By now you’ve read the often-quoted statistics from YouGov; 57 % of consumers have noted a social media connection with a hospital was likely to have a strong impact on their decision to seek out treatment at that facility. And a whopping 81% saw a social media presence as indicative of being “cutting edge.”

You’ve also no doubt read that 80% of internet users have looked up health information online.  From these well-circulated numbers we know that patients are online and they expect, nay, they want your hospital to be online as well.
In response to these numbers, you’ve established your Facebook page, set up your Twitter account, rolled out a YouTube channel and joined the increasing number ofhospitals jumping into Google Plus.  You’ve bought into the theory, now it’s time to focus on the practice.

Let’s look at five ways your hospital can begin making effective use of social media engagement.

1.  Prevention

Make use of your Google Plus/Facebook/Twitter feeds to share general health and wellness information with your local community.  Many hospitals are now sharing timely health & safety tips regarding staying safe during the holidays.  Here are three examples of the types of content being shared just in the past few days on Google Plus from some of the official Hospital accounts I follow .  National Library of Medicine   The CDC  Botsford Hospital

2. Reducing Patient Anxiety

Let’s face it, not many of us become awash with anticipation over our next trip to the hospital.  Social media channels give your facility an opportunity to help put patients more at ease before they set foot between your walls.  Dr. Howard Luks mentions in this interview  that patients who’ve stopped by his website are more comfortable when they arrive at his office, having gotten a feel for their doctor via his YouTube posts.   Your hospital’s YouTube Channel and/or hospital blog could give your patients a chance to see some of your own health professionals, putting a (hopefully welcoming) face to your facility and offering a preview of what to expect when they arrive in person.

3. Communicate Wait Times

Though not a widespread practice at the moment, some healthcare facilities have begun using social media platforms such as Twitter to keep their community updated on wait times.  They find it helpful to inform the public of what to expect before they get to the hospital and see this practice as a means of showing the community they take communication with their patients seriously.

4.  Emergency Response

We’ve already written about this topic in the past, so feel free to check out our platform blog post for a handful of tips on using social media to help respond to and prepare for emergencies.  Though Social channels could not replace current emergency response approaches, it could be used to help bolster current emergency response strategies.  For supplemental reading on this subject, have a look at the role social media played during the H1N1 situation from 2009.

5. Educating and Informing

This is a broad topic so let’s focus on one  of the newer aspects of patient and community education.  One of the hotter trends in hospital engagement is bringing your social media channels into the Operating Room.  Seeking to attract buzz as well as educate their patients by offering them a peek behind the curtain so to speak, hospitals are using Twitter in the OR and educating their community by answering questions during the procedures .

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