Written on January 31st, 2012 by tasha
In our on-going series on social media policies, I’m turning my attention to a policy for handling negative comments. This seems to be the number one fear, after HIPAA, that I hear from leadership. If you have a policy in place, it will help everyone to feel more prepared should someone say something disparaging about your business.
Let’s start with a few acknowledgements:
- People may be saying bad things about your business on the Web already, you just don’t know about it. This is not as likely for elder care providers as it is for Comcast, AT&T or Microsoft, but still… Have you done a Google search lately? You may be surprised. To borrow a line from the Godfather, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Better to have people post negatives about you where you can easily find them (on your own Web presence) and respond than to have negative comments floating out there on the Internet with no redress at all.
- When you do a public presentation, you risk someone publicly saying something negative. Part of live interaction with the public is taking the risk that you may have to deal with an uncomfortable bit of criticism. No one would say you shouldn’t do presentations, or shouldn’t be interviewed on a radio call-in show. Why run away from social media for this reason? The solution is to be prepared with a reasonable way to respond.
- In elder care, the overwhelming amount of comments are positive. I have taught workshops where some of the early adopters of social media were in attendance. After several YEARS of blogging and doing Facebook, one said that she literally had 300 positive comments before anyone posted a negative comment. I’ll take those odds!
- You do have the ability to delete negative comments. While it is not in the spirit of the open dialogue and engagement inherent in social media, it is always your prerogative to get rid of a posting that you think is completely off-base or inappropriate.
What are the comments you can/should just delete?
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Tags: HIPAA, Social Media and Hospice, Social Media Policies
Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter, YouTube
Written on January 3rd, 2012 by tasha
In a previous post, we wrote about Social Media Policies even if you don’t do social media. While your business may not be involved in social networking, odds are, your employees are engaging in Facebook or Twitter, YouTube or writing a blog.
You need to be sure they do not violate HIPAA nor say things even in their personal posts that reflect poorly on your company.
In the next few blog entries, I am turning my attention to the legal risks of publishing online. After HIPAA, I would say the next most likely transgression has to do with intellectual property violations.
Intellectual property rights apply to anything you publish (in print, or on your website, blog or Facebook page). Many companies, rightfully so, encourage employees to Like, Share and Comment on the company Facebook page or blog. And certainly your official “post-ers” are employees. In that light, be sure you are clear with everyone about what can and can’t be posted from a legal point of view. You don’t want a lawsuit!
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Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter, YouTube
Written on December 13th, 2011 by tasha
I’m guest blogging this week on the Stanford Journal of Palliative Medicine. Today’s post is about Social Media and Family Caregivers. Given Pew Internet data on demographics of social media, I wonder whether Facebook is a mature enough medium for reaching family caregivers. Not many seem to use it to get health information. But there are other realistic goals for a Facebook presence.
According to Idealware, software reviewers for non-profits, Facebook is a great way to:
- get people to subscribe to your e-newsletter
- drive traffic to your company site
- promote events
What’s your experience been?
Posted in Facebook, Family Caregivers, Research Results, Social Networking
Written on June 7th, 2011 by tasha
Cross-promoting is not a new concept in marketing. But many people have distinctly different teams, or mindsets, when handling their newsletter/e-newsletter and their social networking. While the communication styles, and in many cases the type of viewer within these communication channels, are quite distinct, you can easily expand your reach by promoting content in one medium to the audience in the other.
Here are 8 tips for integrating your campaigns: Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in E-newsletters, Facebook, GCM Marketing, Home Health Marketing, Hospice Marketing, Internet Marketing, Private Duty Marketing, Social Networking
Written on May 25th, 2011 by tasha
In my last blogpost I spoke about realistic expectations for social media success. Many people expect the moon from this new medium. Not gonna happen! And remember, social networking is NOT sales. But there are some reasonable outcomes to anticipate as a result of your social media endeavors. And they do contribute to your overall marketing mix in a way that can eventually impact revenues.
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Posted in Blogging, Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter
