Page Banner

Why are Hospitals not Social?

Header_socialbiz

I have now seen this report mentioned by several bloggers I follow on a regular basis so I decided to download the report and take a look.

About the Social Business Report according to NetProspex:

In May of 2010, NetProspex proved that business people across the US are social. We enabled easy-access to social profiles by adding social network information to our directory of verified B2B contacts.

Our team analyzed these contacts to provide a snapshot of social media activity among employees of the nation’s largest corporations: the NetProspex Social Report and Social 50, showing the most social corporations in America. The report was the first of its kind, earning coverage in Fox Business News, The Huffington Post,Mashable, Bloomberg, and NPR.

Now, in September 2010, we are releasing an exciting new look at the state of social media use by business people across industries, cities in the US, and jobs. We’ve also updated our Social 50 research, and are continuing to show how widespread social media adoption is extending from sales to customer support, from marketing to IT, throughout all levels of the organization. 

After reading through the report here are a couple of interesting bullets:

  • “A Twitter username is becoming just as important as a phone number to reach and engage with customers…”
  • “Industries related to medical care did not make the Top 50 list at all. Hospital & Clinics had an average social rating of 6.97, almost half the amount of the lowest ranked industry in the Top 50 list…”
  • “If you’re looking to interact with a company through social media, don’t bank on having an engaging conversation with the CEO.”
  • “Other than Chicago (#13) and Columbus, OH (#17), the midwest had no cities in the Top 20. While California and Texas were the only states to have multiple cities in the top 15.”

So what does this mean for Hospitals?

  1. Presence – Hospitals are still way behind on social adoption. Studies like this show how large brands/industries are managing this medium as a strategy and not just an add on to another person’s job description. (See latest numbers on Hospitals/Social Media)
  2. Transparency – Brands like Zappos have shown the impact of being transparent by giving everyone access to the man in charge.
  3. Understand your Audience – Based on where you live be sure you understand how new media savvy your audience is. This could even be an opportunity to help your consumers connect by being a social media lifeline. Example: Randolph Hospital in Asheboro, NC held an open house in their cancer center and as part of the festivities they had computers setup (with staff) to help anyone who did not have a Facebook account set one up and connect with the hospital.

How do we move social adoption forward for hospitals? I am interested to hear your thoughts…

– Reed

Author Info

Reed Smith