Intelligence Unit
Special Reports
Special Events
Subscribe/Buy
Sponsored
Departments
- Leadership
- Finance
- Technology
- Physicians
- Community Hospitals
- Health Plans
- Marketing
- Quality
- Nursing
- HR
Follow Us
Is Social Media an Effective Healthcare Marketing Tool?
Social media is a marketer's campaign fallback. When in doubt, tweet it! Post it! Social media seems like an obvious marketing platform, but it may not be as effective as you think in the healthcare sector.
Only 4% of healthcare industry leaders reported social media as "very effective" for helping marketing efforts, according to HealthLeaders Industry Survey 2011.The majority of respondents (53%) answered that they were "neutral" on social media's effectiveness.
Maybe it's information overload. Maybe it's a form of A.D.D. Millennials are showing little interest in what marketers have to say via social media. According to a Capstrat poll, more than five of every six respondents said they would not use social media for medical communication if their doctors offered it.
"It appears consumers are willing to move administrative experiences such as bill payment and records access online, but when it comes to conferring with their healthcare providers, people still prefer more traditional communications," said Capstrat President, Karen Albritton in a media statement.
Many hospitals and healthcare organizations are still figuring out the best ways to use social media to their advantage. Thus far, the only social media guidelines for physicians are from the American Medical Association and were released in November 2010. Here are the highlights which include monitoring:
- Privacy settings to safeguard personal information
- Internet presence to ensure that the personal and professional information personal sites and content posted about them by others, is accurate and appropriate.
- Appropriate boundaries of the patient-physician relationship when interacting with patients online to ensure patient privacy and confidentiality are maintained.
- Separation of personal and professional content online.
- Online actions---Recognize that and content posted can negatively affect their reputations among patients and colleagues, and may even have consequences for their medical careers.
The guidelines are basic, to say the least. In my research, I've come across two extreme cases of social media use: One with profoundly positive consequences…and one with profoundly negative consequences.
- Urologists 'Outraged' Over PSA Test Challenge
- New Facebook Page Gathers Stories of Medical Harm
- Luxury Hospital Facilities Put Patient Experience First
- Five Hospitals Share Three Secrets to Improve Knee Surgery Outcomes
- Heartland Health Joins Mayo Clinic Network
- Beleaguered Fairview Health CEO to Retire in July
- Health Insurance Exchanges Put Defined Benefits to the Test
- Challenging Physicians to Help Improve the ED
- For hospitals and insurers, new fervor to cut costs
- The Power of Plugged-In Physicians
Comments are moderated. Please be patient.
Erick Kinuthia (3/21/2012 at 1:34 AM)
In this current world and economy if a doctor is not in the social media bandwagon is missing a lot on potential patients. Erick Kinuthia Team MDwebpro
Brandon (10/29/2011 at 3:02 PM)
Emily, I am pretty sure that the second paragraph states the stance the article takes on the effectiveness of advertising through social media.
Emily (5/11/2011 at 9:46 PM)
This article fails to address the question, Is Social Media an Effective Healthcare Marketing Tool? Your examples only illustrate cases in which a doctor and a patient used social media for health. Neither are explicitly part of a marketing campaign. In my opinion, social media has a relevant and ever growing place in the healthcare industry. There is a dialogue going on in blogs, in chat forums, on Facebook and Twitter about health. People are seeking answers to their health questions. They are looking for advice and support. For the healthcare industry to utilize social media to understand what these Health Activists are asking questions about online, understanding their sentiments toward different drugs and treatment options would be hugely relevant insight for them. It would be the first step in bridging the gap between the patient and the healthcare industry. It would not only improve the relationship between the two parties, but it would also improve transparency and trust. With over 500 million active Facebook users and 200 million active Twitter users around the world, clearly social media is a force to be reckoned with. The healthcare industry needs to get on board. Check out WEGO Health (www.wegohealth.com) you might find their work, connecting Health Activists with the healthcare industry, interesting.