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To Be or Not to Be

on Social Media –

Thursday, September 14, 2017 The Great Health Care Debate

BY CAROL NEWMAN

Social media is one of the fastest growing mediums in marketing, but is it
impactful for the health care industry? After all, it’s a great communication tool
for sales industries such as restaurants, hotels and retail stores, but are people
looking to social media for information about health care? The answer is …
YES! Yet, many physicians and health care organizations continue to dismiss
social media because they don’t see the value in it. Yet, there is no denying that
social media and its impact on consumers is growing exponentially and not hav-
ing a presence on it is just no longer an option.
Creating Responsible Content
Today, more and more members of the medical profession are embracing
social media as a method of sharing helpful medical information. More than
40% of consumers say that information found via social media affects the way
they deal with their health. That’s why health care professionals have an obliga-
tion to create educational content to be shared across social media that will help
accurately inform consumers about health-related issues and out shine mislead-
ing information.
Driving Patient Engagement
In addition to making sure reliable information is available, social media can
be leveraged to drive patient engagement and grow a practice. You can select the
audience you wish to reach almost on a granular level and customize messaging
to different groups. It is also a useful, economical tool is to get the word out
about a new device, treatment or program, recruiting patients for a clinical trial,
or even to share research with colleagues. It also allows you to repurpose and
extend the shelf life of material such as a TV news clip or article where a doctor
is featured, a landing page to your website, a newsletter or a press release.
The “Human Touch”
As well, having a social media presence can soften the already cold, sterile
image that one may have of the health care industry. It gives health care
providers and organizations an opportunity to humanize themselves and con-
nect with patients. Social media is a great way to share your contributions to the
community, the amazing achievements of your employees and answer questions
about your organization in real-time. It also allows you to share critical informa-
tion quickly during times of crisis such as natural or man-made disasters, hos-
pital capacity and emergency room access.

Navigating the HIPAA-Compliant Waters
These benefits, however, mean nothing if your use of social media isn’t prop-
erly managed as healthcare social media comes with its own set of regulations.
Whomever you select to manage your social media must be well versed in com-
pliance and stringent regulations and communications content from the FDA, as
well as HIPAA. Mismanagement of your social media could potentially result in
hazardous mistakes resulting in violations that could otherwise have been
avoided all together. Choosing a marketing agency that is strictly devoted to
health care clients is one of the safest ways to ensure that you are using social
media responsibly while building your brand, voice and conversion rate.

Pitch Perfect PR & Media Strategies is a marketing and public relations agency that
specializes in health care communications, including social media strategies.
For more information, visit pitchperfectprmiami.com or call (786) 270-9909.

12 September 2017 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News