with a social media program.

In hospitals and health systems, it really comes down to three questions to be answered. First, is there an organizational understanding  standing of the power of social media to engage the healthcare consumer and patients and its place in the annual marketing plan? Secondly, do you have the marketing  talent  to construct, execute  and evaluate the effort? Finally, can marketing resources - capital and human, be allocated to the social media program?

I am not going to debate whether or not a hospital or health system should or should not have a social media program.  That train left the station a long time ago and its catch up time for healthcare organizations.  But, if you can’t answer all three question positively, then you have some basic ground work to do before you move forward.

In the new world of healthcare where price, quality and a newly insured healthcare consumer paying more out-of-pocket costs for healthcare, social media represents an opportunity that can be used advantageously  to meet healthcare consumer’s and patient’s for that matter, demands for better direct engagement and experience.

Social media is an opportunity for establishing a one-on-one relationship with the patient, aka the healthcare consumer, directed by the healthcare organization that breaks from the pack, by creating an  experience that is memorable and can exceed an individual or families experience and expectations.

When you have constrained marketing resources, and you have to have a continuous presence in the market place to shift healthcare consumer’s attitudes, preferences and choices, a social media strategy that is fully integrated into the marketing plan and the healthcare organizations can achieve that end for you.

Follow these steps and you're on your way to developing and implementing  a strategically-focused, comprehensive and fully integrated, organizationally transparent social media strategy:

1. Strategy first, tactics second. Any old road will get you to where you want to go without a clear identifiable strategy. This is no different than a traditional marketing approach. Integrate the tools and techniques of social media  into your overall marketing efforts.

2.  Be clear about  your messages and what value using these tools will bring to your healthcare consumers.  The purpose is to engage in a dialogue not shout at them.  You have to understand what type of information and content your consumers want.  Without that knowledge you can say whatever you want, but chances are no one will be reading, responding or listening.

3. Take an integrated approach.  What goes on your web site is also on facebook and used in twitter to drive traffic to you.  Twitter is a great way to send out links for health related articles or news and information.   Have a video? Post it on YouTube. Writing a healthcare blog? You should be if you're not. Make sure twitter, facebook, YouTube, flicker etc follow you buttons are on your site. Running  Back-to- School, Sports or Camp physicals? Put it on twitter, facebook and even those coupon sites like Groupon. Holding a health and wellness event, ditto.

4. Use QR codes with your web site or specific page links or phone number embedded  in them to drive them to your site, call center or service line. Through the use of QR codes you can make your print and traditional activities social in nature.

5. Remember at all times your are building brand, perception and experience. This just isn't nice to have, people will remember what you say and do.  Be right the first time.

6.  Devote resources, budget, time and personnel for the task.  Your challenge is to keep in front of your audience with relevant information, all the time.  Attention spans are short.  If someone sees no changes on a pretty regular basis in your content or information, they will fall away.

7. Measure everything.  Evaluate.  Adjust based on your findings.

8. Be creative, don't limit yourself to the tried and true or what a competitor is doing. Be an innovator.

9. Use social media with your physicians and employees to communicate, build organizational support and loyalty.

10. Build excitement around what you are doing.

The budding  healthcare consumer and patient of today is social media savvy and networked to the nth degree.  They expect the same of you.

Is healthcare ready for native advertising?

The other day while trolling around the internet in the world of healthcare, I came across an interesting social media infographic: 41 percent of patients say social media affects hospital choice courtesy of healthcarecommunicatons.com.  I thought that factoid was pretty interesting.  Then I started thinking about the connection of this factoid to native advertising.

If you not familiar with the term “native advertising”, the simplest way to explain the concept is that it’s online advertising that seeks to gain attention by providing content in the context of the social media or online user’s experience. Native advertisement fits the form and function of the user’s experience in which it is placed.

Now given that 41 percent of people are using social media to choose a hospital and that number will grow over time, native advertising offers healthcare providers a large target audience rich environment to reach with relevant brand content woven into the context of the user experience. I am assuming of course in this statement that social media utilization by healthcare marketers is becoming more diversified, creative, and contextually appropriate to their brand.

That assumption may be debatable, but if a healthcare provider is ignoring social media and using the medium solely as a billboard for the warm fuzzy quality and we’re the best messaging when the market is evolving to a semi-retail model based on price and quality, well, they are missing an opportunity to build brand and revenue.

But I digress. So what does native adverting look like? Let’s start with what it is not.

Native advertising is not advertorial advertising. It is not an ad box. It is not automated.

Now let’s look at what native advertising is. Native advertising integrates high quality content in the user experience. It is delivered in stream and does not interrupt the user experience but adds to that experience. It is selective, remaining true to the brand in the context of the user experience.

If you are looking for examples of native adverting take a look at Facebook, The Washington Post, and the NY Times.  Oh and I would suggest that you hire an agency. Native advertising is not easy and is the next big wave in 2014 to come crashing down on under-resourced healthcare provider marketing departments.

You will need to do the market research to understand the social media habits of the particular healthcare audience segment in your marketing plan. One will need to segment the social media native advertising efforts because one size does not fit all. The content that is developed may fit in and work well on Facebook, but not on Google+ or LinkedIn as an example.

It should be remembered that native advertising should be used in an integrated fashion within the marketing mix of the organizational efforts with direct mail, trade shows, programs, thought leadership, advertisements, public relations etc.

Native advertising offers the healthcare provider the opportunity to standout within the context of the use experience.  And when so much time and attention is given to the healthcare consumers experience, shouldn’t that be extended to the advertising experience as well?

I leave it up to you to decide if healthcare provider's are ready for native advertising.

Are you using social media marketing for an exceptional healthcare experience?

In the new world of healthcare where price, quality and a newly insured healthcare consumer is paying more out-of-pocket costs for healthcare, social media marketing represents an opportunity that can be used advantageously to meet healthcare consumers demands for a better experience.

Social media represents a great opportunity for establishing a one-on-one relationship with the patient, aka the healthcare consumer, directed by the healthcare organization that breaks from the pack, by creating a social media healthcare experience that is memorable, exceeding an individual or families experience and expectations.

Most healthcare organizations are still stumbling with using social media and the online experience to drive differentiation, meaningful information and experience. Think of this in terms of a channel of communications and engagement that meets the healthcare consumer on their terms but with your messaging.

In any case, when you look at your social media strategy and presence, does your social media experience:

Ø  Delight your customer?

Ø  Create sustainable differentiation?

Ø  Is adaptable to new opportunities?

Ø  Leverages your investment?

Ø  Deliver in every situation?

Ø  Connect with the newly insured?

Ø  Does it engage the healthcare consumer?

Ø  Provide answers or guidance looking for solutions to medical challenges?

Ø  Define experience, outcomes, price and value?

Or, is it just pushing out information that is that you have deemed valuable to you, but carries no relevant meaning for the healthcare consumer?  

This is the lens of criticality needed to objectively evaluate efforts.  If it's not doing these things, then chances are nil in delivering an exceptional social media experience. But for that matter, neither are your competitors. 

Make your social media presence not just "good enough" but exceptional.

On another note, my apologies for missing a post last week. I was out of town with my wife and daughter last weekend. Alex is a left-handed pitcher on a 16U a fastpitch softball college exposure team and we were in Des Moines, Iowa for the ASA 16U A Heartland Showcase Series College Exposure Tournament.   Saturday was playing for college coaches and scouts. Sunday was a single elimination tournament.  There were  27,16U A teams playing. We made it to the final four and a three way tie for 1^st place because the final games were canceled due to rain. It was a good time.

Michael J. Krivich, MHA, FACHE, PCM, is an internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger with over 5,000 monthly pages views read in over 52 countries worldwide on Healthcare Marketing Matters. These views are my own. He is founder of the michael J group, a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executivesand a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association.  Like us on facebook at the michael J group, and connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Can earned media, public relations and social media drive healthcare marketing strategy?

Given the extraordinary competing needs in healthcare organizations to meet the new reality of the healthcare market place from EMRs to employed physician, too new treatment and diagnostic modalities and declining reimbursements, marketing gets the short straw most of the time in those resource allocation decisions.  And that is a dangerous position to be in when a market is evolving to a semi-retail, consumer-centric model.

But when you have constrained marketing resources, and you have to have a continuous presence in the market place to shift healthcare consumer’s attitudes, preferences and choices, the triple combination of earned media, public relations and social media working in a strategic, integrated fashion can achieve that end for you.

Make no mistake about it, combining social media, public relations and earned media is hard. It is much more than a press release or an event. You have to develop relationships with reporters. You have to plant and cultivate story ideas. You have to respond to reporters request for more information. It takes time. It takes patience in a period of time where all we ask on a daily basis is, "What did you do for me today?"

You need to find ways for reporters and editors to follow your tweets. They have to be exposed to your blog or your company pages on LinkedIn, YouTube or facebook. That’s the value in earned media and public relations by integrating those efforts with social media. It becomes your ability to establish a powerful continuous presence by expending human resources with the talent in your marketing operation not financial. And the payoff by combining the three in an integrated strategic fashion can be huge.

Earned media and public relations driving social media have value.

All that content that goes online comes from somewhere and has to go somewhere.  A reporter has to write it.  A network broadcaster has to cover it. Columnists look for it.  It goes out on facebook, web sites, YouTube, twitter and electronic / print editions of magazines, daily newspapers and specialty publications.

Earned media and public relations can become viral in social media because it has so many different outlets.  When a news outlet or publication carries your brand messages, it makes what you are doing seem more believable.  Once the story runs about a topic and you're the first, it's much harder for your competitors to get out there with the same message.  A powerful way to differentiate yourself which also has a considerable number of aftermarket uses.

There is a bigger payoff too.

Every organization will experience a communications crisis. Taking the time to develop positive relationships with reporters, blog writers, broadcast media and others has a big payoff in a media driven crisis. The development and cultivation of a relationship with media doesn't mean that the story won't run. But what it can mean is the difference between a story that is balanced and fairly reported, versus a story that is one-sided against you.  As we all know, negative news about travels farther and faster than positive news, which does more harm than good over the long haul.

So, maybe it's time to rethink in an era of declining healthcare marketing resources traditional marketing activities, to changing your markets with earned media, public relations and social media?

Michael J. Krivich, MHA, FACHE, PCM, is an internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger with over 5,000 monthly pages views read in over 52 countries worldwide on Healthcare Marketing Matters. These views are my own. He is founder of the michael J group, a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association.  Like us on facebook at the michael J group, and connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pheed

Can social media assist in driving change in negative healthcare perceptions?

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question?  Faced with a dizzying array of possibilities from twitter to facebook to YouTube,  LinkedIn, Instagram  and others, healthcare providers are struggling with developing a comprehensive social media strategy to manage their brand, become transparent and contain a communications crisis.

Understandable really.   Some of the concern comes from not understanding the power and uses of social media and how consumers are the new paparazzi.  Some comes from trying to figure out how a social media strategy fits into the overall marketing plan. Some is purely from executive ignorance in not understanding the place and uses of social media in the life of the healthcare consumer.

In many cases its all of the above and others, including and by far the most pervasive, the never ending paralysis by analysis planning loop and engaging in that quest for the perfect best practice before proceeding.

It's not just a facebook page, LinkedIn, blogging, web site or twitter.

This is an opportunity to experiment, to deliver new content, new key messages with non-traditional methods to reach out too, and engage in a meaningful way the networked healthcare consumer.  An opportunity to engage in a dialogue which the  patient/healthcare consumer desires to have  more than you can imagine.

Follow these steps and you're on your way to developing and implementing  a strategically-focused, comprehensive and fully integrated and organizationally transparent social media strategy:

 1. Strategy first, tactics second. Any old road will get you to where you want to go without a clear identifiable strategy. This is no different than a traditional marketing approach. Integrate the tools and techniques of social media  into your overall marketing efforts.

2.  Be clear about  your messages and what value using these tools will bring to your healthcare consumers.  The purpose is to engage in a dialogue not shout at them.  You have to understand what type of information and content your consumers want.  Without that knowledge you can say whatever you want, but chances are no one will be reading, responding or listening.

3. Take an integrated approach.  What goes on your web site is also on facebook and used in twitter to drive traffic to you.  Twitter is a great way to send out links for health related articles or news and information.   Have a video? Post it on YouTube. Writing a healthcare blog?

4. Use QR codes with your web site or specific page links or phone number embedded  in them to drive them to your site, call center or service line. Through the use of QR codes you can make your print and traditional activities social in nature.

5. Remember at all times your are building brand, perception and experience. This just isn't nice to have, people will remember what you say and do.  Be right the first time.

6.  Devote resources, budget, time and personnel for the task.  Your challenge is to keep in front of your audience with relevant information, all the time.  Attention spans are short.  If someone sees no changes on a pretty regular basis in your content or information, they will fall away.

7. Measure everything.  Evaluate.  Adjust based on your findings.

8. Be creative, don't limit yourself to the tried and true or what a competitor  is doing. Be an innovator.

9. Use social media with your physicians and employees to communicate, build organizational support and loyalty.

10. Build excitement around what you are doing.

 The budding  healthcare consumer of today evolving a provider-dominated healthcare system to consumer –centric is media savvy and networked to the nth degree.  They expect the same of you.

are marketing, social media, facebook, twitter, YouTube, brand

Michael J. Krivich, MHA, FACHE, PCM, is an internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger with over 5,000 monthly pages views read in over 52 countries worldwide on Healthcare Marketing Matters. These views are my own. He is founder of the michael J group, a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association.  Like us on  facebook at the michael J group, and connect with me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pheed

Do you have a vibrant & strategic healthcare social media strategy?

As I look across the hospital and health system landscape, one thing that has struck me for the most part, is that little attention is paid to social media outside of using it as a billboard for various programs and announcements. Doesn't matter whether or not if it's a clinical service or wellness program to heralding quality awards, its static. There seems to be a lack of creativity and engagement that one would think is the hallmark of a vibrant healthcare consumer engagement strategy on a social media platform.

But then, maybe that is the problem and the solution? That there is no vibrant social media strategy to engage the healthcare consumer, so it just becomes another marketing channel to yell at someone about how you provide " world-class" care.

Okay, that's a little synclinal, but healthcare is evolving in ways we didn't imagine which includes how networked the healthcare consumer is today. Yet we continue to reach out to that networked healthcare consumer with social media like its nothing more than an advertising platform.

Here are 10 steps you can take and turn a moribund social media effort into a strategic social media engagement:

1) Engage the healthcare consumer with the CEO and medical leadership. No more hiding in the background to come out when there is good news an or an award. Leadership guided by marketing, should be out in front in social media. If you're a for-profit, that means paying particular attention to SEC regulations about what you can and cannot say, but it's not impossible.

2) Encourage the healthcare consumer to interact with you. Social media is about active engagement not passivity or reactive yelling at someone. The consumer won't react with you as long as your efforts are perceived as nothing more than an ad billboard.

3) Integrate your blog, website, LinkedIn, twitter, facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Pintrest and other social mediums. Understand where your healthcare consumer goes and be there. If you're not there then create a presence.

4) Sorry Mr. CFO, the game has changed. Hire somebody full -time. This is not a part-time effort or strategy. You can't just give this to someone on top of all that they are accomplishing. Devote resources, budget, time and personnel for the task. Your challenge is to keep in front of your audience with relevant information, all the time.

5) Be clear about your messages and what value using these tools will bring to your healthcare consumers. The purpose is to engage in a dialogue not shout at them. You have to understand what type of information and content your consumers want. Without that knowledge you can say whatever you want, but chances are no one will be reading, responding or listening.

6) Remember at all times your are building brand, perception and experience. This just isn't nice to have, people will remember what you say and do. Be right the first time.

7) Measure everything. Evaluate. Adjust based on your findings.

8) Be creative, don't limit yourself to the tried and true or what a competitor is doing. Be an innovator.

9) Use social media with your physicians and employees to communicate, build organizational support and loyalty.

10) Have fun with it and build excitement around what you are doing. Nobody like dry, boring or stuffy. Social media is interactive and has a tone all of its own. What's your tone? Set it or someone else will set it for you.

The patient and healthcare consumer of today are social media savvy and networked to the nth degree. They expect the same of you.

Michael Krivich is an internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger with over 5,000 monthly pages views in over 52 countries worldwide on Healthcare Marketing Matters. He is founder of the michael J group, a healthcare marketing consultancy dedicated to creating value through strategic marketing for hospitals and health system regardless of payment mechanism, either fee-for-service or value-based to increase market-share, revenue , brand and demonstrate actual return on marketing investment. Michael is a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association. Like us on facebook at the michael J group.

How do you market to the networked patient?

Now that more healthcare information general and personal is available today than at any previous time, and healthcare reform is only going to accelerate the information exchange including outcomes transparency, how can you market and leverage in a comprehensive fashion, all that information and change?

What do you think the networked patient is saying about you in social media circles, after CMS announced the penalties for 2013 because of your high readmission rates and you greeted that with silence?

Welcome to the age of the networked patient.

The networked patient is someone who has an intense curiosity about their health condition, expects to have an active role in making healthcare decisions and this is most important, they want control of their health information.

They actively use the internet, social media , blogs, web site, apps and seek out others. They read and study about their health condition. They ask questions and will seek out alternatives. The look at providers from a quality standpoint and make judgments based on outcomes information. They want an answer to their own needs. The patient is asking what is their ROI by using you?

There are some key to keep in mind when starting to market to the networked patient:.

• Your brand, your brand promise and messaging is all important;

• Quality data transparency, reporting and patient access to that information is everything;

• Access to their own health information 24/7 is a deal breaker if not provided;

• Talk about the patient experience and outcomes;

• Don't insult this patient with messaging that is all fluff, about us or is just plain condescending;

• All communication needs to be personalized talking to the patient not at them;

• Use all available communication channels- Iphone apps,, email, social media, web site blue button, email, etc.

Be creative, this is uncharted territory so limits are nonexistent and don't place any on yourself. Stop saying, why we can't do something, start saying how we can. This is a major change in the way healthcare is administered and delivered in the U.S.

Providers need to recognizing that the age of the healthcare consumer is upon us.

I would to say thank you to my followers and readers of Healthcare Marketing Matters (HMM). HMM is now consistently over 5,000 page views a month and read in 52 countries. The heat map is from blogger stats and shows the countries where the majority of readers reside. I guess in the end, healthcare. healthcare marketing and the issues we all face are pretty much the same.

Michael Krivich is an internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger with over 5,000 monthly pages views in over 52 countries worldwide. He is founder of the michael J group, a healthcare marketing consultancy dedicated to creating value through strategic marketing for hospitals and health system regardless of payment mechanism, either fee-for-service or value-based to increase market-share, revenue , brand and demonstrate actual return on marketing investment. Michael is a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association. Follow us on facebook at the michael J group.

Are you using social media to engage the healthcare consumer/patient?

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question? Faced with a dizzying array of possibilities from twitter to facebook to YouTube, LinkedIn, flicker and others, healthcare providers are struggling with developing a comprehensive social media strategy to engage their customers.

Understandable really. Some of the concern comes from not understanding the power and uses of social media and how consumers are the new paparazzi. Some comes from trying to figure out how a social media strategy fits into the overall marketing plan. Some is purely from executive ignorance in not understanding the place and uses of social media in the life of the healthcare consumer.

In many cases its all of the above and others, including and by far the most pervasive, the never ending paralysis by analysis planning loop and engaging in that quest for the perfect best practice before proceeding.

It's not just a facebook page, LinkedIn, blogging, web site or twitter.

This is an opportunity to experiment, to deliver new content, new key messages with non-traditional methods to reach out too and engage in a meaningful way the networked healthcare consumer. An opportunity to engage in dialogue, a dialogue which the patient/healthcare consumer desires to have more than you can imagine.

Follow these steps and you're on your way to developing and implementing a strategically-focused, comprehensive and fully integrated social media strategy:

1. Strategy first, tactics second. Any old road will get you to where you want to go without a clear identifiable strategy. This is no different than a traditional marketing approach. Integrate the tools and techniques of social media into your overall marketing efforts.

2. Be clear about your messages and what value using these tools will bring to your healthcare consumers. The purpose is to engage in a dialogue not shout at them. You have to understand what type of information and content your consumers want. Without that knowledge you can say whatever you want, but chances are no one will be reading, responding or listening.

3. Take an integrated approach. What goes on your web site is also on facebook and used in twitter to drive traffic to you. Twitter is a great way to send out links for health related articles or news and information. Have a video? Post it on YouTube. Writing a healthcare blog? You should be if you're not. Make sure twitter, facebook, YouTube, flicker etc follow you buttons are on your site. Running Back-to- School, Sports or Camp physicals? Put it on twitter, facebook and even those coupon sites like Groupon. Holding a health and wellness event, ditto.

4. Use QR codes with your web site or specific page links or phone number embedded in them to drive them to your site, call center or service line. Through the use of QR codes you can make your print and traditional activities social in nature.

5. Remember at all times your are building brand, perception and experience. This just isn't nice to have, people will remember what you say and do. Be right the first time.

6. Devote resources, budget, time and personnel for the task. Your challenge is to keep in front of your audience with relevant information, all the time. Attention spans are short. If someone sees no changes on a pretty regular basis in your content or information, they will fall away.

7. Measure everything. Evaluate. Adjust based on your findings.

8. Be creative, don't limit yourself to the tried and true or what a competitor is doing. Be an innovator.

9. Use social media with your physicians and employees to communicate, build organizational support and loyalty.

10. Build excitement around what you are doing.

The patient and healthcare consumer of today social media savvy and networked to the nth degree. They expect the same of you.

Michael Krivich is an internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger with over 4,000 monthly pages views in over 52 countries worldwide. He is founder of the michael J group, a healthcare marketing consultancy dedicated to creating value through strategic marketing for hospitals and health system regardless of payment mechanism, either fee-for-service or value-based to increase market-share, revenue , brand and demonstrate actual return on marketing investment. Michael is a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association.

Are you using social media, online marketing for an exceptional healthcare experience?

In the new world of healthcare where price, quality and a consumer paying more out-of-pocket costs for healthcare, social media and online marketing represents an opportunity that can be used advantageously to meet healthcare consumers demands for a better experience.

Social and online represents a great opportunity for patient/consumer/business directed healthcare organizations to break from the pack, by creating a social/online healthcare experience that is memorable, exceeding an individual, business or families experience and expectations.

Most healthcare organizations are still stumbling with using social media and the online experience to drive differentiation, meaningful information and experience.

In any case, when you look at your social media strategy and online presence, does it:

• Delight your customer?
• Create sustainable differentiation?
• Is adaptable to new opportunities?
• Leverages your investment?
• Deliver in every situation?

Or, is it just pushing out information that is that you have deemed valuable to you, but carries no meaning for the information seeking consumer, or business? Does it meet the needs of those looking for solutions to challenges? Do you focus on features and benefits, not solutions or value?

This is the lens that you need to look through to objectively evaluate your efforts. If it's not doing these things, then chances are you are not delivering an exceptional social or online experience. But for that matter, neither are your competitors.

In the world of healthcare which is too much "me too", the social and online healthcare experience is pretty boring.

Make your social and online presence not just "good enough" but exceptional.

  

Michael Krivich is an internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger with over 4,000 monthly pages views in over 52 countries worldwide. He is founder of the michael J group, a healthcare marketing consultancy dedicated to creating value through strategic marketing for hospitals and health system regardless of payment mechanism, either fee-for-service or value-based to increase market-share, revenue , brand and demonstrate actual return on marketing investment. Michael is a Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association.

Crafting a Social Media Strategy to Engage the Healthcare Consumer

To tweet or not to tweet, that is the question?

Faced with a dizzying array of possibilities from twitter to facebook to YouTube, LinkedIn, flicker and others, healthcare providers are struggling with developing a comprehensive social media strategy to engage their customers.

Understandable really. Some of the concern comes from not understanding the power and uses of social media and how consumers are the new paparazzi. Some comes from trying to figure out how a social media strategy fits into the overall marketing plan. Some is purely from executive ignorance in not understanding the place and uses of social media in the life of the healthcare consumer.

In many cases its all of the above and others, including and by far the most pervasive, the never ending paralysis by analysis planning loop and engaging in that quest for the perfect best practice before proceeding.

In these situations it is about internal marketing leadership.


As the marketing expert in your organization, you need to step forward and educate what social media is, how to use it and its advantages to the organization.

It's not just a facebook page, LinkedIn, blog, web site or twitter.

This is an opportunity to experiment, to deliver new content, new key messages with non-traditional methods to reach out too and engage in a meaningful way the healthcare consumer. An opportunity to engage in dialogue, a dialogue which the healthcare consumer desires to have more than you can imagine.

Follow these steps and you're on your way to developing and implementing a strategically-focused, comprehensive and fully integrated social media strategy:

1. Strategy first, tactics second. Any old road will get you to where you want to go without a clear identifiable strategy. This is no different than a traditional marketing approach. Integrate the tools and techniques of social media into your overall marketing efforts.

2. Be clear about your messages and what value using these tools will bring to your healthcare consumers. The purpose is to engage in a dialogue not shout at them. You have to understand what type of information and content your consumers want. Without that knowledge you can say whatever you want, but chances are no one will be reading, responding or listening.

3. Take an integrated approach. What goes on your web site is also on facebook and used in twitter to drive traffic to you. Twitter is a great way to send out links for health related articles or news and information. Have a video? Post it on YouTube. Writing a healthcare blog? You should be if you're not. Make sure twitter, facebook, YouTube, flicker etc., follow you buttons are on your site. Running Back-to- School, Sports or Camp physicals? Put it on twitter, facebook and even those coupon sites like Groupon. Holding a health and wellness event, ditto.

4. Use QR codes with your web site or specific page links or phone number embedded in them to drive them to your site, call center or service line. Through the use of QR codes you can make your print and traditional activities social in nature.

5. Remember at all times your are building brand, perception and experience. This just isn't nice to have, people will remember what you say and do. Be right the first time.

6. Devote resources, budget, time and personnel for the task. This is not a part-time job. It requires a full time position to manage the channels, content and distribution. Your challenge is to keep in front of your healthcare consumers with relevant information, all the time. Attention spans are short. If someone sees no changes on a pretty regular basis in your content or information, they will fall away.

7. Measure everything. Evaluate. Adjust based on your findings.

8. Be creative, don't limit yourself to the tried and true or what a competitor is doing. Be an innovator.

9. Use social media with your physicians and employees to communicate, build organizational support and loyalty.

10. Build excitement around what you are doing, then start all over and begin again.

Jump right in the waters fine!

You can continue the conversation with me on:
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/krivich0707
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mkrivich

Michael Krivich is a senior healthcare marketing executive and internationally followed healthcare marketing blogger read daily in over 36 countries around the world. A Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives as well as a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association, he can be reached at michael@themichaeljgroup.com or 815-293-1471. Areas of expertise include: brand management; strategic marketing; sales and marketing integration; physician marketing; product launch; start-up launch and revenue growth; tactical market planning; customer experience management; rebuilding and revitalizing marketing operations; media relations; and service line revitalizations. Mike is Huthwaite SPIN selling trained and a Miller Heiman Strategic Selling alumni.

Marketing to the Networked Patient

Healthcare is changing at a far more rapid pace that at any time in its history. I am not referring to the pharmaceutical or technological advances which have no doubt improved the quality of care and in most cases, the quality of life as well.

Since 1983 with the introduction of DRGs, we as an industry have been touting the benefits of wellness, individual responsibility in health and the patient taking an active role in their healthcare. Much has changed since that time and much has remained the same. But now, the game has really changed.

Welcome to the age of the networked patient.

The networked patient is someone who has an intense curiosity about their health condition, expects to have an active role in making healthcare decisions and this is most important, they want control of their health information. They use in internet, social media and seek out others. They read and study about their health condition. They ask questions and will seek out alternatives. The look at providers from a quality standpoint and make judgments based on that information. They want an answer to their own needs.

The patient is asking what is their ROI by using you?

The days are quickly passing by where we can assume that we are still in control of the overall care and treatment process and information without much questioning or interaction by a patient. And you know what, that is not a bad thing.

Marketing to the networked patient

There are some key to keep in mind when starting to market to the networked patient:.

Your brand, your brand promise and messaging is all important;

Quality data transparency, reporting and patient access to same is everything;

 Access to their own health information 24/7 is a deal breaker if not provided;

Talk about the patient experience and outcomes;

Don't insult this patient with messaging that is all fluff, about us or is just plain condescending;

All communication needs to be personalized talking to the patient not at them;

Use all available communication channels- Iphone apps, email, social media, web site blue button, direct mail, etc.

Be creative, this is uncharted territory so limits are nonexistent and don't place any on yourself. Stop saying, why we can't do something, start saying how we can. This is a major change in the way healthcare is administered and delivered in the U.S. Providers need to recognizing that the age of the healthcare consumer is upon us. Failure to do so will be at your own peril.

You can continue the conversation with me on:

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/krivich0707
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mkrivich

Michael Krivich is Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association and can be reached at michael@themichaeljgroup.com or 815-293-1471 for consulting services in strategic marketing, integration of sales and marketing, media relations and interim marketing executive leadership assignments. Huthwaite SPIN selling trained and a Miller Heiman Strategic Selling alumni, both highly respected and successful international sales training organizations , I can lead your organization though the challenge of integrating sales and marketing.

How Can You Use Social Media in Your Healthcare Marketing Efforts?

A lot is being written about using social media in healthcare marketing. Most, if not all, pertains to driving patient volume and revenue. Though I am a heavy user of social media though facebook, twitter, LinkedIn and blogging, I really wonder if social media will ever drive volume and revenue? It may impact indirectly long term volume and revenue growth, but as of now, the jury is out.


My guess is that it won't short-term, but it can be used to build your brand effectively, raise awareness and provide you with a no-cost, low-cost way to maintain a continuous presence in your market. After all, presence builds preference, and too much of healthcare marketing is a one shot, one or two communication channels effort that is limited in exposure and audience reach due to lack of funding and sustainability.

So, if we assume the premise is correct that volume and revenue growth in the short term will not occur due to the impact of social media, that what should you do?

Well, you need to be in social media. It is a growing and important communication channel that allows you to control the brand message and connect with savvy consumers.

Consider these ideas:

Commit to a written plan and strategy for using social media. Resist the temptation to say we need to do this without making sure the strategy is part of your overall marketing effort, and the tactic makes sense for you with a clear understanding of what you want to do.

Use social media as a method for gathering competitive intelligence about your major competition. You can learn a lot by what that they are writing and talking about.

Make sure everything links back to your web page. Use email marketing to build sign-ups.

Measure the effectiveness of everything you do. Use that data to understand what your audience wants and give them more. Once that is established, begin introducing new ideas, concepts, services etc.

Keep the content current and interactive. Use twitter to broadcast changes to your web site, news articles, interviews, wellness programs, specials, doctor interviews, health and wellness tips.etc. Link with your facebook, LinkedIn and blog so that notifications are always automatic and posted to those sites. Video needs YouTube exposure. Always make sure you have a call to action- request more info, register for a program, make a doc appointment.

Be creative. There is so much health information out there published on a daily basis that this can be used to position you as the local "go-to" source for news and information.

Daily activity as opposed to once in a while. Make it a part of someones ongoing responsibility to do this daily. People lose interest if you're not changing, updating, educating, informing building your brand daily. No one follows an organization that is not current and relevant to the times. Make your brand strong.

This is all about brand building, your brand promise and value. Use social media to promote your brand marketing campaigns and public relations.

Your cost for doing all this is limited to the staff time involved. Now, if you so choose to outsource that a different matter and you need to budget for same.

Use social media to leverage everything you do.

Good luck and happy socializing!

News

I would like to share some exciting news. Healthcare Marketing Matters has gone international and page views are increasing at a regular rate. The blog is now read in the United States and then (in alphabetical order) Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, India, Latvia, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia and Sweden.

Thank You

My twitter following continues to grow as well. Several hospitals in Florida are now following me and I am grateful. The hospitals are: HCA East Florida; Palms W Hospital; St. Lucie Medical Center; Central Florida Regional; Kendall Regional Medical Center; HCA St. Pete General; Northwest Medical; HCA West Florida; and Ed White Hospital.

Michael Krivich is Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives and a Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing Association and can be reached at michael@themichaeljgroup.com or 815-293-1471 for consulting services in strategic marketing, media relations and interim marketing executive leadership assignments. Huthwaite SPIN selling trained and a Miller Heiman Strategic Selling alumni, both highly respected and successful international sales training organizations , I can lead your organization though the challenge of integrating sales and marketing.