Amplify the Hospital Story

Table of Contents

How Hospitals Are Advancing Health (infographic) 1
Introduction 2
5 Steps to Get Social 3
Telling the Hospital Story 6
How AHA Can Help Your Hospital Tell Its Story 9
Advancing Health in America 10
Opportunities to Highlight Your Hospital 15
Appendix: Sample Content 16
AHA Communications Contacts 20

Introduction

The blue and white hospital “H” has always carried the promise of help, hope and healing. In this time of tremendous transformation and change, these organizations continue that promise by broadening focus beyond the four walls, working to help every person access needed care, and advancing the health of the individuals and communities served.

Increasingly, individuals go online to find health information and form opinions about their health care providers. Many get health information from websites or social media accounts tied to the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and others instead of their providers. In fact, three out of four adults use some form of social media, and recent Pew research shows more than half of smartphone owners use their phones to get information about a health condition. Seniors (adults age 65+) are the fastest growing social media audience with Facebook being their platform of choice. Millennials, along with Gen Xers, prefer Twitter and Instagram. Health care organizations must embrace this new way of communicating or risk being left behind. The good news is that social media allows providers to reach key audiences simply and cost effectively. And the groups people seek for health information often collaborate with hospitals. There is great opportunity to reach these audiences by working with patient advocacy groups amoug others. For many, social media is the new “word of mouth.”

If you don’t have a social media strategy, tackle one platform at a time. Understand the strengths and weaknesses behind each social network which will help you better designate the appropriate messages and connect with the appropriate audience. Although content can be repurposed, hospitals should consider which platform best suits a particular piece of content. For example, with patient permission, a good story about a father donating a kidney to his daughter would be a very compelling post to share on Facebook. Twitter is less ideal, given the character and timed-video restrictions, which would make it difficult to adequately explain the story in detail.