You’ve seen the videos. Funny, dancing, lip-syncing, lots of kids—maybe your own or even your grandkids—just being cute and silly. TikTok is the shiny new thing. But should hospitals and healthcare organizations use the platform to hit marketing goals?

Short-form, user-generated TikTok videos, generally from 15 seconds to 3 minutes, engage users, particularly Gen-Z’ers, to show off their creativity. However, the video-sharing social media platform isn’t just for the young. It’s growing in popularity with older users tapping into their young-at-heart spontaneity. 

Launched in 2016, TikTok now has more than 1 billion users. The latest HubSpot Social Media Trends report declares it the #1 social media trend in 2022: “TikTok will take over social media, leaving other brands to adapt.”

Before trending on TikTok, slow down and consider the pros and cons. To go viral, a video should be fun, engaging and humorous—not typically synonymous with healthcare marketing. Also, ensure that you have bandwidth for another social channel that may minimally increase brand awareness.

What Is TikTok?

TikTok is the seventh largest social network, behind Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WeChat. It is app based and has been the most downloaded app for the past two years.

It is a US subsidiary of ByteDance, a Beijing-based tech giant. Chinese ownership and potential data breaches concern many businesses and the US government.

Aside from data security, TikTok critics complain about excessive screen time, suggestive content, negative comments and harmful challenges impacting children.

Michael Beckerman, a TikTok vice president, was among the tech giants recently grilled before a Senate Commerce subcommittee. Beckerman assured committee members that child safety tools are now in place to help parents manage screen time and monitor what young users see. But, he side-stepped data collection questions.

Who Is the Audience?

In the US, TikTok users are predominantly female (nearly 60 percent) and young with 60 percent between ages 16–24, the trendsetting Gen Z. But, the audience is aging up with Millennial and Gen X users, ages 25–44, making up another 26 percent.

TikTok’s growth parallels pandemic lockdown and quarantine when kids were bored with “nothing to do.” Then Mom has discovered the music video app. One of the fastest growing user segments is the 30-to-49-year-old female with children.

How Do You TikTok?

Step 1. Download the app and create an account.

Step 2. Or go to tiktok.com to view videos if you just want to check it out.

Step 3. Get creative.

Step 4. You can film something new or upload a video from your phone.

Step 5. Explore the video and audio editing tools; add a song, filters and effects.

Step 6. Finish up with privacy settings, hashtags and sharing the TikTok.

Step 7. Publish the video and share it on other social platforms.

Step 8. Wait for it to go viral!

Should TikTok Be Part of Healthcare Strategy?

Cleveland Clinic launched a TikTok channel in 2020 to spread public health message about COVID-19 and urge people to #MaskUp. Most of the videos are educational with interesting graphics and facts to engage viewers. There is a humorous video on how not to wear a face mask.

While Cleveland Clinic has done it right, other healthcare TikTok attempts may not be as successful. Dancing doctors, lip-syncing nurses in ICU hallways and messages that don’t align with the brand can cause quick backlash.

Define the strategy and set goals before moving forward with TikTok. Also, if you haven’t revised the company’s social media policy recently, consider employee use of the channel. Your organization can quickly lose credibility with unprofessional medical videos from employees.

Can You Use TikTok Effectively?

Changing consumer patterns demand changes in patient experience at every touchpoint. They want personalized content, faster service and better experiences.

Consider ways TikTok can be effective in the Age of the Consumer.

• Educational content and tutorials. Consumers want short, fun, snack-able information. Break down robotic surgery, stroke symptoms, even basic procedures such as a colonoscopy.
• Clear up misinformation.  Bust the myths of trending health misinformation.
• Engage younger doctors to engage teens. Use physicians who are already active on social media to talk about dangers of vaping, STD risks and mental health concerns.
• Wellness checks for women and men. Get creative with preventive health screenings for different age groups.
• Challenges—Use TikTok challenges for New Year’s weight loss and fitness resolutions, or runs/walks and other fundraising activities.
• Safety tips—Remind your audience how to avoid the ER with safety tips about frying turkeys, electric knives, fireworks and sunscreen. Address viral dangers such as the infamous milk crate challenge.
• Resumes—#TikTokResumes gives you a new recruitment tool that allows users to post resumes and apply for jobs directly through the app; the highest conversion is the 25–34 age group.
• Advertising—Run in-feed ads or create branded hashtags in TikTok for Business.

If you decide that TikTok can effectively increase awareness and relevance of your healthcare brand, engage your audience by:

• Showing a different side of organization;
• Experimenting;
• Adding humor.

Just when we thought things were settling down, COVID came back with in a fury. We’re again balancing the need for disseminating crucial health information to COVID-fatigued audiences.

Despite an urgency to target your audience with the “mask up, socially distance, wash hands and vaccinate” message, now can be a good time to determine who’s actually influencing patient choices—from vaccinations to hospital selection.

If it’s not already part of your hospital marketing plan, consider influencer marketing. By definition, an influencer is “a person who inspires or guides the actions of others.”

Influencer marketing spending in the US is estimated to exceed $3 billion this year.

While celebrity influencers with millions of followers may not align with your marketing plans, look for voices of authority in your community. A Gen Z TikTok star probably doesn’t sway many of your patients’ choices, but a mommy blogger, Instagram “granfluencer” or Facebook group for cancer survivors can deliver targeted, authentic messages to audiences.

Reach your patients where they are.

Changing consumer patterns demand changes in patient experience at every touchpoint. That means connecting with them where they go for information.

Expectant mothers look to other moms. Find an influencer in your community posting about birthing centers, pediatric services or child-rearing experiences.

One of your primary targets is probably the Boomer generation, which controls some 70 percent of all disposable income in this country. Boosted by financial power, baby boomers and older Gen X’ers have added their voices to the space. Someone talking about health, wellness or nutrition can influence brand preference among followers. Consider your current hospital marketing strategy to help identify influencers that speak to your target audience about topics relevant to your services and strategic goals.

Partner with influencers to increase patient loyalty.

“Build brand preference and loyalty to drive action” is a typical hospital marketing plan objective. Finding and partnering with influencers aligned with your brand can help accomplish it—and reach new audiences.

However, be strategic with influencer partnerships. Some things to keep in mind:

• Look for influencers talking about your brand; search for tagged posts, branded hashtags or comments;
  • Follow your followers; select about a dozen to see who they’re following;
  • Share content from a potential influencer (get permission first) on your social accounts to gauge audience interest;
  • Monitor newsletters, blogs, events, Pinterest boards, media coverage and the competition to find out who’s speaking with authority in your market;
  • Develop and track branded hashtags; research hashtags first to avoid surprises.

Set a budget.

An influencer posting about brands in exchange for complimentary products or services is rare now. Unfortunately, there are no standardized rates. Partnerships can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

A commonly used pricing calculation is one cent per follower—or $100 per 10K followers. Macro (10K—100K followers) and nano (less than 10K followers) influencers often post about niche topics, which might better fit your hospital marketing strategy.

When negotiating with influencers, consider:

• Reach and engagement; larger reach doesn’t necessary mean more engagement;
  • Influencer time and resources required to create content that fits your needs; share information or resources in advance to lessen their time requirement;
  • Length and terms of campaign—number of stories or newsfeed posts, blogs, mentions, photos, number of channels, etc. that you expect;
  • Contract—as with any paid media, execute a written contract that specifies terms of the agreement including usage rights, deadlines, approval processes and exclusivity clauses.

Set goals and measure results.

Effective hospital marketing depends on results. Closely review the authenticity of posts when researching influencers who could potentially affect patient behavior. Content that reads as “sponsored or salesy” probably won’t deliver the intended results.

Set and clearly communicate goals on the front end. Measurable results may include:

• Engagement—comments, likes, shares
  • Brand sentiment
  • Website traffic from campaign
  • Conversions, such as attendees at a baby or seniors fair, increase in health screenings or uptick in COVID vaccinations

Connectivity to your audience through an outside trusted voice can influence their patient choice and solidify loyalty to your brand.

From Marketing Hospitals to Vaccines, Keep the Message Simple

In 1960, the US Navy introduced a design principle that stated most systems work best when kept simple rather than made complicated. Known by the acronym KISS, it translates to “keep it simple, stupid.”

After more than a year of mixed and missed messages on nearly everything involving the pandemic to the failure of Texas’ power grid, simple messages across all platforms prove best. Otherwise, straightforward communication becomes crisis communication.

Hospital and healthcare subjects can be tedious, particularly when filled with scientific and medical terminology. That makes it even more important to keep messages simple, honest and candid. The average person may fail to comprehend a “zoonotic spillover– animal-to-human pathogen transfer.” But most understand, “A new deadly virus is infecting thousands and spreading rapidly. We need to take precautions now.”

You don’t have to look any further than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for a playbook of what not to do with messaging. The old adage about “clear as mud” comes to mind with the CDC’s latest guideline changes. Leaving your audience with more questions than answers doesn’t follow the KISS principle.

Whether marketing your newest diagnostic technology or relaxed guidelines for hospital visitors, keep the message simple across all channels.

Avoid the #EpicFail.

When delivering messages, keep the three “Rs” in mind:

• Relationship
• Relevance
• Read the room

The most important relationship in your marketing funnel is the patient. The messages you deliver to stakeholders are key to building strong connections. A good rule of thumb to follow when developing a message is to make sure it’s simple enough that both your mother (or grandmother) and adolescent child understand it. Follow through on those messages, from media pitches to patient promises. Otherwise, you may end up on Twitter as #epicfail.

Being the lifeline for the health of your community requires that you deliver relevant messages. While things are returning to normal, most people still need reassurance that it’s safe to come into the hospital or see their doctor. Continue to reassure them, along with the announcement about the opening of a new clinic.

By reading the room and empathizing with stakeholders, particularly at this tenuous moment, brands forge strong bonds with a simple message. Compare Krispy Kreme offering free donuts to vaccinated customers with proof of vaccination to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) warning customers to “unplug fancy appliances to conserve power” when millions throughout the state had no heat. Who read the room?

Express empathy in the message.

As we’ve noted before, after more than a year of the pandemic, people want to be seen and heard.

Speaking to audiences with compassion and addressing their needs starts first by getting outside your box. Listen carefully and put yourself in someone else’s shoes to truly understand what they are saying. Developing empathetic messages starts internally. When employees feel marginalized, a culture of distrust likely spreads to external audiences as well.

Keep the message consistent.

Among the many takeaways from 2020 is that medicine and science are fluid. Likewise, messages may change over time. However, try to confirm as many facts as possible before pushing out a message, whether it’s a statement to the media or a new tagline. Keep your message consistent to maintain brand credibility.

With the CDC’s murky guidelines, the agency basically passed the buck onto the general public to do the right thing. Yet, an Axios poll shows that most of us trust our family and close friends. Beyond that, only 38% of the respondents say they trust anyone outside their circle.

Inconsistency leaves your audience with more questions than answers, so they may turn to alternative and unreliable sources for guidance. Interestingly, about two-thirds of the anti-vaccination content on social media sites comes from only 12 different sources.

From February 1–March 16, 2021, content from these anti-vaxxers, who range from politicians to a former body builder, was shared or posted more than 800,000 times on Facebook and Twitter. Their messages remained consistent, while government agencies and mainstream medical professionals struggled to discredit it because their own messages were often inconsistent and disjointed.

To keep your ship afloat and sailing smoothly, even through rough waters, remember to “keep it simple, stupid.”

Channels and platforms for delivering your healthcare marketing messages seem almost limitless. However, the challenge comes in trying to cut through the noise of the millions of other messages competing for your target audience’s attention.

Digital marketing experts estimate that the average American is exposed to some 4,000 to 10,000 messages each day.

Yet, the average adult supposedly has an attention span of eight seconds—less than that of a goldfish. The goldfish stat may just be a myth, but it seems the more information available, the less people pay attention.

According to the American Academy of Arts and Science, from 2003 to 2018, the average amount of time Americans spent reading for personal interest per day fell to less than 16 minutes per day. 

So, how do you cut through the noise to grab the attention of your audience?

Disrupt the Disruptions

A couple of months ago, Amazon Care announced plans to roll out app-based healthcare services nationwide and hinted at launching in-home testing services. Around the same time, Walmart Health unveiled its own expansion of digital services. Then Apple jumped in with new features for its HealthKit app to make exchanging information easier between patient and doctor.

For the average healthcare system, trying to compete against such headlines could be daunting. The best strategy is don’t try to compete. Let the juggernauts have their own competing moments—remember the attention span theory. Announce your expansion and new services to an audience with whom you have a connection at a time when they aren’t distracted.

Deliver to Right Place at Right Time

It all started with a donut. When Krispy Kreme offered a free glazed donut for anyone showing their vaccination card, who would have imagined the incentives to vax that followed? Free orders of fries. Pop-up clinics at bars giving shots-for-shots. Sweepstakes for air fares, cruises and Super Bowl tickets. In Louisiana, you can enter the Shot-at-a-Million lottery for cash or college scholarships.

With trust in science, government, the media and even trust in friends and neighbors in partially vaccinated communities being tested, we turn to imagination and incentives to get people to vaccinate against COVID-19.

Why limit thinking outside the box strategy only to COVID-19? Deliver healthcare and wellness solutions to people where they live, work and play. For example, during Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September, rather than a static media campaign consider marketing to men where they are likely gather. Consider setting up weekend clinics for PSA tests at golf clubs or sporting goods stores.

Serve Snack-size Bites

Eight-second attention span; 10,000 daily messages; 16 minutes reading time. Use those numbers to guide your marketing plan. Keep all content short and consumable in snack-size bites.

A popular healthcare newsletter recently posted “Today’s Vaccine Project Newsletter is 2,079 words and will take you seven minutes to read.” Despite the topic, most people now consider these disclaimers before clicking onto the article.

Based on users, Facebook and Instagram remain the most popular social media platforms.  However, Twitter may have most influenced how people consume media. Even though it has increased the character limit to 280 characters, tweets getting the most engagement still tend to be between 71 and 100 characters.

Listen to Your Audience

For years, healthcare marketers have used the marketing funnel to direct messages to key audiences where they are in the journey from top of the funnel awareness to bottom of the funnel action. However, 2020 turned the funnel upside down.

No longer can you assume that consumers follow the path from top to bottom. The fluidity of the pandemic dictated communicating with audiences in a more timely manner. You don’t want to lose momentum. Changing consumer patterns demand changes in patient experience

COVID-19 challenged healthcare brands in 2020. Now there is an increased need for a strong crisis response due to a rising number of cyberattacks and data breaches that can hold your hospital hostage. While IT departments typically manage cyber security in healthcare, marketing teams must be able to communicate with patients about cyberattacks and data privacy.

Healthcare systems are increasingly targets of cybercriminals. In 2020, nearly two healthcare data breaches of 500 or more records occurred each day. On average, resolving such a breach costs more than $8.5 million.

The costs of ransomware payments, restoring data and resuming operations are just part of the financial hit. Regaining patient trust comes at a higher cost, especially if names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and medical information are posted online.

According to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2021, nearly 70 percent of survey respondents say they are “concerned” about hackers and cyberattacks, while more than half of those report being “fearful.” A slightly lower number is concerned about contracting COVID-19.

While the same survey indicates a slight decline for healthcare sectors, overall trust remains at 66 percent.

Almost everything about the healthcare journey seems to pose security risks now—drive-by and pop-up testing sites; vaccination clinics in convention centers, churches, and parking lots; and increased risks with remote patient monitoring.

Add in the battle with misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines. Compounding those worries, a recent World Health Organization warning reveals that counterfeit or compromised vaccines and forged vaccination certificates are readily available on the dark web.

So, how do we protect our patient’s trust in us as guardians of their health and confidential medical information?

Play nice with the IT department.

You’ve been in meetings where the IT team looks at the marketing team like you’re aliens! How can you not understand what they’re saying? Probably because it’s a completely foreign language!

As healthcare moves from controlled environments, the need to strengthen cybersecurity measures within healthcare with clear communication increases. This requires collaborating with IT to develop a strong crisis plan in case of a breach.

While IT prioritizes healthcare cyber security by working to ensure confidentiality and integrity of patient data, the marketing team needs to tell those patients about what you’re doing to protect their privacy.

Ramping up security can also include communication to hospital staff about such cautionary measures as:

• Protecting patient information on computer screens:
  • Carefully monitoring printers to safeguard patient data;
  • Securing laptops or other remote work devices with patient records;
  • Protecting log-ins and passwords, ie. do not keep on random Post-it notes.

Make a crisis response plan. Test it. Tweak it.

Remember instructions on shampoo bottles to “wash, rinse, repeat?” That rings true when creating a strong crisis response plan. Most healthcare facilities were unprepared for the coronavirus crisis. One director of a hospice care service remarked that shortly before the pandemic, her team drafted crisis plans for every imaginable scenario. The one they turned to when the pandemic hit was created as a joke—what to do in case of a “zombie apocalypse.”

Crisis communication plans are fluid documents to revisit every few months in collaboration with department heads throughout the hospital. Due to the growing number of cyberattacks, several free resources are now available including:

• National Institute of Standards and Technology Cybersecurity Practice Guide
  • Ransomware Resource Center
  • Center for Internet Security Ransomware Protection Service

Set expectations for open, transparent crisis communication.

Breaches of patient records increased more than 180 percent in the second half of 2020. Most of those resulted from hacking, not misplaced computers or flash drives.

As any hospital can be a target of cyber threats, you want a strong response in place if it happens. As others work behind the scenes, the marketing department should position the CEO to communicate openly and as transparently as possible.

Keeping responses brief, simple and to the point is critical to maintaining trust. Ransomware attacks are likely to interrupt hospital operations, sometimes prompting closed ERs and cancelled surgeries. Tell the public. Don’t leave them wondering.

Treat bad news as extra media coverage for protecting the public.

The American Hospital Association warns that cyberattacks are not “white collar crimes, but threat-to-life crimes” and advises hospitals to remain vigilant against cybercriminals. A lack of cyber security in healthcare poses a serious threat to your facility and patients.

If a breach occurs, immediately respond to the crisis by sharing with the media the steps you’re taking to protect patients. Regard it as an opportunity to remind people how to safeguard their own data. Update them on phishing schemes or fraud alerts, especially relating to health information.

The entire community is at risk to cyber crimes. Even if you can’t share specifics about the attack, direct responses to reassure your patients that their protecting their health remains your priority.