Anicca Media's Articles on Healthcare Social Media

Doctor Reviews: How to Get the Best

Russell Faust — Tue, 28 May 2013 19:42:25 +0000

EVERY physician is becoming familiar with so-called Doctor-rating sites. You know, those sites where patients can leave anonymous doctor reviews and comments about their visits to your practice.

Unfortunately for many physicians, their introduction to the digital world and “social media” is through a negative doctor rating that someone has brought to their attention. It’s tough to avoid taking these negative comments personally. They can be very frustrating.

The resulting negative impact on your reputation CAN be defended against.

How to Leverage Facebook Events as Part of Your Healthcare Marketing Strategy

Dean Berg — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:21:00 +0000

If you are already using Facebook as part of your healthcare marketing strategy, and you have periodic events that you’d like to promote to your Facebook fan base, check out Facebook Events.

For a very low investment in time, Facebook Events can be very effective in increasing event participation. Read further to understand the key benefits and the step by step approach to setting up Facebook Events.

Conference Tips: Leveraging Doctors for Better Patient Connection

Dean Berg — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:40:04 +0000

At the recent National Summit on Healthcare Marketing Strategies conference, we heard a recurring theme: Our patients are looking for trustworthy providers – providers that are providing accurate, useful healthcare information – providers that are presenting their doctors as accessible, approachable and yes, even human! How do we accomplish this? Continue to read below for some of the examples and tips that were shared at the conference.

Why Physicians (like me) Blog

Russell Faust — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:15:01 +0000

Physicians may ask, “Why Social Media”? After all, isn't that just a time-waste for teenagers? The answer may surprise them: It is estimated that 80% of Americans with internet access go first to the internet to find answers to their healthcare questions. Eighty percent! And those people are finding their hospitals and their doctors in that digital world, too. So the Physicians answer to “Why Social Media” should be obvious: "So your patients can find you!" It’s time that they dipped their toe into the stream of social networks.

This post contains additional benefits for your physicians' engagement in social media. We've also included a short cheat sheet of practical tips to get them started, to make it painless, and to keep them out of trouble.

18th National Summit: Healthcare Marketing Strategies - A Conference Preview

Russell Faust — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:00:00 +0000

For those of you interested in the evolving role of marketing and the “patient experience” in healthcare – and, in my opinion, that should be EVERYONE in medicine – I want to call your attention to a conference scheduled for next month: 18^th National Summit: Healthcare Marketing Strategies, May 5-7, Scottsdale, AZ. Not only because Dean Berg and I will be presenting a workshop (Social Media Activation: How to Get Your Doctors Involved), but also because this has shaped up to be an AWESOME conference on these topics! Based on the experience and quality of the conference co-chairs (they’ve been-there-done-that), the keynotes, general session presentations, and workshops are of incredible quality.

If you are involved in the marketing strategy of your healthcare organization at any level, if you have responsibility for optimizing the patient experience at your health system, you will get value from this conference. Unless you are in a coma, you are guaranteed to leave this conference with great action steps that you can implement. Here is a review of the conference topics and some highlights:

The overall topic for the conference is, the Evolving Role of Healthcare Marketing in Context of Healthcare Reform:

How to bring value to your healthcare organization
How to develop a strategy for engaging and “activating” your “customer”
How to assess, strengthen, and track your consumer and physician marketing strategies
How to identify and implement innovative approaches to optimize the patient experience

Ready to Dive into Social Media? Resources for Hospital & Medical Practices

Russell Faust — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:00:56 +0000

“Which social media platform should we be on?”

We hear this often. Before we answer that, let’s be clear: Social Media platforms are merely tools.

And, as with ANY task, the tool you select depends on your goals. You wouldn’t use a hammer to place a screw (at least, not that you would admit).

Some of the tools in your Social Media toolbox are better at some things than other tools. We recently reviewed various Social Media Platforms and how they help achieve 12 different Healthcare goals that you might have, in this INFOGRAPHIC.

Many of our readers and clients appreciated that Infographic, but some folks have requested a more basic introduction to Social Media – a Social Media Primer. That is, many people want a simple intro to social media before considering how these platforms might integrate into their business goals.

So this eBook is exactly that:

an Introduction to five of the biggest social sites
their pros and cons – what they are best at
some ideas on how they might benefit your medical practice

Then, once you have a feel for these social sites, visit our INFOGRAPHIC for a more granular look at using these sites to achieve your business goals.

As you consider developing your Social Media Strategy, keep these tips in mind:

You DO need a strategy; having a Facebook page is NOT a strategy
Social media success takes time
Analyze your competition – you don’t need to re-invent the wheel
Be careful: have a social media Policy; make sure everyone stays out of trouble
Invest some effort in defining your profiles (e.g. target audience) by creating personas
NEVER provide medical advice on social networks
Let everyone know that you are on social media – include those links in all your media (letterhead, business card, website, email auto-sig, etc.)
Keep the social in social media: make a two-way conversation, a relationship
Provide value on any social network you participate in

Enjoy, Anicca Media Team

Capture Your Zombie Brand: 6 Essential Steps for Building Your Online Healthcare Brand

Russell Faust — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Your Brand Already Exists

“I don’t have a brand,” or “I don’t need a brand.”

That’s what I hear from my peers – physicians and hospital execs who are boomers like me.

Let’s be very clear: In the Digital World, your BRAND already exists.

With or without you. Like it or not. Don’t believe me?

Let’s do an exercise: Right now, go to your favorite search engine and type in your name, or the name of your practice. What do you find? Right – many hits, most of which you were not aware of, did not “put out there,” did not participate in. Your brand is out there, even without your participation. Your brand exists, with or without you. Better with you than without you!

Unless you created it, unless you developed it … your brand is a Zombie, wondering the digital world with a life of its own.

Unless you PARTICIPATE in that digital world, your brand is a Zombie.

Your Zombie Brand: Your Reputation, and the e-Patient

So What? What does that mean?

It means that by not participating online, OTHERS are defining your brand. By choosing not to engage you have NO INPUT into your reputation.

So What? What does that have to do with medicine?

The Patient Experience and the Independent Physician

Russell Faust — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 10:00:40 +0000

Patient Experience and the Hospital

First, let’s define “Patient Experience.” We think of the Patient Experience as the sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence patient perceptions across the continuum of care.

As we discussed recently, your hospital is motivated to optimize the Patient Experience. You know why? You think that it’s for health care? The cynic in me might say that it’s “Because CMS is now using scores on patient satisfaction surveys (HCAHPS) to calculate the hospital Medicare reimbursement.” That’s okay. After all, a hospital can’t provide great patient care (or any care) if they don’t stay in business. And let’s face it: medicine IS BUSINESS these days. But what if you are not a hospital, or hospital-employed?

Where does the Patient Experience fit into the Independent Physician’s priorities for patient care?

6 Simple SEO Tips to Increase Your Web Traffic

Russell Faust — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:00:28 +0000

Welcome to the digital world. We all live there now. That includes your patients. And that means that you must be found in that world. How? By search engine optimization – SEO. Your physicians, practice, your hospital, your healthcare system, must be found. Call it ”search engine marketing” (SEM), call it “content marketing,” call it “search engine optimization,” but be found … or be gone. This article briefly reviews 6 tips to increase your success in the digital world.

Optimizing the Patient Experience

Russell Faust — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:00:42 +0000

Quality medical care is no longer enough. That is assumed! Your patients now demand more. Patients now demand a great Patient Experience! And CMS is calculating your Medicare reimbursement on your Patient Experience Survey Results! Along with patient safety and patient health, the Patient Experience has percolated to the top of the priority pile. This article is about optimizing that experience, with minimal investment. (spoiler alert: it’s all about patient communication).