3 reasons hospitals are concerned about improving content

As recently as 2012, 74 percent of U.S. hospitals were not sharing original content in social media. Today, the exact opposite is true. That says something about the pace of change.

An overwhelming majority of hospitals are participating, but it’s less clear whether social platforms are being used effectively to improve market share, interact with patients, increase profits, gather information or achieve their missions.

Is it possible that we have spent too much time and space on corporate announcements and fluffy content that’s easy to produce, but doesn’t benefit or move patients? Healthcare marketers who take time to carefully plan their content strategies, drawing on knowledge across the organization, are in a position to change those dynamics.

Here’s why hospitals and healthcare organizations are striving to create better content.

Ninety percent of millennials (Source: Search Engine Watch) trust their social networks to share credible health information.

What does this mean for healthcare marketers? While most Gen Xers and millennials are healthy, they still have reproductive health needs, disease and sports injuries. They take their children to the doctor. Why would any healthcare provider pass up an opportunity to meet them where they are with accurate information?

Baby boomers are engaged in their aging parents’ healthcare decisions—and their own.

My parents are 78 and 80, and I was born near the end of the baby boom. I’m as interested in their healthcare as I am my own. When they have a health problem, my first reaction is to bone up on their conditions and research their doctors, physical therapists and healthcare institutions.

I help them prepare for their appointments. I ask questions. I evaluate their providers. These are the people who watched me squander my 13th birthday money on Seventeen magazines and frosted pink lipstick, but they still value my opinion. That makes me a thought leader.

There are 75 million baby boomers. Nearly a quarter of us are involved in the care our parents receive. (Source: Metropolitan Life) We are living longer and we have high expectations for our parents’ health and ours. This means we will significantly shape the healthcare system for at least the next 20 years.

“Seniors don’t look for healthcare stuff online.” Those were my husband’s words when I named Florida as a land of opportunity for my services. Normally, he is a keen businessman whose opinion I value, but he is wrong this time.

Eighty-eight percent of my fellow baby boomers (ages 50 to 64) go online to find health information. (So do 57 percent of seniors, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.) And, right or wrong, baby boomers trust what they find online.

Improve the quality and extent of health information your organization offers. Make it easy to find, easy to read/view and interesting. Share it in your social networks, and you will differentiate your brand with people who help make healthcare decisions for two generations.

Forty percent of consumers consider what they find in social media when they decide how to handle a health issue.

We want to meet real people who can:

• Share secrets for a quick, sustainable recovery after knee replacement
• Give us hope that we can lead a full life after an amputation
• Show us a non-surgical alternative for our chronic back pain
• Teach us how to delay or avoid a joint replacement
• Help us ask the right questions of a surgeon
• Explain why a hospital with an academic health affiliation is the best place for treatment of our child’s rare condition
• Enlighten us about why it is wise to be selective about who we choose to revise a joint replacement
• Give us something to think about before we have hand surgery to resolve a painful condition

Introduce us to your patients, nutritionists, physical therapists and doctors. Help us learn to take better care of ourselves and the people we love.

Good storytellers and videographers can help you connect with the people you serve. That’s what we do at Leading Reads.

Give us an opportunity to learn your brand voice and study your strategic objectives. We can become an integral part of your tactical team and help you generate original content.

Here’s what one of our recent customers had to say about our work.

“With little guidance, Crystal was able to take a high-level topic that generally covered a complex medical condition, seek out the most appropriate individuals and bring together a clear and concise story that helped so many of our patients become connected to our organization. I also found Crystal very strategic in her efforts to fully understand our organizational objectives and identify opportunities within her project that align and support our strategy. Her ideas were very strategic and well-thought out, and most importantly valuable to us in achieving our organizational goals. Crystal is extremely organized and very dedicated to her work. She has my highest recommendation.”

Do you need additional resources to tell your stories or update your website? We are healthcare specialists and we would love to help you. Contact Crystal.