Each December, I cut back my roses to get rid of the dead growth and get them ready for the spring. While a time-consuming and sometimes painful process, hospitals would benefit from a similar exercise--taking a closer look at their marketing and social media efforts and trimming back programs that haven't been effective.
This is especially important because consumer research shows that social media is a saturated market. There are only 24 hours in a day and people simply don't have any more time to devote to social media. In fact, people already spend more time using social media than going to church, talking on the phone, sending email or exercising. The good (and maybe bad) news is that people are looking in the mirror and admitting they're addicted to social media. That's why they're vowing to unplug during the holidays and making a social media naughty and nice list, determining what social media adds value and what doesn't. There's even new technology like Bottlenose that may help make this process easier.
Here are some things hospitals can do to ensure they're social media efforts will come up roses in 2012:
Know that more can be less: Organizations typically think posting frequent updates is the key to engagement. However, the reverse can be true . It's better to post updates six to seven times a week at relevant occasions. Many brands post updates 10, 15, even 20 times a week, but in the end those posts can wind up being a lot of noise.
Differentiate your message: Hospitals across the country are using their Twitter feeds to provide health tips. While offering great advice, those Twitter feeds are interchangeable. To be effective, a hospital's Twitter posts should provide helpful information that is relevant to the community it serves and help distinguish it from other healthcare organizations.
Coordinate marketing efforts: Hospitals are focused on marketing their service lines. Unfortunately, social media often isn't integrated into these plans and is something that's added as an afterthought. Done well, social media can bring your messages to the right audiences and help set your hospital apart from competitors.
Make marketing personal: One of the great things about social media is that it allows hospitals to engage in conversations with the communities they serve. However, too often, social media becomes a broadcast tool for organizations to talk about themselves. For example, while your hospital might have a beautiful new breast care center, beauty shots of the new facility won't excite people. Instead, people would rather watch inspirational videos of breast cancer survivors or view wonderful and whimsical bras through an event called The Bra-ha-ha . Use social media and marketing to make your marketing meaningful.
Don't be part of the noise: Leading brands are seeing engagement on their Facebook walls decrease by 22 percent . Why? Bad content, coupons, polls, contests and boring filler. Instead, hospitals should take a critical look at their content and determine whether it's providing real value, such as encouraging patients to talk a walk, schedule a mammogram or stick to their diet.
With the New Year right around the corner, I encourage you to put on your work gloves, take out your pruning shears and look at your social marketing efforts. It could make for a wonderful spring.
Jenn Riggle is an associate vice president and social media leader of the Health Practice at CRT/tanaka. She has 20 years of public relations experience in issues, such as healthcare marketing and public relations, social media in healthcare, national media relations, and strategic communications planning. She regularly engages in social media, both on Twitter (@riggrl) and frequently blogs about social media and healthcare issues for The Buzz Bin , a PR and marketing blog.
by Jenn Riggle
This is especially important because consumer research shows that social media is a saturated market. There are only 24 hours in a day and people simply don't have any more time to devote to social media. In fact, people already spend more time using social media than going to church, talking on the phone, sending email or exercising. The good (and maybe bad) news is that people are looking in the mirror and admitting they're addicted to social media. That's why they're vowing to unplug during the holidays and making a social media naughty and nice list, determining what social media adds value and what doesn't. There's even new technology like Bottlenose that may help make this process easier.
Here are some things hospitals can do to ensure they're social media efforts will come up roses in 2012:
With the New Year right around the corner, I encourage you to put on your work gloves, take out your pruning shears and look at your social marketing efforts. It could make for a wonderful spring.
Jenn Riggle is an associate vice president and social media leader of the Health Practice at CRT/tanaka. She has 20 years of public relations experience in issues, such as healthcare marketing and public relations, social media in healthcare, national media relations, and strategic communications planning. She regularly engages in social media, both on Twitter (@riggrl) and frequently blogs about social media and healthcare issues for The Buzz Bin , a PR and marketing blog.