Last week I attended a social media panel discussion moderated by Carol Dobies at the KCHCS Fall Conference. The three panelists, who represented two hospitals and a local firm that monitors, measures and analyzes digital content, shared their experiences and expertise with online patient interaction. Together they provided some important takeaways for healthcare organizations looking to expand their online presence. Highlights include:

Listening should be a key part of your social media strategy, and your efforts should go beyond the content you generate. It’s easy to know what people say directly to you online, but are you also watching what they say about you? “Sites like Facebook and Twitter are great for engagement, but that’s not where Google searches send people,” according to panelist Aaron Weber of Spiral16. “It’s critical to know where people land and what language they encounter when you come up in a search.” A valid point, considering 92% of adults online use search engines, and nearly 60% report using them daily, according to recent research by Pew Internet.

Healthcare-specialized SEO and marketing firms understand that patients search and read content from multiple sources (Yelp, YellowPages.com, Wikipedia, etc.) in addition to the messages you’re putting out there. The key to establishing meaningful patient engagement online is an effective mix of SEO tactics, highly targeted direct marketing and social media strategies that encompass your entire digital presence. Read more about the importance of listening to patient comments from HealthLeaders.

Back up your strategy with social media policies. Social media policies govern your use of social media, from employee access to procedures for triaging patient comments (negative and positive). Front-line employees are the face of your organization, so if you’re comfortable letting them post and interact with patients online, it’s your choice to allow it. In order to protect your brand image and ensure total compliance with all patient-privacy laws, however, usage policies should be clearly articulated and enforced.

In fact, panelist Shawn Arni of Children’s Mercy Hospital advises two separate policy documents: one for page admins/hospital use and another for employee use. For example, staff members are not allowed to post or share anything during work hours. Regardless of how well-intended any given post may be, if it’s made by patient-facing staff in the middle of a shift, it can be perceived as interfering with patient care.

Needless to say, there are many factors to consider when developing social media use policies, but having the right rules in place is well worth the effort. Panelist Belinda Rehmer of Lawrence Memorial Hospital (LMH), agrees. As the hospital’s Community Relations Social Media Lead, she speaks from experience, and LMH’s social media policy has been used as a best practice example by many other hospitals in Kansas.

Studies show that people with the low levels of social interaction have high rates of mortality. With so many networking tools now available online, the obvious question for healthcare providers is how can we use social media to engage patients in ways that improve health? We welcome all input on the topic, so if you have insight to share about patient engagement and social media, let us hear from you!

Later this week, I will moderate an interactive panel for Kansas City Healthcare Communicators Society.The topic: How to Deploy Social Media to Improve Patient Engagement. With expert input spanning a wide range of social networking tools and best practices from our healthcare marketing panelists, the session promises to provide an eye-opening look at what it takes to continuously engage patients online.

Here are highlights from colleagues in the healthcare social media field:

Two-fifths of adult internet users in the U.S. have read someone else’s online commentary about health. Many thanks to Susannah Fox and her colleagues at Pew Internet & American Life Project, who published a report earlier this year revealing that 80% of internet users search online for health information, and a growing number rely on the internet to connect peer-to-peer. Among the findings:

• Symptoms and treatments dominate health searches (66% and 56% respectively).
• 44% of internet users look online for information about doctors or other health professionals.
• 25% of adult web users look online for people with a chronic illness.
• 24% have consulted online rankings of doctors and hospitals.
• 20% look online for people with similar health issues.

There are 140 uses for your 140 characters if your healthcare organization tweets. Phil Baumann, a social media strategist and advisory board member for Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, studied the challenges and opportunities available for providers via Twitter. In the end, he identified 140 different healthcare uses for Twitter – an oldie but goodie for those in need of ideas when it comes to tweeting for and about health.

More than 1,200 U.S. hospitals are now actively using social media sites. And that number is climbing every day. Thanks to Ed Bennett, web operations manager at the University of Maryland Medical Center (and also an advisory board member for Mayo Clinic social media), we have better insight into the scope of social media use among hospitals. Here’s the latest breakdown of the number of hospital accounts/pages per social networking site:

• Facebook: 1,068
• Foursquare: 946
• Twitter: 814
• YouTube: 575
• LinkedIn: 566
• Blogs: 149

If so many healthcare providers are putting it out there on so many sites, it must be simple, right? Wrong. We all know representing an organization via social media is much more complex than managing personal accounts, so it’s important to know what you’re doing behind the scenes. Fortunately, help is out there, like this list of 20 Excellent Social Media Networking Resources for Health Professionals, compiled recently by HealthWorks Collective.

I’m looking forward to a thought-provoking discussion by our panelists this week. We will update you with the biggest takeaways and lessons learned next week.

In our last post, we talked about word clouds and their practical uses beyond the blog. This week, we’ll continue that discussion in lieu of our recent discoveries at SHSMD Connections 2011, an annual conference hosted by the Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development. The event was a meeting of the minds from all levels of hospital communications, and the word cloud was our way of learning more about what’s on their minds.

SHSMD attendees participated by entering today’s hot topics into our word cloud app. You can view the results here. But what do the results tell us about the directions and challenges hospital marketers face as we head into 2012?

The most commonly used phrase was “physician strategies,” with “social media” coming in close behind. Many hospital strategists are looking for effective ways to engage with physicians and patients. While social media continues to grow as a cost-effective way to expand reach and frequency, strategists are struggling with how to reconcile professional relationships with online social platforms—and even how to get people to “Like” or “Follow” their hospitals in the first place, let alone leverage that affinity. It’s a challenge many of today’s healthcare marketers must untangle, and clearly engagement is the name of the game.

Other issues taking center stage for healthcare marketers include:

• Direct marketing – promoting what works to grow market share.

• Brand building – on-target messaging in the midst of health reform and ACO debates.

• Market-driven plans (and plans that drives markets) – thinking strategically and delivering creatively.

• Better returns – demonstrating improved ROI and ROE as direct results of marketing efforts.

If your marketing initiatives don’t include solid strategic planning in the areas described above, you’re missing opportunities to enhance relationships, grow in volume, improve your brand and more.

What about you—what’s on your mind in healthcare marketing today? If you didn’t share with us at SHSMD, feel free to do so in the comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Despite having more than 400 million active users, Facebook still has its skeptics.  Some common complaints I’ve heard:

• “It’s a waste of time!”
• “Who needs an update on what I’m eating for lunch?”
• “Why do I need to be a Fan of anything?”

Okay, sure. My status updates aren’t always riveting or note-worthy (see: “Dear Coffee, Marry me. Xoxo, Kelly”) and I’m not ashamed to say I “like” a Fan Page called “I Don’t Feel Like Folding My Laundry So I Just Restart The Dryer.”

But while I’m not alone in using the Status Update and Fan Page for innocuous fun, some people are using these basic Facebook features to help improve their health…and even save their own lives.

Like this guy, who decided to quit smoking and inadvertently created a support group among his Facebook friends simply by updating his status with the number of days he’d been smoke free.  As his friends followed his progress, they “liked” his status as the number of days increased and left comments of encouragement when his updates expressed wavering resolve.   Having a virtual audience to not only hold him accountable but also to offer him support no doubt helped contribute to his continued success.

Then there’s this woman, who is using Facebook to help her find a kidney donor.  Living in a state that ranks among the nation’s lowest in percentage of licensed drivers who are registered organ donors, she got creative and set up a Page called “Mel Needs a Kidney.” As of the end of May, she had heard from about 100 people who offered to get tested to see if they were a match.  In addition to increasing her chances of finding a donor, her efforts are also helping raise awareness of organ donation and registration in Michigan.

So while it’s true many Facebook users limit their activities to tending virtual farms or tagging friends in party photos, there are some who are using the platform to improve their lives.  And that’s something I’ll “like” any day.

Earlier this year, I showed how online engagement after the earthquake in Haiti helped prove that people are using social media to connect with others in meaningful ways.  Today, I bring you yet another example, this time in relation to healthcare.

A new study reports that 40% of online consumers are turning to social media for health information.  And they’re not just talking about medical conditions, diagnoses, treatments and news.  The study found the primary reason for using social media was emotional:

“…many healthcare social media users want reassurance, support, and a sense of intimacy from people who are going through a similar experience.”

But according to a recent New York Times article and Pew Research report, this won’t come as a surprise to the many Americans affected by chronic illnesses.  Over the last few years, social networking has become a lifeline for many who are living with a chronic disease or life-changing condition.  By blogging, chatting and engaging with others on social networking sites like PatientsLikeMe, Diabetic Connect and CureTogether, they are able to share advice, war stories and empathy with others in similar situations.  Best of all, this can all happen from the comfort of home, a great advantage for those whose illness has left them homebound.

As social media continues to grow, look for more hospitals and physician practices to better connect with patients (and ultimately improve the patient experience) by complementing their informational Web content with virtual support groups and online forums.

In the wake of the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, social media is proving once again to be a powerful tool for sharing information and raising funds in times of crisis.  Check out these stats:

• Three days after the earthquake, 3% of all blog posts were related to Haiti’s earthquake.
• By January 15, the American Red Cross’ Twitter account had gained more than 10,000 followers.
• By January 22, 42% of Facebook users in the United States had donated money or goods to aid Haiti relief  -  23% of these donors did so via text message.  
• More than $25 million has been raised for the American Red Cross’ relief effort in Haiti through $10-donations made by simply texting HAITI to 90999.

These figures help reinforce the belief that people turn to social media not just to consume information, but also to connect and engage in meaningful ways with organizations and each other.

Transparency in quality reporting goes both ways.  Good ratings – and bad – are posted every day for all kinds of products and services. When it comes to health care, I absolutely believe in transparency and public reporting of quality and patient safety measures. In fact, right now we’re in the process of creating a brand new “Quality Matters” microsite for one of our clients.

Recently, MSNBC reported that some physicians were having patients sign “gag order” waivers to prevent their ranting on review Web sites. Unbelievable.  Would you trust a physician who required you to sign such a document? Allowing patients to review doctors on Web sites is not only is in the best interest of consumers and public health, but it is also a matter of freedom of speech. In fairness, however, I believe doctors should be exempt from federal privacy laws that prevent them from publicly responding to patients. 

As healthcare marketers, we may not be able to change federal law, but we can help manage the reputation of our physician clients on these Web sites.  Here’s how:

1. Use a username that clearly identifies you as a representative from the practice, such as OfficeMgr_SmithMedical, with proper contact information in the user profile.
2. Acknowledge comments with replies that let reviewers know you are listening (without, of course, acknowledging patient name or identification).
3. Direct patients to contact a specific person at the practice to voice concerns and resolve issues.
4. Encourage reviewers to continue the conversation with your practice.

Any healthcare marketer worth her salt knows that women are the primary healthcare decision makers in America (although, with the current economy, some suspect the tide might be turning).  So when I saw an article on how to market to women on Facebook, I couldn’t help but be interested.  Because women make up more than 56% of the overall Facebook population, it’s a great place for your hospital or physician practice to connect with its core audience.  But how do you keep these decision makers engaged? 

A couple of my favorite tips from Mashable:

• Quality Counts:  Annoy your female fans with spammy updates and be prepared to face the wrath of the “hide” button.  Remember, they can remove your marketing messages from their news feeds with the simple click of a mouse.  And, of course, out of sight = out of mind.
• Provide Utility:  Give your fans something to look forward to on a daily or weekly basis by regularly posting helpful tips or practical ideas that can improve their health or lifestyle.
• Give Fans a Voice:  Make your fans feel involved by creating a two-way conversation and asking their opinion.  Bonus: You have an instant focus group at your fingertips.
• Keep Your Fans in the Loop:  Update your fans about current goings-on, good and even bad.  With the rise of transparency in healthcare, Facebook can be a great venue to help address negative news before it gets out of hand.

How does your organization use Facebook to engage its female audience? Please post your ideas in a comment below!

While Twitter is hoping to find a way to monetize its operation in 2010, many people have already discovered how to use the microblogging site to raise funds for worthy causes.

Back in November, I blogged about a movement that used Twitter, Facebook and mustaches to raise awareness and money for men’s health.   Today, I stumbled upon another fantastic fundraising campaign: BlameDrewsCancer.

The story: When Drew Olanoff was diagnosed with cancer last summer, he created the Twitter hashtag #blamedrewscancer and vowed that for every tweet blaming something on his cancer, he would raise one dollar for the Lance Armstrong Foundation LIVESTRONG.  Using this hashtag, Tweeters gave Drew’s cancer credit for closed coffee shops, working on holidays and global warming…and in the process, raised more than $15,000.

But Drew didn’t stop there.  With Twitter’s permission, he put his Twitter name, or “handle,”(@Drew) up for auction and caught the eye of Drew Carey (@DrewFromTV).  The Price Is Right host has since promised to donate one dollar for every person who follows him or @Livestrong, up to $1 million.  Pretty cool, huh?

Do you know of other organizations that are successfully using Twitter or other forms of social media to raise money and awareness?  Please leave your examples in a comment below!  And the next time you feel like complaining on Twitter, don’t forget to #blamedrewscancer.

Several weeks ago I received an email from a friend who recently applied for an amazing job at a California winery.  This innovative winery is looking for a “Social Media Whiz.”  It’s a temporary (6 month) position that calls for wine tasting, exploring vineyards, learning about winemaking and then reporting off on these experiences online.

The vineyard must have known there would be applicants lining up among the grapes, because they added a unique twist to the application process:  instead of sending a resume to apply, every candidate creates a video about why they are the right one for the job. This means every wine-loving ‘twit’ out there is sending their video to everyone in their email, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter contact lists and asking each to vote for them. Out of hundreds of videos that will be submitted, only ten videos will be chosen by the public as the best. The ten candidates will then be interviewed for the job.

At the end of the voting period, potentially thousands of people will be checking the winery Web site to vote for their favorite candidate. Talk about a great marketing strategy! The selection process becomes a promotional vehicle before the real promotion (blogs, etc.) even begins!  I’d like to see their Web stats after this promotion is over! 

It is our job as marketers to find these kinds of ‘guerilla marketing’ opportunities for our clients, especially in a down economy. Marketing doesn’t have to be expensive – just creative and memorable.  Before receiving the email from my friend, I had never heard of this winery. But now I find myself researching them online, browsing their Web site and checking out their wine selection. Oh and P.S. I did go back and vote for my friend!