Engagement « The Main Artery

Seven Tips for Using Twitter Chats in Your Cardiovascular Marketing

June 27, 2011

Twitter chats can be a great way to engage your target audience.

Essentially, Twitter chats attract people who are interested in a particular topic. Cardiovascular issues certainly qualify as topics that lend themselves to robust discussion.

Basically, a group will organize around a specific hashtag, and people then follow a single thread of conversation on Twitter. It’s an easy, low-cost way to get involved in conversation with patients and even physicians.

Like any marketing strategy, though, starting a successful Twitter chat requires deliberate planning. I found a great post from Megan Berry, a marketing manager for Klout, that lists these seven tips for success.

1. Be Clear About Your Goals Going Into the Chat

Twitter chats can position your organization as a thought leader and grow brand awareness. Make sure you talk about how you will measure success before starting your chat. Consider metrics such as the number of people participating, mentions of your brand, sentiment of mentions, and lead generation.

2. Choose a Topic People Care About

How do you decide if a topic will be of interest? People should already be discussing it in other arenas.

“It’s better to build a twitter chat around a topic of interest that’s directly related to your brand,” says David Spinks, creator of #u30pro, a Twitter chat for young professionals. “In the end, the participants will still relate the chat back to your brand because you’re the one organizing it.

Heart health, and all of its sub-topics, e.g., prevention, treatment and lifestyle considerations, definitely qualifies in my opinion.

3. Be Authentic

Choose a topic that makes sense for you. Don’t do it just because you think you’re supposed to. Do it if you are genuinely looking for a way to engage and communicate with a community. Often, chats start out slowly and build. Keep engaging, and the right people and community should find you.

4. Choose a Schedule and Be Consistent

Most Twitter chats occur once a week for an hour, but if you’re just starting out, you may consider a bi-weekly or monthly chat instead, as it’s easier to add sessions than to try and cut back. Good time slots include over the lunch hour or in the evening around 7 or 8 p.m. Here’s a good example of a chat I sometimes participate in on the topic of healthcare social media: #hcsm at 8p.m. CST on Sunday nights.

5. Plan, But Stay Flexible

Most Twitter chats have a topical focus each week. The goal is to facilitate the conversation without getting in the way or letting it get out of hand (easier said than done). Make sure the person running the chat is someone who can speak for your organization.

6. Bring In Thought Leaders

Don’t be afraid to get others involved, whether you need a partner to develop and plan the chat, or great guest “speakers.” Twitter chats are successful because of the people in them. Do what you can to get great people involved, especially when you’re just starting.

7. Thank People Who Participate

If people take the time to engage with your chat, take a moment to thank them individually or in the chat itself. Acknowledging people gives them more incentive to spread the word, which will help you grow your community.

I thought these were helpful tips. If you are already conducting Twitter chats, please share your experiences. Also, please recommend any Twitter chats you know about that might be relevant for other readers.

Leave a Comment » | Engagement, Social Media | Tagged: Audience Engagement, hcsm, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, Twitter chats | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

Should You Add A Chief Experience Officer to Your Cardiovascular Marketing Mix?

June 3, 2011

Making the patient experience a top priority is more critical than ever.

As marketers, we spend a lot of time and resources developing our brand promises. But how many of our organizations are as deliberate as they should be in making sure the patient experience delivers on the brand promise we tout in marketing?

Current research indicates that patience experience is at the top of CEOs’ priority lists. But, how is it working?

I came across an excellent post from consultant Anthony Cirillo, who recently spoke at Cleveland Clinic’s Patient Experience Summit.

His main point is that only with a Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at the top of an organization can you assure the patient experience is consistent and integrated with marketing efforts, especially as delivery mechanisms continue to change.

He recognizes there is a financial implication, particularly in the context of value-based purchasing.

Here’s an example from Cirillo:

The average hospital has $180 million in revenue. Say 50 percent is Medicare. That is $90 million. By 2017 you will have to hold back two percent of your Medicare revenue for a bonus pool. So you are starting almost two million in the hole. And what would you have to charge to net two? And what happens when other payers follow suit? Do you really want to leave patient experience to chance?

Given these circumstances, Cirillo asserts there are three roles the CXO should assume to enhance patient experience:

1. Chief Promise Keeper

The CXO must ensure patient experiences are consistent across the organization and consistent with the promise set forth by marketing. Cirillo points out the importance of storytelling in making sure the patient experience matches the expectation.

2. Chief Healing Officer

Cirillo asserts that healthcare workers often take the emotions of work home with them, which can have consequences that lead to quality issues. As Chief Healing Officer, the CXO is an advocate for employee assistance programs that include benefits such as pastoral care.

3. Chief Context Setter

The CXO should serve as a organizational leader who “infuses the patient experience into the culture” through employee orientation, training and other areas as appropriate, helping employees understand their ultimate role as healers.

I think this is great stuff. One of my favorite parts of working with clients is to help them articulate their brand promises. It’s even better when the promise is consistently delivered through the patient experience.

3 Comments | Engagement, Hospital Services, Patients | Tagged: chief experience officer, Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, patient engagement | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

A Point of View on Physician Communication Programs for Cardiovascular Marketers

May 20, 2011

Economic pressure, technology mandates and looming questions about health reform make physician engagement more challenging than ever.

Hospital/physician business models are changing too.

More than half of physician practices in the United States are now hospital-owned, and that number is expected to continue to rise as health systems examine the establishment of successful Accountable Care Organizations and physicians look for relief from practice management stress and greater work/life balance.

More employed physicians doesn’t necessarily make physician relations easier. In fact, the politics of building relationships to support employed physicians and maximizing the hospital’s investment can be quite challenging. And, health systems can’t automatically assume that employed physicians are referring all of their patients to their hospitals. That loyalty has to be earned.

Getting Started

Whether the audience is owned or independent physicians and whether the objective is recruitment or training, physician engagement programs must be presented as win/win propositions. In order to be willing to invest their time, physicians must be able to recognize clear benefits such as:

Education about hospital services that will improve patient care
Education about hospital updates that will affect their daily work
Assistance in practice improvements
Resources for identifying challenges/solving issues
Help in networking

Balancing Personal Interaction with Time Demands

In many ways, a personal meeting is still the most powerful tool for physician communication. Kicking off a new program with an in-person meeting is ideal, when possible, because it can build trust and stimulate immediate engagement.

Keys for success include:

Structuring the meeting as a dialogue vs. a monologue
Allowing for questions and allowing physicians to have a role in guiding the conversation
Positioning the program as an information resource that will result in tangible benefits
Being clear and succinct
Providing networking opportunities

Leveraging Technology

While in-person interaction is ideal, it’s not very realistic over the life of a program. Demands on physicians’ time are greater than ever before. But the good news is that physicians are also embracing technology at greater rates than in the past.

A full 72 percent of U.S. physicians now use smartphones, according to Manhattan Research’s Taking the Pulse report, which tracks physician adoption rates of various information technologies. And they are also increasingly comfortable with using tablets, such as iPads for electronic medical records, etc.

Arguably, this collision of time challenges and technology adoption should drive the strategy for most physician engagement programs of the future — especially those that include a multi-phase curriculum or other messages that must be delivered over time. Digital channels allow for personalization, flexibility in consuming messages and potentially completing assignments on a physician’s own terms. Key tactics to consider:

An online physician portal
An intranet by department, service line or individual hospital
A private Facebook or LinkedIn group to promote group discussions and updates
A mobile app that can be updated with new modules as appropriate
Personalized e-mails with short messages about particular program components and links to appropriate resources
Text message updates
Printed materials, e.g., overview brochure and “sell sheets” for various topics to augment online tools. All printed pieces should be succinct, quick reads that are easy to scan.

How are your physician engagement strategies changing with the times?

Leave a Comment » | Employee Communications, Engagement, Physicians | Tagged: Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, physician communication, physician engagement | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

Tips For Improving Your Cardiovascular Marketing Facebook Presence

May 17, 2011

Hospitals aren’t using Facebook very well.

Conceptually, we seem to be in agreement that Facebook offers opportunities to engage patients, build strong online communities and develop brands.

However, according to a new study by Verasoni Ah Ha! Insights, only a few hospitals are doing a good job of truly using Facebook to their advantage.

The research examined various types of Facebook activities including:

an analysis of the size of the network;
frequency and types of posts; and
use of the integration tools available on Facebook.

“Just because a hospital is on Facebook doesn’t mean that they are building a meaningful Facebook experience for both the hospital and the patient,” said Abe Kasbo, CEO of Verasoni Worldwide, co-author of the study.

Here are some key findings from the study:

Only eight of 120 hospitals (6 percent) had more than 10,000 fans
Less than 40 percent of hospitals posted daily
Those who posted daily had many more encounters with current and prospective patients as well as caregivers.
Less than 50 percent used Facebook’s event calendar to promote health or hospital events
80 percent of hospitals did not use Facebook’s discussion board, while those hospitals that did were rewarded with a high degree of engagement, adulation and recommendations from members.
Seventy-six hospitals (63 percent) had no unsolicited feedback or questions on their pages.
Thirty-eight hospital Facebook pages (32 percent) included unsolicited feedback from their Facebook members

I think this is a good list to use in planning future Facebook strategies. How many of these things are you doing?

Leave a Comment » | Engagement, Social Media | Tagged: Facebook marketing, Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, social media engagement, Versoni Ah Ha! Insights | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

Can Your Cardiovascular Marketing Program Save Lives Through Social Media?

May 6, 2011

In addition to being a great tool for sharing information, Twitter can truly impact patient care.

One of the most rewarding experiences in my career involved a situation in which a woman sought quick treatment at a client’s hospital after hearing our radio spot for its stroke center. We tell that story with pride, using it as a proof point that the much-maligned advertising industry can actually make life better.

I imagine the folks at Emory Healthcare are swelling with a similar pride these days. According to a great case study on its website, Twitter recently played a vital role in expediting patient care.

Here are some excerpts:

At 11:06 am on April 25, we received a tweet from Matthew Browning, who was playing a critical role in helping his wife and family in getting through a crisis situation. The tweet read as follows, “@emoryhealthcare NEED HELP NOW!! Grandma w/ RUPTURED AORTA needs Card Surgeon/OR ASAP, STAT! Can you accept LifeFlight NOW!!?”

What would you do if you received a tweet like that? Even if your staff is usually responsive to social media posts, could you mobilize to formulate the type of immediate response this message requires?

At Emory, they immediately threw out their process flowcharts and shifted into high gear, contacting a variety of departments as quickly as possible.

Within minutes, we tweeted back to Matthew: “@MatthewBrowning Matthew, please either call 911 or have your grandma’s doctor call our transfer service to get immediate help: 404-686-8334.”

They gave Matthew critical information he could act on within Twitter’s 140-character limit.

Four minutes later, at 11:21 am, Matthew responded, “@emoryhealthcare We are doing that! She is in small South Georgia hosp right now- but needs MAJOR help- We are calling, thanks!”

We responded: “@MatthewBrowning keep us posted & please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help. We’re keeping you both in our thoughts.”

Matthew sent a tweet one minute later, “@hospitalpolicygrp @emoryhealthcare Thank you for your help!”

Followed by “@emoryhealthcare Look for STAT Transfer from South Georgia, accept her if able and we’ll see you soon. Thanks!”

16 minutes later, at 11:41 am Matthew’s wife’s grandmother was on a lifeflight to Emory. “@emoryhealthcare Thank you for accepting her- She is on the LifeFlight to you now- Bless you all and Thank you!!”

What an intense exchange! This is the best example I’ve seen of harnessing the power of social media to affect patient treatment. With a diagnosis of a ruptured aorta or something similar, minutes can literally make a difference.

Clearly Matthew is a savvy health care consumer. He is a registered nurse and founder of Your Nurse is On, a health care staffing application. Apparently, in this situation, he was using Twitter, email and LinkedIn simultaneously within his broad circle of health care contacts. Using social media technology, he was able to make more contacts in minutes than anyone could in hours with traditional technologies.

At the same time, phone calls were being made from the hospital trying to find a hospital to transfer his wife’s grandmother to. “We got lots of nos,” Matthew said.

Thankfully, when he reached out to Emory Healthcare, its team had the ability and capacity to help. “We group-sourced something to people with a common interest and achieved a medical miracle,” Matthew said.

I love this story. It represents all of the best reasons to work in healthcare marketing and communications. I have to admit it also scares me a little.

Stories like this get a lot of press. Patients and their families get desperate in urgent situations. And more and more mainstream consumers are becoming just as savvy as Matthew Browning. While this case turned out well, similar situations also have the potential for disaster if the hospital receiving the tweets doesn’t have a plan in place to act quickly.

I’m encouraging our clients to use this case as a wake-up call. Now is a good time to examine your processes and policies and to formulate an “emergency” social media plan if necessary. I encourage you to read the complete two-part case history from Emory Healthcare as well:

http://advancingyourhealth.org/highlights/2011/04/27/can-twitter-help-save-lives-a-health-care-social-media-case-study-part-i/

http://advancingyourhealth.org/highlights/2011/05/04/can-twitter-help-save-lives-a-health-care-social-media-case-study-part-ii/

2 Comments | Engagement, Hospital Services, Social Media | Tagged: Emory Healthcare, hcmktg, hcsm, Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

Six Tips for Making Your Cardiovascular Marketing Website More Boomer Friendly

May 3, 2011

Making the user experience on your website more efficient and convenient in the eyes of Baby Boomers could pay big dividends.

Aging Boomers spending more time on the Internet is hardly a newsworthy headline. We all know that older people, along with the rest of the population, spend a ton of time online.

However, it is somewhat startling to me, at least, that marketing to Boomers and marketing to “Seniors” is becoming somewhat synonymous. I started my career working on a senior living account. At 22, I was pretty sure I would never be as old as the people in my client’s target audience.

Somehow that’s changed over the years. I was born in the last year possible to make me an “official” Boomer, so I’m starting to identify with some of the philosophies that guided our senior living client all those years ago. Oh, well…. I recently came across this post with advice for making your website more Boomer friendly.

Here are some highlights from the post:

1. Increase credibility.

Make the welcome page readable and uncluttered.
Use high-quality graphics and clear writing that reflects empathy with visitors’ needs.

2. Recognize that images are powerful.

Increasing the number and size of images on the site can add to its emotional appeal.

3. Avoid large sections of reverse type when possible.

As we age, reverse type becomes more difficult to read

4. Avoid hyperbole.

Talk with consumers, not to them.
Make better connections with site visitors by using conversational language and avoiding technical, industry jargon.

5. Think about colors used on the site.

Aging eyes can mean a reduced field of vision, loss of focus and difficulty in resolving images or distinguishing colors.
Some experts say it’s easier to see reds, oranges and yellows and harder to see blues, greens and violets.

6. Use outbound hypertext links to other interesting sites.

Linking to other sites can build a sense of community and show category leadership.

I’d say these are actually pretty good tips to boost site effectiveness with all of our audiences, not just the (aging) Boomers.

Leave a Comment » | Engagement, Interactive | Tagged: Baby Boomers, Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, website marketing | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

Taking Risks in Cardiovascular Marketing – How Far Should You Go?

April 22, 2011

Breakthrough campaigns always seem to stir up controversy.

Case in point: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina just launched a multimedia campaign to emphasize that many parties contribute to rising health care costs.

The stars of the campaign are goats: a goat with a stethoscope at a dinner party, a goat in a suit on an airplane and a goat in a towel in a locker room, just to name a few.

The campaign tagline is “Let’s stop looking for scapegoats.” The intent is to get a discussion going about how everyone in the healthcare arena – doctors, hospitals, drug companies, lawyers and consumers should work together to reduce costs. A website, is designed to create a forum for dialogue.

While the tagline and visual imagery are somewhat literal for my personal taste, my first reaction is that this is a great campaign. I can’t tell you how many times a healthcare client has come to us asking for a campaign that will break through the clutter – look and sound different than the competition.

Those are clients I admire. I mean, really, how many more ads do we need with smiling doctors, nurses and patients in a hospital setting?

As such, I was incensed by this article in the News Observer.

“The ads are likely to spark a backlash among some consumers, physicians and others who question why a nonprofit with $5.2 billion in annual revenue needs to spend even more money on marketing. It’s also risky to use funny ads to tackle a contentious topic.”

Wow. Even if consumers are skeptical of Blue Cross’s motives, don’t all companies still have the right to market and communicate with constituents? Who is this reporter to question Blue Cross’s marketing budget? The website looks like a pretty legitimate forum for discussion. And one of the goats is labeled as “insurers,” which gives people the option to criticize insurance companies just as much as the other players in the equation.

And what about this part? “It’s also risky to use funny ads to tackle a contentious topic.” Really? Is that a well-documented fact that should be distributed without attribution to a source?

I’ve actually witnessed several instances in which humor can break the ice in tackling some very difficult discussions. Apparently, that was the strategy here.

“This is not to make light of a serious issue,” Brad Wilson, Blue Cross CEO said. “We made a conscious choice to use humor in this campaign as a way of opening the door to a conversation that can be complex and, at times, uncomfortable. Finding solutions to rein in medical costs is in the best interest of our company, our customers and everyone in North Carolina.”

In my opinion, even if Blue Cross riles people up with this campaign, they have a right to get their message out. And this is a topic that is extremely important to Blue Cross customers – both employers and employees. If Blue Cross wants to position itself as a leader in trying to control costs, more power to them, even if people are skeptical. All the more reason to spend money on a campaign and use humor to get people’s attention.

What do you think? Is Blue Cross courageous or crazy? Have you launched a campaign that broke through the clutter yet drew criticism? What happened? Did your management/board stand behind you? Did the campaign generate results or did it flop?

Share your stories please.

2 Comments | Advertising, Engagement | Tagged: Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

When it Makes Sense to Exclude Social Media From Cardiovascular Marketing Strategy

March 28, 2011

Most patients don’t want to consult with their doctors via social media.

I’ve written extensively about the growth in consumer reliance on social media for health information. I’ve also talked about vast opportunities for building engaged peer communities. In addition, online channels are increasingly popular for administrative tasks like appointment setting and billing. However, a new study shows patients vastly prefer traditional communications when consulting with physicians. From the study:

84 percent of respondents said they would not use social media or instant messaging channels for medical communication if their doctors offered it.

However, they would be open to email and website interactions for specific heath consultations.

The Capstrat Public Policy poll surveyed 843 registered voters and found the following:

Even among younger people, 18 to 29 years of age, only 21 percent said they would take advantage of an online forum if offered.
Respondents were more favorable toward email and online channels when used for appointment setting, medical record access, and nurse consultation.

Another recent poll, Intuit Health’s second-annual Health Care Check-Up Survey, showed similar results. From the poll:

73 percent of respondents said they would use a secure online communication solution to make it easier to get lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills, and communicate with their doctor’s office.

The Capstrat survey also found differing attitudes among different demographic groups:

Hispanic respondents said they were more comfortable interacting with their doctors online.
- 89 percent would take advantage of email if their doctors offered it
- 89 percent would set appointments online
- 78 percent would participate in online bill payment
- 89 percent would call a nurse-help line.

The nurse-help line was actually the preferred form of communication across all demographic and age groups, with 72 percent of respondents saying they would take advantage of a nurse-help line if it was offered by their doctor.

To me, this information is not surprising. On one hand, we have more tools at our disposal than ever before when it comes to communicating with patients. However, these results offer a good reminder that choosing appropriate channels for varying types of communication is more important than ever. In many ways, traditional media planners have always heeded this advice. In building a media mix, they would recommend using different vehicles, e.g., print, radio, television, etc. for various types of messages.

The results of these surveys remind us online channels are no different. Social media, websites, email, online forums and all of our great online choices each have a place in the communications mix. However, they’re not interchangeable.

1 Comment | Engagement, Interactive, Social Media, Uncategorized | Tagged: Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, patient engagement, social media | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

The Main Artery

Should You Add A Chief Experience Officer to Your Cardiovascular Marketing Mix?

A Point of View on Physician Communication Programs for Cardiovascular Marketers

Six Tips for Making Your Cardiovascular Marketing Website More Boomer Friendly

Taking Risks in Cardiovascular Marketing – How Far Should You Go?

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