Panelists:

Julian Bond, @DMC_Heals, @julian_bond

Social Media/Marketing Manager

Detroit Medical Center (DMC)

 

Shannon Paul, @BCBSM, @HealthierMI, @shannonpaul

Manager, Social Media/External Affairs

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan

 

Joseph Wesolek, @beaumonthealth, @josephwesolek

Web Content Manager

Beaumont Health System

 

Russell Faust, PhD, MD, @russellfaust, @boogordoctor

Creator, "Ask The Boogor Doctor" blog

Chief, Pediatric Otolaryngology

St. John Health System

 

Moderator:

Andrea Pecoraro, @kresgeeye, @andrea_pecs

Public Relations and Marketing Coordinator

Kresge Eye Institute

 

Location: Kresge Eye Institute, Detroit 

 

Topic: Putting the MED in Social MEDia

 

Presentation Overview:

 

Joe Wesolek:

• Social media goals are to expand their reach (how many people know they are doing great things), get talked about (buzz), gather leads (talking to existing patients or potential patients?), customer support and generate Web traffic.

• 10 different Facebook pages – one main for Beaumont and other specialty pages.

• Also using Twitter, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Pinterest and Instagram. Blog in the near future.

• Some easy wins to generate traffic/buzz – using Instagram to share photos, stories unseen/told, videos with multiple purposes.

• New ways to communicate – some of the simplest posts can generate great comments (Beaumont awarded for emergency care). Had great success with Facebook apps.

• Have guidelines and HR policies for employees using SM.

• Guidelines and requests – have an Intranet with these so employees know where to connect with Beaumont in social media.

• Uses Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Vocus for monitoring mentions and Google Analytics for conversions.

 

Russell Faust

• Branded himself as the Boogor Doctor (http://www.boogordoctor.com/) through social media.

• Providing correct health information through his blog streamlines his clinic flow when patients come in to see him. Now he can see more patients in the day and have a much more relaxed visit.

• 30-50% of patients coming from his online brand.

• Analytics show him more than 15,000 pageviews on blog per month.

• He’s an evangelist because there are so few physicians who get it. 80% of people find health care info in digital world, so physicians have an obligation to provide that information.

 

Shannon Paul

• BCBSM’s approach to social media – ecosystem approach to social content focused on strengthening relationships with community stakeholders, building trust and authority on issues on health and wellness for all MI residents, extending brand and value proposition to social networks.

• Looking to build relationships before they need something – many people don’t need to talk to insurance company until something is wrong.

• Active on Twitter and Facebook.

• A Healthier Michigan blog (http://www.ahealthiermichigan.org/) – provide valuable health content, serve as publisher for a company. Gave in house talent bylines. Grew from 9,000 pageviews in January 2011 to more than 58,000 pageviews in January 2012. 

• Make internal expertise social.

• You can have a sound strategy, but if you don’t get how channels work, it falls apart with the tactics.

• Motivation – healthy people cost less money and they put less strain on industry and themselves.

• Event sponsorships – increased broadcast media exposure for company sponsorship of a local festival at no additional cost, great boost to employee morale, more than 5,000 YouTube views on flash mob at Detroit River Days.

• Sports and cause marketing – Monday Night Football Breast Cancer Awareness, PSA with Matthew Stafford from the Lions, linked to A Healthier MI site, AHM profiled breast cancer survivors, etc.

• Press conferences – they invite people from SM community and other Detroit businesses.

 

Julian Bond

• DMC using social media regularly for the past 3-4 years.

• Have more than 20,000 total combined followers and likes from DMC Facebook/Twitter pages (including individual hospital and main DMC pages).

• More than 1 million views on DMC YouTube page since 2007.

• Did a live Twitter surgery and supported the Movember movement – making medical education fun and interesting, raising awareness about prostate cancer.

• Boosting employee morale – “Do the ICU-2” video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grlLT2BhR4w) about hand washing and hand sanitizing. SM is currently blocked in the hospital (working on changing that), so they got employees involved with being in this video. Turned into media coverage on WXYZ.

• Walk for Love (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS5RknttX-8) – video of patient at Rehabilitation Institute who was paralyzed training to walk down the aisle at her wedding. Went from YouTube to The Today Show and other local and national media outlets. Did it solely to share her story through video. Got patients from this who saw the coverage.

• Whatever industry you work in, it’s all about the story. Companies lose sight of this.