It’s hard out there in social media for regulated industries like healthcare. UnitedHealth Group for example, has to carefully craft their responses to customers in social media to comply with legal requirements.
According to Rachel Medina, their senior communications specialist, they’re making progress with reaching customers despite these strict rules. In her presentation at SocialMedia.org‘s BlogWell conference, she explains it’s all a part of following HIPAA regulations while trying to do more for their customers in social media.
Here are three key points from her presentation:
- Members come first, and social comes second. Rachel admits that healthcare in social media isn’t sexy. But to UnitedHealth Group, it’s not about having the most innovative campaign or making a viral video. It’s about meeting their customers where they want to interact with the company.
- Create a pilot program to help with executive buy-in. Rachel explains that by reallocating a few employees from the call center and keeping costs low, they were able to make the case for social media while leaving room to make mistakes.
- Take the time to figure out what your customers are really saying in social media. With complex systems of call centers, hospitals, and other healthcare providers, it takes time for her social team to decipher a customer’s complaint and escalate it to the right person. Rachel says they adapted their call-center model to fit how they engage with customers in social media.
Watch Rachel’s full BlogWell presentation in the video below.
Download her slide deck for more.
Want to see more social media case studies like these? If you’re a social media leader at a big brand, we’d love to have you at our next Member Meeting in Chicago, July 15.
