Which Health System Does Facebook Best?

by Susan Keane Baker

When you give someone a gift, if the recipient never says thank you, are you less inclined to spend time and money on a future gift for that person?

When someone recommends an organization publicly, and doesn’t receive an acknowledgement, he or she may feel that the recommendation didn’t much matter.

Public recommendations on social media sites are tremendously important to you, because others will recommend you based on what they’ve read. Even if they haven’t used your services personally.

Acknowledging testimonials is a simple yet powerful way to encourage more recommendations.

Piedmont Healthcare in Georgia does this exceptionally well. Let’s look at a few examples:

• In this post, a patient’s mother applauds the care received by her son who was treated for heat exhaustion.
  Piedmont’s response includes the name of the person who posted the testimonial. It includes wishes for her son: “We’re glad we could help and we hope your son is feeling better!’ The response even references the heat.

•  In this next example, a patient is praising a – in her words – “GREAT” outcome three years after she received care:
  The reply acknowledges her by name, thanks her for the update and promises to convey her sentiments to her cardiologist. That promise is appreciated by the patient and so she posts again.

Creating a conversation in social media requires genuine interest in others and careful listening. It requires attention to the details.