If your community hospital’s marketing budget is being reduced, social media can be the remedy to stay competitive.
Community hospitals are facing some very real challenges – Medicaid and Medicare cutbacks and an ongoing 8% to 12% decrease in inpatient and outpatient volumes are creating revenue shortfalls that some community hospitals may not recover from. I believe that new forms of marketing, like social media, is the answer when your spending needs to be cut.
I’m not saying social media is the only answer – but it’s certainly part of new marketing strategy when you have limited marketing dollars. If patients aren’t utilizing services now due to the economy and because of insurance, they may be in the future. By starting now, your community hospital can be an online resource and a friendly voice for those that need a medical home.
People WILL find a way to connect to you. Why not reach out and connect with them first? Do it! You won’t be sorry.
Ed Bennett, a healthcare social media expert, has released new data on the social media adoption rate broken down by hospital bed count. Time to Re-think Hospital Social Media Adoption The social media adoption numbers come from the 460 hospitals.
“The disparity should not be a surprise. Smaller hospitals, like those with less than 100 beds, have fewer resources to invest in most outward facing services. There’s usually only one person responsible for everything – marketing, public affairs, media relations, web development, philanthropy, etc. No wonder social media isn’t a priority. In fact only 14% (65) of the hospitals on my list have less than 100 beds, and 86% (395) have more than 100.”
Out of this data we learn there is a 53% adoption rate overall for hospitals large and small. So if your community hospital isn’t communicating to your target market, then big hospitals are.
Don’t you want the voice they hear to be your friendly voice? Don’t you want to be the one they turn to when they are in need of a medical home? Your community wants to know you and the power of social media makes your hospital real and provides a platform to be their trusted healthcare provider.
When you are faced with limited budget for your next ad or TV campaign I would ask:
- What do I need to communicate to my target audience?
- What is the best channel to deliver my message?
- How can I engage my audience?
I believe social media is your answer. Social media is the new friendly voice that will build a community of loyal advocates to your hospital without the price tag of a TV ad. Read more of Ed’s findings at: Time to Re-think Hospital Social Media Adoption for the whole report. Have you started a social media initiative at your community hospital?
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