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Mar 14 2013

Five Instagram Secrets for Health Brands

March 14, 2013 – 10:24 am

I don’t need to explain the “awesomeness” that is Instagram, the photo app that essentially blew up overnight and now boasts over 100 million users. The app that first made its journey into the hands of the social media enthusiasts and the artsy photographer wannabes has quickly caught the attention of big brands. In fact, 54 percent of the world’s top brands are now active on Instagram according to a study by Simply Measured.

So what does this have to do with health? As a creative mobile photo app, the misconception is that unless you’re a brand with inspiring products or a visually appealing story to tell, then Instagram isn’t for you. Perhaps you’re a hospital marketer wondering what in the world you could take photos of that people would actually want to see. Maybe you’re a health or nutrition brand wondering how being active on Instagram will actually help you affect one’s health behavior change or grow customers.

If you’re struggling with telling your brand’s story, starting with something as simple as a photo may be exactly what you need to push your limits. Sure, your brand’s visual component may not be staring you in the face like it does for brands like Starbucks or Victoria’s Secret but I challenge you to think outside the box, put your creative photo lense on and try using the app to intrigue and inspire customers.

Here are 5 ways your hospital or health brand can use Instagram to tell your story: Read More »

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Rachael Seda | Posted in Digital Marketing, Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (18)
Feb 21 2013

One Size Does Not Fit All: Five Tips for Creating Successful Minority Health Education Campaigns

February 21, 2013 – 9:00 am

By Kim Blake (@kimkblake)

Each February, we focus on our hearts.  I’m not talking about Valentine’s Day, but rather the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” campaign, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year.  The goal of the campaign has been to shift awareness of heart disease as the number one killer of women, which was at just 30% in 1997.  Today, 56% of all women are now aware of the devastating impact of heart disease.

However, a new study shows that we still have room for improvement among African-American and Hispanic women. In particular, this is important because African-American women have the highest risk of heart disease and Hispanic women have the highest risk of diabetes, which is often linked to heart disease.  The new report from the American Heart Association demonstrates that awareness has grown among these audiences (from 15% among African-American women and 20% among Hispanic women in 1997 to 36% and 34% awareness, respectively), but that there remains a significant gap.

Read More »

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Kim Blake | Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)
Feb 14 2013

If Social Media Can Create Organ Donors, It Can Work for You Too

February 14, 2013 – 11:55 am

By Lisa Kersey (@lkersey1)

February 14th evokes a variety of responses. For some, it’s a day they’d rather forget, while for others, it means being in the doghouse if they do forget. But for the 117,032 people awaiting an organ, February 14th is National Donor Day.

Consider these statistics from The National Network of Organ Donors:

  • 19 people die every day in this country waiting for an organ transplant
  • Every 11 seconds, someone in the U.S. is added to the organ transplant list
  • 1 organ donor can save up to 8 lives

And according to Virginia-based LifeNet, a national organ procurement organization, if everyone who could donate an organ did, there would be no waiting list. So, how do we get there?

In a word, millennials.

I’m not suggesting that they are the only eligible donors; rather, they are the perfect audience to jump-start the effort. While most hospital marketers are focused on targeting women, boomers or financial donors –all of which are legitimate targets –many hospitals, and particularly those with transplant programs, are missing a key audience – millennials! They’re socially-conscious activists and highly engaged in social networks. From an organ donation standpoint, they could raise awareness, facilitate new registrants and provide additional “documentation” among friends and family with regard to their wishes, potentially minimizing some of the historical barriers to actual organ donation.

Mark Zuckerberg must agree with me. Last spring, Facebook added an organ donor option to the Facebook timeline. Though more than 100,000 Facebookers signed up to be organ donors within the first few days, the surge dissipated.  Why?

Short attention spans, for one. Organ donation, like most things in health care, is not top of mind for most people, nor is it something they really want to think about. They need a reason. As Brian Solis told Forbes, “Effective social activism must connect online engagement with offline action.” Registering as an organ donor lends itself well to integrating these two things. Solis went on to say that where most brands or campaigns fall short is the follow-up plan after the initial communication to educate and influence. Without it, he says, people are simply “participating as personal avatars without any actual involvement.”

So what can hospitals and other organizations do to avoid using social media simply to create avatars?

  1. Start with a strategy. I know what you’re thinking – “duh.” But it happens all the time. A surefire way to waste your limited marketing dollars is to start with tactics. I don’t care how shiny the penny, or how impassioned the request –if you want results, start by defining the desired outcome, develop a strategy and then –and only then –should you identify the best tactics for achieving your goals. Is Twitter the best tactic? Maybe Facebook or YouTube? Perhaps some combination? Even if Facebook is the best tactic, consider how to use it most effectively –should you create a Facebook tab? Do you know the latest rules for advertising on Facebook? It all depends on your strategy.
  2. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Did I mention the need for repetition? You will tire of your message much more quickly than your audience. In fact, just about the time you decide you can’t possibly develop one more communication or advertisement with “those messages,” is about the time it will start to stick in the minds of your target audience (assuming you began with a strategy). And it’s not just about repeating your message in one channel –look for ways to repurpose and rephrase your content across multiple channels. This will widen your net while also reinforcing your message with many.
  3. Move fast and hit hard. This is one of the must haves for captivating millennials. I realize that for most hospitals, the word fast does not reflect your cultural norms. But if you want to capture an important part of your base, you need to engage with millennials where they are –on social networks –and in real time. You cannot “do” social networking by committee or wait until next week’s meeting to respond. That is not to say you shouldn’t have discussions around strategy , identify those with primary accountability and create “guardrails” for what’s acceptable and what’s not. But once that’s established, you’ll have to pick up the pace. Communicating successfully with millennials should include a clear call to action, allow them to track with you on the progress toward achieving the goal, and include real-time interaction.

So, whether you are a transplant center seeking ways to increase organ donation or a hospital seeking new ways to connect with your community, get to know the millennials who live and work there. And instead of creating avatars, you’ll have the opportunity to create brand ambassadors.

 Are you creating avatars or ambassadors through your social media efforts?

Photo courtesy of WETA ©2007 Twentieth Century Fox

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Lisa Kersey | Posted in Digital Marketing, Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)
Jan 24 2013

Is Google the New Family Doc?

January 24, 2013 – 12:53 pm

by Debbie Myers (@debamyers)

Back in the day, we used to rely on family, friends and old wives tales to diagnose medical conditions.

My sons-in-law married into a family that believes the primary care physician is part of the family. It’s commonly advised that you should visit this family physician every year or so if you need their expertise to help figure out what ails you. While respectful of their mother-in law’s advice, these young men have informed me that they can pretty much figure out what our family doc might have to say by checking in first with “cousin” Google. It seems many folks agree with my sons-in-law.

We’ve known for some time that consumers are not afraid of using the Internet to find health information. In fact, nearly 60 percent of U.S. adults have looked online for health information this past year. We now know that consumers are also turning to the Internet for diagnosis – either as a first stop before going to the doctor, or as an online second opinion. According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, more than one-third of U.S. adults have turned to the Internet to diagnose medical conditions for themselves or others.

When medical professionals hear data like this they get nervous that consumers are replacing “Dr. Welby” with “Dr. Google.” But, I think a deeper look into the research tells a different story.

According to the Pew study, nearly half of those looking for a diagnosis online said the information led them to want to seek the attention of a medical professional. And of those, 41 percent said that their clinician confirmed their findings, which tells me the information people are finding is not far off-target. The survey also showed that, when it comes to serious illness, 70 percent of U.S. adults received information, care, or support from a doctor or other health care professional.  So while referring to the Internet may not always be more reliable, your search will likely take you to trusted sources like WebMD, Mayo Clinic, Medline Plus, familydoctor.org and cancer.gov.

The most important lesson for the medical profession is to be online where consumers are. Some health systems have done this well, such as Nemours, which created KidsHealth.org, one of the most frequented sites for information on children’s health. With the introduction of electronic medical systems, some physicians are embracing email to answer basic questions. I recently emailed my doctor with questions about a new medicine I was taking, and she quickly responded with the answers to my questions. She even sent me a link to some helpful resources. There was another time when I emailed with a more complex question. Instead, my doctor asked me to give her a direct call to discuss.

I appreciate that my doctor is trying to achieve a balance between being available online for general health information and knowing when it’s time to step away from the computer and get face-to-face. We as healthcare consumers need to be mindful of doing the same.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Debbie Myers | Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (4)
Jan 22 2013

Does Livestrong Need a Name Change To Remain Viable?

January 22, 2013 – 8:00 am

By Jeff Wilson, APR (@wilson0507)

Like many other news junkies and PR, marketing and branding professionals, I’ve watched with great fascination the unraveling of the Lance Armstrong brand over the past several months. His undoing culminated with his admission to Oprah Winfrey that he had, in fact, used banned EPO, testosterone, cortisone and human growth hormone and engaged in blood doping throughout his cycling career, helping him win a record seven Tour de France titles.

While commentators and pundits have speculated about the potential legal ramifications that may come with Lance finally coming “clean” about his transgressions and the millions of dollars in endorsements he’s lost, my thoughts are fixated on the organization that, until recently, bore his name – the Livestrong Foundation.

Formerly known as the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Livestrong is a nonprofit organization that provides support to people affected by cancer. Based in Austin, Texas, the Foundation was established in 1997 by Armstrong, a cancer survivor.

I, too, am a cancer survivor.

In 2009, just one month before my 39th birthday, I was given a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test, which is used to screen for prostate cancer. A PSA test usually isn’t given to men until around the time they turn 50. My doctor – on a whim or perhaps through divine intervention – ordered the test during a routine visit for another ailment.

When she called to give me the results and asked if I was sitting down, I already knew the diagnosis. Cancer.

Luckily, the cancer was detected early, and after consultation with numerous doctors over several months, I elected to have a prostatectomy, to have my prostate removed. This made sense for me, because as one doctor put it, “your prostate has figured out how to make cancer.”

Three years later, I’m still cancer free.

This is why I’ve been so interested in the new direction Livestrong must take. For all his deception, Lance Armstrong has done some good by founding Livestrong, which has raised $500 million for cancer research and services and has given hope to many. The organization also has become synonymous with its signature yellow wristbands, with some 80 million sold.

“The $1 bracelets, which are sold at sporting goods and bike stores, have become a cool symbol of either supporting Lance, or a cure for cancer, or both. Businessmen wear them with their suits, cyclists with their spandex, moms with their jeans. Senators John Kerry and Harry Reid wear them, and Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Lindsay Lohan and Tom Hanks have all sported them,” according to an article in the Boston Globe.

But now, what will become of those yellow wristbands? And what will become of Livestrong?

In October, Armstrong stepped down as chairman of the organization after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency accused the cyclist of taking part in a lengthy, sophisticated doping scheme. In November, the Foundation dropped Armstrong’s name from its moniker.

But is that enough?

When I hear Livestrong, I immediately think Lance Armstrong. Removing his name from the Foundation’s official name doesn’t change that. The Foundation, the man and the name Livestrong are inexplicably linked. And these latest revelations about what “living strong” actually meant to Lance, don’t sit well with most of us.

My colleague, Kelly O’Keefe, who is CRT/tanaka’s chief creative officer and professor at the acclaimed Virginia Commonwealth University Brandcenter, says that a name change is definitely in order for Livestrong.

“The problem is that, now if you see someone in a coffee shop wearing a Livestrong t-shirt, you would assume they’re an Armstrong supporter. And if you’re disgusted by Armstrong’s sociopathic behavior, you just aren’t going to wear the bracelet. So I’d be advocating for a brand overhaul to save the organization and make a clean separation from Lance,” Kelly said.

All is not lost for Livestrong. Nike, which was one of Armstrong’s long-time sponsors, severed ties with the cyclist, but said it “plans to continue support of the Livestrong initiatives created to unite, inspire and empower people affected by cancer.” Anheuser-Busch, which used Armstrong as a spokesman for Michelob Ultra, also no longer supports Armstrong but continues to support Livestrong.

In the end, let’s hope that Livestrong can face the challenges ahead with the same grace and dignity as the people it supports. And do so without Lance Armstrong, his brand or his name.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Jeff Wilson | Posted in Branding, Healthcare, PR Industry Trends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Jan 17 2013

The Fear Factor: Getting Americans to Choose Vaccination over the Flu

January 17, 2013 – 9:00 am

By Kim Blake (@kimkblake)

If you are like many Americans, you’re watching the news in a panic because the flu is rampant and you didn’t get your flu shot.  It’s not like this is the first time it’s happened – the flu comes around every year just like birthdays and anniversaries.  But, like a bad husband, many people seem to forget about it every year…until it’s too late. (Note: Some patient populations, like children under six months of age, are not eligible.  All the more reason everyone else should get vaccinated…to protect them!).

While people who have been vaccinated can and do get the flu, your best protection is to get your flu shot every year.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Influenza vaccination, even with moderate effectiveness of about 60%, has been shown to also reduce the following: flu-related illness, antibiotic use, time lost from work, hospitalizations, and deaths.”

Yet, flu vaccination rates remain low.  For 2009-2010, the season when H1N1 became a household term, vaccination rates were 28.8% for adults aged 18–49 years without high-risk conditions and 45.5% for adults aged 50–64 years without high-risk conditions.  Among children, a recent study showed that less than 45% were vaccinated against the flu during a five-year study period.

As a mom and a pregnant lady, I am going to pull out all the stops to protect my child, my unborn child and myself.  But, as healthcare public relations professionals, what can we do to ensure that others do the same?

Some health systems are requiring that their employees get the flu vaccine as a condition of their employment.  According to the CDC, more than 400 U.S. hospitals required flu vaccinations for their employees and 29 hospitals actually fired their unvaccinated employees in 2011.  Why?  To protect their patients from potential exposure.  In fact, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is now starting to require hospitals to report their employees’ flu vaccination rates as a way to boost those rates and will eventually post them to their Hospital Compare website.

Healthcare employers can impose mandatory vaccinations, but how do we encourage the general population to embrace getting their flu shot every fall?  A new game is allowing researchers to study the motivation of individuals to take action such as getting their flu shots.  It found that informing people of their day-to-day risk of getting the flu could encourage them to get vaccinated.

Historically, fear has been the best motivator for vaccination.  The development of two polio vaccines led to the first modern mass inoculations.  At the time, polio’s effects were well-known.  It can cause irreversible paralysis within hours and sometimes death.  More recently, the HPV vaccine was rolled out with a focus not on HPV, but the more fearful cervical cancer, which can result from HPV. 

We don’t want to incite panic, but it is important to remind people of the often devastating consequences of illness.  The CDC produces a variety of educational materials, but they lack compelling messaging.  We tend to wait for the media to deliver these messages when the flu begins to peak.  When it’s essentially too late, since the flu vaccine takes approximately two weeks to build enough antibodies to provide protection.  What should we be communicating in October and November when people need to get their vaccine?

Inevitably, the flu will come and go every year.  Sometimes, like last season, it will be mild.  Other seasons, like 2009-2010 and 2012-2013, will be associated with a significant number of deaths and hospitalizations.  But, we can help ensure that people have every opportunity to protect themselves and others by communicating the risk associated with the flu both early and often.

 

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Kim Blake | Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)
Jan 10 2013

5 Reasons for Businesses to Blog in 2013

January 10, 2013 – 1:07 pm

by Lisa Kersey

Though social media has become an integrated part of virtually all businesses and their communications strategies, it surprises me that some companies are still questioning the value of a blog. Particularly those in the healthcare industry. Just like many who waited until after the Supreme Court ruling, and even until after the election to start marching to the beat of health reform, there are some who are still waiting for a neon sign telling them that blogging really is good for business.

Almost always being late adapters, healthcare providers first convinced themselves that social media was not appropriate for health care – there were, after all, patient privacy issues to consider, legal approvals to obtain and other more important information that we, the experts, needed to push out to our patients, donors, doctors and communities. Then, like the Mayan calendar prediction, healthcare providers passed some invisible marker and realized that perhaps we ought to consider having a dialogue with these various groups of people. After all, hospitals are in the business of healthcare – something very personal that requires two-way communication to be effective. Hospitals also realized that the world around them was evolving, and that technology advances had not only changed what happens in the operating room, but technology also had disruptively innovated the way people talk to each other, research healthcare information and share their experiences and opinions.

In addition to hospitals, there are those in other sectors of the healthcare industry, such as health information technology, medical suppliers and other non-providers who have been reticent to embrace social media, and specifically blogging, even though it’s a low cost, high impact strategy for building awareness, extending reach and gaining new business.

Some of the most unlikely businesses across industries have found successful ways to incorporate blogging into their marketing and public relations strategies. If you are still looking for a reason to believe, here are five good reasons to establish or strengthen your blog in 2013. A blog allows a business to:

  1. Publish owned content. Unlike earned media, blogging allows you to write and publish your own content.
  2. Provide a platform for thought leadership. Blogging gives businesses the ability to have a voice in their industry – to showcase their expertise. While marketing materials focus on features and benefits to support the sales process, blogging is less about sales and more about demonstrating leadership in your industry.
  3. Create real-time dialogue. A blog is an informal way for businesses to invite the opinions and feedback of customers and potential customers. It allows a company’s leadership to make a more human connection with the people who express an interest.
  4. Extend reach. Blogging is a critical element of content marketing and one of the key drivers of search engine optimization (SEO). Improving your organic search rankings allows your information to reach not only current customers but potential customers – even those who would not have otherwise visited your website.
  5. Become a trusted source. Blogs have become a key source of information for the media to identify stories and experts to interview. By blogging regularly, you become part of the online library being searched by reporters and a potential source to be quoted in their articles. In essence, blogging gives you a 2-for-1 return – the ability to publish content and the potential for earned media coverage from a single post.

While these benefits address the importance of having a blog, it’s more imperative to be consistent. Like expecting the opinion column in your favorite newspaper or the restaurant recommendations in your favorite magazine, establishing a blog carries with it a responsibility to continue providing interesting content in order to build a readership – and more importantly to build relationships. And in the process, you will convert potential clients to real customers and motivate existing customers to become advocates.

What’s your favorite business blog? How has it impacted your behavior?

Image: Kris Olin URL via Flickr, CC 2.0

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Lisa Kersey | Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (7)
Jan 3 2013

5 Things Nonprofits Must Do To Captivate Millennials

January 3, 2013 – 10:49 am

By Rachael Seda (@rachaelseda)

I have a short attention span, but I rock at multitasking. I may get bored easy but if you capture my attention, I could become your number one advocate. Please just cut to the chase, there’s no need for lengthy instructions; to me a picture’s worth a thousand words. At about 80 million strong, by 2017 these Americans, born between 1980-2000, will have more spending power than any other generation before us. You call me a millennial, but I prefer Rachael.

Image: NoJo Photo URL via Flickr, CC 2.0

Most of you already understand that in order for your organization to be successful, you need to captivate the millennial audience. Unfortunately, my generation isn’t as easy to fool. It’s hard to find us and it’s even harder to keep us.

The good news? Millennials are generous and we care about giving back. In fact a 2010 survey found that 93% of millennials said they gave to a cause.

What does this mean for non-profits? If you figure out the secret sauce to reaching us now, not only will you execute better fundraising campaigns, but you increase your chances of creating lifelong donors.

Here are 5 things you need to start doing if you want to captivate my fellow millennials:

1. Show Us You’re Tech Savvy

I hope this is a given, but if you’re avoiding social media and technology, you need to come out from under your shell ASAP. Go experiment personally. But please act like a human. And if you really want to understand millennials, you have to learn how to use a smart phone. We don’t know what life is without an iPhone in our hand, and of the 34 percent of us who make direct donations to causes, almost half donate using their mobile device. If you find us where we are, make it easy to give, and are genuine, we may just respond in your favor.

2.  KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

We don’t love Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Pinterest for no reason. The more simple and to the point you are, the more likely it is you haven’t lost our attention to the screaming zombies on The Walking Dead. Make sure you have a clear call-to-action and a simple message. Trust me it works. Oxfam America’s International Women’s Day campaign is a perfect example of this.

3.  Move Fast and Hit Hard

Millennials can send a picture of you sneezing to everyone they know (and don’t know) quicker than you can say “Excuse me.” While we care about causes and giving back, we’re also accustomed to receiving information immediately. If you design a cause marketing campaign that is relevant, has a direct call-to-action, allows us to watch the impact occur in real time, and your responsive, we’ll be all over it!

4.  Trigger Our Emotions

Think about what we care about. Hit our emotions. We grew up with recycling engrained in us to the point where we feel guilty throwing a can in the dumpster. If you appeal to our emotions and create something shareable, we’ve been known to do your marketing for you.

5.  Get Us Involved

We don’t just want to give away our money we want to feel like we’re part of the solution.  How can you make your campaign interactive? How can you create “champions” for your cause?  If you make it important to us, and make us feel involved in helping a worthy cause, we will get involved. A great example of a campaign that’s bound to capture millennials is the Pinterest-based campaign “Pinning for Pets” launched by our client BISSELL . If you give us millennials the opportunity to get involved and you may be pleasantly surprised.

Moral of the Story?

We’re an ambitious and compassionate group, undoubtedly shaped by the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and disasters such as 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina. The result? A socially-conscious generation amplified by technology. Why not join us?

What other tips do you have to help non-profits reach millennials?

The full version of this post originally appeared on Razoo’s Inspiring Generosity blog.

 

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Rachael Seda | Posted in Digital Marketing, Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (6)
Dec 20 2012

Social Media: The Key to Transforming Doctor-Patient Communication

December 20, 2012 – 9:00 am

By Rachael Seda (@rachaelseda)

Your child has come down with a rasping cough. You put on your Dr. Mom hat, jump online and feverishly Google their symptoms, you check social media to see if any of your friend’s children are sick. Overwhelmed by the multitude of potential diagnoses, you decide to wait and see if the cough subsides before scheduling an appointment.

But what if you could connect with your doctor using social media; asking for advice via a quick Twitter or Facebook message? Your doctor responds within 24 hours, offering some quick tips and pointing you in the direction of some credible online resources. As a parent you feel relieved, empowered and thankful to have a doctor that is open to communicating with her patients online, instead of feeling left to blindly search on WebMD.com.

But while a few doctors including Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, author of the Seattle Mama Doc blog and Natasha Burgert, MD, author of KC Kids Doc blog, are using digital communication to communicate better with their patients, according to a 2011 survey by AMN Healthcare only 8% of physicians said they use social media at work to connect with patients.

If social media and blogs in the U.S reach nearly 80% of active U.S. Internet users and represent the majority of Americans’ time online (MediaPost) then why aren’t physicians taking advantage of the opportunity to reach their patients where they already are?

Attending the session “A Dr, Patient & Insurer Walk into a Social Network“ at SxSW last year really opened my eyes to the social media obstacles healthcare professionals face. But more than anything, I was inspired by the overwhelming opportunities social media presents for transforming healthcare.

Here are three social media obstacles health care providers face and the underlying opportunities each present.

1. Risk

Obstacle: Understandably, many health care professionals may avoid using social media for fear of violating regulations like HIPPA. While maintaining patient-doctor privacy boundaries and following regulations is important, avoiding social media isn’t the solution.

Opportunity: I think a safe and easy way for doctors to use social media is to spread good health information, address common medical questions and share interesting developments in the medical world.

You may be prohibited or uncertain about engaging with patients online or via text message but you can still carefully address common concerns and help educate your patients outside of your office.

2. Education

Obstacle: Not knowing how to use social media tools or being overwhelmed by the lingo and regulations can be intimidating.

Opportunity: Providing education and opportunities for health care professionals to learn how to best use and incorporate social media in their work is an important first step to making them feel more comfortable and open to this form of communication. For example, Mayo Clinic, a pioneer in using social media in health care, launched its own Center for Social Media after so many hospitals and physicians turned to them for social media advice.

With health care lagging behind only the oil industry in regards to adopting social media, there’s an opportunity for communication and marketing professionals to pave the way, whether you work inhouse or as a consultant.

3. Time

Obstacle: Social media adds one more thing to a doctor’s already busy schedule.

Opportunity: The doctor-patient relationship (and quite frankly any relationship) relies on communication. New technology is changing how we communicate with each other, just as the telephone and email did, but faster. The sooner healthcare professionals embrace this, the better off their patients and practice will be.

“A tweet here and Facebook post there is part of practicing medicine in today’s technology-saturated society. It’s the evolution of how we communicate with each other. And I have to remind doctors that if they think they don’t have time for this—and if they don’t have instant access to mobile communications—they may be behind the learning curve and behind the times,” said Thomas Lee, MD in a U.S. News Health article.

Benefits v. costs

Overall physicians using social media have found the benefits outweigh the costs. Dr. Swanson uses her blog and YouTube videos to address common questions parents ask, allowing her to focus more time on the unique medical issues of her patients during their office visit.

As Dr. Alice Ackerman, a pediatrician and college professor from Virginia Tech University, discovered, it doesn’t take a huge following to make a difference. After a year of blogging she had an average of 4.5 readers per day.

One day a reader sent her the following tweet –

 “Dr. Ackerman is the person who changed my mind once I read her blog and her links. I had no idea that info existed.”

If you only make a difference in just one person, isn’t that enough of a benefit?

Whether a doctor uses Skype to consult with a patient or creates an educational video or blog, the obstacle is insurers don’t cover the time and energy doctors put into using social media to help their patients.

If social media and technology can create healthier patients and fewer demands on the health care system, then perhaps the key to getting health care providers on board is first tackling insurance buy in.

As a communicator, how do you think social media could help transform doctor-patient communication?

Image: aeu04117 via Flickr, CC 2.0

This post originally appeared in the blog Waxing UnLyrical.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Rachael Seda | Posted in Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Dec 6 2012

The Princess and the Puke

December 6, 2012 – 9:00 am

Celebrities Can Supercharge Your Health Awareness Campaign

By Kim Blake (@kimkblake)

H.G.  If you’ve been watching the news this week, you probably know that it stands for Hyperemesis Gravidarum. If you’ve ever been pregnant and struggled with it, you know that it’s morning sickness on steroids.  Non-stop nausea, dehydration, and utter misery.  Most of us can credit the Duchess of Cambridge, formerly Kate Middleton, for our knowledge of H.G.  The world has been atwitter this week, following the big announcement of a royal baby by Buckingham Palace.  The news of Kate’s unfortunate case of H.G. was revealed because it has required her to be hospitalized.

Those of us responsible for increasing awareness of various health conditions can only dream of having a celebrity like Duchess Kate emerge as a poster child.  Celebrity spokespeople play a valuable role in elevating issues such as illness and chronic disease.  Why?

It’s a tough sell.  Illness and chronic disease are topics that typically are not pretty.  However, the right spokesperson can take a somewhat taboo topic and open up the conversation among the general public.  As a spokesperson for probiotic yogurt Activia, Jamie Lee Curtis has elevated the issue of digestive distress.  Saturday Night Live even created a sketch about the commercials.  While the goal is not to poke fun at health conditions, it is important to create a dialogue that increases awareness and encourages people to seek out help.

People don’t like to think about their own mortality.  Chronic disease is scary, but the use of a familiar, well-respected personality can help.  A number of personalities have stepped forward to talk about their battles with breast cancer – from Christina Applegate to Guiliana Rancic to Sheryl Crow.  Their efforts have focused on the importance of getting screened.  Just yesterday, former Malcolm in the Middle actor Frankie Muniz announced that he suffered a mini-stroke last week at the young age of 27.  Stroke experts from local health systems are already using Muniz’s experience to talk about the signs, symptoms and the importance of treatment in the first few hours.

It’s too complicated for many people to grasp.  Healthcare is well-known for making difficult topics sound even more complicated by using extensive jargon.  A celebrity spokesperson can simplify the topic by talking about their own personal experience in language that the average person understands.  For instance, the official name of a mini-stroke is a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) and the description is just as confusing.  Using his own words, Muniz made his experience relatable to the average person, “I was really dizzy and in a lot of pain in my whole body and my head. My hands were numb. I didn’t really have good balance and I was almost dropping the bike. I never had this before. I was like ‘What’s going on?’ I felt like I was getting stabbed in the head – the worst headache you could ever think of. I couldn’t see anything.”

When seeking a celebrity spokesperson, one of the greatest challenges is getting celebrities to step forward.  After all, it can impact their careers if their health is seen as a risk.  This has been a significant challenge for health conditions such as heart disease.  While there is not a standout spokesperson for the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s The Heart Truth® campaign, the Red  Dress® initiative has allowed  models, actresses and musicians to come forward in support and lend their celebrity to the cause by walking the runway, whether or not they are suffering from heart disease themselves.

While we may not be lucky enough to shine Duchess Kate’s spotlight on all of our own health issues, it is a good reminder that we have the opportunity to increase relevance to the average person by identifying and engaging our own celebrity spokespeople.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Kim Blake | Posted in Branding, Healthcare | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (5)