Social Media « 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

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

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

10 Reasons Cardiovascular Marketers Should Keep Blogging

March 15, 2011

Keeping your blog current can result in tangible benefits, even if you feel like engagement is lagging.

For many organizations, it can be hard to find the discipline to make blogging a long-term priority. There are countless examples of people whose initial excitement about their blogs has changed to apathy or even dread.

Believe me, I get it. It takes significant time, motivation and commitment to keep your blog going after the initial bloom is off the rose, so to speak.

It’s tempting to give up, especially if you’re not generating a lot of comments or discussion. I saw a great post the other day from Mark Schaefer, who gave 10 solid reasons to resist that temptation.

Search engine benefits — This one is a “no-brainer.” Search engines show more love to websites with fresh, relevant content. Research shows that sites with blogs get up to 55 percent more traffic than sites without blogs — even if there are no readers.
Marketing differentiation —A blog is an excellent way to bring your brand position to life. It’s also an opportunity to talk about competitive differences in a conversational, non-threatening venue. For cardiovascular marketers, blogs provide endless possibilities to educate and inform.
Infinite search life — I recently received a call from a hospital marketer in New Jersey asking a question about how to reach out to referring physicians. I wondered how she found me. It turns out a post I wrote months ago popped up in Google when she did an initial search. Blogs allow your content to work long after you post it.
A cost-effective sales call — A blog is an excellent way to provide a constant stream of communication to remind patients and potential patients about your services and points of differentiation. Even if they don’t have a particular need right now, the content they read in your blog can play into a decision that happens down the road.
Your content engine — Your investment in a consistent stream of quality content can be leveraged in many ways to support a content marketing strategy. Blog posts can be used as the basis for presentations, newsletter content, e-mail marketing and cross-pollination with other social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter.
Direct sales — Yes, you can sell through your blog. For example, some companies advertise training services in a sidebar on their blogs. Why not offer the opportunity to register for classes or screenings on your blog?
Indirect sales — Featuring blog-only promotions and offers or opt-in content can expose new patient leads.
PR – Blog posts have the opportunity for massive reach. If an aggregation service picks up your post, your message has a chance to be heard by a much wider audience than you would reach with a press release or status update.
New product development — Many companies use blogs as a way to engage customers to solve problems and create new ideas. Caterpillar has blogs dedicated to each major product line. Starbucks blogs about customer ideas as a way to crowd-source new product innovation. Why couldn’t cardiovascular marketers do the same thing? It’s not exactly conventional thinking in the health-care world, but I believe a more patient-driven future must include these types of strategies.
Crisis management — A blog is an essential channel to explain the facts amid chaos. In less than an hour after the earthquake hit Haiti, The Red Cross blog had news of their activities and information on how to donate. Company responses through blogs are often quoted by mainstream news sources. Unfortunately, hospitals and health systems have plenty of crises to deal with. Using your blog as an information channel makes a lot of sense.

So, even if your blog is not currently getting tons of comments, consider these benefits as reasons to keep it up.

1 Comment | Engagement, Social Media | Tagged: Blog Engagement, Cardiovascular Marketing, Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, Mark Schaefer | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

Five Twitter Tips to Improve Your Cardiovascular Marketing

March 8, 2011

With Twitter approaching 200 million users, it may be time to re-think your strategy.

I know a lot of savvy marketers who will admit they’re still a little insecure about their Twitter efforts. I recently came across a post that offers some great tips to avoid common mistakes.

Put a Human Face on Your Tweets – Since social media is about creating human interaction, it’s critical to make sure your audience understands your tweets are coming from a human, not just a health-care organization. Some experts suggest putting pictures of the people who are tweeting for you on your profile background. You could also have employees use initials at the end of each tweet. Alegent Health in Omaha employs this strategy on its Facebook page, as the person who posted signs their name.
Monitor Your Following Versus Followers Ratio – Your Twitter Following versus Followers ratio is an important indication of your willingness to be social. If you really want to build up a relevant following, you have to follow people back. Social media has leveled the playing field between businesses and consumers. Following people back acknowledges their importance to you and increases the chance that they will become engaged brand advocates.
Tweet Strategically – Do you have a Twitter content strategy? Think about it: Twitter isn’t about you, it’s about them. What information and communication do they want to hear? Start tweeting it!
Leverage Twitter Lists – One easy way to communicate with the right people is to create a Twitter List of the people you want to engage with. You are allowed to create 20 lists, each with 500 members. Once they are on your list, you have the additional benefit of being able to easily monitor their conversations and look for more chances to engage with them.
Create an Industry Chat – Twitter chats, give you the ability to network with real people, many of whom are joining the conversation to learn about any given topic. Twitter chat can be an extension of your content strategy. It’s a great way to attain thought leadership, grow your following, engage with social media users, and spread the word about your offerings. Cardiovascular marketing is a topic that is perfect for a twitter chat because there are so many aspects to discuss.

Please feel free share additional Twitter strategies that are working for you.

Leave a Comment » | Engagement, Social Media | Tagged: healthcare social media, Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, Twitter | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

Overcoming Four Social Media Challenges for Cardiovascular Marketers

February 22, 2011

While social media is gaining favor among cardiovascular marketers, we’re also being held more accountable for results.

I recently saw a post from Lee Odden that has some good advice for addressing four key challenges.

1. Getting Approval From the C-Suite

Tying efforts to business goals, e.g., revenue growth, patient acquisition or increased profitability is key.
The days of approaching social media marketing as a series of disconnected campaigns without coordination, overall strategy or specific outcomes is over. It’s time to start applying the same strategy to social media campaigns that we use in more traditional campaigns.
Start with a hypothesis and develop a plan for reaching or influencing business outcomes. Show key performance indicator measurements and to what degree they can correlate with goals.

2. Social Content Creation

Creating an editorial plan, similar to an editorial calendar for a publication, can save a lot of time with content creation.
Developing content formats or templates as well as libraries of keywords, hooks & clever angles that support key messages and desired reader behaviors can save time when you need a quantity of quality content.
Leveraging other people in your organization, especially subject matter experts, physicians, clinical trial administrators, dieticians, etc., can also save time. People who interact with patients are a goldmine for quality content ideas.

3. Finding / Reaching Your Audience

Collect information that exemplifies your best patients and prospects. Discover their information discovery, consumption and sharing preferences. What topics are they interested in? What are their pain points? What do they search for? What do they talk about on social media sites? Where do they hang out and who / what influences them?

Odden recommends taking a prospect newsletter email list and leveraging it with a service like Rapleaf or Flowtown. Importing email addresses into those services will reveal wherever those individuals have registered accounts on social media sites.

4. Presenting Results to the C-Suite

Odden acknowledges that executive level social media reporting to the C-Suite is still a bit of a challenge because they most often care about the direct impact on business growth – something that is difficult to measure with social media efforts due to the indirect influence and delayed effect.

However, correlation measures can be offered, such as an overlay of the progression of social media performance indicators on top of business goals.

For example:

The increased trend in social content creation and citations from the community overlaid with an increase in non-campaign new prospect inquiries.

The key with C-Suite reporting is to properly manage expectations, keep it simple and do your best to focus on both the direct and indirect impact of social media efforts on overall business goals.

The bottom line is that social media planning and evaluation has to meet the same standard that we employ for other marketing communications programs. I’ve said it a million times. Social media is just one more tool in our toolbox. I have a feeling it will be working harder than ever this year.

Leave a Comment » | Engagement, ROI/Metrics, Social Media | Tagged: Heart and cardiovascular marketing, Julie Robinson, Kuhn & Wittenborn, marketing ROI, social media | Permalink
Posted by Julie Robinson

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