I recently read that 367 hospitals in the United States are now using one or more social media tools. More specifically, the author accounted for 186 YouTube channels, 190 Facebook Pages, 267 Twitter accounts and 35 blogs all being utilized by hospitals across our nation.
The person who wrote the article seemed astonished by these marketing progressives, but I wonder if he realized that there are more than 7,500 healthcare facilities in the U.S. My question: Why are there so few taking advantage of social media?
Through my last 20 years of experience working with rural hospitals on their communication strategies, I’ve noticed that rural hospitals tend to drag their feet when it comes to leveraging new opportunities with emerging technologies.
For some of you, it’s not hard to believe. After all, rural hospitals don’t usually have the same financial and human resources as the larger metropolitan healthcare systems. But is this really an excuse? At SRJ Marketing Communications, social media is often the least expensive tool that we implement for our clients.
I believe the real problem is simple: change resistance. People don’t want to take the leap of faith necessary to adopt new technology that has not been abundantly tested and researched. While I’m a believer of risk management, fully-capable hospitals in rural America are continuing to lose market share to their larger competitors because they are not willing to keep their marketing initiatives as cutting-edge as their medical equipment.
SRJ specializes in both rural healthcare marketing and social media. If you have any questions about our services or implementing a social media campaign, we would be happy to speak with you. Give us a call today at 214-528-5775.
