Know-How Exchange : Strategy

Viral buzz is not something you can force, although the agency Mekanism pretty much claims it can, per a feature in Fast Company. What you can do is come up with some buzz-worthy things, and seed them, and then hope they sprout. But that part is not up to you -- it's up to the zeitgeist, or the mood of the mob.

Having said that, patient endorsements don't seem buzzworthy to me. Every business tries to have customer endorsements, and our local hospitals here run tear-jerky or heartwarming testimonials as TV commercials frequently.

What might work, if you can get permission to do this (and of course, for the buzz, it's better if it's NOT done officially) -- are videos of actual operations. But even those are likely to be devalued, when hospital shows have shown us so many rare and suspenseful operations, fake though they may be.

Unscripted testimonials might work, filmed with phone cam or Flip (not too fancy is the goal). I would argue that the best Web 2.0/3.0 thing a hospital could do is to create and foster an online social network, with patients and their families talking to each other, and asking questions, some of which the hospital could answer, but most of which should be answered by the community directly. You'll definitely get some negative commentary, but assuming you've cured more people than you've killed, you will come through even harsh criticism even stronger -- because the discussion will be real and therefore more credible than any stunt you might dream up.
Michael Odza

The first thing you need to do is decide who the target audience is and what you want them to know -- i.e., what do you want the "viral buzz" to be about?

"Viral buzz" is a communication tool. It's not a goal. If you state the goal clearly, "viral buzz" may or may not be the best way to achieve the goal. But if you start by trying to use the tool, you will never know if you really accomplished anything worthwhile. All you will know is whether you used the tool or not.

Some possible examples: Are you trying to influence physicians to refer patients to your hospital? Are you trying to get the community to accept the hospital as a valued community member? Are you trying to establish a center of excellence for a particular specialty? Etc. Etc.

Dear shrinivas.ayyar

Viral buzz is NOT something you pull out of thin air or anything you create as part of your marketing campaign: it creates itself when something you've done is considered worthwhile enough to be passed on to other people by your stakeholders.

I hope this helps.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

I think you've got to ask yourself whether viral buzz is really something that's appropriate for a hospital.

For me, viral buzz is about fast-changing tastes and fickle consumers. It's all about the spin and glitz, the temporary popularity, the momentary rush.

Not something I first think of when I have to choose a hospital, but then maybe I'm a bit different.

I think you should look back to your corporate strategic marketing plan and see what objective would be satisfied by viral buzz.

You would be better served looking for some longer-term strategies. Because hospitals and viral don't really go hand in hand.

Why not use an existing social media site (such as Yelp) to build your "social standing"? Patients come to hospitals for 3 reasons: 1) their doctor recommended, 2) emergency needs, or 3) outpatient testing. For 1) you need to market to the doctors, not patients. For 2), you need to make it affordable/convenient/successful for treatment - and prove it regularly - since in an emergency, people don't have the luxury of mulling over choices. For 3), market to both doctors & patients.

None of these scenarios are likely to make people want to participate with the hospital (online) nor create buzz, though.

It's about accessibility.

Why not jump on the iPhone/iPad bandwagon and create an app alongside your social platform? It would be great for those who have a long stay in the hospital as they can use their iPad to socialise with their family friends as well as patients in the hospital.

Would also be great as it can be accessed on the move.

As for a viral... as the others have said, I'm not sure it's something a hospital can benefit from. There are so many Hallmark-esque adverts with 'patient' testimonials that there's nothing new about them. Heck, they even use them for toothpaste ads.

The only other thing you could do would be to hold an event where you launch the platform. You could get the local press to talk to patients, designers, creators. This would publicise your platform and help it gain popularity too.