Social media is no place for robots

It’s okay for healthcare organizations to loosen up online

At the Likeable U conference, keynote speaker Aliza Licht said that her husband often teases her about spending time with her “virtual friends” on Twitter, but she pointed out that they’re not virtual, they’re real people who have taken an interest in her brand.

This is how you need to view your social media relationships.

It’s important for hospitals to be reputable, but social media is the one outlet where healthcare professionals can loosen their ties. Stiff, impersonal content won’t go far on social media. Instead, post information that is conversational and appeals to emotions so your followers will share it with their friends. Think of social media as a place to promote a lifestyle and attract people with similar interests, rather than as a daily newsletter for your organization.

Of course social media is a great place to share information about your hospital or physician group, but content needs to be recreated for this medium. Copying and pasting sentences from your website or donor newsletter into Facebook won’t feel genuine.

Mix up content with interesting articles you find on other blogs, infographics, recipes, and funny pictures. It’s okay to make people laugh; you need to come across as human, rather than a robot churning out posts that were preloaded months in advance.

Jeff Pulver, producer of the 140 Characters Conference, said that when he tweets something as simple as “Good morning!” to his followers, he is amazed at the response. Show your human side, which is especially relevant in healthcare, and your patients will show you theirs.