A healthy dose. of social media 2015 checkup. How Ohio hospitals use social channels to build relationships. Exclusive research by

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1 A healthy dose of social media 2015 checkup How Ohio hospitals use social channels to build relationships Exclusive research by

2 A healthy dose of social media Executive summary When hospitals need to communicate, they are increasingly turning to social media. Across Ohio, hospitals and health systems are focusing more of their resources to: Facebook Twitter, YouTube LinkedIn and Instagram How do we know? They told us. The Ohio Hospital Association and Mindset Digital first teamed up on a Healthy Dose of Social Media in 2012 to research for the first time how Ohio hospitals use social media and their goals. We collaborated again for a new exclusive online survey to see what s changed. Organizations that operate 83 Ohio hospitals told us: They are spending more time. Well over half devote between 10 percent to 50 percent of their total communication efforts on social media a big shift from 2012 when most committed less than 10 percent of their time. They are spending more money. Just over half of the responding hospitals expect to see their spending on social media to increase, up to 10 percent or more. They don t have enough people. Nearly two thirds of hospitals lack full-time employees devoted to social media. The biggest challenges to effectively using social media? Sufficient staff and time. John Palmer Director, Public Affairs john.palmer@ohiohospitals.org Spencer Hunt Analyst, Project Manager hunt@mindsetdigital.com 2

3 Communication effort devoted to social media % 38% 27% 22% 23% 23% 7% 5% 8% 8% More time on social media Well over half of the hospitals and health systems said they would spend more than 10 percent of their overall communication efforts on social media. That s a big shift. Looking only at the hospitals that responded in both 2012 and 2015 illustrates how much has changed in just three years. In the first survey, 71 percent, reported that they would spend less than 10 percent of their communications on these channels. This year, 70 percent reported that they would spend 10 percent or more (at right). 24% Communications devoted to social media (17 hospitals/systems reporting in 2012 and in 2015) 12% 47% 18% % 0% 29% 12% 0-5% % % % more than 50% 6% 3

4 2013 Budgeting 64% In 2015 hospitals expect the social media budget to: 40% 44% 26% 10% 4% 12% Reduce by >10% Reduce up to 10% Remain About the same Grow up to 10% Grow >10% Reduce by >10% Reduce About Remain the up to 10% same the same Grow up to 10% Grow >10% More money on social media A majority of respondents 56 percent expect to spend more this year on social media, with most projecting an increase of up to 10 percent of the previous year s budget. In 2012, nearly two-thirds of the hospitals reported that they expected their social media spending to stay about the same. The increased commitment in overall time and money shows how much hospitals value the ability to directly engage with patients and communities via social media. Again, this trend is reflected among a smaller group of hospitals that responded in both the 2012 and 2015 surveys. (at right) 2015 social media spending (Among 15 hospitals that reported in both surveys) 0% 7% Reduce by Reduce up >10% by to up 10% to >10% 10% 33% 53% 7% About Remain the Grow Grow up to Grow Grow >10% same the 10% up to >10% same 10% 4

5 A healthy dose of social media What is the biggest challenge in using social media? Time and staff 46% Growing connections/likes/followers 23% Consistently posting quality content Response to complaints/negative comments 12% 4% Not enough people or time The increased commitment to social media comes with some substantial challenges. Hospitals listed time and staff as their biggest challenge in using social media. This problem far exceeded other typical challenges, including growing followers and posting good content, that all organizations face when developing their social media channels. A big part of this concern likely extends from the fact that only 35 percent of the hospitals reported having at least one full time person committed to social media communication efforts. Hospitals that lacked full time social media staff reported that the work was almost entirely handled by full time employees who had other duties. Of those workers who handled social media for those hospitals only 5 percent were part time employees or interns. Are people assigned full time? No 65% Yes 5

6 What channel is most important? Facebook 96% YouTube 77% Twitter 65% Blogging LinkedIn Instagram Google+ Pinterest 19% 23% 31% Top priority Secondary channel How hospitals are using social media Hospitals still deem Facebook, YouTube and Twitter the top three most important social channels. The biggest shift in ranking came with LinkedIn and blogging. This year, 35 percent of hospitals rated LinkedIn and blogging as either a top or secondary priority. Only 25 percent of the 2012 respondents ranked LinkedIn that highly, and blogging was favored by only 17 percent of hospitals. Instagram, which wasn t an option in the 2012 survey, is already considered a top or secondary priority by 31 percent of the hospitals and health systems in this year s survey. Instagram s presence reflects the channel s explosive growth (Instagram surpassed Twitter in its number of monthly users late last year). 6

7 What are the top priorities for social media? (1 = top priority) Sharing hospital news Building local reputation Building community relationships Sharing general health information Connecting with patients/their families Answering questions Recruiting and/or staff retention Building national reputation Fundraising Connecting with other health officials/institutions Issue advocacy Hospitals want to share news, build interaction The top priority of nearly every hospital and health system in this year s survey was simple: Leverage the opportunity social media provides to directly share hospital news with their communities and their patients. Their number two priority: Tapping the power of social channels to help build and maintain their reputations and strengthen ties with communities. All three top priorities in this year s survey were also reflected in the 2012 report. How the index works: We created a weighted index in which a perfect score would equal 1. In other words, if all hospitals said that a particular goal was their top goal, that would generate an index score of 1. Answers that a priority was a secondary goal or less important received less weight, and not a goal received no index points. 7

8 What social campaigns have your hospitals implemented? (2015) General health/awareness 81% Brand marketing 65% Community building 50% Fundraising 42% Fitness Customer service 27% Issue advocacy Employee development/hiring 12% 15% Hospitals want to promote health Social campaigns are a key strategy to build relationships with patients and communities. Just over 80 percent of hospitals reported they launched general/health awareness campaigns in General health, brand marketing and community building campaigns also topped the list in the 2012 survey. Fundraising campaigns rose in importance. Only 29 percent of the responding hospitals in 2012 listed it among their social media campaigns. In 2015, it ranked fourth on the list with 42 percent reporting a social fundraising campaign. Employee development and hiring dropped to the bottom of this year s chart. Twenty-four percent of hospitals listed it among their campaigns in 2012 compared to only 12 percent in

9 2012 Survey 2015 Survey Hospital Systems 25% Small Hospitals 40% Health Systems 23% Small Hospitals 27% Large Hospitals Large Hospitals 50% About this survey The Ohio Hospital Association and Mindset Digital LLC jointly prepared this survey of Ohio hospitals. The survey was conducted through an online survey offered to OHA members from March through April Thirty-six percent of the OHA membership responded, and the results reflect a mix of large hospitals, small hospitals (less than 100 beds) and health systems, which represent several hospitals. Answers from individual hospitals or hospital systems will not be publicly released. The Ohio Hospital Association is the nation s first state-level hospital association and represents 219 hospitals and 13 health systems throughout Ohio. Mindset Digital helps hospitals and other healthcare clients take advantage of social media to engage patients, enhance their reputations and reach large audiences. In short, we show clients how to get attention in a digital age. 9

10 Social Media Success Stories How do Ohio Hospitals use social media to their benefit? Some success stories: Nationwide Children s Hospital (at right) conducts regular Facebook chats on child health issues. This April 9 chat drew 162 questions and comments. St. Vincent Charity Medical Center (at left) live tweeted a knee replacement surgery in November More than 3,800 people tuned in to watch the video stream. They could comment via Twitter at #StVKnee. Adena Regional Medical Center draws engagement with a series of monthly Facebook contests. One contest, (at right) in which people vote to honor student athletes, earns higher than average likes and comments. 10