Public Relations has undergone a sea change following the rapid advance in internet technologies and the advent of social media applications. It has now become the art of not just providing information but truly creating interactive relationships with the public. A PR professional today must embrace the Web in order to reach the people they want to reach. In a way social media has put the public back into Public Relations .
Twitter, the microblogging tool, is fast becoming the choice of most companies to provide real time engagement with their customers. Possibly the best example is Starbucks (https://twitter.com/Starbucks) which has 11.7 million followers on Twitter as of 2016. The company was one of the first of its scale to use social media for marketing at a time when many similar enterprises did not realize the potential of this space . From new product promotions to daily offers on its favorite coffees, Starbucks uses Twitter to let its customers connect directly with the company through feedback and ideas. A recent change in its rewards program incited thousands of tweets and retweets on the subject amply demonstrating the real-time connectivity between company and its customer .
YouTube, the video hosting site, is another example of a social media application that can be used effectively as a Public Relations tool. YouTube is looked upon as a place where the public can show their stories rather than just write about them Thousands of organizations across industrial sectors use YouTube for promoting their products and services. Another popular use of YouTube by companies is to share client testimonials in the form of interviews . This helps create an emotional connect with viewers. Dunkin Donuts garners an average of 250,000 views for its videos. A promotion video posted in late 2015 has garnered over 4.3 million views (https://www.youtube.com/user/dunkindonuts/featured). The Starbucks YouTube channel shows that people are more likely to view “How to” videos (https://www.youtube.com/user/Starbucks) than any others which encourages companies to host similar videos and create a wider engagement with customers. By allowing users to comment, companies get an opportunity to understand what their existing customers feel and also learn what non-customers have to say. The latter is important for companies to improve existing products and create new ones.
Website and Social Media Analysis - www.ucsfhealth.org
For the purposes of this paper, I have chosen to write my analysis on the website UCSF Medical Center, San Francisco. I shall examine what constitutes an effective website design for hospitals and medical centers and then reconcile the UCSF website to the findings. According to LinkMD , a provider of web-based medical marketing services, a hospital’s website must have the following features:
Clear cut information. The most relevant information should be prominently. Visitors to a hospital website generally want to know which are the services provided, who are the doctors and how to make an appointment. These three key information can be accessed readily from the UCSF homepage.
User-friendly experience. Creating user-friendly designs helps site visitors stay longer on the website and also ensures top ranking in search engine results. The UCSF design is simple, provides information clearly and is the number 1 site in Google search for the keywords “medical centers in San Francisco, CA”.
Getting to and from your website. For effective traffic, a company’s social media sites must lead back to the corporate website and similarly have the links from company site to social media. In the case of UCSF, I find that while their links back from social media sites are prominent, the links to social media could have placed on the top of the home page rather than after 4 scrolls of the mouse.
Quality content and error free content. Content without typographical and grammar errors points to a company that cares for quality. Visitors will feel confident about the company’s products and services. Ensuring error free links and applications reduces user frustration. The UCSF site has kept their content and links error-free.
Focus on services. It is advisable to keep separate pages for services and procedures provided in order to increase visibility to visitor. The UCSF site has a “Medical Services” link prominently displayed on the home page which then gives way to several detailed pages on each service.
Theme in-line with your brand. The brand message must be uniformly applied in all pages. The UCSF website focuses on the successes of the center by displaying photographs of cheerful patients and staff.
Decrease load time. A website that takes more than 3 seconds to load loses visitors. Large elements are best left out. The UCSF website loads within 3 seconds and even their video segments stream within that timeframe.
Check for resolution compatibility. Website designs should be made compatible for all types of devices and screens. The UCSF site is mobile device compatible and the center has several apps available for download. One example is the Fetal Treatment Center (FTC) mobile app which helps the centers physicians to various types of information instantly.
Professional fonts. The UCSF website uses Times New Roman for large headings and Calibri for smaller text. Both ensure easy readability.
Social Media – UCSF Medical Center
The medical center is active on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The twitter page (https://twitter.com/UCSFHospitals) has over 30,000 followers and has between 3 and 4 posts in a week. Some posts garner over 30 likes and retweets. These are generally related to new products or stories of personal/medical achievement.
Their YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/UCSFMedicalCenter) has over 130 videos with some procedural videos getting more than 20,000 views. Pediatric videos have the highest number of views. Comments are enabled for the videos which helps people share their own experiences and reach out to both the center and fellow patients.
However, it is their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/UCSFMedicalCenter) which has the most amount of activity in terms of number of posts added and number of comments and shares. The stories of patients who have recovered from traumatic illnesses illicit the largest responses; some over 1,000 likes. While most comments are positive, the page does not hide or delete negative reviews and comments. By doing this it ensures that people realize that not all procedures provide the same results for everyone and that they cannot always provide a cure. This gesture helps in deepening the impression of genuinely caring for people.
Works Cited
Edevane, Gillian. Starbucks changed its rewards program and customers aren't taking it well. mashable.com, 16 February 2016. Web. 1 April 2016. < http://mashable.com/2016/02/22/starbucks-rewards-plan-change/>
LinkMD. 10 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE MEDICAL WEBSITE DESIGN. linkmdinc.com. , 24 August 2014. Web. 2 April 2016. <http://www.linkmdinc.com/10-tips-for-effective-medical-website-design/>
McNamara, Tom and Asha Moor-Mangin. Starbucks and Social Media: It’s About More than Just Coffee. econtentmag.com., 03 August 2015. Web. 2 April 2016.< http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Editorial/Commentary/Starbucks-and-Social-Media-Its-About-More-than-Just-Coffee-103823.htm>
Patterson, Maggie. 4 Ways to Use Social Media in Public Relations. socialmediaexaminer.com. , 14 September 2014. Web. 31 March 2016. <http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-in-public-relations/>
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