Image Courtesy of smarnad on FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Inbound marketing wizards at Hubspot promote blogging and social media best practices and tips on their very own blog. Things like…
- Just write, don’t be scared or over think it
- Write with empathy – people enjoy reading content that they can relate to
- Take the good and constructive criticism with the bad
- Cut corners – blogs are not a masterpiece of the most perfect content ever crafted
- Show personality and have a unique voice that will stand out
As we know, blogging and engaging in social media can present risks and challenges for healthcare, so executing best practices in a tactful and graceful way is certainly important. Mary Beth Thomsen goes a little more in-depth with tips for healthcare social media in particular include:
- Well balanced level of sharing within the Rule of Thirds – 1/3 about yourself, 1/3 about the industry and 1/3 about personal interactions.
- Use of images and photos are super important.
- Take the compliments with the complaints but don’t take the complaints personal.
- Be clever and catchy in order to encourage interactions.
- Short is sweet but be sure to check for grammar!
- Be approachable to your audience by posting like a human – not an automated social media robot.
Image Courtesy of John Lynn’s actual Twitter page
John Lynn, the founder of the healthcare blog network, HealthcareScene.com, demonstrates a well-executed blog strategy and strong use of best practices. From blogging real-time comments on social media regarding current healthcare topics, to sharing interviews with industry leaders, to fun and unique posts that add light humor to this normally less-than-sexy industry of healthcare, John Lynn is demonstrating that social media can really be executed in any industry, despite risks and challenges.
Image Courtesy of Mayo Clinic’s actual Twitter page
I know by this point, it has begun to sink in that Mayo Clinic is a healthcare-social-media-maven, but, I’m going to raise the example again. Mayo Clinic also demonstrates successful social media strategies and are strictly held to HIPAA compliance regulations. By using a broad spectrum of platforms, frequently yet relevantly posting quality and self-generated content and creating a human engagement, the organization achieves their mission “To inspire hope and contribute to health and well being” one post at a time.
Thanks for mentioning my EMR and HIPAA blog. You described what we do really well. I agree that it’s amazing how blogging can work on pretty much any topic. Some topics just take a little more creativity.
Or like I tell most people, you don’t want to read my blog unless you’re in the industry. My wife doesn’t even read my blog, and she shouldn’t. However, if you’re someone in the industry, you’ll love it.
I enjoyed reading your thoughts regarding social media best practices especially concerning the healthcare industry. I feel that the healthcare industry is one of the most at risk in terms of social media. It must be hard to be a healthcare blogger or tweeter without feeling the pressure of saying the wrong thing. When it comes to healthcare, the topics are fragile and opinions can explode if the wrong advice is given. I read a blog (http://50andgettingfit.wordpress.com/2014/05/18/personal-trainers-should-let-social-media-do-the-work-out/) last week regarding an incident with Jillian Michaels (a coach on the ABC hit show ‘Biggest Loser’) twitter account. “Jillian was giving advice to her followers in which someone asked her a question about caffeine via social media to which she responded with some of the health benefits of caffeine. She soon received a phone call from an unnamed company she’s working with on her supplement line, who said they’d need to consult an attorney; Ms. Michaels now limits her status updates on Twitter and Facebook to statements that won’t ruffle lawyers.” That is just an example of how things can go wrong when comments are purely meant to be innocent.
Hi Kristen –
Great post, and very cool that John Lynn commented on it 🙂 I think you hit the nail on the head that blogging can work for everyone when done correctly, but it is important to outline your target demographic ahead of time and not worry that everyone reads it. You have to just make sure the right people read it. Social media is a great way to drive the traffic as you can engage in the right conversations with hastags, in LinkedIn groups, on message boards, and the like.
Great job!