Hospitals and Social Media
Ed Bennett, Director of Web StrategyUniversity of Maryland Medical System
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Agenda
What is Social Media?
How can hospitals use these tools?
Current numbers
Our experience at UMMC
Examples from other organizations
12345
The ROI issue
Getting started
67
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About Me
Working in the Web since 1994
Many hats:Startup participant Business consultantProgrammer / Designer
Been at UMMC since 1999
Not a Social Media Expert
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What is Social Media?
It’s a conversation, not a lecture
It’s an extension of everyday interaction
It’s group driven, not top-down
It’s messy, disorganized & hard to control
It’s a tool, not an end-point
It’s where our customers spend their time
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It’s a bunch
of Web Sites
with very silly names
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How can a Hospital use Social Media?
A. How do they use this tool?
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How Are Hospitals Using Social Media?
Customer Service Another contact point for our customers
Community Outreach The people in our physical community are on these sites
EducationA natural extension of our efforts to reach & teach
Public Relations The media is there looking for stories & sources
Crisis Communications Take control of the message, and keep community updated in real-time
RecruitmentLinkedIn, Facebook and other tools are used to recruit Clinical and Administrative staff
Brand MonitoringPeople are talking about us - What are they saying?
Service RecoveryStep in to offer solutions / change attitudes
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Current Hospital Social Media Accounts
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Rapid Growth – YouTube and Twitter
Number of Hospital Accounts by Month
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The UMMC Social Media Program
Background Started in the Fall of 2008 Run out of the Web Services
Department Uses Twitter, Facebook and
YouTube Conservative approach Minimal investment
Goals Another channel to spread the word
about UMMC Enhances / enables “Word of Mouth” UMMC brand & reputation monitoring Media corrections Puts UMMC “In the Room” Establishes UMMC as a trusted
source in social media spaces
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UMMC YouTube Channel
YouTube.com
One of the largest social media sites
The #2 Search Engine An easy “safe” choice
for hospitals Transition between
push and collaborative models
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UMMC YouTube Channel
YouTube.com/ummc Over 160 Videos Duplicates the videos embedded on
our Web site Core content from Maryland Health
Today – a professionally produced cable show
Adding 15 to 20 videos each month Doctor Bios Patient Testimonials UMMC Events
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UMMC YouTube Channel
The "Secret Sauce" for getting viewers:Detailed Descriptions
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0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09
YouTube
Umm.edu# of videos watched
The UMMC YouTube Channel
Impact
Each day: 1,500 people watch a
video on umm.edu An additional 600+
people watch on YouTube
These are new visitors, new exposure
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UMMC on Facebook
Facebook.com
Largest Social Network
250 Million active users (83 Mil. U.S.)
50% log in everyday 1 Billion pieces of
content shared each month
Fastest growth with people age 30+
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UMMC on Facebook
Facebook.com/medcenter
Over 1,000 fans Tools:
Newsfeeds Polls Galleries Events Videos Ask the Expert
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UMMC on Twitter
Twitter.com
Rapid growth Quick adoption by
Hospitals Lots of media attention
(hype) Long-term
commitment Best for conversations
- not push
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UMMC on Twitter
Twitter.com/ummc 2,700 followers 3 to 4 updates / day Clear identity Multiple accounts
(and some are push..) 80 / 20 rule – it’s not
always about UMMC
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UMMC on Twitter
Service Outreach Reputation monitoring Quick response Sincere concern Converts a negative
impression to a positive
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Examples from Other Organizations
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Community Outreach – Sutter Medical Center
Sutter Eden Medical Engages the local community about hospital building plans with this blog and a Twitter feed.
suttermedicalcentercastrovalley.org
twitter.com/SutterEdenMed
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Real-time Education - Aurora Health Care
Bilateral knee replacement surgery In the first wave of Live OR Twitter events Advance marketing built viewership from
900 to 2,000 followers in one week Tracked 20 consultations tied to the event,
that resulted in 14 procedures Local / National press coverage
twitter.com/Aurora_Health
“Had this done about 2 years ago but I know I will learn more today being awake”
“I heard about this on GMA this morning and got excited”
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Referring Physician Outreach - MD Anderson Cancer Center
twitter.com/PhysRelations
Promote use of Referring Physician Portal
Targeted messages on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube
Built Physician loyalty Saw a 9.5% increase in
physician-referred registrations
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Coordinated Program - Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
Invitation to “Share Your Story”
Well designed YouTube Channel
Active Facebook Account w/ over 2,200 Fans
Engaged, conversational Twitter presence
Cross promotion between all sites
"wow . . . looking at your pictures, I can sense that your hospital has the heart and will to take care of your patients."
Blog:www.wearechla.org
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Service Recovery – Scripps Health
twitter.com/Scrippshealth
Monitors Social Networks for the Scripps name
Steps in to help & resolve problems
Typical customer response – Surprise, amazement
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Crisis Communications - Innovis Health
Used a Blog and Twitter during the Spring 2009 floods
Created the blog and had first update posted in one hour
Decreased Media demands & freed phone lines during the emergency
Took control of the message
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Fall H1N1 Preparation
Targeting Young Adults
Social Media “Kits” – Badges, embedded widgets, content syndication
Coordinating with independent bloggers
Multiple Twitter feeds with over 800,000 followers
Podcasts, RSS feeds, email lists, text messaging alerts
Crisis Communications – Centers for Disease Control
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These services will continue to grow and grab attention (time spent on site).
An expectation that your organization will be available where they “live.”
An expectation that feedback, commenting, mash-ups, and sharing of your content can be integrated into their community.
The end of traditional “Push-only” Web sites.
What to Expect:
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Q. What’s the ROI of Social Media?
What’s the ROI?
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A. What’s the ROI for putting your pants on in the morning?*
*David Scott - http://bit.ly/hSzIi
Q. What’s the ROI of Social Media?
What’s the exact ROI of these services? Pastoral care Front desk staff Groundskeepers Housekeeping staff Call center
Certain services are expected, it’s a part of doing business
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Instead of ROI, Think ROC: Return On Connections
1. Positive Word of Mouth
2. Service Recovery
3. Message Influence (not control)
4. Brand Monitoring
5. Instant Feedback
Q. What’s the ROI of Social Media?
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How Can Your Organization Use Social Media?
These examples could apply to any public-facing organization
Any communication function should be considered
Ask your customers / Look at your competition
Where does your community live?
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Getting Started With Social Media
You can start small Look to your internal experts Consult with your legal team & create policies Audit courses at SMUG - social-media-university-global.org Only begin what you can maintain Be able to respond quickly Prepare for the negative, but expect mostly positive Remember, only 350 U.S. hospitals out of 5,000 use social media tools –
this is just the beginning
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Thank You
Edward Bennett
Director, Web Strategy
University of Maryland Medical System
410-328-0771
http://ebennett.org