Sunday, February 14, 2010

Time for Hospitals to Embrace Social Media

It’s time for hospitals to embrace social media.

Interactive online technologies, or “social media,” allow online users to search for and share content, and have become an indispensable tool in today’s communication mix – except, it seems, at smaller community hospitals. Social media sites are firmly entrenched as the primary method for online dialogue and communication for a good deal of the population today, covering people of all ages.

As part of an effective communications package, every organization needs to use a combination of social media tools to speak directly with their audience. Failing to do so risks alienating your patients and your community. Worse, it allows – and perhaps invites – the dialogue about what’s happening within your hospital and its service lines to be driven by outside, often unreliable sources.

Latest estimates show that over 500 hospitals in the U.S. are using some form of social media – and many are using multiple social media tools. If you are a healthcare marketing pro, isn’t it time to get YOUR hospital on board?

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