Strategic use of social media in healthcare

Statistics show that people are using social networks in ever increasing numbers. In turn, hospitals are joining, too, seeking to connect with patients in the places where they are sharing and discussing health information. According to Ed Bennett, 631 hospitals have Facebook pages and 634 hospitals have Twitter accounts.

Dean Browell from Feedback Agency spoke at SHSMD on “Emerging Media: Beyond Trend to Strategy.” (Find his presentation here.)

How can hospitals strategically engage? Watch Dean address how hospitals can move beyond the trends in social media to engage in meaningful ways, including suggestions on how to integrate traditional and social media and how to get buy-in from the C-suite.

Questions to ask before creating a social media plan for your hospital
(From Dean’s presentation)

How are your targets using social media? Where are you already being talked about? What can you learn from institutions like you in size, audience, type, etc?

How does our current strategic plan treat PR, word of mouth and digital spaces?

Audit internal and external resources. Will you need a full-time employee? Can you integrate this with your CRM system?

Whose buy-in do you need/dream of? It may be time to begin education on social media now to avoid problems later.