Posted by Brian Geyser on Tue, Jun 29, 2010 @ 09:00 AM
I co-manage a vibrant online community for senior care marketers called the Daily Grind, and every so often, I pose a question to the community members. Back in April, 2010, I asked this: If you could ask any question about social media as it relates to our industry, what would it be? Many people responded. You can view the entire thread here. Below is a summary of some of the questions, and the answers I gave...
1. How do I find a credible vendor that I can trust that understands social media. What should I look for when selecting a vendor?
Look for a vendor that has a good track record of using social media for their own business. If the vendor is not blogging, using Twitter and Facebook, etc. successfully themselves, they cannot do a good job helping you. Also, if they tell you social media is easy and will provide huge returns, run. Finally, try to use someone with knowledge of and experience in our industry.
2. How do I overcome the IT department's lack of support?
Education. Education. Education. IT departments need to develop a meaningful understanding of how social technologies both inside and outside the corporate firewall can benefit, and possibly harm, the company. Those of us within companies that have this knowledge need to demonstrate the transformative potential of social technologies to IT and other stakeholders. We need to champion the cause. We need to bring these tools to the right people and prove their value.
3. How do I find the time to manage social media?
The first and most obvious answer is you need to make time - you can't afford not to. Find things you spend time doing in your week that are not working and replace them with new media initiatives. Your customers make time to get online to do research and make purchasing decisions and your competitors make time to provide your customers with information and help them with purchasing decisions. But beyond that, you need to develop a strategy that keeps you focused on the business goals of the tools you choose to use. Pull to together a team of internal folks and disperse the work load. If you need to, hire a pro to help you out.
4. We don't have the money to invest in the development of social media. What does an on line community cost?
I can't be more clear about this - you can't afford not to invest some resources in social media. The longer you wait, the more invisible you become. Early adopters will have a distinct advantage in this space as time goes on. This has been proven by large companies like Zappos and Coke. If you have the right people in your organization - staff who use social technologies in their personal lives - and you dedicate some time to the cause, you can start using social media for very little up front cost.
5. What does it typically cost to start using social media?
See above. If you do it on your own, it could only costs your time. Then again, time is money, so it's going to cost you money regardless of how you do it. Right now I'm working with a small homecare company that has chosen to "go social" using me as their guide. They are dedicating $1000 per month to the effort and together we are going to transform their online presence over the course of 6-12 months. They elected to shift dollars away from T.V. and radio ads that were not producing desired results and move that money into a social strategy. This is just one example and cost can vary. There are generally three ways to do this: 1. Do-it-Yourself (DIY), 2. Done-for-You (DFY), 3. Done-with-You (DWY). I prefer the Done-with-You approach and that's how I work with my clients.
6. How do we get our residents families to participate in our social media?
By marketing your social sites effectively and giving them a reason to participate. First, they have to know about the sites and how to access them. Second, if you have a blog or Twitter account and all you ever do is shout about how great you are, nobody will care. You have to provide value in order for people to keep coming back. See my articles, "What Every LTC Organization Needs to Know About Their Website" and "Ten Reasons Why Your Company's Blog Sucks" for more on this.
7. Are videos the way to go and how does it affect our SEO?
Absolutely YES to both. Video is taking over the internet and can drive tons of traffic to your site. I refer you to this article
I wrote on Brookdale Senior Living. Take a look at the video on the bottom of the post. You should also take a look at Brookdale's YouTube Channel
- It's awesome! They know how to rock video and are a model for how YouTube can be used by senior living/LTC companies for everything from marketing to SEO, to customer support. Finally, check out "HOW TO: Boost Your SEO with a YouTube Channel" which was just published by Mashable.
For more discussion on social media best practices for senior living, LTC and home care, join us over at Daily Grind and/or consider a free membership in ALFA's new online community ALFA Exchange, where you can dialog with me and other pros in the Social Media Best Practices Forum.
Posted by Jennifer Hill on Mon, Jun 28, 2010 @ 01:19 PM
These days, an increasing number of senior living, home care, and LTC companies are using social media to reach out to social customers and prospects. At CareNetworks, we're always on the look out for companies who are innovating in this space and who are helping to shape social media best practices for the industry. So we scanned the web and found five companies worth taking a look at.
1. Senior Helpers. This non-medical home care company has a well designed website that acts as their social media hub with active outposts on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. They also have a WordPress blog
where they post generic articles about wellness, aging, and care giving. Their reach is pretty significant with 2,302 Twitter followers, 488 Facebook fans, and thousands of views of their many YouTube videos.
2. Adeste In-Home Care. This welcoming site is definitely one of my favorites. The non-medical home care company has an awesome blog
that is updated multiple times per month with search-optimized articles such as, "Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Companion Agency for Your Elderly Parents." The blog provides great information and tips, especially for people whose parents need home care. On Twitter, they post tons of informational articles to over 1,550 followers. I was also very impressed with the list of resources they provide. They suggest support sites like Senior Information Network and SeniorNet to help family members feel comfortable and confident with their decisions. Their Facebook page seems to be new with very little content and only a few fans.
3. Emeritus Senior Living.
This national senior living company has definitely made a dent in the social media world. They have one of the best senior living Facebook pages
I’ve seen with over 1,440 fans. There are tons of images of different events they've held or conferences they have attended. It includes discussion boards and personal testimonials about the transition into senior living from both residents and family members. I was also impressed by the “Ask the Expert” portion of the website. Viewers can ask Dr. Vicki Rackner, M.D. any question and have an answer within 24 hours. Emeritus has partnered with an agency called Aging with Grace that seniors and their loved ones can call with questions and see what others are asking. They also have a Twitter page with about 345 followers.
4. Provision Living. This senior living company website includes links to developing Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn pages, as well as a tab dedicated to their Senior Assisted Living Blog. The blog is updated often and keeps readers informed on current events and happenings in the each of the companies communities. Blog readers have the option to e-mail articles or share them on Twitter, Facebook, Digg and LinkedIn. The blog's most popular article to date is "Green Tree at Post Road Opens New Units and Adds Jobs."
5. Senior Living Communities. While this senior living company has a Fledgling social media presence, what they seem to do very well is video. For example, Donald Thompson, the company CEO, has a series of video blog posts where he talks candidly about everything from the cost of living in one of their communities to the company's stability over the past 21 years. The videos are very well done, except for the fact that there doesn't seem to be a way to share them across the social web - big mistake! Additionally, the company's Facebook page is not very engaging and doesn't take advantage of the great videos they produce. This is a good example of missed opportunity where a company has great social objects (videos) to share, but no way to easily share them on social sites.
If you find other senior living, home care, or LTC companies experimenting with social media and they're worthy of writing about, let us know about them in the comments section below. Also, we welcome your feedback on these sites!
Related Posts:
To learn more about how we can help you build or enhance your social media presence, contact us.
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Jennifer Hill
is currently at senior at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She is a Communications major concentrating in Public Relations and Journalism and minoring in Psychology. You can connect with her on Twitter on LinkedIn.
Posted by Brian Geyser on Mon, Jun 14, 2010 @ 10:15 AM
Richard Edelman, President and CEO of the worlds largest independent public relations firm, speaks to the business benefits of blogging and being connected on the social Web. Is your senior living, LTC, or home care leadership engaged?
Posted by Brian Geyser on Wed, Jun 09, 2010 @ 08:43 AM
Paul Levy, one of the country's best known hospital CEOs, is the chief executive at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He's also a self proclaimed blogging addict, an advocate for transparency regarding hospital operations, and is on a growing list of "social" CEOs who leverage social media to communicate with their audience. Levy writes his own blog called Running a Hospital, where he shares his thoughts on hospitals, medicine, and health care issues.
Our own Jennifer Hill spoke with Levy about health care executives and their organizations using social media. Here's what he had to say:
1. Do you think it's important for health care CEOs and other C-level execs to be educated about and to use social media?
Yes. They are definitely important tools just as telephones were when they were first invented. To not use them would mean losing opportunities to communicate and educate. Different segments of the population use different tools. For example, patients that come to the hospital in their 20s would rather use Facebook or text than e-mail. For me not to use those forms of media would mean that I wasn't hearing from them.
2. What tools would you advocate? (Blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, others?) and why?
Different people prefer different tools and each tool has a different use. Facebook is a great communication tool and using it means that you are accessible. It is a good way to keep in touch with people. For me, Twitter acts as a library. I follow a bunch of people in the field who are up to date with what is going on. They act as librarians for me and are a valuable resource. Blogging is a time commitment that requires a personal commitment and interest in networking so that my blog gets picked up and read. All of them are valuable tools for different reasons.
3. Do you think having the CEO, or perhaps other C-level execs, involved with social media helps set the tone for the whole organization to embrace social media too?
Yes. I think it is a combination of leading by example and of being available. health care is becoming more accepting and more comfortable with the idea. However, many hospitals still block sites, but we have an open access policy for two reasons: one, these social media sites are tools that help to create a sense of community; and two, if the sites are blocked on the server, people will just go on them on their iPhones.
4. What do you see as the major benefits to C-levels execs using social media?
I think there a two major benefits. First, social media is a way to get educated about what is going on and to keep up to date. It provides information that we used to get from books, magazines and newspapers. Second, it creates a sense of community, which is very important.
5. What advice would you give to executives / organizations who are apprehensive about using social technologies? What advice do you have about the content that executives should be posting online?
Regarding what executives should be posting online, it is important to make judgments as to what you want to accomplish. These media outlets are flexible and can be used for many different goals. It is more powerful than traditional media because the outreach is so great. I think that it is actually lower risk because if you make a mistake it can be fixed whereas is if you make a mistake in an ad or on television, it's there forever.
6. How much time do you spend blogging or using other social tools each week?
I don't keep track, just like I don't keep track of how much time I spend on the phone. It is a more efficient way to communicate. I can talk to thousands of people at once. It is asynchronous and people can communicate when it is convenient for them. When I talk on the phone, I can only talk to one person at a time and I'm usually leaving a message.
7. Some experts believe that there is a trend developing called the "social executive" and that "open leadership" is the way of the future. Do you agree? How do you envision social media will impact health care organizations and health care leaders in the future?
I'm not really sure. In the health care field it is very hard to predict trends. The medical field is slow to adopt things and different people have different approaches.
Here's a video interview with Levy and other social CEOs from Ragan Communications:
Finally, we've been having a lively discussion about senior living and long-term care CEOs using social media over at the ALFA Exchange community. If you want to dive deeper into this subject, feel free to drop by there and join the conversation.
We want to thank Paul Levy for taking the time to talk with us and we wish him well with his blogging efforts.
To view more health care executive blogs, check out this list:
Photo credit: BostonHerald.com
Jennifer Hill is currently at senior at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. She is a Communications major concentrating in Public Relations and Journalism and minoring in Psychology. You can connect with her on Twitter on LinkedIn.