The Coyne PR Report, “Health & Social Media: Who’s Using It, Why
and How?” examines what specific health-focused organizations and
companies are doing within social media. Anecdotally, we have always
heard that the health care system tends to lag behind other industries
when it comes to innovation and adoption of creative solutions, but we
wanted to check this out for ourselves.
While there are ample studies and reports on health care and social media, our analysis focuses on specific industries and the particular channels within social media that they are – or, are not – embracing.
The paper leads with a statistical overview of the public’s use of social media for health purposes, followed by a review of opportunities and challenges in the space.
To maintain focus, the Coyne PR team selected the following industries to review:
- Health advocacy groupsHospitals and health systemsThe pharmaceutical industryResearch/government organizations
- Health benefits providers
Highlights of our findings include:
- Out of the five industries we studied, health advocacy groups are the biggest adopters of social media to advance their issues
- For instance, our research indicates that, of the 11 advocacy groups we looked into, 100 percent have their own YouTube channel and 91 percent use a social networking site, such as Facebook, MySpace or both
- Hospitals and health systems are just starting out in the space, but are doing so in
interesting ways
- The Mayo Clinic is a stand-out leader in its embrace of social media
- Pharmaceutical companies are not particularly active in social media from a corporate point of view, though they do use various channels for specific initiatives for which social media is a “safe” medium
- For instance, Johnson & Johnson is very active on YouTube, using videos to educate viewers on various health topics
- Research and government organizations have an uneven relationship with social media: some organizations heavily embrace it, while others have no involvement
- The CDC employs social media for various initiatives, and has used it particularly effectively for the quick distribution of information regarding the recent peanut products/salmonella outbreak
- Health benefits providers, much like the
pharmaceutical companies, don’t tend to use social media on a corporate level, but do use it effectively for specific initiatives
- Cigna and Humana are the most active in the space
In sum, our take is that there is probably no industry better suited toward the use of social media than health care, but, to date, it is an underutilized medium. There are indications, however, that this will change, for the positive.
For the full paper, please email dcarter@coynepr.com
Companies implementing social media strategies face a dilemma. How do you measure the brand impact of social media activity when multiple business units - many with their own sub-brand identity - promote overlapping products and solutions?
Right now, there are few measurement tools readily available to measure social media impact on the primary brand. At Coyne PR, many large clients with multiple BUs are collaborating with us to find ways to measure the social media impact to their core brand. The results have been encouraging.
Accurate return-on-investment calculations are possible in marketing activities where it’s feasible to isolate variables to identify incremental revenue. And today, the only internet-based marketing programs that can consistently generate bona fide results are pay-per-click, email direct marketing, search engine optimization, banner ad click-through and similar marketing programs. And even these initiatives can only generate reasonable ROI results for lead-generation or e-commerce-based transactions.
Social media tends to be vague and anecdotal, and because it’s a dialogue rather than a one-sided message, consumers control the passion and frequency of the conversation. From a traditional marketing perspective, it’s a difficult concept for senior management to comprehend -- much less measure with any accuracy.
With traditional customer relationship management programs, initiatives are focused on linking consumers to the company to create brand stickiness. CRM programs are measured using well-established CRM metrics, but we also know that social media activity increases corporate reputation, brand stickiness, and social engagement. Metrics for these measures are not so well defined. At Coyne PR, we have found that the best way to know how social media impacts a single brand is to directly connect social media initiatives to core brand measurement activity. So, it’s not just about jumping in on any particular social media discussion; it’s about how to direct social media activity in a way that achieves the objectives of the corporation.
From a social media perspective, several variables of brand equity can be measured including Brand Loyalty, Brand Awareness, Perceived Quality, Brand Associations and “other” proprietary brand assets which provide a competitive advantage, like brand extensions, channel member interest. These brand equity variables can be organized into three categories and correlated with social media measures.
Core Outputs
We can measure the effectiveness of social media initiatives such as whether a campaign creates positive/negative complimentary links (brand associations), or if the number of positive/negative reviews produced by community influencers increases (perceived quality), or whether the total number of people engaged in a blog discussion reflects an increase in the frequency of positive/negative company references (brand awareness and channel member interest).
Measurable Behavioral Outcomes
More difficult to capture is the measure of real behavioral change resulting from a social media program. This variable might represent the quantifiable change in the growth of key on-line influencers or an increase in traffic reflected in blog aggregators for the firm’s recently launched product or solution (brand loyalty).
Achievable Business Results
This is a measure of how the social media program, campaign, or activity helped the organization achieve a specific business objective and helps to quantify the business result. For example, we can measure the adoption rate for a new product/solution—that is, the incremental boost in sales resulting from influential social media activity, or the adoption/penetration of an integrated cross-BU solution within a pre-defined market segment based on social media initiatives.
Correlating brand equity elements with specific social media measures allows businesses to optimize social media-generated brand equity. The more companies can quantitatively measure the social impact on their brand equity, the better. The closer those measurements come to aligning specific BU business initiatives with corporate business outcomes, the better.
How rapidly people respond to a social media call-to-action, write a review, participate in a discussion or forum, or forward a recommendation to a colleague can all be actively measured. What we want to know is whether BU-generated social media efforts are having any incremental impact on the corporate brand equity, and if so, how much. So, even if a BU-initiated social media activity is producing a good return in terms of its single specific metric, if it isn't accelerating the corporate business outcome and contributing to the company’s core brand equity, then it’s time to revisit the effort.
Dr. Norman Booth, D.Litt is an Assistant Vice President at Coyne PR.
Last November, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published new guidelines that recommended against routine mammography screening for women in their 40s and less-frequent screening for older women at average risk of developing breast cancer. The guidelines also said there was no evidence to support doctors' teaching women to do breast self-exams.
This counsel sparked confusion and anxiety among patients and added to the chorus of accusations that the changes amounted to rationing of health care -- all serving to exacerbate fear and doubt about the direction and intent of Washington's health care reform. And, to add "clarity" to the unfolding drama, the American Cancer Society reaffirmed its support for routine screening to begin at age 40.
Welcome to the era of evidenced-based medicine (EBM).
Best available evidence
EBM applies the best available evidence gained from the scientific method to medical decisions. It seeks to assess the quality of evidence about the risks and benefits of treatment, or, in some case, lack of treatment.
As health IT rapidly penetrates the medical community, new research will sharpen the role of EBM in clinical diagnosis. As new research grows exponentially, winding its way to physicians through journal articles and meeting presentations, it will not be surprising that significant information may slip by a busy physician -- and that some clinical decisions about patient care might be made without benefit of the most recent evidence.
How prevalent is the problem of trying to stay informed? Experts interviewed by MedPage Today (Neale, 2009) explained how challenging it is to keep up with mountains of new research information. "To some degree or another, I think it's very widespread," said Richard Deyo, MD, MPH, a professor of evidence-based family medicine at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland. And, according to Gordon Guyatt, MD, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, who is credited with coining the term "evidence-based medicine," most physicians practicing today were not trained in an era of evidence-based practice."
Moreover, a 2003 survey released in the New England Journal of Medicine found that only 54.9 percent of those surveyed received the care recommended for their condition.
The trend of leveraging health care technology in clinical research, combined with the almost impossible task of keeping up with every significant finding, means that well-informed patients are becoming increasingly valuable as partners in their own health care.
How effectively the health care industry uses communication channels to convey complex research findings that contradict widely held beliefs will be critical to building an EBM foundation of knowledge for both physicians and patients.
Health care communications
For example, when it comes to health care communications, we know that people pursue a wide network of both online and offline health information sources. Years ago, patients may have contacted a health care professional, a relative or a good friend. Today, they are also reading blogs, researching topic-specific Web sites, listening to podcasts and satellite radio programs, updating their social network profile and sharing health care experiences. Health-related communication activities are more frequent and intense than ever before.
But does all this communication make any difference in patient outcomes?
A recent study by the Pew Internet/California HealthCare Foundation found that communications technology is not an end, but a means to accelerate the pace of discovery, widen social networks and sharpen the questions patients ask when they talk to a health care professional.
According to the study, online health inquiries are having an impact on health care decisions. The study found that:
- 60 percent said the information found online affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition;
- 56 percent said it changed their overall approach to maintaining their health or the health of someone they help take care of;
- 53 percent said it lead them to ask a doctor new questions, or to get a second opinion from another doctor;
- 38 percent said it affected a decision about whether to see a doctor; and
- 38 percent said it changed the way they cope with a chronic condition or manage pain.
Forty-two percent of adults, or 60 percent of patients, said they or someone they know has been helped by following medical advice or health information found on the Internet. This is a dramatic change from the past. It's clear that communication inspires activism and informs clinical discussion.
A reputation of care
A health care organization's reputation, profitability and its continued existence can depend on the degree to which its targeted communities support its goals and policies. As health care executives recognize the importance of public relations to the success of their organizations, they increasingly rely on public relations specialists for advice on the strategy and policy of such programs. A well-developed online communication strategy, clearly articulated, can help to facilitate the human connection in health care.
Public relations specialists do more than "tell the organization's story." They understand the technology, the research, the attitudes and concerns of physicians, patients and public interest groups, and establish and maintain cooperative relationships with journalists and social media practitioners who help us make complex and confusing messages about EBM a little easier to comprehend and accept.
Dr. Norman Booth, D.Litt is an Assistant Vice President at Coyne PR.
