50 Amazing Ways Hospitals Are Using Facebook and Twitter

September 20, 2012 by Staff Writers

Social media stands as one of the most effective marketing resources available today, a fact that many hospitals are beginning to embrace. Facebook and Twitter have become some of healthcare’s most powerful tools for attracting patients, sharing useful medical information, and building their brand. Exactly how are they doing it? We’ve discovered 50 really impressive ways hospitals are using social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter.

Social Media Interaction

Whether they’re on Facebook or Twitter, hospitals are using these ideas to connect with patients, manage information, and more.

1. Attracting patients:

   Many hospitals have found that using Twitter and Facebook is a great way to gain a marketing edge on their competitors and attract new patients.

2. Managing information on social media:

   We’ve all seen health campaigns on Facebook and Twitter expressing outrage or encouraging support of a particular patient, and sometimes, hospitals come under fire during these campaigns. With an established social media presence, hospitals are in a better position to shut down misinformation and share relevant facts.

3. Referring patients to resources:

   Johns Hopkins takes an interactive approach, referring patients on Facebook and Twitter to appropriate online and offline resources.

4. Physician recruitment:

   Although LinkedIn is already a great resource for finding medical professionals, many hospitals are also turning to Facebook and Twitter to find doctors and other staff.

5. Sharing updates that are too small for traditional media:

   Small updates like photos or employee accomplishments may not be newsworthy enough to go in a newspaper or newsletter, but lots of hospitals generate interest and share news by updating their Facebook and Twitter pages with these small developments.

Facebook

How exactly are hospitals using the social media giant Facebook? Read on to find out.

6. Expanding marketing plans:

   For nearly every hospital on Facebook, the social media site is just another great place to share their latest marketing efforts.

7. Sharing hospital events:

   Facebook is a hub of social interaction, so it’s only natural that hospitals use it to share and promote upcoming events and services.

8. Spreading hospital news:

   Many hospitals on Facebook use the service to share hospital news, as well as general medical news.

9. Gathering recommendations:

   Hospitals can use Facebook to underline their value, like Children’s Hospital of Alabama has, gathering glowing recommendations from employees and patients.

10. Recruiting for clinical trials:

    For difficult to fill clinical trials, some academic centers have turned to Facebook.

11. Before and after stories:

    For procedures like plastic and reconstructive surgery, hospitals are able to share before and after photos of their patients on Facebook.

12. Advertising for high-profit procedures:

    Hospitals are increasingly using Facebook ads to target patients that may be in need of high-profit procedures.

13. Responding to complaints:

    As more hospital customers become savvy on Facebook, more are taking to the site to have their complaints addressed. Many hospitals use their Facebook wall as a place for patients to share concerns and complaints.

14. Paying attention to patient concerns:

    Facebook has made it easy for patients to share their concerns, and hospitals are listening.

15. Sharing hospital history:

    With Facebook’s new Timeline, hospitals are now better able to share their history, highlighting big donations, construction projects, and important news stories from the past.

16. Employee recognition:

    Some hospitals are using Facebook as a place to recognize employees in a more public setting, posting about awards and accomplishments where the entire hospital community can join in on the celebration.

17. Sparking relevant conversations:

    Some social media hospitals, like Children’s of Alabama, have taken it upon themselves to start relevant conversations like severe weather alerts.

18. Sharing hospital developments:

    Many people in the community watch hospital construction and renovations with lots of excitement, so some hospitals share photos of their development on Facebook.

19. Special visits:

    Some hospitals have special visitors like celebrities and athletes, and these hospitals will typically share photos of the event on Facebook.

20. Sharing hospital personality:

    At Ohio State’s James Cancer Hospital & Solove Research Institute, a post with oncology staff members who dressed up as Star Wars characters to celebrate a 5 year old cancer patient’s final radiation treatment was met with plenty of positive response.

21. Patient support groups:

    The University of Maryland’s Facebook page started out with online support groups, but those groups have quickly grown to become face-to-face gatherings.

22. Taking things offline:

    Hospital Facebook pages are an ideal location to promote offline activities, like special nights for dining out to benefit the hospital or medical causes.

23. Fan photo sharing:

    On Facebook, City of Hope in California makes it possible for fans of the hospital to share their photos on the page.

24. Timely updates:

    Just before July 4th this year, Regions Hospital shared an image that explains the most injured body parts during the holiday, with information on burn and injury prevention.

25. Facebook charity donations:

    When users check into the hospital through Facebook Places, at some hospitals they can give a dollar donation.

26. Facebook giveaways and contests:

    A popular post type, some hospitals use Facebook to give away goodies and promote contests.

Twitter

Check out our amazing collection of the many ways hospitals have taken to Twittering to build their brand and connect with the public.

27. Live-tweeted surgeries:

    Perhaps the most impressive way libraries have put Twitter to work, the worldwide Twitter audience has experienced live-tweeted brain surgeries, open heart surgeries, transplants, and more.

28. DIY press releases:

    For huge organizations like @MayoClinic and @StJude with hundreds of thousands of followers, every tweet basically doubles as a press release.

29. Sharing health alerts:

    Hospitals can keep patients informed of developing health threats, thanks to updates from streams like @CDC_eHealth and @CDCFlu.

30. Expert advice:

    The @MayoClinic often shares expert advice Q&A on its Twitter stream.

31. Sharing patient stories:

    @StJude likes to share photos of their patients, like this one of Lanasha at her No Mo Chemo party.

32. Reaching mainstream media:

    Some hospitals, including Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, use Twitter to improve media awareness, getting attention from mainstream media and industry publications.

33. Demonstrating healthy eating habits:

    Hospital staff can share their healthy eating habits through services like Tweetwhatyoueat.

34. Sharing access to drug information:

    Lots of hospital doctors, including immunologist and allergist Ves Dimov use Twitter to share scientific studies that back up (or debunk) information shared by drug companies.

35. Answering questions:

    Twitter is a great resource for sharing information with the public, while also offering learning opportunities for medical students.

36. Monitoring Twitter chatter:

    Hospitals are using Twitter proactively, monitoring what is being said about their brand and responding appropriately.

37. Updating family members:

    At St. Luke’s Cedar Rapids, family members of select patients are able to follow along as doctors perform surgery, offering reassurance and an opportunity to engage the general public in the procedure.

38. Patient communication:

    At Atlanta Medical Center, the hospital uses its Twitter account to communicate directly with patients.

39. Broadcasting ER wait times:

    Through Twitter and iPhone apps, patients are able to find out about the current wait time for area hospital networks, and go to the least busy one in the area.

40. Tissue recruitment:

    Need kidneys or blood? Some hospitals are asking for it on Twitter.

41. Guiding patients to trusted resources:

    There’s no denying that today’s patients are getting lots of health information online, but is it all up to snuff? By sharing resources on Twitter, hospitals can help direct patients to resources with good information.

42. Internal communications:

    Twitter can be used for hospital staff to communicate, privately or publicly, in a quick and brief manner.

43. Tracking blood sugar:

    Through services like SugarStats, hospitals can encourage diabetic patients to track their blood sugar on Twitter.

44. Crisis communication:

    During the Fort Hood shooting attack in November 2009, Scott & White Healthcare was able to use Twitter for news updates, hospital operation status, emergency room access, and communication with reporters.

45. Sharing new research findings:

    Research hospitals can be the first to break the news on their new findings by sharing their updates on Twitter.

46. Environmental alerts:

    Hospitals can keep the community updated on environmental alerts including pollen counts, pollution levels, and heat waves.

47. Patient care reminders:

    Hospitals can set up future tweets to remind patients of upcoming care needs.

48. Biomedical device:

    It’s easy for hospitals to hook up biomedical devices to Twitter for data collection and reporting.

49. Following up with patients:

    Physicians are able to keep tabs on patients, following up after procedures to stay on top of their recovery.

50. Pharmacy reminders:

    Twitter can be used for prescription management, especially pharmacy refill reminders.