Hey Doc, Oh Yes They Are

For the better part of the Social Era physicians have decried the use of social media among their target demographic: grownups and the elderly. But guess what? Dads, Moms and even Grandma are all up in social media tools like Facebook and it’s time you connected with her there.

In fact, a recent Pew Internet Research study found that 71% of adults online are on Facebook and that’s up from this time last year. Really, parents and grandparents are the only real growth areas for Facebook with 45% of people 65 years and older using Facebook. However, it’s not the only site to see growth.

Twitter saw growth among adults. But it’s Pinterest that has the most momentum as over 1/3 of all women surveyed about online use report using the image and idea sharing platform to curate inspiration, health tips, recipes, fashion and other topics – often from people like you.

Okay, let’s admit it. Most of the people offering these bits of hope and information are not nearly as well qualified as you to share ideas in a way that might lead to improved health.

I’m going to guilt you into this. You should be using social media if for no other reason than to make sure that at least some of what women are curating makes sense in the context of a healthy lifestyle.

Hey when grandma falls down and can’t get up, we want her to have a button to push for help. But when we’re trying to coach mothers, grandmothers and other adults we’re willing to let the purveyors of gimmicks lead the way. It’s time for an intervention.

Want more evidence in the case for your being present online?

From a recent study, 54% of patients are very comfortable with their providers seeking advice from online communities to better treat their conditions. It’s evidence that many trust that crowd sourcing of information from other likeminded individuals is reliable. This shows how people perceive social media to be beneficial for the exchange of information about their health. Why shouldn’t you be the one from whom they curate it?

Need a business reason?

41% of people said social media would affect their choice of a specific doctor, hospital, or medical facility. This shows that social media can be a vehicle to help scale positive word of mouth, which makes it an important channel for an individual or organization in the health care industry to focus on in order to attract and retain patients. Consumers are using social media to discuss everything in their lives including health and it is up to your organization to choose whether it’s time to tune in.

How about peer pressure?

Lest you think it’s just patient talking, here’s this from professionals like you: 60% of doctors say social media improves the quality of care delivered to patients.

Wow! So there are doctors (maybe you’re one of them) who believe that the transparency and authenticity that social media helps spur is actually improving the quality of care provided to patients.

So if you’re still saying, “My patient demographic and providers like me don’t take social media seriously” and that “neither patient or doctor is there” – I say, oh yes they are.

Want to talk about it? Hit me up on twitter @timbigfish

Hey Doc, What Women Want

In the 2000 film, “What Women Want”, Mel Gibson plays the part of a sexist guy working in an ad agency. He suffers a sort of semi-electrocution. Instead of killing him, it gives him a super power. He’s suddenly able to hear what women are thinking! As such, he can better connect his marketing messages (and a few other messages – but that’s a different sort of article) to their thoughts. Pretty powerful stuff, huh?

The movie is full of marketing lessons – even for us, Doc. After all, we know that women influence many of the health care decisions in a family. They typically schedule the appointment for their husbands, they definitely plan out the health services for their children, and they’re also taking care of their aging parents.

Among other things, the film reminds us that a consumer’s buying behavior is largely driven by irrational fears, frustrations, hopes and volatile emotions. It’s that way with patients, too.

So, how do you address that? You pin. Specifically, you join the popular social media site known as Pinterest and develop community around it.

Why? Well, first, because women are there. Here’s a little science for you - 80% of Pinterest users are females (mostly adults) and half of them have children.

The Director of Communications for the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance says that, for her, “The tipping point with Pinterest was when I noticed that people were actually pinning images from our [web] site.”

(Teaching Moment: Doc, pinning means that the website user is choosing an image from your page to share with her friends on Pinterest. Think “liking” on Facebook but with pictures. Lots of pictures.)

She added, “I can see that our community is actually using this and they are finding visuals that they want to share… [we decided that we need to] make sure that we’re part of that conversation.” You should too. They’ve been on Pinterest now for over a year.

Still, that’s just a place right? Sort of. It’s also a state of mind.

Virtually all advertising appeals to emotion instead of logic because emotions are far more powerful when it comes to influencing behavior.

In the film’s climactic scene (the Nike pitch), we saw how specific we have to be in addressing the fears, frustrations, and emotional impulses of the women with whom we hope to connect.

But how can we find out what these (often hidden) emotions and irrational fears are? First, you gain trust. 80% of the women using Pinterest say they trust it. It’s likely that you can become part of that trusted community. But first, you’re going to have to do some pinning.

You can start by knowing what’s popular and how it relates to your specialty.

The top five subjects on Pinterest revolve around Home, Arts, Style/Fashion, Food, and Inspiration with a strong surge related to Health/Fitness. And there’s a conversation, largely in the form of pinning items that others have curated, inviting others to pin to your board, and following people or brands that pin things that resonate with you.

How do these top five subjects relate to health?

Home – Women living with children, aging parents, or disabled family members want to make a safe, livable space without compromising style. They pin.

Arts – What about images that soothe a discomforted soul or a recovering patient? Pin some.

Style/Fashion – Hey, not everything is science here, but I’ve seen pins of maternity fashion or things women might aspire to wear that would help inform some of the health care decisions. Find someone pinning those and re-pin them.

Food – Recipes rule on Pinterest. Almost any medical condition can be affected in a positive way through a healthy diet. Do you know the foods that might whet the appetite of your patient and help her to achieve a healthy lifestyle? Pin some.

Inspiration – Maybe it’s scripture. But it could be images.  Nature inspires. Movies inspire. Heroes inspire. Offer your patient an ideal to pursue by pinning about it.

Health/Fitness – Like food, there are few health conditions that aren’t improved by regular diet and exercise. Pin some tips.

Hey Doc, this may sound a bit crazy but marketing is full of crazier stuff than this. Imagine what thoughts you would hear from Pinterest users. If you’re pinning, then you’re part of the conversation. And when you re-pin or invite others to pin with you? You just might start hearing what women want.