Social Media
Social Media Strategy: It’s Still About the Story
Jan 11th
“Well now home entertainment was my baby’s wish
So I hopped into town for a satellite dish
I tied it to the top of my Japanese car
I came home and I pointed it out into the stars
A message came back from the great beyond
There’s fifty-seven channels and nothin’ on”
So go the lyrics to the 1992 Bruce Springsteen song that lamented the hollowness of an expanded array of channel options with very little substance. If Bruce were to rewrite the song today, in our social media savvy world, it might be “There’s fifty-seven million posts but there’s nothing to say.” There is no doubt that social media has reached the mainstream. There are now 91 million Facebook users and 14 million Twitter users, and the numbers are climbing each day. Marketers are debating the merit of investing time and effort in jumping on the social media bandwagon. Many recognize, once you begin the dialogue, you can’t stop. You can create a Facebook fan page in seconds, however, populating that page with relevant, timely and consistent content that engages community is a much larger task. So, before marketers invest heavily in any social media platform, they need to think about the art of the story. Here are some brainstorm starters for crafting stories that play well with social media:
- Thought Leadership: Paul Levy, CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, provides and excellent example of how an inside look can establish a thought leadership presence online. Levy is sometimes controversial, other times philosophical, but his posts are always well thought out and intentional. Task: Find thought leaders in your organization who have a voice and a story to tell, as well as the skills to do it. Build a blog around their leadership insight, then tie into the blogging ecosystem.
- Showcase Your Culture. Your corporate culture is your best recruiting tool and usually your best story. Southwest Airlines has done a great job showcasing its culture on YouTube. Behind most of its videos, is a well crafted story. For example, this video documents the story behind Southwest’s “25-minute turn” – highlighting operational efficiency and it’s corporate can-do culture. It’s easy to create a YouTube channel, and even produce your own video, however, lay the groundwork first. Crafting your story online takes thought and time. Before you flip on that handycam, think through the story line basics: What are the top 10 stories you have going at your company? How do they reflect your core values? What are the elements of the story? Who are your best storytellers? Sometimes I encourage clients to create a Story Map before embarking on a social media initiatives. This keeps everyone grounded in the content, rather than the enabling platform.
- Relevancy, Relevancy, Relevancy. More than ever, we live in a relevant culture. From web searching to news, to personal relationships, people are seeking relevant content and engagements that speak to them and their immediate situation. A relevant social media strategy includes three things: 1) Knowing your audience; 2) Understanding what’s important to them; 3) Delivering content in a way that respects their time. While the H1N1 virus was an unwelcome visitor to many of us this flu season, it has brought about a great example of how social media can be used to tell an important and relevant story. At the onset of the epidemic, the Center for Disease Control placed social media at the cornerstone of its public awareness strategy. The CDC website contains numerous ways health providers, care givers and community members can share important updates about H1N1 using social media widgets.
The bottom line: A successful social media strategy includes a blend of technology enablement and old fashioned story-crafting. One without the other is not a recipe for success.
Who’s Talking Health Experience Reform?
Nov 18th
While there is a lot of fire and fury over healthcare reform (public option vs. no public option), I haven’t heard a lot of debate over “Health Experience Reform” (with “care” intentionally taken out). What’s the difference? Healthcare Reform involves the politics of healthcare – expanding coverage, regulating insurance companies that deny pre-existing conditions, creating insurance exchanges and deciding on whether a public option would kick in if the private sector failed to address customer needs. However, little if any of this will significantly transform the way customers, patients, doctors and nurses interact and engage.
Health Experience Reform means transforming our collective attitudes, expectations and interactions when it comes to our own health. Case in point: I recently implemented an outreach campaign for a client who was experiencing a dramatic drain on it Emergency Department resources from patients with non-emergent conditions. Analysis yielded a startling result – 5 patients with non-emergent conditions represented nearly 400 visits to the ED resulting in nearly $700,000 in care. To help educate the community, we implemented a campaign to educate consumers to “know where to go” – their doctor, express care, or the emergency department. As healthcare access points expand, consumers need to be educated on the most appropriate place for their care. Also, patients often go to the ED for basic care because they don’t have a primary care physician. Unless we address this issue through recruiting, incentives, nurse practitioners, and 1-800 Get-A-Doc campaigns, expanded coverage will not equal access.
Health Experience Reform means:
1) A patient/customer never has to provide the same information twice during the course of their care (proper implementation of electronic health records)
2) A patient/customer has a personal relationship with their care provider
3) A patient/customer never has to be made aware of the distinction between clinic and hospital
4) A patient should be able to get a bill that is accurate and understandable
5) A patient is empowered with the information and tools to manage his/her own health.
One company, Hello Health, is going down the path of Health Experience Reform by simply going around the system (and it’s linked into Google Health). The process is simple:
If large healthcare organizations and billions of dollars in government funding don’t address the need for Health Experience Reform, start-up companies like Hello Health just may disrupt the system. Stay tuned.
Thriving vs. Fixing: Balance is key in healthcare branding
Nov 15th
When talking brand experience in healthcare there are always two competing elements: Preventative “Health” vs. Accute “Care”. Kaiser Permanente’s successful “Thrive” campaign focuses on the importance of helping their customers and patients maintain healthy vibrant lives. The multi-pronged branding effort has become a successful viral campaign on YouTube and has helped raise awareness for the 35-hospital organization. More locally, BJC has recently launched a grass-roots branding campaign that latches on the healthcare reform initiative, labeled “Making Medicine Better”. Both campaigns are equally viable and point out the unique challenges for healthcare marketers in today’s environment. Depending on their level of need (recently diagnosed cancer patient vs. consumer looking for health education and convenient access), the Patient/Customer experience expectations can vary a great deal. Healthcare organizations need to balance the “thriving” and “fixing” messages based on their target audience. However, one thing is for sure: Branding claims compared to the actual customer experience will be “outed” by the Patient/Customer faster than ever. It’s a brave new world in health branding where customer engagement can showcase customer enragement if quality, coordinated, personal care is not delivered.
Retailers plan to get social this holiday season
Nov 15th
I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet but retailers are gearing up in hopes that the biggest shopping season of the year will lift them out of the Great Recession doldrums. And it looks like they will be turning to social media even more this year in order to lure buyers online, according to an article by Retail Customer Experience. According to RCE, “47.1 percent of retailers surveyed will be increasing their use of social media this holiday season. More than half of retailers said they have added or improved their Facebook page (60.3 percent) and Twitter pages (58.7 percent) this year, while two-thirds (65.6 percent) have added or enhanced blogs and RSS feeds. In addition, to provide consumers with an extra incentive to start shopping, one-third of retailers (34.3 percent) say they will offer holiday deals earlier this year.” Stay tuned for a review coming later this month of the best online retail shopping experiences. Merry Tweetmas.
Five sure ways to make your message viral and social
Nov 15th
Okay, so you think you want to get a viral video on YouTube? Wanna generate hundreds of thousands of views? Evian’s skating baby video has been an instant hit on YouTube, spreading like wildfire on blogs and Facebook pages everywhere. Why? Because Evian followed the five basic rules of viral video:
1) Entertain, Then Explain: A great viral video makes the viewer forget that they are actually getting a carefully crafted communication. It has inherent entertainment value without the plug, however, as noted in Evian’s video the message is clear – stay younger by drinking Evian.
2) Challenge Market Perception: The further you go outside the comfort zone of your market, the more likely your video will have dramatic impact. Don’t be shy – shock and awe are acceptable (with taste).
3) Touch the Heartstrings: Video pulls at the heart more than any other media. That means your video should hit on the core emotions – humor, happiness, sadness, etc. However, humor, the hardest emotion to convey on video is often the most successful.
4) Make It Easy to Share: Don’t hide your viral video under a bushel. There are some easy sharing tools on YouTube, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter that can help a viral video spread like wildfire. The more platforms you are on, the more likely your video will hit a hot button with your audience.
5) Have Fun: If you don’t have fun making it, most likely your audience won’t enjoy viewing it!