I know, the headline may be a
bit misleading, but it got your attention, didn’t it? We never stop learning if the organizational
focus is to grow organically. But what I see happening, except for a few
isolated cases, are providers caught in
learning loops for social media. More study, for more understanding in a
process eerily similar to the strategic paralysis by analysis process that so many providers experience. Learning
and analyzing the newest developments and fearing the future instead of
embracing and driving the change.
In the new world of healthcare
where price, quality and a newly insured healthcare consumer is paying more
out-of-pocket costs for healthcare, social media
marketing represents an opportunity that can be used advantageously to meet healthcare consumer and
patient demands for a better experience.
Social media represents a
great opportunity for establishing a one-on-one relationship with the patient,
aka the healthcare consumer, directed by the healthcare organization that breaks
from the pack, by creating a social media healthcare experience that is
memorable, exceeding an individual or families experience and expectations.
Most healthcare organizations
are still stumbling with using social media and the online experience to drive
differentiation, meaningful information,
and expertise. Think
of this as a channel of communications
and engagement that meets the healthcare consumer on their terms but with your
messaging.
Social media is about branded
content that uses pull-logic marketing instead of push-logic marketing.
In any case, when you look at your social media strategy and presence, does
your social media experience:
Ø
Delight
your customer?
Ø
Create
sustainable differentiation?
Ø
Is adaptable
to new opportunities?
Ø
Leverages
your investment?
Ø
Deliver
in every situation?
Ø
Connect
with the newly insured?
Ø
Does it
engage the healthcare, consumer?
Ø
Provide
answers or guidance for those looking for solutions to medical challenges?
Ø
Define
experience, outcomes, price and value?
Or, is it just pushing out
information that is that you have deemed valuable to you, but carries neither
relevant meaning in the market nor addressing unmet needs?
The lens of honesty and critical
evaluation is needed to evaluate social media efforts
objectively. If the social media
program is not doing these things, then chances are nil in delivering an
exceptional social media experience.
Make your social and online presence not just
"good enough" because we are still learning, but unique, by putting that learning into action.
Michael is an independent healthcare marketing business, marketing, and
communications strategist and thought
leader. As an internationally followed healthcare marketing strategy blogger, his
blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters receives over 20,000 page views a
month. He is a Fellow, American College
of Healthcare Executives, Professional Certified Marketer, American Marketing
Association and HubSpot Academy- Email Marketing, Inbound Marketing &
Inbound Sales Certified.
For more topics and
thought leading discussions like this, join his group, Healthcare Marketing Leaders For Change, a LinkedIn Professional Group.