I’m back again to help you expand your healthcare organization even more. Let’s start with the basics of course. What is Snapchat? Snapchat is a video messaging app that allows you to send videos that last for up to ten seconds. It also allows you to send messages that last for the same amount of time.
The biggest feature of Snapchat is its time constraint. This is both a blessing and a curse. It allows you to post things to your story for up to 24 hours and then it disappears. Don’t worry, I’ll explain what a story is later. But if you send an individual snap or video to another organization, it goes away immediately. So you really have to make everything you say count.

Snapchat even has this feature where you can send snap cash, which is pretty cool for your organization. If you are looking for donations, your followers can send money straight to your healthcare organization!

Pretty cool right? I know, it’s a lot to take in, but Snapchat is definitely one of those apps that will be around for a while and that will continue to evolve. Now the big question comes, I know you’re wondering just how in the world Snapchat can help you. The answer is quite simple. Watch this short YouTube video about Snapchat and then we can dive into the fun stuff!

Let’s get started with Snap basics.

• Create an account. When you create your account, you want to make sure you have access to some form of electronic device besides a computer. Snapchat is only effective on cell phones, iPads, and kindles. Snapchat has added this feature that allows you to post a picture in your profile, thus allowing people to see your organization before they add you.
• Make sure the person in charge of your Snapchat account knows their stuff. Make sure you have someone in charge of your account who is knowledgeable about the app but also knows how to effectively use it so you can expand your organization.
• Snap often. Even if people do not see your snaps as soon as you post them, they can view them later and that’s a plus to this whole snapping thing.

Secrets and tips for using Snapchat.

Once again I’m going to use that word, “audience.” Choose the right audience and make sure you know who you’re targeting your messages to. Here are a few  secrets and tips Social Media Examiner and AdWeek offers on how to make your Snapchat the talk of the town.

1. Develop content. First things first, if you want people to engage in your organization and know what you’re all about, you need to create content that is interesting. One way to do that is to simply create tutorials that show your audience how to do things. As a healthcare professional, you can even record a day in the life as a physician.
2. Give your audience a glimpse behind the scenes. Allow your friends on Snapchat into your organization’s world and let them see what you’re all about. This is important because when you start to market your organization or product, you can ask your fellow snappers to upload pictures using your product or representing your brand.
3. Be creative. The cool thing about Snapchat is, you have the ability to mark on your snaps and draw cool pictures. This is fun, interesting, and it is sure to get your audience more involved in what you’re doing.
4. Tell stories using your account. You can post multiple snaps one after the other to tell a story to your fellow Snapchat friends. If you want to just share images rather than videos, use music with your images. It allows your audience to be more engaged because they will have suitable tune to jam to while looking at your content. Now’s that’s fun!
5. Know your audience. Know your audience, know your audience, and know your audience. Did I say know your audience? This is really an important factor. Most of Snapchat’s users range from the ages of 13-25. So that’s middle school to roughly college graduates and believe it or not, they snap all the time. You want to reach out to them and also expand by linking your account to other social sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

Way to go with Snapchat lingo!

Before you start using Snapchat, let me tell you all about the lingo!

• Snap- any picture message sent to your followers.
• Snapchat- any written info that you send to your followers that can be saved only if you keep the app opened and active.
• Videosnap- any videos sent between followers or the live video streaming between followers.
• Story- the place where all of the snaps posted can be uploaded and disappear after 24 hours of being posted.
• Snap Cash- where followers can send money to your organization or personal Snapchat account.

Why should your healthcare organization use Snapchat?

Here’s what Sprout Social says about why you should use Snapchat and how it can benefit your healthcare organization.

1. You can use your Snapchat account to giveaway free things to your audience. Remember, the more you give things away, the more people will flock.
2. Tell stories on your account. Make your followers feel involved in your work and make them feel a part of your organization. Another great way to do this is do the live video chat with them.
3. Combine videos and pictures. Never limit yourself to just videos or to images. That gets boring after a while and the key to it all is making sure that your target audience stays interested in your brand.
4. Snap cash is amazing. Again, snap cash is a cool feature on the app that allows people to send instant donations to your organization by the hit of one button. Now that’s what you call the bomb dot com. Okay that was cheesy, but you get the point.

Let’s see who’s snapping the right way.

Women’s Health magazine is one organization that is definitely using snapchat to their advantage. They use the app to lend tips to women on how they can stay healthy, lets them know what the latest recipes are, and how to ensure others, not just women can keep a healthy and happy lifestyle.

Before you start your Snapchat journey, read through the tips I gave you on how to build a successful brand and to keep expanding. Now go, start snapping, you won’t want to miss out on the fun and guarantee you it will be the best ten seconds of your life!

 

My title is pretty cheesy right? I thought it was pretty cool. Anyway, let’s get right to it. Since you’re already a healthcare professional, I know you’ve probably heard of Pinterest, seen other organizations using it, or you may have a personal account. Well, I’m here to tell you everything you need to know about Pinterest, how to create one for your organization, and how it can benefit your organization.

Pinterest is another social networking site. You can use it for your personal use but I’m here to help you get Pinterest started for your healthcare organization. But what is it exactly? Pinterest allows you to pin things on your personal site and save them later. Just as you would follow friends on other social sites, you can do the same with Pinterest. When it comes to your healthcare organization though, using Pinterest can help expand your name .

To give you a better idea about what Pinterest is, watch this YouTube video.

Getting Started

I’m always using the word “audience” to tell you more about how to get your organization involved, well that is still a very important term for this topic. Mashable offers great tips on how to ensure you’re using Pinterest effectively.

1. Know your audience. You must know who you’re targeting your message to. The majority of users on Pinterest is women so with that information, you may use your site to promote health information that caters to women, but don’t leave the guys completely out. You can add fun topics just for them like daily tips for husbands with pregnant wives or other fun things.
2. Get personal. Once you establish your target audience, it is important to use that information to get better acquainted with them. For your health organization, it is important to make sure that whoever you have in charge of your Pinterest site is familiar with it and loves it.
3. Reveal yourself. Allow your friends and followers to get a glimpse of your organization behind the scenes. Whether you have a non-profit organization or not, allowing your audience to see what goes on, will make them more engaged and they will feel more a part of the organization. When people are able to match a face with the organization, it will bring it to life.
4. Focus on the achievable. I know you’re wondering why this is important. I’ll tell you, people tend to use Pinterest for their “dreams” and “desires” of how they want things to be. If you can get your organization to fulfill your patients’ needs, you will definitely be a pin away from success. Don’t worry, I’ll get to more of the Pinterest terminology soon. Make sure that you can readily educate your audience about your organization thus giving them a more clear view of what your organization is all about.
5. Be a team player. Like any other social networking site, it is important to have your staff involved with your Pinterest account. It is equally important to have other organizations on your team as well. Promoting other organizations will get your easy recognition because they will return the favor.

Pinterest Lingo

One very important thing when using social networking sites is making sure you’re up to date on the words and phrases everyone is using. Here are a few I think will be helpful when using Pinterest.

Pin. It is an image that added to your Pinterest account. You can upload a photo from a website or form your PC. Pins can be an image or a video.  Once you pin something on your account using the “PinIt” button, it links back to the site where the original pin came from.

Board. Think of Pinterest as your own personalized bulletin board. That’s exactly what it is, an online bulletin board where you pin things. Your board for your organization will be a collection of pins pertaining to your organization. You can create a board for multiple categories, you can edit your board, and you can add multiple pins to your board as well.

Repin. It’s something like re-tweeting on Twitter. A repin is simply used to re-share the things you find interesting. It may be things that other organizations have posted and you can repin things to share with your followers.

Comments and Likes. Just like most social sites, comments and likes are very important. They allow your audience to interact with one another and to share tips. They can also share things with you and vice versa. This allows you to increase your followers. But be mindful, you can unlike things, but you CAN’T delete a comment. So be sure whatever you comment on is something that you really want to.

Follow. This is probably the most important word to remember. Following people on Pinterest will allow you to keep up with what they are doing and pinning on their site. There are two levels to following. The first is following the user. Following the user alerts you whenever they pin something and it will appear on your newsfeed. The second is following the individual board. Whenever something is pinned to the board you followed, it will appear in your newsfeed as well.

Who’s pinning the right way?

Here are a few organizations that are doing an amazing job of using Pinterest effectively.

The American Heart Association does an amazing job of using Pinterest. They have multiple boards and they have a target audience. This month is “Go Red For Women” which the American Heart Association dedicates to ending heart disease and stroke. They lend advice on how women can stay fit and they also share posts on how to get checked and stay healthy to prevent heart disease.

Another organization that uses Pinterest effectively is March of Dimes. This organization is dedicated to ensuring that parents have a full term pregnancy. They offer tips to mothers and lends them advice on how they can make sure that they give birth to healthy babies and have a full term pregnancy. Some of their boards include the history of the organization as well as who is affected the most.

Before you starting pinning…

Follow these tips before you start pinning:

1. Consider timing. Most first time users make the mistake of pinning things all at once. Be sure that you pin so that your audience can view your content, but pinning too much can be a waste of time. If you pin everything all at once, your pins will disappear because they all appear on your followers newsfeed. After a few minutes, the pins will be gone, so be careful. Pinning at different times of the day is key. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are the best times to do so.
2. Repin! The more you repin things, people will see and they will continue to follow your page. Don’t just repin things that have no value to your organization, repin things that can get your followers up. Also, be sure to repin things from other organizations, it helps them and you.
3. Edit your content. If you repin something, you may be tempted to keep a pin the same on your site once you share it, but don’t. If something is grammatically incorrect, fix it. You represent a professional organization so it is important to make sure everything is correct.
4. Add videos to pinterest. I’m sure you know that the more content you add on your site, the more interaction you will receive. It’s true! Daljit Singh, manager and intern for Jolkana’s Pinterest site suggests that adding videos can definitely increase the traffic on your site as well.
5. Be inviting. Engage your audience as much as possible. The more they know about you and how you plan to use Pinterest, the more interested and engaged they will be. Always be proactive and make sure you keep your audience up to date with everything. Engage in conversation with them via comments, it helps them achieve that one on one interaction with you and in turn, you will get more followers.

Are you ready to start pinning? I think you are ready to start your Pinterest journey and I have faith that you’ll be successful in doing so. Have fun and make your site interesting to your followers. Now go on, get those boards started and pin your way into healthcare! I know you’ll love it!

 

 

 

What is Twitter?

So I know you are probably wondering what in the heck Twitter really is? And why should you know about it? And what can Twitter do for you? Well the answer is quite simple, and you do not have to look any further.

Twitter is probably one of my favorite social sites. It allows you to follow and keep up with friends, family, and your favorite celebrities. How cool is that? It is definitely a way to get the party started and to keep the discussions rolling.

Twitter, just like Facebook is another form of social media. The major difference between the two is the character limit. On Facebook you can make a post as long as you want, whereas on Twitter, you are limited to 140 characters.

With that being said, it will be in your best interest to make sure whatever you tweet has some significant meaning. Every word must count, literally! Okay, maybe that was not funny, but you get the point. Also, you want to make sure you tweet more than once a day.

If you are still not sold on Twitter being this amazing, check out what great things YouTube is chirping about.

Twitter Basics For All The Tweeps!

When starting your Twitter account, you will want to follow these tips to ensure you are on the pathway to success.

• Think BIG and creative! It is important that just as you would set goals for any other form of social media, you do the same for Twitter. Have a plan and make sure it can be executed properly. Also, be creative. Think of Twitter as a brand new house you are moving into. The first thing you want to do is start decorating and making the place come to life through your tastes. Twitter is the same way and when you are starting your account, think of a creative name or handle that fits both you and your company, a profile picture that suits the organization, a header appropriate for your organization, and a creative background or layout if you are using a desktop.
• Let the people know your purpose. Think about all the holidays you have spent home with your family and they constantly ask you what you plan to do when you graduate and when will you bring someone home to meet the family. Pretty annoying right? Trust me it is, but for Twitter it is the best way to go. Let your audience know upfront what you are using Twitter for and how you would like to expand. This is generally the mission statement of your company and you could definitely put this in the bio section of your account.
• Get those followers up! FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW! Oh yeah, did I say follow? You might want to leave following your favorite celebrities and artists for your personal page. When it comes to healthcare, follow people who can potentially help you expand your brand and get your name out there. Twitter gives its users all kinds of updates so you will definitely be able to see which people are interested in the same things you are. Tweet right? I mean, sweet right? You bet it is!

Why should healthcare organizations use Twitter?

Well, why not use Twitter? ReferralMD states that as of today, 31% of healthcare professionals use social media for networking. That number is only going to grow since we live in a generation where social media is taking over everything. Another great reason to use Twitter is because many patients have stated that social media is their go-to when choosing a doctor or medical facility. Also, people are more likely to share their experience on social media.

Still not convinced that Twitter is the place for you? Well think of it like this, if you go to a restaurant and they provide you with excellent service, the first thing you are probably going to do is share that experience with friends. And then they will tell their friends and so on. Your organization is the same. If you extend excellent service to your patients, then people will continue to rave about it and before you know it, you will be riding the Twitter wave like a pro.

Interaction is key, and the more you engage with your audience, the more you can expand your name and get more patients.

Chirping up the alley: Who’s doing it right?

The American Cancer Society does a great job of using their page to promote awareness. They tweet daily and multiple times a day. The organization gives its followers healthy recipes for the foods their followers love, they provide tips on how to prevent skin cancer, and they use personal stories of cancer survivors to share with followers.

Another organization that effectively uses Twitter is the HIV/AIDS Organization. Just like the American Cancer Society, they tweet just about every day and they share facts, personal stories, and links to testing locations.

These two organizations make using Twitter look easy, and it really is! Just stay active with your audience and tweet things that are prevalent to them.

#Hashtag: So that’s a thing?

PharmaGeek lends great advice on how to make sure you are using Twitter effectively and getting the most out of your experience. One of the biggest things the site lends advice on is the use of hashtags. First of all, you are probably wondering what in the world is a hashtag? Well, it is simply the pound sign followed by a word or phrase to help Twitter users find a specific topic.

 

Make sure when you use the hashtag that you follow it with phrases that go along with your organization. You would not want to tweet something about cancer and then put #partyatmyplacethisweekend. I mean unless you are having a party celebrating someone who beat cancer, then yeah, but you get the point.

#Do #Not #Hashtag #Everything! No really, do not do it. You see how annoying that got? I know you probably read that and thought to yourself, “she has went overboard with the hashtag.” That is exactly how your audience will look at you if you hashtag too much.

 

Quick Tips on Tweeting

Here are some other tips PharamGeek lends to aspiring healthcare Twitter users:

• Include important content that is relevant to your audience. Do not bore them!
• Be on a two-way street. Ask questions to your audience and provide them with answers and feedback as well.
• Short tweets are the best tweets, because everyone is in a rush nowadays.
• Give shout-outs and credit to those when due. The more you do this, the more people will re-tweet you, thus getting your name out to more people.
• Provide links to whatever topic you are focused on.
• DO NOT use the latest slang and abbreviations. I know the cool kids on the block are doing it, but for your organization, it is not professional and not everyone knows them.

But first, let’s post a tweet.

Twitter’s latest feature is Periscope. It is amazing, yes I said amazing! Here is why. You can view and share live broadcasts from your cellphone. That is great for you especially if you are hosting an event. You can share it on your Twitter account. Allowing your followers to be a part of that real time action, makes them feel a part of what is going on and it is more engaging for them. Real time + real events = real connections and there is nothing better than that.

You are now ready to start your Twitter journey and I have faith that you will expand your organization. Now go, spread your wings and fly.  If you follow these tips, your organization will be the chirp of the town!

 

 

What is Facebook exactly?

Facebook is one of the world’s largest social media platforms.Debuting on February 4th, 2004, Facebook now has over one billion users.  How amazing is that? Not only do people use it for their personal use, it can be used for businesses as well. It is a place where all of your friends and family can connect with one another and share things, so why not take advantage of it?

 

I know you are wondering, why you should use Facebook, well look no further…

Facebook can ultimately help you expand above and beyond your horizons. Healthcare Success provides great tips on how to effectively use the site to promote your business. A number of people use Facebook to find out information about living a healthy lifestyle such as exercise plans, diets, and healthy living ideas.

If you are able to capture your audience’s attention, then using Facebook will be the least of your worries.

 

How is Facebook beneficial to you?

This is definitely the million dollar question that everyone asks. How can Facebook help me expand and further develop my organization? The answer is quite simple, the site allows you to get your name out to billions of users across the world. I know you’re thinking to yourself, billions? Yes, billions! Once you get started with Facebook and create a name for yourself, people all over the world will begin to consult you for all of their health care needs. Pretty cool, right? You bet it is!

 

Benefits of Using Facebook

• Facebook is free. Yes, you read that right. It costs you absolutely nothing to start a Facebook page. All you have to do is put the time. If you want your business to be successful, then you have to put time and effort into your page. Frequent posts and engaging with your audience is important. You want to make sure that those who view your page are engaged in the content you post.
• It is your very own “community.” Social media is all about connecting with your audience and building a relationship with them. Being constantly involved with your community will lead to a positive and loyal environment for your customers to be a part of.
• Advertising platform. Advertise. Advertise. Advertise. You see advertisements every day on television, you hear them on the radio, and people even advertise things to you in person. Facebook is no different. With millions of users, Facebook can be used create many different ads (for a fee). The ads tend to filter audiences by age, location, and their personal interests.
• New patients. Is that not the reason for all of this? Facebook, if used properly can be your gateway to reaching many new customers. The more people who are engaged in your organization and find the information you post to be helpful, the better it will be for your organization.
• Reputation and branding message. Ultimately, Facebook can expand your branding. The way you present yourself and organization says a lot about you and it is a great reflection of who you are. Having a positive image and promoting yourself properly will make users even more engaged in your organization.

Find the right content for your audience!

Carlos Russo, working with Relias Learning suggests that providing your audience with the proper content and engaging with them effectively will get your numbers up on the Facebook realm. You can start by giving your audiences rewards and incentives can boost your Facebook reputation in no time. Always keeping them engaged in your business and making them feel a part of your “community” will definitely keep your customers coming back to you for more healthcare needs.

Providing the members of your community with a prize of some sort for answering questions on your Facebook is a fan fav. Everyone will start to do it, and before you know it, you will have people from EVERYWHERE wanting to be a part of your community.

 

So who’s using Facebook effectively?

HIV/AIDS Awareness and Northfield Hospital & Clinics are prime examples of healthcare organizations that have successful Facebook pages.

When you click on the HIV/AIDS Awareness page, you can see the donate button to the left. They post links, videos, and articles that are helpful to their users. Most of the articles they post are for volunteering and others tell people’s personal stories.

When you click on the Northfield Hospital & Clinics page, they have many different posts about being healthy, the latest health trends, and cures for the common cold and other illnesses.

Both sites engage in their “community” by asking questions and allowing them to share their own tips and personal stories to help other users on the site. Each of the sites are doing their thing when it comes to using Facebook!

Remember…

Facebook should be a way for you to interact with your “community” and it should be the place for you to get your brand and reputation out to more users. Give rewards and incentives to your customers and get to using Facebook today!