The use of social media in healthcare marketing has grown exponentially over the past few years. Based in Kingsport, Tenn., Wellmont Health System has recently been recognized as a leader in the social media industry. AlertPresence.com, the online blog for Brett Pollard's Internet marketing/consulting organization, named facebook.com/wellmont one of the top five health system Facebook pages in the nation. Other health systems on Pollard's list are the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Florida and Arizona; Alegent Health in Nebraska and Iowa; St. Vincent's Health System in Alabama; and Memorial Health System in Colorado.

 

Less than a year after launching its Facebook page, Wellmont has more than 2,000 Facebook fans. The health system has conducted two live "Twittercasts" of medical procedures and was recently recognized as one of YouTube's 75-most-viewed not-for-profit channels.

 

Pollard, who has been involved in Internet marketing and business development for more than a decade, bestowed the national recognition following a comprehensive, independent review of health system Facebook pages nationwide. Pollard's written analysis of Wellmont, available at alertpresence.com/2010/02/26/best-hospital-facebook-pages-health-systems, focuses on one of the staples of the system's Facebook page: video clips of employees. The analysis also highlights other facets of the Wellmont page, including news releases, podcasts, vodcasts and company and community events.

 

"For quite awhile, we have included employee videos, which are a huge component on our page," said Rachel Horton, marketing communications coordinator for Wellmont. "And most of the time, our content has something to do with what's going on in the system. Go Red for Women is coming up and that's a huge deal for us, so we have videos of our champions in the community for the Go Red for Women initiative."

 

Pollard wrote. "It's [employee videos] a nice touch that provides fans with (a) look behind the scenes of Wellmont. In addition, the page wall is regularly updated with relevant content, and the 'notes' section provides some very useful information."

 

"I update content every day," noted Horton, who also explained why Wellmont has developed social media efforts.

 

"We know that there are internet conversations going on, and we know that some of those conversations involve our health system," shared Horton. "We want to be a part of that conversation. We want to be involved and interact with our patients through those channels."

 

Over the past three to five years, patients seem to be taking a different approach to healthcare. As they use the internet and social media, they are taking a more active role in their healthcare and doing more research on their own, explained Horton.

 

"We know that people are looking for health information, and we want to do what we can to provide info for them," Horton stated. 

 

Wellmont's future initiatives to provide patients with more health information will include physician videos in which local doctors will discuss issues related to their specialty. For instance, an OB/GYN might discuss preterm delivery causes and prevention, said Horton. "Our patients will receive information on what they can do to benefit their health so that they can take an active role in their healthcare," she explained. 

 

Also in the pipeline is a focus on the Children's Miracle Network (CMN). Last year, Wellmont asked fans to interact by posting their photos from the CMN Miracle Treat Day. The winners received tickets to the Bristol NASCAR race. This year they will be interviewing CMN ambassadors and their families.

 

Because the Wellmont Facebook page has been so successful, other parts of the health system have also developed pages. They include Bristol Regional Medical Center's Hospice House, Holston Valley Medical Center's cancer support group Survive & Thrive and WellmontOne Air Transport.

 

"Social media provides our health system a unique opportunity to engage in conversation with our patients and the community," said Pat Kane, Wellmont's senior vice president of marketing communications. "We're always looking for new ways to connect with the people we serve, and social media allows us to do just that."