As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

Making personal connections with social media

Dean's Commentary:

Great reflection from Nancy on their 3 year hospital social media program.

"For the first time in more than 25 years in healthcare communications, I feel like I am actually able to connect with people"

That says it all!

7 Social Media Tips for Spine Practices & Surgery Centers

Dean's Commentary:

Great tips from Bob Spoer on integrating social media into your practice marketing efforts.  This is written specifically for spine centers, but apply to any specialty practice - or even a general provider.

One key point that he mentions is: don't expect someone to call for an appointment based on what they saw on a tweet, but rather a tweet that directed them to your website.  Ultimately, you'll want your social media channels to engage and to guide people to your website.

Online Physician Directories: Key Healthcare Marketing Opportunities

Dean's Commentary:

Great article on physician directories. Are you using your physician directory as a marketing tool? Also, I really like the 'match' function based on personality.

As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

24 Tips for Success with Healthcare Social Media

Dean's Commentary:

Excellent post! 24 Tips to using social media in healthcare.

There are many to point out, but I especially like 'posting frequency' in #5 and Facebook Edgerank in #6.

How often do you post? It depends on the 'pace' of the platform. You can post more often on Twitter compared to Facebook as Twitter has a faster 'pace'.

In #6, Clinton talks about the importance of engagement. One great example that many are not aware of is the fact that people may not even see your Facebook page post.

If you have low engagement on your Facebook page, Facebook's Edgerank algorithm may filter your post out of other's stream.

Engagement is critical on Facebook just to be seen.

Case Studies & Whitepapers: The Montreal Children's Hospital

Dean's Commentary:

Great story from Montreal Children's Hospital about how they leveraged social media to spread awareness about the importance of organ donation.

Healthcare Companies Missing Valuable Opportunities to Engage via Social Media Sites

Dean's Commentary:

A recent PWC report has delivered some great statistics relative to the use of social media in healthcare.

For example: "consumers were 24 times more likely to seek or share health information on community sites than on the corporate sites of healthcare organizations"

"One in three respondents indicated they have gone to social media sites (e.g., YouTube and Facebook) and online health-related community forums to look for medical information on specific conditions, share personal stories and post opinions on a wide range of topics"

"Forty-one percent admitted that their choice of a health care provider might be influenced by experiences shared via social media"

As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

A Pinteresting Case for Healthcare Marketing

Dean's Commentary:

My definition of Pinterest is curation of images. It has some very interesting possibilities as outlined by the examples in this article, but it also has some privacy issues to resolve. 

Doctors: Social Media ROI is Real

Dean's Commentary:

This article contains a great collection of real world ROI examples.

Content Management Strategies for Physicians and Healthcare

Dean's Commentary:

Another excellent post from Dr. Howard Luks.  Are you struggling with what to write or post?  Howard breaks it down into a simple to follow, time efficient workflow step.

As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

Our Fuzzy Boundary with the Online World

Dean's Commentary:

Great, short post from Dr. Bryan Vartabedian. Is there a solid line between online and offline when it comes to healthcare? A agree with Dr. Vartabedian, that line is getting very fuzzy.  And, at some point, will not be relevant. Participation in online activities, from either the patient or the physician side, will be a part of our normal daily lives.

Social Media and Healthcare Marketing: Create Content People Will Share

Dean's Commentary:

Another great tip from MDWebPro. We know that the 'share' in the digital world is the digital word of mouth. That is what we strive for - we strive to provide content that people feel compelled to share.

Per Tim, people share tips, ideas and information that means something to them. 

Read Tim's post and then audit the information that you post. Is it 'sharable'?

Healthcare, Social Media, Marketing and Content Strategy

Dean's Commentary:

Great infographic from Patricia Redsicker and analysis from Dr. Howard Luks. Howard does a great job of providing tips on how to write good blog content.

My only additional comment would be that I don't see Facebook and a blog as competing channels. I guess if your time is limited and you need to choose one, then yes.

Your blog is your core content library. As Howard states, your Facebook page is more for patient engagement and to periodically point to articles in your content library. 

If people are looking for specific healthcare information, then yes, they'll do a Google search and they'll come across your blog. Facebook is more for awareness. It is for people to share interesting healthcare information with their friends - even when their friends are not 'looking'.

They serve two different purposes - purposes that are very complementary to each other.

As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

Farris Timimi, M.D, Discusses the Role and Use of Social Media in Healthcare

Dean's Commentary:

Great video interview from Farris Timimi, MD. "We trust you, as a provider, with scalpels and lives - we trust you, as a provider, with Facebook and Twitter."

This is a great statement. With the appropriate training, there is no reason that we can't trust healthcare professionals with social media.

Healthcare Social Media / Infographic on physician-patient communications. What patients do more of the talking?

Dean's Commentary:

Who does the talking in the examination room?  How many questions are asked? Does it differ by specialty? By gender?

A great infographic that highlights the stats.

Downsides of Not Engaging in Healthcare and Social Media

Dean's Commentary:

Great post by Dr. Howard Luks on the risks of NOT engaging in social media.

Specifically interesting was the stat that upwards of 98% of online health related discussions take place without the input of a healthcare professional. 

As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

Healthcare Social Media and Medical Communication: Analyzing Healthcare Social Media Efforts

Dean's Commentary:

A great infographic on social media analytics - including a step by step process!

Physician perspectives: Dr. Kevin Pho

Dean's Commentary:

Great interview with Dr. Kevin Pho. He discusses the benefits to physicians in using social media, advice on how to get started and some of the challenges.

Mobile: The biggest trend in healthcare communications

Dean's Commentary:

Great examples of how mobile devices can be used by physicians and patients.

Do you use a mobile device in your daily workflow?

As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

Healthcare Reform means ROI Reform

Dean's Commentary:

Great article from Chris. I struggle to understand the negative perception of ROI in the healthcare space. I think that whenever ROI is brought up in the conversation some people automatically believe that the focus is on making money vs. creating health. They are not mutually exclusive.

ROI is about measuring the results of a hospital's operations. By streamlining and optimizing a hospital's operations, they will be able to deliver better healthcare - especially as we move towards a more holistic approach to patient care.

It's very difficult to improve operations if those operations are not being measured. Hence, measuring ROI is a critical component to delivering better healthcare.

HIMSS 12: Why Social Media in Healthcare on Video

Dean's Commentary:

Great video interviews from HIMSS 12 asking people 'Why' they use social media in healthcare.  It's great to see so many different perspectives and applications.

Attention Health System: The Social Media Train is Leaving the Station or Why the Healthcare System is Slow to Adopt Social Media

Dean's Commentary:

Of the 120 hospital Facebook pages reviewed, 40% posted daily, 25% posted twice weekly, 25% posted once per month and 10% posted less than once per month.

It's hard to engage patients if you don't start the conversation.

The author also walked through the approval process within a typical hospital to explain 'why' hospitals are slow to adopt social media.

As you build out your social media strategy, please reference the following MUST READS.

MUST READS 

Finding the Time for Healthcare Social Media

Dean's Commentary:

Great article! Maintaining a strong social media presence does take a little bit of time - make sure to schedule it into your work day.

He also points to some tips about how to optimize your time.

How Celtic Healthcare Uses Social Media to Improve and Innovate Their Services

Dean's Commentary:

Great interview with Jodi McKinney, Director of Corporate Communications for Celtic Healthcare. Especially valuable is her description of how they use the different channels - Blog, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.  

They've done a great job of recognizing the different audiences that use the different channels and adjusted the content appropriately.

20 Classic Facebook Mistakes to Avoid in Healthcare Social Media

Dean's Commentary:

Most of these are common sense, but a great reminder of items to avoid when managing your Facebook page.

I especially like the "overposting" item. How often should you post?  What have you found to be optimal?

 The Summit contained 4 tracks:

• Physician Relations/Sales,
• Medical Staff Development & Growth,
• Maximizing Organizational Models,
• Alignment & Integration;

but I’ll comment on 3 Sessions in particular that focused on the usage of social media in healthcare.

"Engaging Physicians in Social Media: The Time is Now"

Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson (@SeattleMamaDoc) provided a riveting keynote address on Tuesday morning. (Where she gets all that energy, I have no idea!)

Dr. Swanson’s core message was that “We, healthcare providers, have an obligation to provide accurate, useful information to our patients”. The internet is full of healthcare information – some good and some not so good. It’s not the job of a healthcare provider to scour the internet looking for information to debunk, but rather to provide accurate, useful information that ‘floods’ the internet – the ‘not so good’ information will naturally become immaterial.

Dr. Swanson also talked about how she balances life. She doesn’t look at social media participation as extra work, she looks at social media as a means of optimizing her time with patients. Instead of repeating the same ‘car seat’ message 16 times a day to her patients, she delivers it once via a blog or video.

In addition to citing several statistics about ePatient online usage, Dr. Swanson referenced several physicians that are participating online (@hjluks, @Doctor_V, @SusannahFox, @Dermdoc and @RussellFaust) and several emerging technologies to keep an eye on (Twistle, PingMD, Avado and Zygote Body).

If you missed this keynote, I’d highly recommend that you keep your eye open for other opportunities to see Dr. Swanson speak.

"Brand Experience and Culture: Recruiting Physicians Online"

Although it would be hard for anyone to follow Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson’s keynote, Kevin Robinson (Southwestern Vermont Medical Center - SVMC) and Dan Dunlop (@dandunlop) did a great job.

Kevin started the presentation by talking about how SVMC has been extremely successful in recruiting physicians with a balanced traditional media and digital media marketing approach.  They crafted their message by defining their target audience (type of physician) and their brand. This allowed them to create an extremely effective ‘left brain / right brain’ targeted recruiting campaign.

Dan Dunlop (@dandunlop) then followed up with an engaging presentation on ‘Echo Branding’. Echo Branding is developed by looking internally first and then conveying that internal ‘feel’ to the outside world. If you try to convey something that you are not, you will fail on many fronts – including physician recruitment.

Dan then compared and contrasted two case studies in particular – SVMC and Cooper University Hospital. SVMC and Cooper are two very different healthcare environments – two very different Echo Brands.  Dan was able to show how the physician recruitment campaigns and their outbound brands in general reflected who they are – an excellent example of clear contrast.

By focusing on ‘who you are’ you’ll be able to recruit physicians that align with the culture and environment – a win/win for everyone.

"Social Media: Physician Communication and So Much More"

Lastly, I was privileged to deliver a presentation with my colleague, Dr. Russell Faust, on ‘why’ the C-Suite should take notice of social media. We’ll be providing the presentation online shortly, but the general message was that the amount of return, in many different areas, far outweighs the cost – the ROI is real.

Again, the summit was extremely well done and I look forward to seeing the speakers above and others at future HSI conferences.