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Published by: David Nordella 09-20-2012  |  POSTED IN: Twitter Thursdays

Twitter and Healthcare Marketing

 
Robert Caruso is the Founder and CEO of BundlePost.com.  He is an expert in Social Media that I have been following on Twitter for some time now.  Readers of Twitter Thursday know that physicians should be regularly using social media to be building better physician-patients relationships and to market their practices.  Bob wrote “Your Social Media Marketing is a Train Wreck”: http://bundlepost.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/your-social-media-marketing-is-a-train-wreck/.  This post was written out of frustration and would be a rant if Bob wasn’t so darn right!    
 
Robert’s point is simple.  “...Social media marketing is not a direct marketing or push marketing platform.”  What does he mean by that? 
 
Social media is misused by so many people.  The power of today’s social media is it is interactive.  We can share our thoughts and opinions through a public forum that enables others to participate in the conversation.  It is like a television station where everybody is producing programs for each other simultaneously.
 
People often complain about television commercials.  They get annoyed by a medium that tells them what to do, repeatedly.  Oh sure, there may be some humor involved, but the TV seems to push, push, push to order to promote products.
 
Isn’t it ironic that the same folks that want to express themselves in this new media often act as if they were confined to the old medium, TV?  They talk endlessly about their solution without giving thought about what their “customers” want.  Physicians are staring to use social media, such as Twitter, but they are often using it to broadcast their message, story or wisdom.  Are they listening to their patients?  Are the patients that they want to attract listening to them?
 
Another mistake made by Twitter novices is to send Direct Messages (DM) automatically in response to Tweeple following them.  Robert apparently gets more than his share of DMs that ask him to do something for them without a thought about they could do for him.        
 
“I also have a few folks that are not social media professionals, but use social media for marketing, that DM me frequently. The primary engagement they have with me is DM’ing requests for me to tweet out one of their blog posts. I try to help people and want to share stuff that is valuable to my audience, however I am not your spam engine. One person does this almost weekly, even though I have explained to them multiple times that I will not be doing it and why. It would be different if attempts were made to build a relationship and have conversations with me, but they just don’t seem to get that quite yet.”
 
The beauty of Twitter is that people can listen to each other.  You can hear what your patients are saying and then answer them in a way that is meaningful for them.  Always remember that Twitter and other social media are not secure communication platforms.  You cannot share private medical histories or comments on-line as it is not HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliant:  http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/understanding/index.html.  
 
You can, and should, share general knowledge about healthy living habits and how they can improve somebody’s health.  People that feel heard are likely to bond with the person that is listening to them.  Of course, they may have to make an appointment with you for tests and to find out more about their specific challenge(s).     
 
You can be grateful that Robert received his DM before he had his first cup of coffee.  After all, he just taught you how to avoid having a social media train wreck!  You can learn more about Robert Caruso: @fondalo, @BundlePost, http://www.facebook.com/BundlePost, http://bundlepost.wordpress.com/, http://www.youtube.com/BundlePost.
 
David Nordella, the Managing Director of Provider Finance Associates, LLC, has found Twitter mixes with his passion for improving the profits of Independent Practice Associations. Learn more about David:
 
@BeneficentGuild
The pfa411news club newsletter found at http://www.providerfinance411.com/blog/
The “Independent Practice Associations” group on LinkedIn
“Twitter Thursday” guest-posts at LADezign.com
 
 
Twitter and healthcare, Doctors on Twitter, Medical Twitter, Doctors Twitter, Twitter medical, Twitter healthcare
 
Thanks for reading. Jason.
P.S. Don't forget to subscribe below to this blog.
 
About Jason Ciment
Formerly an attorney and CPA, Jason has been working online since 1997. His columns on affiliate marketing can still be found on www.Clickz.com and his book on search engine optimization can be found at www.seotimetable.com.

This blog is published 4x per week and covers website design and SEO tips as well as a wide range of tips and advice for working and living online more efficiently and enjoyably.
 

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