When defining a social media campaign, basic components to consider include:
- What is the objective of the campaign? Having a set goal will help identify a target audience, determine which social media sites might best meet the practice's needs, and focus social media efforts. The campaign objective should complement the practice's greater marketing strategy and overall strategic imperatives.
- What voice will the practice portray? The manner of communication—including tone, vocabulary, and writing style—will affect how followers perceive the practice. While social media lends itself to informal, casual interactions, practices should strive to maintain a certain level of professionalism in all posts.
- Who will be responsible for making posts? This person will be the practice's representative in the social media arena. Therefore, it is imperative to select someone trustworthy and professional who is committed to enhancing the practice's reputation in the online community while upholding practice values.
- What topics will the practice write about and which are off limits? While practices do not have to restrict themselves to posting medical-only content, careful consideration should be given to what topics are appropriate and of interest to their audience. While it may seem obvious that posting offensive material, disclosing patient information, or using photos or testimonials without consent is forbidden, the acceptability of other types of posts may not be as clear.
- How will the practice gain followers? Dedicating time and energy to growing a base of followers is important for the success of any social media campaign and should be considered during the planning phase.
Once a social media plan is defined, the practice is encouraged to write it down, make it available to all staff, and carefully review it with those responsible for implementing and managing the campaign. These planning efforts will set the stage for the practice to connect with patients and make the most of the opportunities afforded by social media.
About the author: Kellie Wynne is senior director of client and corporate services with BSM Consulting, an internationally recognized health care consulting firm headquartered in Incline Village, Nevada and Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information about the author, BSM Consulting, or content/resources discussed in this article, please visit the BSM Café
at www.BSMCafe.com.
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Q&A: YELP Me! My Reputation is in Jeopardy
By Kellie Wynne
BSM Consulting
Question: Our practice has received a negative review by the same person twice on YELP. When you search for our practice on YELP, only the two negative reviews appear. At the bottom of the page there is a barely visible tab that says "seven filtered." When you click on this, seven glowing reviews appear. This seems very misrepresentative. We tried to contact YELP, but they haven't been accessible. What can we do?
Answer: Business review sites such as YELP employ different systems for sorting, displaying, and determining the validity of the reviews that people post. YELP utilizes its own algorithm to filter out reviews that it identifies as spam, manufactured by the business, etc. Unfortunately, they sometimes miss the mark and valid reviews are inadvertently filtered. This is what likely occurred in your case. It is sometimes difficult for the filter to tell the difference between reviews that appear questionable but are actually legitimate, and reviews that appear legitimate but are actually fabricated. YELP does, however, reevaluate each review every time the algorithm runs, so it is not unusual to see reviews that were previously filtered move back up into the main search results.
Still, it can be frustrating to have valid positive reviews showing as filtered. When deciding what (if any) action to take, be objective and consider how truly detrimental the reviews are to the practice. Also, evaluate whether the reviews represent valid concerns that may indicate a customer service or quality of care issue, or if they are simply malicious and untrue.
General advice to practices facing these types of issues is:
- Be objective.
- If the negative review is legitimate, post a response thanking the reviewer for bringing the issue to your attention and assure the community that the practice is addressing the matter internally. (Take care to not violate any patient privacy rights.)
- If the negative review is untrue, contact the review site and learn their policies for addressing false reviews. Keep your interactions professional; you want them to partner with you to find a solution.
Remember that YELP is just one of many online review sites. Building your online reputation by encouraging positive reviews from happy patients across a variety of sites, keeping your website up to date, engaging with your community via social media platforms, and focusing on delivering the highest quality of care and customer service are some of the best ways to counteract a small number of negative reviews.
For more information about the author, BSM Consulting, or content/resources discussed in this article, please visit the BSM Café at www.BSMCafe.com.
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