Submitted by Business Builders Marketing Team
One of the most interesting questions we’ve ever been asked is “Do you think the Internet’s here to stay?”
Well, yes, and the vast amounts of social media sites peppering the Internet are here to stay, too — even though their individual popularity may rise and fall with time.
Social media can be informative and fun for consumers when businesses do it right. But in a virtual world with limitless options, where can you find the best businesses hiding?
According to a 2013 report on socialmediaexaminer.com, the top five platforms used by business marketers include Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Blogging, and YouTube. Of those, Facebook and YouTube rank the highest in business-to-client applications. So as a consumer, what do health care organizations expect to happen when they reach out to you — their customers and patients?
- They want your business. Whether you’re a past, current, or future patient — health care facilities need steady and increasing streams of revenue to survive. Maintaining an active social media presence helps keep them in your choice set, which is a major goal for any organization.
- They want you to know what they do and how they do it. Being able to detail programs or services is another huge benefit for organizations in the social media game. They’re providing you with information on the social websites they know you’re already using. Businesses are hoping you see their social media activity as a fantastic teaser and a great supplement to their actual website in the hopes of eventually driving you there. Plus, social media gives organizations a chance to broadcast their culture to you. Some may take the opportunity to be playful, others may stay serious and on task. Either way, it gives you a little more insight into how they operate behind the scenes.
- They want to engage with you. Now that you know the organization better — what they do, who they are, etc. — the next step for them is engagement. They’ll sometimes offer fun facts: “Did You Know?” or “Quick Tips” tidbits are common. Video is another awesome tool organizations can use to capture your interest. They’re hoping to entice you to add commentary, and to encourage you to like or share their material within your own social circles. It also helps to create an arena of transparency, allowing businesses and organizations to manage misinformation or address criticisms in a professional and courteous manner. That kind of responsiveness gives them additional credibility, builds trust, and enhances their overall reputation. From there, this cycle naturally repeats.
As a health care consumer, it’s important you follow similar social media rules. This brings us to another important topic in the social media arena: responsible use. You need to manage your online behavior in a respectful, productive way. We noted earlier that the Internet — social media included — is not going away. That means whatever you share over your social networks is out there for the world to see.
While it may not seem like it could have long-lasting effects, posting negative comments or disparaging criticisms on common social media websites may be detrimental to you. For example, Facebook and Twitter are poor platforms for delivering a personal criticism. Here’s why:
- Privacy Issues: Health care facilities take their privacy policies very seriously. Bound by HIPAA regulations, hospitals, doctors, and even pharmacies are prohibited from sharing a patient’s personal information. So even if you’re willing to share your personal grievance via social media, it’s extremely unlikely it will be addressed online.
- Character Concerns: It’s inappropriate — not to mention unproductive — to voice concerns about a doctor or health care facility publicly on social media. There are other, more professionally attuned ways to address your issues. Health care providers offer a variety of measured outlets for feedback, including patient satisfaction surveys, internal evaluations, and industry best-practice enhancements that provide an appropriate place for addressing such issues. Plus, this increases chances for actual improvement.
- Appropriate Venues Exist: There are distinct niche websites that allow you to discuss your positive and negative health care experiences. For example, healthgrades.com and vitals.com exist specifically for accepting patient/customer input on doctors and facilities. Patient reviews on these platforms are confidential, but the systems allow all users to rank comments according to helpfulness, aiding in the filtering of reviews.
Business Builders combines leading-edge digital, mobile, video, and web capabilities for more than 75 unique industries, making them Central Illinois’ first choice for professional video production and website development. Visit them on the web at www.BuildRevenueNow.com.
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