The impact of social media on businesses is undeniable due to its deep penetration into modern society. Healthcare institutions and medical practices are no exceptions. People are increasingly using social media to find and discuss health information, share experiences, provide support, and choose doctors and hospitals. There is a high level of trust for medical information shared on networks or found on websites or health apps. Only about a quarter of all hospitals nationwide are active on social media, but this is quickly changing. A study of 83 Ohio hospitals by the Ohio Hospital Association and Mindset Digital LLC revealed that the number of respondents devoting time to social media has doubled from 2012 to 2015 and social media …show more content…
All healthcare marketing departments have a limited budget and time and staff constraints. Other obstacles include consistently posting credible, valuable, and interesting content and developing various channels to increase followers and likes. Some savvy business acumen is needed to tackle social media without breaking the bank. 1. Organize: Hiring or nominating a coordinator for social media is not realistic for most small to medium sized practices, but syncing accounts, on Facebook and Twitter, for example, can help save time and increase efficiency. Several management tools like Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, and Buffer allow posts to be scheduled daily, weekly or monthly, allowing you to set aside some designated time to get the bulk of the work done. Additional time is then needed to monitor interactions, post updates, and analyze results. 2. Prioritize: The number of social media channels is mushrooming - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, Pinterest, and what have you - so prioritizing is important. Jumping on the bandwagon of every new social media trend is not a good idea. Facebook is the most popular social media channel among hospitals. Your organization should target and focus on what will be most impactful for …show more content…
Materialize: Probable the most time-consuming aspect of social media marketing and communications is consistently posting fresh, relevant, interesting, and credible material. Don't compromise on the quality of the content you post. Poor quality or irrelevant content will probably go unread and end up tarnishing your brand image. Creating and sticking to an editorial calendar is productive. So is recycling your own content - a Facebook post could be broken down into 10 tweets or an old article could be reposted with some updates and a new photo. Guest posts are another way to generate content. It may be cost-effective to outsource content creation, with your physicians or clinical staff providing a broad