Hospital Marketing: Social Media Increases TV Audience

March 6, 2010

Television networks are using social media to enhance their audiences. And the ratings prove that it’s working.

Television networks have seen the audiences for their live shows declining over the past several years.  In fact, some have suggested that shows like the Grammys, BET Awards, Golden Globe Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and the Oscars were a dying concept.  The thought that these shows are tanking was a bit premature.  The networks have started using social media to create buzz prior to and during the show to increase their audience.  Twitter, Facebook and other online blogs are making a difference.

After a four-year decline, ratings in 2009 have been substantially up.  Viewership for the Golden Globes was up 14%, MTV Video Music Awards were up 6% and the Grammy’s were up 35%. Pre-show hype was created for each show and live tweeting and Facebook updates were used to build audience.  Andrew Hampp detailed how the networks used social media to successfully increase viewership in an article in Ad Age.

“Last June’s BET Awards became the highest-rated cable show of the year on the strength of an aggressive Twitter integration and fans tweeting about the show’s makeshift tribute to Michael Jackson,” cited Hampp.  And Kanye West’s bum-rush of the stage at the Grammy’s to interrupt Taylor Swift’s acceptance as Best Female Performance created an online frenzy that caused many viewers to tune into the last 2 hours of the show to see what would happen next.  The result was the show’s highest rating in 5 years.

So what does this have to do with healthcare advertising?  The networks effectively used social media to ramp up their audience.  Perhaps hospital marketers can use social media to enhance their traditional advertising.  It would require a strategic integrated effort across traditional and social mediums.  The rewards could be substantial.  It could add more glitz, glamour and effectiveness to our efforts.


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Healthcare Marketing: We’re Going Mobile

March 6, 2010

With the increased penetration of smart phones, consumers are becoming more and more dependent on their cell phones for just about every form of communication.   This presents opportunities for companies, hospitals and brands to market themselves to consumers.

Over 82% of Americans now own a cell phone.  And 60% of those phones are less than a year old.  The increase in smart phones is growing exponentially.  And smart phones are equipped with more and more communication and information options. Soon the cellphone will be used for almost all forms of communication and information gathering – texting, emailing, internet search, GPS, electronic coupons, and more.

Consumers are connected to each other and the world via their cell phones. This creates opportunities for brands to market themselves to consumers via mobile marketing. One of the compelling advantages for mobile marketing is its omnipresence. Frank Powell recently discussed omnipresence as one of the advantages of mobile marketing in an article in Mobile Marketer.  He cites that mobile phone users are within arm’s reach of their phone 90% of their waking hours.  And much of this time is when other media are not available. Mobile phones are not location-centric but are person-centric.  They are where the owner is.

Powell cites in his article two main reasons why mobile marketing can be so powerful

1. Customers can always be reached.

2. Customers can almost always be interrupted.

Although the invasive nature of cellphones cause heartburn for many people, it is a medium that cannot be ignored.  Just as social media has begun to be included in hospital’s marketing plans, we must turn our eyes to mobile marketing and be ready to take advantage of the unlimited opportunities it will offer.  Never before has there been a medium that is so ever-present with our customers and patients. And there has never been a medium upon which our customers and patients have been so dependent.


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Healthcare Marketing: When Social Media Goes Bad

February 28, 2010


Social media provides the opportunity for dissatisfied customers to complain…. to a wide audience.  It’s important when and how a brand responds.


A mom in Baton Rouge, LA, complained about changes to Proctor and Gamble’s Pampers Cruisers. Although P&G appropriately responded to her complaint, when she heard other moms make the same complaint she became a regular complainer on P&G’s message board and created a Facebook page to air complaints.

Johnson and Johnson ran an online ad for Motrin about moms who wear their babies in slings.  After 45 days of the ads first appearance, a blogger posted a complaint.  Soon another blogger followed and then thousands were involved in the controversy with as many as 300 tweets an hour.

Shiny Suds ran a television ad in which cartoon suds harassed a woman in the shower.   Two feminist bloggers took issue with the ads claiming the ad condoned rape.  Method, the manufacturer of Shiny Suds, began receiving thousands of email complaints.

And there are many other examples, some of which involved complete falsehoods.  It shows that even as few as one malcontent can use the power of social media to create quite a storm.  So when should a brand respond to an online complaint?  That is not an easy question. It is an emerging science at best.

Jeff Neff in an article in Advertising Age cited the examples above and offered some factors to consider when deciding whether to respond to an online/social media complaint.

Among the factors to consider:

1. How credible is the source?

The tone and track record of the source is important.

2. How influential is the forum?

Is it a thinly read message board or someplace with a larger following? Does it have staying power?

3. How common is the complaint likely to be?

A common complaint has the potential to get traction and engage others.

4. How serious is the complaint?

Is it a matter of taste or preference or a larger issue, which may be more offensive?

5. How likely is a response to make things worse?

Sometimes a response adds credibility to the complaint.

6. How important is the issue to the brand’s customers?

Does it affect many or a few?  How large is that for the brand’s customer base?

These are certainly not the only issues to consider for every case but it provides a start.  All brands, including healthcare brands are subject to one person or a few persons who can use online/social media to try to tarnish a brand.  How successful they are depends largely whether we respond and how we respond.  We should however tread carefully, thoughtfully and strategically.

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Healthcare Marketing: The Power We Hold with Smart Phones

February 26, 2010

The American Red Cross has raised over $25 million with their “Text for Haiti Relief” effort.  

You may think texting is just for the kids.  We see teens and young adults texting all the time.  It is their primary mode of communication.  But make no mistake about it, texting is a powerful force -  even among adults.  The Red Cross’s use of texting to contribute $10 to the Haitian Relief Fund has raised over $25 million thus far.   At $10 per text, that translates into 2.4 million texts.

So texting is not just for the kids.  The effort by the Red Cross effort proves that people in very different demos utilize test messaging. And it proves texting can be very useful for more than just social communication.  In this case texting has even become a powerful force in fund-raising.  About 20% of all the funds raised for Haiti relief by the Red Cross have come from texting “Haiti” to 90999 to make a $10 contribution.

Just a year or so ago, who would have thought that $25 million could be raised from texting?  Texting is becoming more mainstream and is showing its usefulness in marketing.

This is a wake up call to healthcare marketers that text is emerging as a significant and powerful tool. Just when we decide to dip our toes in social media like Facebook and Twitter, along comes texting.  The Red Cross demonstrates the impact and power smart phones and texting are becoming.  It can no longer be ignored.

We are just on the front end of the learning curve of what cellphones and smart phones can do.  Marketers must pay attention, learn and explore creative uses for texting. $25 million dollars is a lot of money, especially in increments of $10.  A whole new adventure is in front of us.  There will be countless possibilities and opportunities to effectively use text messaging to achieve useful and worthwhile objectives.  What power we hold in our hands!


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Hospital Marketing: Surgical Tweets Keep Patients’ Families Updated

February 24, 2010

At least one hospital is now using Twitter to improve communications from the surgical suite to family members.      

Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, Florida has begun using Twitter to send updates from the surgical suite to family and friends.  Instead of the family waiting, sometimes for hours, with little or no information about the surgery, Fawcett Memorial has someone in the surgical room sending tweets updating the status of the surgery. Even family and friends who can’t be at the hospital can follow the status.

In most causes there is little information about the surgery until well after the surgery is completed.  Sometimes a nurse will call the OR for an update for the family but the information is usually fairly sketchy.  Tweeting renders an extra level of service to family and friends.  They can know exactly what is going on in surgery and that provides a greater level of comfort and emotional connection to the patient.

Referring to the patient as “a patient of” and their doctor’s name and never mentioning the actual name of the patient prevent HIPAA violations. Both patient and surgeon have to give approval for the tweets.  The tweets are sent only to persons who are given the appropriate Twitter information and approval to receive the updates.

Many hospitals would react to this by arguing that they do not have personnel to send tweets and the nurses in surgery are all concentrated on the patient.  These are valid arguments. But for hospitals that are trying to get an edge in the marketplace, this could be a competitive advantage.  It certainly has the potential to create positive buzz and build loyalty to the hospital.

And it’s just one creative example how social networking can be used to improve service and enhance communication.  There are countless other ways it can be utilized.  Fawcett Memorial is next considering using twitter in the ER for the same purpose.  The availability and acceptance of social media and some creative thinking can truly break new ground in patient service.


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Healthcare Marketing: Slow to Adopt New Tech Make us Irresponsible?

January 12, 2010

The best technological innovations of this decade in marketing and media involve the internet and social media.  But they have not been fully embraced by healthcare marketers.

Adage recently published its “Book of Tens” which is a group of lists citing the best things of the decade. In the category of Best Tech Innovations in Media and Marketing, the majority of the items are some aspect of new media.  Included in the list of the top ten are broadband penetration, search marketing, social media, iPhone, Twitter, Flash and open APIs.   That’s 7 out of the ten!

Obviously, technology is changing the way marketing is done.  It is changing the marketing landscape.  It is requiring new strategies, new methods, and new tactics. It requires a new perspective.  It engages consumers in ways never before imagined 

But the fact is we healthcare marketers are hesitant or slow adopting these new technologies. There are many reasons for this.  Some legitimate and some not so legitimate.  Healthcare marketing is rarely if ever on the cutting age.  And due to the nature of healthcare, it probably shouldn’t be out front.  But it shouldn’t be pulling up the rear either.

The die is cast. Technology will not be reversed. Social engagement as a function of marketing will not change. Healthcare marketers must embrace new technologies and use them to promote and enhance their brand.  Are we being responsive and even responsible marketers if we fail to utilize the best new technologies of the decade?  In the least, healthcare marketers need to begin to explore and learn and experiment how these new technologies can be used effectively.

Who knows what technologies will appear in the new decade?  As we enter a new one, lets make sure we take advantage of the best technologies of the last decade.

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Hospital Marketers Should Learn From Retailers: Holidays are Social (Media)

January 11, 2010

Over half of national retail advertisers embraced social media as part of their media mix for the 2009 holidays.

Just two years ago, only 4% of national retail advertisers utilized social media in their marketing strategies.  But in 2009 more than half  embraced social media.   According to a survey by BDO Seidman, of those retailers using social media, 76% are focusing on Facebook, 50% on Twitter, 14% on MySpace and 14% on YouTube.

Natalie Zmuda and Kunur Patel wrote in the December 7th issue of Advertising Age that Facebook was the second most visited site in the US on Black Friday.  And on that day “4.3% of Facebook users and 2.3% Twitter users visited the website of a top 500 retailer immediately after perusing the social-network site.”

Some of the retailers Zmuda and Patel cited as successfully using social network sites were Best Buy, ebay, JC Penney, Toy ‘R ‘Us and Wal-Mart.  These retailers used a combination of giveaways, support for traditional advertising, customer service, charitable donations and promotion of online specials.  Amazon, Abercrombie and Fitch, Kohl’s, Old Navy and Target were listed as retailers who did not do such a great job utilizing social media.  Their various sins were lack of coordination with traditional media, lack of holiday specials, unanswered consumer complaints and unchecked pages.

This gives a microcosm of how extensive social media is used both successfully and poorly by retailers.  Lessons are abundant for healthcare marketers:

 

  • Social media is a viable option and should be included in a hospital’s marketing strategy.   As can be seen by the dramatic growth in the use of social media, retailers are way ahead in recognizing the value and importance of social networking.
  • When done right, social media can be very effective.  It can create and enhance relationships with consumers.  It can create an ongoing conversation with consumers. 
  • When done poorly, social media can damage a brand.  When a brand isn’t active and engaged and doesn’t respond to consumer comments it sends a message that it’s not consumer-focused.

Social media is growing.  Brands are recognizing the value and benefits of engaging in social media.  Hospital marketers can learn valuable lessons.  Retailers have taught us that indeed the holidays are very social.   

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Healthcare Marketing: Social Media Moving from Experimental to Serious

January 11, 2010

 

Social media is moving from experimental stage to serious commitment for most professional marketers.

For many serious marketers, social media has thus far been mostly experimental.  They have considered, explored, tested and sampled various social media options.  But researchers at Forrester Research  have concluded that now marketers are beginning to get serious about social media.   2010 “is the year social marketing gets serious” stated Forrester Analyst Augie Ray in a recent article by Laurie Sullivan in Online Media Daily

Social media is maturing and is being taken more seriously by marketers.  The growth of social media sites and the increasing use of such sites by consumers makes it very difficult to ignore.  Significant audiences exist there and marketers are challenged to find ways to engage consumers on those sites.  Social media is beginning to play a more significant role in marketing strategies and budget allocations are increasing for social media options. 

Although the tide is moving toward more emphasis on social media, healthcare marketers are not embracing social networks at the same level as other industries.  According to the 2010 Social Media Marketing Benchmark Report from MarketingSherpa, healthcare lags considerably behind other industries in anticipated budget commitments to social media.   Only 43% of healthcare marketers anticipate increased budget allocations for social media in 2010 as compared to 79% in retail.

The trend is obvious.  Social media is no longer just a fad.  It is the place many marketers are engaging consumers and building brand awareness and loyalty.  While many healthcare marketers are not yet fully embracing social networking, it provides a great opportunity and potential competitive advantage for those who catch the wave and commit to finding effective ways to use the media.  It can be a place where healthcare marketers can dominant the competition and gain a significant advantage.

It is time to get serious about social media!


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