PwC’s Health Research
Institute commissioned an online
survey of 1,000 US adults in fall 2011. The results were released in
their study of Health Care Trends for 2012. One key finding is that Social
Media plays a bigger role in consumer healthcare decisions. Nearly half of
survey respondents (50%), including half of people under the age of 35, have
used social media channels for healthcare purposes, such as connecting with
health organizations and other people with shared health interests or for
research purposes.
Social media
outlets used:
- Facebook: 18%
- YouTube: 12%
- Blogs: 9%
- Google Plus: 8%
- Twitter: 6%
According to Manhattan Research, 51% of online U.S. adults use pharma-sponsored digital resources, such as
condition and treatment information, disease management tools, doctor
discussion guides, or mobile apps or websites. Additionally, these resources
are strong drivers of action – 43 percent of consumers using pharma-sponsored
digital resources have discussed prescription drugs with a doctor, nurse, or
pharmacist as a result.
Although it’s easy to identify demand, healthcare marketers may be slow to
understand how they can integrate social media into their marketing mix.
Social media is only a small portion of the online strategies and tactics being
employed across healthcare marketing. In fact, those marketing departments
that do not incorporate it into their planning processes are falling
short. It has been proven that an integrated approach–one that
incorporates both online and off-line– is most effective in reaching Healthcare
Practitioner audiences, especially when it comes to product launch and
commercialization.
The growing numbers of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare companies connecting
with their audiences online are clear indicators that they’ve embraced social
media. So much so, that Jonathan
Richmond, author of Dose of Digital blog, created
the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Social Media Wiki. This wiki is meant to
house every Social Media project that has been created by pharmaceutical or
healthcare companies in general. It’s a great resource of online
communities for consumers.
Kristen Davis, PR and Communications Specialist for EMH Healthcare in Ohio, utilizes Facebook and Twitter as social media outlets.
Kristen says their social media strategy incorporates the 70/20/10 rule:
“70% is value added content; useful, unbiased information from credible
sources. 20% is interaction and engagement driven, and 10% is EMH
promotional content that supports hospital initiatives and local news stories
and events.” EMH Healthcare has three Facebook pages:
The main EMH Facebook Page, the EMH Healthcare HR Department Facebook Page for talent acquisition and recruiting and the EMH Center for Health and Fitness
Page, the medically-based fitness center where
degreed and certified fitness specialists are available to work with members
and can tailor a workout to any fitness level. Like many social
media marketers, EMH is aiming to be ahead of the curve in social media
trends. For example, the ongoing Facebook algorithm changes, which
Kristen says will impact their posting marketing tactics. To
increase fan engagement, EMH will be introducing video clips in 2012; from
doctors to diabetes educators on how to control blood sugar, the objective is
to provide real time information.
The benefits of integrating social media into healthcare marketing efforts
are priceless – from improving patient care to gaining media coverage to
attracting new patients and staff. If your healthcare organization hasn’t
already taken advantage of social networking channels, now is the time. As
consumer driven healthcare becomes more prevalent, we’re going to see even more
ways that healthcare organizations can utilize social media to engage and
interact with their patients.