Leveraging Free Social Media Platforms During the COVID-19 Crisis for Communication.

Hospitals, health systems, doctors, other providers, and vendors are faced with severe financial constraints during the COVID-19 pandemic response. Furloughs and layoffs are becoming a regular occurrence of non-essential staff as resources are redeployed within the hospital or the vendor attempting to cut costs to stem the bleeding as markets and sales grind to a silent halt. 

Often, marketing budgets and personnel are reduced to a bare minimum as marketing expenses cut flow directly to the bottom line.

However, to stop marketing, communications, and public relations entirely is a strategic and tactical mistake, especially for vendors that they may not recover. The answer then, is a shift to the heavy use of digital and free social media platforms and channels, in an integrated fashion. It will also accelerate your shift to digital.

Going silent.

Going silent in the market is not an option for anyone.  It is a strategic and tactical mistake that places an organization behind the eight-ball playing catch up in the community, and market when the COVID-19 health crisis ends. And it will end.

If you’re not finding a way to stay connected and messaging out to your audiences during this time, you are dropping from their radar. It doesn’t mean being opportunistic, which is a death knell. People will remember that and not fondly. It’s about staying connected through any means available, providing information that will help them through the crisis. That is how you will be remembered- helpful, knowledgeable, credible, and trustworthy. The trick then is how to accomplish staying in front of the community or business audience without resources.

That brings us to leveraging free social media platforms.

With the multitude of platforms and channels available, stick to social media channels in use by the vast majority- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, 4Square/Swarm, and Google Hangouts, and blogging.

For example, Instagram, and Facebook have live stream capability for video and engaging though the chats Q&A. Tumblr has a live Q&A function, and Twitter can be used to chats and with hashtags creating a Twitter stream for participative Q&A. Google Hangouts can be used for creating a virtual digital community and live interactions between individuals companies and groups.  Use the LinkedIn company page to promo the events. Provide links to the events and platforms: post summaries and relevant content for the activities.

Guide to the available platforms.

The guide to your right illustrates how several social media platforms can be integrated and utilized in a coordinated fashion to connect and stay connected with your audiences.  It is all free as well,  given that you have made progress to digital marketing, communications, and pubic relations. If not, then it requires staff or consulting expertise to get up and running. Now that being said, you will still need the marketing and communications team to run the events, create the content, prep the speakers, and answer questions, so there is some cost involved.

Your choice, stay connected or go silent at your own risk.

Michael is a healthcare business, marketing, communications strategist, and thought leader. As an internationally followed healthcare strategy blogger, his blog, Healthcare Marketing Matters, is read in 52 countries and is listed on the 100 Top Healthcare Marketing Blogs & Websites ranked at No. 3 on the list by Feedspot.com. Michael is a Life Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives. An expert in healthcare marketing strategy, digital marketing, and social media, Michael is in the top 10 percent of social media experts nationwide and is considered an established influencer. For inquiries regarding strategic consulting engagements, email me at Michael at michael@themichaeljgroup.com. Opinions expressed are my own.

For more topics and thought leading discussions like this, join his group, Healthcare Marketing Leaders For Change, a LinkedIn Professional Group.