Remember the crazy survey lady from the hilarious cartoon hit of the 90s, Animaniacs?

Yesterday I spent nearly 15 minutes completing a survey for Adobe. It was all about their creative products. I admit, the only reason that I took the time to do it was because I have a glimmer of hope that I could win a giveaway that they were offering. By the time I was done with it (because it didn’t tell me to set aside 15 minutes when I started) I felt like Adobe should just out right PAY for the information that I was giving back.

But the other reason I filled it out was because I knew that we were about to send out our own survey to the masses… and I figured that I could glean some survey creation wisdom from the good folks at Adobe. My takeaway = Make the survey short and simple.

In our last AVID Insight newsletter we hinted that the January feature story was going to be all about Hospital Intranets and Employee Communication. We’ve had many conversations with our clients in recent days/months about this topic. It also seemed to be a topic that many were talking about at the 14th Annual Healthcare Internet Conference.  As we’ve been preparing for next month’s feature, we decided that it would be interesting to reach out to you, our healthcare marketing followers, for your input into the discussion.

I promise you that it won’t take 15 minutes to complete.

I can’t offer you a prize pack for your participation, but I can offer you the assurance that your answers will be kept anonymous (we’ve seen some of your intranets.)

So… Would you like to take our hospital intranet survey?

While you’re at it, if you’re not signed up for the AVID Insight eNewsletter, now is a great time to do so.

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Our last blog post, invited readers to vote in our current poll about hospital Website conversions. While that poll is underway, we wanted to review the results from our previous online poll about integrating quality of care information into a hospital’s Website (we also wrote a feature article about this topic in our May 2010 newsletter).

What the Results Mean

Although voters were split 50/50 about which was the most important, the relativity of the choices suggests that there is no question that patients and Website visitors must come first, as compared to matters that involve tone, logistics and conversions.

Although that may seem obvious, it’s an important concept to keep in mind when planning and drafting content—especially when attempting to integrate editorial feedback from hospital adminstrators and physicians.

As you might have experienced when developing content for other Website pages—such as content for your hospital’s service lines—there can occasionally be conflicts when trying to craft content that balances readability, SEO, technical language, credibility, etc. But when it comes to quality of care content, it may be best to defer to Website reader expectations before all else.

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It’s one thing to say that your hospital is great or even the best, but it’s another to provide quality of care data and information on your Website that supports your claim. The challenge becomes even greater when hospital marketers try to do both at the same time.

Our next newsletter feature will examine the unique challenges with providing quality-of-care information and integrating it in your hospital’s Website content.

We’ll also explore the process for writing quality-of-care hospital Website copy—a process that includes:

• Identifying What is Most Valuable to the Reader

• Balancing Content Between Best Interests of the Hospital vs. Patient

• Finding the Most Appropriate Tone

• Scheduling Interviews and Reviews with Qualified Staff

• Integrating Conversions and Calls-to-Action

Which of these do you think is the most important? Which is the most challenging? Are there any key points that are missing? What are they? And why?

Cast your vote in on our online poll and share your thoughts in the comments section. We’ll publish and review the poll results next month.

By the way, don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter!

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Still looking for reasons to get your hospital’s leadership to approve resources for (or just approve of) social media to promote your brand?

Click image to view larger version.

Or, if you are already past that hurdle (and we certainly hope that you are!), are you now stuck with trying to figure out what to say on your blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc.?

Regardless of your situation, a recent eMarketer report might be the answer.

That is because after consumers (at 38 percent), “the brand itself” (at 32 percent) is the most credible source for information about a brand on social networking.

What Does That Mean for Hospital Marketers?

Among other reasons, it means that you shouldn’t be shy about telling the world about your hospital…in your blogs, on your Facebook fan pages, in your Tweets, etc.

However, don’t limit your participation to just announcing your content—as this is counter to effective social media usage.

Instead, you can watch your social media community flourish—and build your credibility—by simply engaging with social media users.

For instance, if somebody has a question about a healthcare or medical matter, answer it.

Of course, the same general principles apply when writing a news release or content for your Website: don’t overdo it. Keep it truthful. Maintain a sense of decorum and humility. In other words, don’t diminish your credibility in your attempts to improve and promote it.

Consumers and Credibility: Monitoring Gut Check

The fact that consumers’ statements about brands being the most important source of credible information, should be a serious wake-up call for anybody that is not monitoring their brand on social media.

However, it should also be a reason why you should be monitoring your competitors’ brands on social media.

Whether the sentiments are good or bad, you can use that information to better inform your own marketing and branding efforts—including the amount of time you might need to spend with using social media to engage audiences and enhance your hospital’s credibility.

AVID Design is an award-winning healthcare and hospital online marketing consultant. Contact us for a free estimate for building your social media and branding strategy.

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Although the number of voters in our recent online poll about hospital intranet best practices was slim, their opinions were overwhelming in their support of which best practice was indeed the best.

As of today, 75% of voters have said that enabling current and relevant content creation was the best of the six practices listed in the poll. (The poll will remain open, so if you haven’t voted yet, be sure to cast your vote.).

The poll’s list was developed in response to a recent Nielsen Norman Group report, Intranet Design Annual 2010: Year’s Ten Best Intranets.

The report—and the six best practices that we identified for hospitals and healthcare systems—was the focus of our monthly newsletter’s feature story for April 2010, Looking Inward: Six Best Practices for Hospital INTRANET Usability.

What Do You Think?

What are your thoughts about these best practices? Which do you think is best? Are there any others that you’d suggest?

AVID Design is an award-winning healthcare and hospital online marketing consultant. Contact us for a free estimate for developing your hospital’s intranet.

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