3 Ways to Use Social Media to Improve Your Health Care Marketing
Within the next three to five years, the use of social media to connect with individuals is expected to increase by 256%.
For the health care industry in particular, social media can help engage patients, providers and the public with relevant and timely information, as well as communicate the value and credibility of a health system.
Why is this tactic becoming a critical component of health care marketing strategy?
A recent study found 57% of consumers’ decisions to receive treatment at a health care facility are strongly influenced by that provider’s social media connections, showing that patients trust health organizations with a social presence.
According to another report, 60% of doctors say social media improves the quality of care delivered to patients, which means that doctors also value the transparency and open communication that social media can provide.
With the opportunity to increase patient referrals and improve the quality of care, it’s no surprise that many health systems are jumping on the social media bandwagon.
Let’s take a look at a few ways using social media in health care can improve overall marketing efforts:
Engage With Patients in Real Time
One of the benefit of social media marketing in health care is enabling deeper and more meaningful discussions that address patient questions, concerns and interests in real time.
The question is, how can health care marketers effectively use social media to communicate and engage with existing patients?
Health systems can facilitate patient empowerment by enabling and engaging in patient forums and research networks online. For example, PatientsLikeMe allows patients to manage their own health conditions by discussing treatments with patients who have similar conditions. Hospitals and other health networks can develop their own platforms that allow patients to share their experiences and receive support from similar individuals.
Along with forums, health systems can use social networking pages to encourage patient discussions. For example, Children’s Mercy uses their Facebook page to showcase their reputation as a renowned care center.
“Locally, Children’s Mercy wants parents to know their kids are in good hands. Social is a good way to share news and feature CMH doctors and patients,” says PR director Jake Jacobson.
This video is a part of Children’s Mercy’s “Big Slick KC” promotion for their annual fundraiser. Posts like these raise awareness for the health system’s Cancer Center, share patient stories and urge people to donate.
According to the Journal of Health Management, “When patients tell their stories, their friends see that, and the likelihood of spreading the message increases many-fold.”
To successfully engage patients on social media forums or networking sites, organizations must regularly monitor these platforms to respond to patients in a timely manner, as well as ensure fresh, engaging content is added often to keep patients interested.
Facilitate Physician Collaboration
Health care marketers can also use social media channels to encourage physician alignment and collaboration. Texas Health, a network of 25 hospitals that employs 5,500 physicians, created an enterprise social network to help physicians communicate and work with one another to overcome challenges posed by the work environment, such as electronic health record requirements.
As a result of this networking initiative, the health system saw improved physician collaboration, a shorter learning period and greater acceptance of social media tools.
Social media is an easy way for physicians to find and connect with other health professionals, even those outside of their own health system or hospital. Physicians can also share their knowledge or research to benefit other providers.
Overall, these practices improve physicians’ knowledge and willingness to work as a team. The more informed and educated a health system’s physicians are, the happier patients will be with their experience and the quality of care provided.
Ultimately, health care marketers should strive to provide patients with better experiences to foster loyalty, retention and positive word-of-mouth referrals. Improving physician engagement and alignment is one way to do so.
Support Population and Preventative Health Initiatives
Since many social media sites are public communication platforms that can reach a wide breadth of individuals, health care organizations can use this marketing tactic to support broader population health and preventative health initiatives.
One way to do this is to communicate educational information about health events and crises. Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic and Shannon Dosemagen of Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, say “organizations can use social media to distribute time-sensitive health information, promote information sharing to encourage behavioral changes (including corrective changes during potential health crises), be a platform for conversation between agencies and constituents (rather than just as an information provider) and allow the public to provide useful information and feedback.”
Health care organizations can also use social media as a platform to distribute information about common health conditions, diseases and other public health issues as a preventative measure.
As John Weston, CMO of Mayo Clinic notes, “We leverage the rich content we have to provide consumers with information about diseases and conditions, even when it is likely they may never become a patient. We view this as part of our moral responsibility — to share our knowledge and expertise to benefit others.”
Though social media provides the opportunity for health care organizations to reach large consumer and patient populations, marketers need to be mindful of maintaining HIPAA compliance and other privacy regulations on these public platforms.
Providers can maintain the trust of patient-provider relationships by staying far away from patient information and establishing a professional presence. Keeping this in mind, social media in health care has the potential to improve patient engagement, drive physician alignment, and foster a healthier society overall.
How does your healthcare organization take advantage of social media?
This article originally appeared on Evariant.com.
About Evariant
Evariant is a health care analytics platform company that enables providers to optimize growth through smarter patient acquisition and retention. For more information, visit evariant.com
