Join Us for a Social Media Panel Discussion, April 13, 2011

Panel Discussion: Employing Social Media to Build Customer Satisfaction and Community Outreach
Panel Members:

  • Joleen Senter Durham, Director, Public Relations, Marketing & Physician Recruiting, Texas County Memorial Hospital
  • Thomas McCormally, Director, Emerging Media and Community Outreach, Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics

Date: April 13, 2011, 9:00-10:30am
Location: HMI Classroom, CE 705
Cost: $5 donation requested

Description: Social media, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and blogs, have opened new channels of communication between individuals in a meaningful and highly interactive way. Online communities allow organizations to hear directly from customers and vice versa. Healthcare organizations benefit from the use of social media platforms to reach beyond the physical setting in growing their communities. Social media tools enhance the customer experience by building communities of care, engendering patient support and education that extend beyond treatment within a facility. They also create new forums for staff to connect beyond face-to-face interaction, increasing satisfaction and belonging and providing new avenues for recruitment. In addition, social media offers new means with which to deliver news and events, new product roll outs and other initiatives that benefit the community at large. Discover the advantage of incorporating social media into your strategic plan to enhance patient satisfaction, grow your customer base and increase the visibility of your organization.

Topics for Discussion:

  • Explore social media platforms used successfully by healthcare organizations
  • Identify benefits for incorporating social media into your organization
  • Develop tools to evaluate social media initiative outcomes
  • Understand the financial and staff resources needed for a successful social media campaign
  • Identify the potential challenges faced incorporating social media

Questions for Discussion:

  1. What is the business case for adding a social media platform initiative to your strategic plan?
  2. Who in your organization should have ownership of social media-related activities?
  3. What policies need to be implemented for appropriate social media usage by staff?
  4. What are the barriers for adopting social media?
  5. How will you market your involvement in social media to your community?
  6. Is there a need to limit access to an organization's social media sites for particular individuals/groups?
  7. What is the most effective way to manage negative feedback generated on social media platforms?
  8. How do you measure Return on Investment?
  9. How do you manage potential legal and ethical issues involving inappropriate use?

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