Social Media in Health Care Feb 2011

Today’s agenda• Overview (20 min)– Why social media? – From SEA to shining SEA– The three C’s of social media

• Blogging (15 min)• Facebook (15 min)• Twitter (10 min)• Q’s and A’s (15 min)

Why social media

• Our jobs have changed• Our tools have changed• Our audiences, their needs and expectations

have changed• Incredible opportunities to inform and engage,

all while building your organization’s brand

Social Media at Children’s• Blogs

– Thrive: pediatric health– Vector: science and innovation

• Facebook– 19 pages– Departments and programs such as Heart Center, Advanced

Fetal Care Center, Cleft Lip and Palate• Twitter

– 15 feeds– Some overlap of Facebook pages, but most are general

• SocialText– CHB about to launch internal collaboration software

Complete listing at chbos.org/socialmedia

Social Media:From SEA to shining SEA

SEA: Strategic

• Strategize: Let your goals be your guide– Reputation building? Volume building? Name

recognition? Thought leadership? Patient support?• Execute: Use the right tool for the specific goal• Assess: Was it successful?– If yes, evaluate what went well and replicate.– If not, that’s OK. Learn from successes and

failures.

SEA to SEA

SEA: Tactical• Share– Find great stories, personalities, voices, images, videos– Give yourself time to share the content you create

• Engage– Identify and connect with those most likely to be interested

in a topic or story – Share your content in as many ways as possible– Be personal—and not just when you need something– Return the favor

• Amplify– Use internal resources to spread the word– Then get help from others outside your organization

SEA to SEA

SEA: TacticalThe Three C’s of Social Media

Collaboration!Coordination!

Communication!

SEA to SEA

SEA: TacticalHuddle

• Encourages the three C’s• ½ hour EVERY DAY• Reps from social media, media, web, physician

and patient comm, etc• Can respond to news in real time…• Plan for the week ahead…• And look down the road in a strategic way

SEA to SEA

Huddles help you get your ducks in a row.

Blogging• Children’s has two blogs:– Thrive: Pediatric health, wellness and parenting– Vector: Science and innovation

• Benefits:– Two-way communication– Share timely, relevant news and info– Real-time feedback on content– Control messaging– SEO benefits– Brand building

Blogging

• Just do it—but be smart• Decide what your blog is—and isn’t• Don’t build it on your own: great, simple,

EXISTING blog platforms—use one• HIPAA disclaimer• Don’t be afraid to fail• Follow the data

Blogging• Different medium, same rules– Great stories, organizational benefit, separate yourself

from the pack• Let others do the talking– Doctors, nurses, patients, parents, employees– Find and cultivate strong voices– Make illness, recovery and challenge come to life

• If it’s a no-brainer, don’t waste your time– Fireworks safety on July 4th, tooth-brushing tips during

Dental Health Month

Children’s on Facebook

• Facebook.com/ChildrensHospitalBoston– 507,000 likes as of February 21, 2011– Largest hospital Facebook page in the world

• 19 total pages (more: chbos.org/socialmedia)

• Facebook is: Facebook isn’t:– Wall posts and comments — Websites– Photos —

Blogs– Custom tabs —

YouTube

Children’s on Facebook

• Great way to push out content• More interaction than blog comments• …but that doesn’t always relate to clicks• Even negative comments are a good thing• Our posts have been viewed over 88 million

times (equals $225,000 in ad savings)

Facebook as political engager

Connecting on Facebook

• Don’t use it only to push your content• Create something that will engage your

audience• 57% of our Facebook audience is women

between ages 18-44. What do moms like?• People on Facebook love to talk about

themselves. Give them the opportunity.

Connecting on Facebook

Children’s on Twitter

• 15 Twitter handles, all separately maintained• 11,500 total followers• @ChildrensBoston and @ThriveChildrens are

the most widely read and shared

See chbos.org/socialmedia for a full listing

Twitter 101

It’s all about who you know. Like Hollywoodor high school, the company you keep on Twitter says a lot about you. Connect and interact withreputable, likeminded groups and organizationsthat can help you spread your message—andyou theirs. When it comes to followers, qualityover quantity is key.

@Positives vs. @Negatives Benefits

• Real-time communication• Personal touch• Cheap and easy to maintain

Challenges• Unpredictable• Extremely limited window of opportunity• Twitter-verse is overpopulated; it can be difficult to

stand out

How to’s• Keep it relevant– Avoid tweets that don’t push conversation forward or

contain relevant, timely information – Share focused, interesting and current info – Makes your feed less likely to get lost in the din

• Share and share alike – Push your own content, but share the work of others

doing similar things – Promotes good will among likeminded organizations– Often leads to more re-Tweets of your content,

thereby extending your message and brand

Adding followers

• Clearly define and target a specific audience• Listen to what followers are saying. Adjust

editorial content to reflect trends and attitudes.

• Make sure content is always timely and relevant

• Share content outside of your organization

The last word• Let each tool do what it does best• Share the good stuff; make a plan for dealing

with the bad stuff• You can’t buy buy-in• Health care’s compelling, important, always

relevant—communicate that

Contact us

• Matt Cyr – Director, Patient and Family Communications@mattcyr or matthew.cyr@childrens.harvard.edu

• Ryan Paul – Social Media Specialist@RYANdashPAUL or ryan.paul@childrens.harvard.edu

• Tripp Underwood – Writer/Blogger@ESUIII or tripp.underwood@childrens.harvard.edu

Questions?