Dive Brief:
- A new survey by the Ohio Hospital Association and a social media strategy firm found that more than half of 83 hospitals focused up to 50 percent of their communications efforts on social media. Only three years ago, it was less than 10 percent.
- Approximately half the hospitals said they expect to increase social media spending by at least 10 percent.
- Only about one-third of hospitals have full-time employees dedicated to social media communication, with Facebook being the most important social media channel.
Dive Insight:
Hospitals ranked their top priority for social media as sharing hospital news with patients and their communities, followed by using social channels to build and maintain reputations and strengthen community ties. Less important priorities included marketing and fundraising.
The study authors said there has been a "big shift" in hospitals, with more than 70 percent spending 10 percent or more of their overall communication efforts on social media, compared to 2012 when the same percentage said they would spend less than 10 percent on social media.