Social media is pointless if you don’t have a plan. Whip your social media plan into shape with these ideas from Radian6. Apply these strategies to your community hospital and reap the rewards.

Social Strategy Musts

•  Socialize your culture, not just your technology. Use social media as a two-way, true conversation to generate discussion and gather feedback from your patients and community.
• Encourage hospital staff to adapt the same approach – to listen to and value your patients.
• Focus on cultivating the long-term customer experience instead of merely generating a following. Build community by encouraging online engagement.
• Make a plan; write it down. Develop a concrete plan in the same manner you would for any other business process. Determine your audience, budget and social media outlets as well as your goals and intentions. Who are you targeting and what message are you trying to send? Ask the important questions and stick with the answers.
• Stick to the strategy. Don’t just aimlessly blog, tweet or post.
• Ask these questions as you write (and reread what you wrote):
• Is the topic interesting?
• Is it popular?
• Is it timely?
• What are other hospitals doing or writing about?
• Will you have enough content for the month?
• Do more. Beef up your content by dabbling in other media:
• Photos
• Audio podcasts
• Video interviews
• Webinars
• Graphics and charts
• Be vigilant. Require team members who want to engage on behalf of your hospital to complete a certification program.
• Teach them your core principles, but also share your hospital’s vision. This will allow them to write in their own voice while staying true to the vision.
• Take time to monitor employees’ accounts to make sure they’re active and brand-compliant.

How to Be a Better Listener

• Pay attention to who is talking about your brand. Where are people talking about your hospital? Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? Blogs or newspaper forums? Watch what topics generate discussion, cause conflicts or create praise, and tweak your future interactions accordingly.
• Pay attention to the competition. Social media is a public forum. Spin that to your benefit by learning from other hospitals’ social media strategies. Do your competitors generate more community engagement? What are their patients and community members asking? Watch and learn.
• Listen for customer service opportunities. Identify issues as they emerge and respond in real time. Listen to and answer your patients’ questions and concerns.
• Respond gratefully to positive feedback.
• Respond professionally to negative feedback, and use it as an opportunity to learn, grow and change.
• Always reply promptly. Social media is about immediacy and real-time exchanges or the effects are lost.

How to Entertain and Engage (NOT Confuse and Enrage)

• Surprise and delight your fans. Entertain and engage your online community so they’re happy to be a part of it. Consider offering coupons or promotions for your online followers.
• Avoid common etiquette pitfalls. Radian6’s David B. Thomas lists a few:
• Being pushy
• Engaging and then ignoring
• Inconsistency
• Not keeping your comment house in order
• Sounding like a robot
• Deal graciously with detractors. Handling critics is one of the hardest parts of maintaining a social media presence. See Radian6’s 10 Tips for Dealing with Detractors, which include deciding whether the item warrants a response, acknowledging the issue and saying thank you.

Click here to download the complete white paper >>

Print is not dead! Brand awareness, vast market reach and creative offline campaigns can catapult hospital goals and online marketing. With niche publications, strategic marketing strategy and stellar designs, traditional offline campaigns can drive overwhelming response and online branding.

Successful offline campaigns in 10 easy steps

1. Don’t respond right away – You just received your ad agency’s offline campaign proof. Set it aside and keep reading this.
2. Use the 5-Second Test – Consumers are constantly assaulted with online and offline advertising. See if your campaign can rise above the clutter by showing your creative to a few non healthcare folks in your target demographic. If they don’t get it then forget it. Make your headline clear and direct. Make your graphics scream your message.
3. Win the reader’s heart- Hook the reader with catchy headlines and intriguing visuals. Once baited, make them really FEEL something.
4. See how it works in context. Mock up the ad in your target publication; throw that billboard in a simulator and toss that direct mail among your mail. Does it still stand out?
5. Words sell. Review your campaign goals. Does every single visual and verbal element drive the reader to that goal? Delete anything extra. Add in anything you missed.
6. Consider another campaign approach. There are always a few ways up a mountain. Even if success is at hand, is there an even better way? Keep an open mind and be willing to experiment with something new.
7. Be brutally honest. Nothing is ever perfect. Tweak everything – headline, copy, tone, layout, photos, call to action – as needed. This isn’t about you. It’s about your hospital’s marketing message. Get it out there.
8. Seek a peer review. Turn to a peer whose opinion you trust. Even one small improvement can be the key to success or failure.
9. Don’t bury your call to action. Need more office visits? Filled maternity classes? Online community connection? Don’t bury your message at the bottom in nine-point font. People have to SEE what your hospital has to offer!
10. Take the message online. Every offline campaign needs its online counterpart. Even older, less media-savvy audiences appreciate the option to link to directions, class registration and more information.

Amid the dazzle of ever-expanding online marketing options, don’t ever forget the importance of your offline efforts. Balance is critical to capture results!

Create a product to inspire your community and promote your hospital throughout the year. Create a calendar! Here’s how:

• Select a theme – Presbyterian and Forsyth both chose to feature cancer survivors, but the possibilities are endless. What is your community hospital known for? Is there a service or department that could be featured or promoted? What would be the most beneficial to your community?
• Tell your story – An important key to captivating the community is choosing subjects who tell a vivid story. Where are the best stories at your community hospital and how can they help educate and inspire? The NICU? Your own employees? The ER? Zero in where the stories are!
• Involve the hospital community – Invite hospital staff to participate by nominating patients or fellow employees to feature in the calendar. Active participation will give your hospital staff a sense of ownership and enthusiasm about the project. The featured community members will likewise feel a closer tie to your hospital. The more people you involve, the larger your community grows. (And the more likely you are to generate word-of-mouth buzz.)
• Quality photography is a must – One of the most important and memorable elements of your calendar will be the photography. Do not skimp on this – consider hiring a professional photographer to capture your featured patients. It will make all the difference in elevating your project.
• Go beyond the dates – See beyond the calendar as a composition of photos and dates and add valuable patient information to each month. Have a special event for Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Feature it! Make sure it’s already penciled on every recipient’s calendar. Offer phone numbers and information for how patients can easily schedule mammograms. Think of the calendar both holistically and month by month to make the most of the marketing space.
• Judge your calendar by its cover – It’s not always the best idea for books, but calendars are a different story. Make sure you have a cover that grabs you, and consider what educational information you can offer on the front and back covers to guide the community to all your resources.
• Think outside the paper – The process of producing these calendars creates so much more than a single product. Consider the other arenas your now-gathered stories and photography can be used. Turn different months into series of ads, eblasts, direct mails and more. It takes a lot of work, but the beauty is you’ve used one product to produce a year of easy marketing for yourself.
• Waste not – Record everything you can every step of the way. Have a passionate patient or employee at your fingertips? Why not record him or her while you’re at it. Be sure to videotape any community calendar presentation gatherings. You never know what you might do with all that footage.
• Order more – Seriously. If you follow our steps, demand will be greater than you anticipate – especially if you experience inaugural year success. Consider if calendars are offered for donations or as a nicety to patients. Make sure people can order online so friends and family of featured subjects can order from across the country.
• Don’t forget to celebrate – Don’t overlook the importance of pomp and circumstance when unveiling your calendar creations. Foster community by creating an event that brings together patients, community members, doctors, providers, friends and family to fawn over the calendar, sign calendar pages, share stories and connect. Calendar subjects might be the featured stars, but your community hospital will come out on top every time.

Master all of the above just like Presbyterian Buddy Kemp Cancer Support Center in Charlotte and the Derrick L. Davis Forsyth Regional Cancer Center in Winston-Salem.

Every year these hospitals spotlight 12 of their cancer survivors on calendar pages. Their stories are told in poetic prose and their photos are captured in breathtaking black and white with spot color.

The goals?

• Educate the community about available resources
• Harvest hope
• Inspire – daily

Watch this short video to see how their campaigns brought together doctors, providers, patients and community members to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

Click, sit back and get inspired.

What does your calendar feature for the month of January 2012?
Flowers? Cats? That national park you’ve never been to?

I have two calendars that tell me two different stories:

• Presbyterian’s Punkin Brookshire, a brain cancer survivor since 2010 who has learned to adapt while still seeing life with a glass half full.
• Forsyth’s Reggie McCombs, a brain tumor survivor since 2004 who has kept pushing in the aftermath of his treatment to cheer on his son, an NFL hopeful.

Wanna trade calendars? Get started on yours today >>

There will be much to learn at the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) Fall 2011 Conference. With speakers from a variety of backgrounds, the conference will provide the opportunity to expand your knowledge on many healthcare-related issues and topics.

The six general session lectures address a range of topics:

General Session 1: They’re Part of the Family, So Why Are We Feuding?

• Tess Niehaus and Jennifer Benz, with their combined years of experience in healthcare marketing and physician partnerships, will talk about how to manage relationships with physicians. Using case studies from their work in St. Louis, Niehaus and Benz will teach us how to balance physicians’ expectations with realities of marketing strategy.
• Niehaus and Benz have many years of experience in healthcare marketing, both now working at St. Anthony’s Medical Center in St. Louis. Niehaus oversees marketing and communications strategy for the hospital and its physician organization and related business lines. Benz is responsible for the marketing of several key service lines, including urgent care, women’s services, and St. Anthony’s physician organization, which includes 50 employed physicians.

General Session 2: The Reality of Political Correctness

• Martha Ann McConnell, vice president of governmental relations for Carolinas HealthCare System, will be speaking about political correctness. McConnell’s leadership experience, also formerly working as a lobbyist for Carolinas HealthCare System and as a Board Member of Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, gives her an edge understanding the importance of political correctness.

General Session 3: Cut Through the Clutter with Micro Campaigns

• Gary Mueller will draw from his experience as a creative director to help us break from traditional marketing strategies to more targeted micro campaigns.
• Mueller’s highly acclaimed work has won him virtually every creative advertising award imaginable. By founding Serve,  the country’s first completely volunteer, not-for-profit ad agency, Mueller has helped strengthen nonprofits’ marketing efforts. Serve’s work  challenges social norms, as seen in this dramatic, fake movie trailer to discourage teen pregnancy.
• As a fellow creative director, I’m excited to hear this talk. Let’s bring in the New Year with a bang by learning how to spice up our marketing tactics with Mueller’s out-of-the-box strategies!

General Session 4: CEO Issues Got You Up All Night? Find a Cure

• Carolyn Merriman, founder and president of Corporate Health Group (CHG), will offer her understanding of management and the healthcare environment to teach us about CEO’s current challenges at both a national and local level. Learn what you can do to help your CEO find the right solutions.
• Merriman has served as faculty and presenter for several healthcare associations such as ACHE, AH-SHSMD and The Forum. She is a noted speaker and contributing author for healthcare periodicals. Check out this article she wrote for SHSMD’s Spectrum newsletter.

General Session 5: State of the Industry

• Ron Paulus, MD, Mission Health System president and CEO, will provide an overview of current healthcare industry challenges. As the first physician to assume the CEO position at Mission and the first in North Carolina to head a community-owned, not-for-profit health system, Dr. Paulus offers a unique perspective on the healthcare industry.

General Session 6: Generation Crossroads

• Eric Rowles, CEO/President of Leading To Change, a national training agency located in Charlotte, will discuss the challenge of today’s workforce, which can include employees from as many as three or four generations. Learn strategic approaches to bring your staff together.
• Rowles is an expert on youth culture, substance abuse prevention and workforce development.  He’s worked with more than 150,000 youth, adults, administrators, professionals and policy makers within the past 15 years. Known for his legendary presentations full of energy and innovation, you will not want to miss his engaging presentation!

With its built-in HD camera and easy-to-use interface, the iPad 2 makes it possible to shoot high-quality videos on the go. Learn how to make the most of your iPad 2 by adding a few accessories.

You’ve already taken the plunge, purchased the iPad and added it to your hospital’s list of technological assets. The iPad is perfect for a multitude of uses within your community hospital, from acting as a digital file keeper to being a quick reference tool, but how can you make the most of this portable and versatile device?

Use the iPad, with its sophisticated, built-in video camera, to replace other portable flip-style video recorders.

The iPad 2’s intuitive interface makes capturing video effortless. Simply open the default camera, toggle from the still camera to the video icon and press the red button in the center to start and stop recording. Voila! You have high definition video footage – and a large and clear screen on which to view it!

But there are limitations to the iPad. With its sleek design and rectangular shape, it’s hard to hold the iPad perfectly still while filming. The built-in microphone certainly picks up audio – but it also captures unwanted background noise – and the backside illumination sensor doesn’t provide enough light for low-light settings. Only basic editing, such as trimming your clip, can be done on the fly while you’re reviewing the clip.

To take full advantage of the iPad’s video capabilities, I would recommend a few tools.

The Essential Tools

• iMovie App ($5): This video editing application may be purchased from the Apple App Store. Significantly improve the editing capabilities of your iPad. Check out this video on editing using iMovie.
• The iMove app works with all video recorded from an Apple device – iTouch, iPhone or iPad.
• iPad 2 Movie Mount ($70): The Movie Mount is a special case which holds your iPad while you’re shooting video. The Movie Mount may be attached to a tripod for stable shooting. Video accessories – such as lights, lenses or microphones – may easily be attached to the case. It may be purchased online.
• LED Video Light: Consider purchasing an LED light such as this one with a hot shoe design, which will clip right into your Movie Mount. Lights range in size and price, depending on your needs.
• Camera Lens: The Movie Mount comes with a 37 mm screw fitting, which enables you to supplement the iPad with a variety of lenses. This will help you zoom in and focus more easily when shooting interview videos. I like this 37 mm lens.
• Shotgun Microphone: Use a shotgun microphone to improve your video’s audio.

Why Should I Shoot Videos?

• Audiences are moving online. Studies have shown that Americans spend an equal amount of time online as they do watching television. And of that time spent browsing the web, an average three-and-a-half hours per week are spent watching online videos.
• Online videos may elicit a response. A study from Burst Media found that 18.2 percent of online video viewers took some kind of action based on seeing an online video ad. And these are not just your young viewers — older viewers were actually more likely to take action.

How Can I Use Videos for My Community Hospital?

• Introduce your staff or your hospital. Use the iPad to make a quick introduction video of your hospital staff, a new ward or new equipment. Make your patients feel more comfortable by allowing them to familiarize themselves with your hospital’s layout and doctors through your videos.
• St. Louis Children’s Hospital is using the iPad as part of its treatment regime to educate, distract and prepare its young patients. The iPad is used to educate the young patients about their health concerns as well as introduce them to hospital staff and provide entertainment.
• Explain procedures and capture patient testimonials. Make a video of a doctor explaining a procedure or interview patients who have undergone a procedure. Gain your community’s trust by openly discussing and demonstrating patients’ success stories.
• Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital and St. Luke’s Health System in Idaho are running pilot programs of an application for the iPad called Medical Video jLog, which uses short, interactive clips to explain common medical procedures. Patients can then view videos and patient testimonials.
• Create simple advertisements. Make your own video advertisements celebrating your hospital’s quality and community involvement and post them on YouTube!

Additional Resource: Check out this article on Ten Tips for shooting iPad 2 Video.

CHPRMS President Margaret Gregory

Margaret Gregory, Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) president and Piedmont Medical Center senior director of marketing and public relations, knows just how busy healthcare marketers are. That’s exactly why you need to attend the CHPRMS annual fall conference, Dec. 7-9, in Asheville.

In a recent podcast interview, Gregory admitted that keeping current on industry trends, tips and networking is challenging given all that healthcare marketers juggle. “Just like the industry we’re marketing, medicine, is always changing and always on the cutting edge, marketing and public relations is also always on the cutting edge,” Gregory said. “There are so many new things to learn, so if you don’t stay up-to-date with this you’re not going to be able to provide the best ability that you can back to the organization you’re representing.”

She added, “It’s key for people to understand that you constantly have to learn and grow – and this conference certainly offers that opportunity to everyone.”

Hot topics this year include writing for the web; optimizing search engines, meta tags and geo-targeting; marketing physician practices; and successfully targeting consumers in this still-uncertain economy.

“If everyone can walk away with some key, very specific things that they can take back to their organization and immediately put into place that will help them do their jobs better – that’s the goal for this conference,” Gregory explained.

Listen to the full interview below, and don’t forget to register for the fall conference.

Listen to the Interview:

http://www.creativetriage.com/audio/margaret_gregory_interview_edited.mp3

Despite poet John Donne’s insistence that no man is an island, the healthcare marketing world can seem pretty isolated.

Reconnect, recharge and get inspired with fellow healthcare marketers at the Carolinas Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (CHPRMS) Fall 2011 Conference.

Working off the theme “Changes in Altitude,” this year’s fall CHPRMS conference offers a galvanizing gathering of industry leaders and newcomers alike, set amid the inspiring heights of the mountains surrounding Asheville’s historic Grove Park Inn.

Scheduled for Dec. 7-9, the conference agenda is sure to offer something for everyone with topics that range from the reality of political correctness and planning innovation to how to deftly navigate CEO issues or capitalize on marketing with micro campaigns. Click here for the full conference agenda.

The fall CHPRMS conference is a joint meeting with the Carolinas Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development. So, in a word, it offers more bang for your buck with an even larger knowledge base and expanded networking opportunities within the industry.

We’ll be at the conference and connecting with all of you along the way to share the educational excitement. Join us! Click here to register >>

Next week we’ll post an exclusive podcast with CHPRMS President Margaret Gregory, senior director of marketing and public relations at Piedmont Medical Center. She’ll address the inspiration behind this year’s fall conference, what attendees can look forward to and why such a gathering is so critical to the industry today.

Don’t miss out! Register today and subscribe to Creative Triage for conference updates!

When your community hospital has a class, service or event targeting a certain demographic, it’s most effective to likewise tailor your advertising efforts. Learn how one community hospital used Facebook to do just that.

Rowan Regional Medical Center (RRMC), of Salisbury, NC, sponsored a “Ladies’ Night Out” event as an opportunity for local women to get to know their community hospital and physician practices while enjoying food, shopping and entertainment from local vendors.

Use our three simple steps for creating targeted online ads to follow the process as RRMC developed its successful advertising campaign:

1. Determine your audience: This event was intended for local, adult women searching for healthcare.
2. Choose an online venue that complements your needs:
• With more than 750 million active users, Facebook is one of the most popular sites for nearly every demographic. Its top users are ages 18 to 34.

• 

  Facebook, with its wide appeal to adult women and its easy-to-create ads, was the perfect choice for this event.

3. Design your art: ABZ Design helped RRMC create a simple ad for Facebook, targeted to women ages 21 and older living within 10 miles of the hospital.

Results
The Facebook advertising campaign generated 947 click thrus to a webpage about the event. “Ladies’ Night Out” was a great success, and it received rave reviews and nearly 400 attendees. The hospital succeeded in engaging the community, as many of the attendees scheduled mammograms or signed up for exercise classes. The hospital also raised money for the local United Way chapter.

Read more about the event campaign.

Facebook is constantly changing, adding features and growing. Keep informed about the changing Facebook landscape and know your audience to determine if a Facebook ad campaign is right for your hospital.

Branding a campaign means more than just creating a logo. “Branding” encompasses the overall personality, look and attributes associated with your campaign. Learn about one community hospital’s branding successes that increased its neighbors’ awareness for quality healthcare right in their own “backyard.”

In today’s ever-developing, busy and media-rich world, it’s easy to get lost to consumers, especially when you’re up against a large neighboring hospital. But with a little extra effort, you can create a brand for your community hospital’s campaign to bring it more legitimacy and recognition.

Rowan Regional Medical Center (RRMC) of Salisbury, NC, recently launched two campaigns with distinctive and effective branding efforts. I was proud of my firm for helping RRMC establish recognizable faces for its campaigns.

Maternity Campaign:
To market its modern facilities and maternity center, RRMC launched a maternity campaign, complete with a branded style that was implemented on both the web and in print:

• ABZ Design developed a microsite for the Family Maternity Center. The site features videos of physicians, nurses and patients raving about the Center’s personable care.
• The site also acts as a resource for potential mothers and patients, providing information about maternity classes and pregnancy.
• The maternity branding was also utilized in print brochures and ads.
• Check out the videos and the campaign images!

75th Anniversary:
To celebrate its 75th anniversary, RRMC sought to involve the community in a big celebration. The ongoing theme of “CommYOUnity” was reiterated through a variety of advertising and merchandise.

• ABZ Design developed an iconic “75th balloon” which was coupled with “CommYOUnity” for the campaign’s branding efforts.
• From web ads and billboards to elevator wraps, light pole banners, T-shirts and stickers, this campaign’s widespread marketing efforts made it recognizable in the community.
• Check out the campaign with its variety of marketing products!

What Can You Do? Some Tips for Branding Your Campaign:

• Focus on three or four identifiable traits. Identify three or four traits that stand out about your brand, or in this case, your campaign, and then build your campaign’s platform around these traits for a more cohesive representation. What differentiates your services or programs from those of competitors? Read more tips about identifying your community hospital’s strengths and weaknesses in this article from Becker’s Hospital Review.
• Appeal to your audience. Tailor the look and feel of your campaign to your audience. Is it a somber cancer campaign? Is it an energetic pediatrics campaign? Is it an elderly services campaign? Every aspect – from the look and feel to your marketing strategies – should align with your intended audience.
• Stay up with the times. In order to maintain a competitive edge, your community hospital needs to be up-to-date with marketing technologies. The rise of Smartphones is rapidly making it essential to promote your campaign in a Smartphone-friendly fashion on the web, while QR codes are adding an interactive element and depth to traditional print design. Read more about hospital branding and technology in this article.