Getting Your Money’s Worth from Social Media: Promoted Posts Pay Off

by Ed Lamb

“When you have a Facebook post that is generating good organic engagement, putting a little money behind it can really produce great results.”

Amanda Mauck, the Digital Marketing Manager for Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, and her chief consultant partner at Social Innovation, Lannie Byrd, shared this insight in separate interviews with eHealthcare Strategy & Trends. They spoke with the newsletter shortly after presenting “Finding the Right Social Media Mix: Growth vs. Engagement and Organic vs. Paid” at the 18th Annual Healthcare Internet Conference (HCIC), which was organized by Greystone.net and held this past November in Scottsdale, AZ.

Mauck and Byrd have also learned that succeeding in getting healthcare decision makers to value, respond to, and act on social media messages requires identifying the target audience, demonstrating how the organization can meet the needs of individuals in that group, creating high-quality posts, and constantly incorporating ideas from a variety of stakeholders and other industries.

As Byrd, the Chief Operations Officer for Social Innovation, noted, his company’s work for automobile dealers has particular relevance to reaching out to and connecting with the families that constitute Le Bonheur’s patient population. “Because we do not just work in healthcare,” he says, “we have a broader perspective of how to communicate and convert consumers. We bring those proven ideas to Le Bonheur, and the hospital is always willing to innovate and try different strategies.”

Serving your audience on Facebook

The first Facebook posts from Le Bonheur appeared during late 2007. Since then, according to Mauck, each message has been shared with the intent of communicating the health system’s commitment to caring for each child and every family. “The motto we follow is, ‘Wherever children are, we are too,’” she said.

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