Featuring your state-of-the-art technology in your healthcare marketing helps educate your potential patients, but people relate to people. Featuring your staff in your hospital social media efforts is a sure bet to making your hospital a social media star.
Sure, healthcare consumers are interested in technology and evidence-based techniques. However it ’s the stellar care they receive from your staff that they’ll remember the most from their hospital stay. A caring nurse, a jovial custodian—that’s what will get them recommending you to family and friends. This is what makes them choose you again and again. People connect with people, whether in person or online. So it’s unsurprising that hospital staff stories make for some of the most popular medical social posts. Here are seven ways to feature your staff on social media.
Caregiver takeover
For people who have never worked in the medical field, what goes on inside a hospital day to day is fascinating. Enlist staff from various departments to participate in day-in-the-life social takeover. Follow an ER doctor, maternity nurse, or radiologist around for a day. Post a mix of text, photos, and live video of their tasks. Just be sure to obtain consents if you include any patients or visitors, or shoot around them (and be sure to not use last names in the audio).
Q&As
The more you can position your staff as experts, the better. Q&As are an easy way to do that, and you have options when it comes to execution. You could have staff weigh in on health-related questions that you come up with, solicit questions from your social media followers or, if you’re feeling daring, schedule and promote a live Q&A session with a provider. Just make sure you select an appropriate expert who will offer useful yet measured responses and understands how to take a patient-specific question and answer in a general manner. And always be sure that you are in control of the session and social media channels.
Patient thank-you’s
There’s no better endorsement of your staff than positive feedback from your patients. Post excerpts from online reviews, discharge surveys, and letters from patients calling out the special care they received during their stay. Don’t forget to include a photo of the staff member being praised. (And be sure to obtain permission to post.)
Health tips
People love health tips. Get your staff to submit their best snippets of advice to you for posting. Remind them to be specific: Readers know they need to “exercise regularly,” but they may not have thought to do a squat each time they unload a plate from the dishwasher.
New staff introductions
This is a super simple way to highlight your staff’s expertise and brag about your hospital’s top talent. Wait until you have a photo and a couple of personal details to share. (It’s not imperative you post this on day one or even during the staff member’s first week, although your administration may make it seem that way.)
Giving back
Healthcare workers are philanthropists at heart and many of them volunteer their time outside of work. Highlight what good people you employ with photos and descriptions of their volunteer efforts. Hint: This is especially effective for community hospitals when they show staff volunteering in the community.
How-to videos
Capitalize on the DIY craze by creating videos featuring staff showing how to do something health-related. It could be anything from how to wrap an injured ankle or perform the Heimlich maneuver to how to make banana pancakes or do a proper push-up. Use your imagination, or ask staff for input on what they’d like to share with your followers. If staff create their own posts or videos, just make sure they submit them to you for posting.
TotalCom is a full-service hospital marketing and advertising agency that believes in getting great results from telling great stories. Contact us for more information on how we can help tell your brand story.