Social Media Strategy for Health Care

"Put the SOCIAL in social media. Don't eliminate it!"

Goals and Objectives1. Why am I using this? Disseminate Engage Connect Influence Impact2. What do I want to accomplish? 3. How will I know if I reach my goals? 4. How do I keep my community interested? 5. How will I manage my community?Be realistic. Be relevant. Match to organization's goals.

Social Media ChannelsThere are many social platforms to evaluate for inclusion in your SM plan. No community is so high and mighty that it doesn't need to participate in social media.Expand this section to take a look at the various social sites, details on how to use graphics, monitoring tools, social hubs and more.

Networking sitesFacebookGoogle+LinkedInBlogs/Micro-blogsTwitterWordpressTumblrContent CenteredYouTubeInstagramPinterestWikipedia

Doctor CenteredSermo.comNurse CenteredTheNurseCompany.comUltimateNurse.comPatient CenteredPatientsLikeMe.com23andMe.comWebicina.comWebMD.comCaregiver CenteredCaring.com

Sociel Media Site Terms of Service (TOS)1. Do you know what you have agreed to when using the various social sites?2. Does the site have a TOS, Best Practices, Guidelines, or other list you need to be aware of?See examples of Facebook, Twitter, & Pinterest Business account TOS

Social Site Graphics1. Is there someone who can make you graphics? Can you?2. Are you aware of the specifics required on each site?3. Do you have a variety of graphics to use (seasonal, event, highlights, …)?4. Do you have permission to use people in the graphic?Examples and details at link in this section.

Social Media Monitoring ToolsIf you want to know what’s happening in the social web you need social media monitoring tools. These tools can provide basic measurment data. More importantly, they help you manage the flow of information and commmunication in many social channels. Are you monitoring your brand, name, or online image looking for publicly posted items you can "borrow"? Some of the more popular ones include:HootSuiteTweetDeckContaxioSocial MentionHowSociableSeesmicDon't forget to use link shortening tools like Bit.ly or Ow.ly to track clicks easier.Check the link in the section for not only links to these popular tools, but articles with more information about monitoring your accounts.

Social Hubs (also known as Social Streams)"A social hub serves as a single destination for curated social content posted by an organization. The hub serves as a landing page for engaging content (stories, videos, anecdotes, etc). Putting all of this information in one place allows an organization to tell an ongoing, cohesive story."- Colleen DilenschneiderCheck the llink in this section to find resoruces and examples of social hubs.

Be Mobile FocusedA recent Pew Internet Health study study determined that 56% of U.S. adults own a smartphone (May 2013 survey). This is the first time their study results broke the 50% mark. Also, half of online health information research is on behalf of someone else. The possiblities of a caregiver using a smart phone in a facility to look up something rise ever year.When developing both your SM plan and content, consider that there is a really good chance that visitors to your sites will be using a smart phone or tablet. 1. Is your content mobile friendly?2. Do you (or your team) participate in your SM channels on a mobile device yourself?3. Do you use your SM channels for live events? If so, focus on mobile content and engaging experiences.

Social Media ContentIf we ask for user-generated content and listen in on conversations, we will better understand the types of content that matter and evolve alongside our audience.Can you curate content you can find online in the various social sites, or do you need to create new content? 1. Tell stories2. Have conversations3. Provide testimonials4. Share experiences5. Provide a Call to Action in posts and content. Ask readers to report back and share their experiences.Tip: Avoid cross-posting the same message from one social channel to another. It appears "cheap", quick, lazy, and does not indicate you know your audience on each site.Expand this section to see the related links and information.

Social Media Policies1. Do you need one? For whom?2. Merger of existing organization policies?3. How to handle if policy is broken?4. Privacy implications in Health Care world?Examples at links in this section.

Always be mindful of the ways users will connect to your organization and message.1. Like2. Comment3. Share4. Review5. Rate6. Tag

Target Audiences1. What is your target health care audience? Patients (new, existing, former)? Caregivers? Doctors? Nurses? 2. Find the target audience and encourage them to connect to you3. But, be familiar with all audiences4. Does your content match the audience needs? How would you know?

Staff and Time Committments1. Do you have staff to devote to SM?2. Can you route incoming questions?3. Are you running a 24/7 SM operation? Be clear in expectations of staff and site visitors.“This isn't an addition to your job. This is a part of your job. This is a conversation which is what we are trained to do. We are about the needs of the patient, and this is where our patients are and this is where their needs are met most effectively.”Farris Timimi, M.D. Cardiologist & Medical Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media

Connect Internal Stakeholders/Users1. Find the SM users within. Organize. Share. Plan.2. Get others in organization to create & manage groups/lists (i.e., curate a Twitter list or manage a LinkedIn group)3. Share SM success stories

Evaluation Plan and Reporting1. Develop a timeline for obtaining data2. Extract data and save outside SM site when possible3. Act on the data4. Plan to review:Exposure - amount of people you reachEngagement - amount of people who take action in response to messageInfluence - positive, negative, neutral in sentimentResults - intrepretation of all previous aspects

Data Driven Decision Making1. Draw conclusions based on data2. Assess what works and what doesn't. Act on it.3. Make improvements to reach goals.4. Use measuring tools 5. Evaluate the "standards" - Exposure, Engagement, Influence, Results6. What can be measured in each social site?7. Measuring what matters -- engagement, more than just vanity metrics, influencers, virality, repeat engagement, stories, content distribution, unique relationships

Conclulsions1. Privacy2. Don't practice medicine in this setting.3. Doctor/patient interactions ... ok or not?4. Time, staffing, money constraints5. No standards of use ... yet. No definitive guide to best practices ... yet.6. Look for good contact points as you get started.7. Start by watching and lurking, then commenting and interacting, then creating your own content.8. Trust the community!List above adapted from:http://www.slideshare.net/RichmondDoc/im-grand-rounds

5 Social Business Mistakes You're Making1. No Involvement From The Top2. No Reason For Social3. Only One Reason For Social4. No Rules Of Engagement5. No Use Of Social At All (remember “ROI”)List above from http://www.informationweek.com/social-business/social_networking_consumer/5-social-business-mistakes-youre-making/240157357