People don’t often associate warm and fuzzy feelings with visiting the hospital – or even the doctor’s office for that matter. In fact, dealing with hospitals often feels about as personal as talking with someone who shows up with a paper bag over their head like this joker.
But social media – wait, let me rephrase that: smart social media marketing – might be just what the doctor ordered (forgive me – that was just screaming to be used).
What few hospitals and other providers realize is that social media can actually help them connect with patients. And it can also serve to extend their brand and help build goodwill within their community.
According to recent research, Facebook is the primary outlet that hospitals are using to try and reach patients, but few are engaging them in meaningful ways. Less than 40% of hospitals post daily, 80% do not using Facebook discussion boards and less than 50% posted relevant, actionable information (such as posting health or hospital related events). Infrequent posting, not soliciting fan feedback and irrelevant or worse, boring content is pretty much the Facebook fan kiss of death…
People are not – let me say that again – people are not interested in reading about all the great (when, oh when will someone design the “sarcasm” font?) things that hospitals, doctors or other health care providers are doing when they use social media sites to simply promote themselves. Instead, they are interested in information, resources, videos, etc. that might be valuable to them. Imagine that – consumers actually want information that’s valuable to them – a novel concept (again, a plaintive cry for that sarcasm font).
When consumers can use social mediums to connect with hospitals or other health care providers and not only engage with the “human” side of those organizations, but also to gain valuable tips, resources and information, that makes them more likely to not only befriend a hospital or other health care provider online, but to actually stay engaged and connected with them. And, oh yes, and that naturally leads to patronizing that health care provider when they need care.
Research also shows that hospitals who maintain a high engagement level in the social media space regularly had patients, friends and members of the community provide unsolicited praise of the hospital and/or its physicians, as well as recommendations for their services. What a fantastic way to integrate best practices in social media usage into your overall marketing initiatives!
It’s no secret that social avenues can be a great way to actually engage your consumers. And social media can even help when it comes to rehabbing a company image if it happens to carry a somewhat negative connotation. For instance, people pretty much universally loathe going to the dentist – but if a dentist had an impressive Facebook, YouTube or other social media presence, it might just make you look forward to a visit instead of dreading it.
Maybe more hospitals should really consider using social media as a way to engage their prospective “clients” and create a more positive perception of their businesses within the communities they serve. I don’t know about you, but I’d be way more inclined to patronize a hospital that was not only known for providing great care, but which also had a robust social media presence, and a “personality” behind their brand, than one that didn’t.
What other business, like hospitals, doctors and dentists, carry a unintentional negative image and might consider using social media to build a more positive image? Funny – when you start thinking about it, you come up with all sorts of ideas, don’t you?
Shelly Kramer is a Principal Analyst and Founding Partner at Futurum Research. A serial entrepreneur with a technology centric focus, she has worked alongside some of the world’s largest brands to embrace disruption and spur innovation, understand and address the realities of the connected customer, and help navigate the process of digital transformation. She brings 20 years’ experience as a brand strategist to her work at Futurum, and has deep experience helping global companies with marketing challenges, GTM strategies, messaging develoment, and driving strategy and digital transformation for B2B brands across multiple verticals. Shelly’s coverage areas include Collaboration/CX/SaaS, platforms, ESG, and Cybersecurity, as well as topics and trends related to the Future of Work, the transformation of the workplace and how people and technology are driving that transformation. A transplanted New Yorker, she has learned to love life in the Midwest, and has firsthand experience that some of the most innovative minds and most successful companies in the world also happen to live in “flyover country.”