1. Connecting health care providers
and health care consumers
Digital media facilitates direct connections
among health researchers, health care
providers, health policy experts, other
health care professionals, and health care
consumers. These conversations can
help inform research and improve health
outcomes.
Expanding reach
We’re finding ways to integrate digital
media into traditional information
dissemination models. Using new digital
channels allows you to expand the reach
and impact of your health messages.
Nontraditional digital partners
Reaching consumers with health information via digital outreach
by nontraditional partners such as national retailers, sports
leagues, and major corporations allows you to leverage partner
channels and relationships to expand your reach.
Social CRM
Understanding our audiences is key to ensuring
that messaging and content are relevant and
engaging. Social media gives you the ability to
understand and microtarget your audiences so
that they receive the most relevant information.
E-health and the release of personal
health data
With the release of personal health data (i.e.,
the Federal government’s Blue Button initiative),
developers have introduced an explosion of
health promotion apps based on access to
personal health data. Availability of this data has
facilitated the rise of e-health.
Convergence of mobile and social for health
Mobile and social media allow people to have access
to health information on the go. Through geolocated
applications, such as targeted advertisements for health
services and proximity to health events, health information
is more easily disseminated in real time. You can hear
about what your friends are doing and join a health-related
initiative without being tied to your computer.
Mining big data
Digital media is awash in data. We need to
use the right tools and devote more time to
understanding this information and what it
means. A deeper analysis can inform digital
media strategies and tactics and help ensure
that our campaigns have measurable outcomes.
Digital communicators wanted
The growing importance of digital media in the
success of public health campaigns means that
we can no longer delegate social media to interns.
Just because someone is young doesn’t mean they
can develop effective social media strategies or
implement social media campaigns. We need digital
media specialists who are committed to advancing
the frontiers of digital communications.
The advent of social
media-only campaigns
The social media components of large
public health communication campaigns
are increasingly being unbundled to run
on their own. Given the pressures on
Federal agency budgets and the cost
effectiveness of many social media
strategies and tactics, social media may
come to dominate health campaigns,
particularly those aimed at discrete and
coherent social groupings.
Social research
We need to listen more.
Monitoring online conversations
about our campaigns, brands,
and issues will give us a
deeper understanding of
how our messages are being
received and what we can do
to improve our public health
communications.
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The Promise of Social Media
for Public Health Communication
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