Healthcare Social Media: Mayo Clinic Taps Robust Social Network for a Powerful PR Response

// By Melanie Graham //

In 2018, it doesn’t take much to convince healthcare leaders of the importance and impact social media has on an organization’s brand and reputation. And although it seems like the norm in today’s healthcare media landscape, it wasn’t always the case — any veteran healthcare marketer can attest that this mindset has certainly evolved in the past decade.

Throughout the growth of healthcare social media, Mayo Clinic has always been at the forefront of the movement. In 2010, Mayo founded its Mayo Clinic Social Media Network (MCSMN) “to improve health globally by enhancing the use of social networking tools.” MCSMN now serves as a professional network for people looking to improve healthcare using digital communication tools, offering educational components and collaboration opportunities.

Mayo’s social media expertise and influence were put to the test in mid-August when a CNN news story threatened the organization’s reputation as one of the top healthcare centers in the country.

“We had some serious objections to the coverage of the way the story had been told, and it was important for us to be on the record about the deficiencies we saw in the story,” says Lee Aase, director of MCSMN and communications director for Mayo’s Social & Digital Innovation team. “We needed to get the word out to mobilize staff and our social media followers to help tell our side of the story.”

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