Many hospitals and health systems now use Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. But are there practical ways to make these technologies work for your organization? The Daily Briefing kicks off a five-part series on strategies to succeed at social media.

Hanna Jaquith, Daily Briefing

"We need to connect with patients" isn't a new priority for hospitals; that maxim informed many organizations' marketing strategies through the 20th century. But the 21st century has introduced social networks and technology—think of platforms like Facebook and Twitter—that offer a more targeted means to build brand loyalty, attract new patients, and engage existing ones in ways that traditional media cannot.

Rules of social media
Today: Define your audience
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Tuesday: Let patients tell their stories
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Wednesday: Benefit with a blog
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Thursday: Master the metrics
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Friday: Sustain a conversation

As Lee Aase, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, recently told the Daily Briefing, "For more than 100 years, Mayo Clinic's reputation has always come from word of mouth. Social media is an amplification of that word of mouth."

However, social media strategies that try to reach "anyone, anywhere" are usually doomed to fail. In recent interviews with the Daily Briefing, officials at five of the nation's most social media-savvy hospitals stressed the importance of having a well-defined audience. According to these experts, while individuals increasingly go online for health information, some future patients are more likely than others to rely on social media when doing so.