Digital Media Crisis Strategy Tips for Healthcare

It’s common for companies to have a crisis strategy in place. A go-team that jumps into action if a plane crashes or a sports star is embroiled in a scandal, or more specifically related to healthcare, a HIPAA violation surfaces. This team fields media inquiries, puts out official statements on the ‘incident’ and just generally tries to position the company in the best light possible given the circumstances.

But what about your digital media crisis strategy? Nowadays, many people turn to online sources for to-the-minute updates on current events. Healthcare companies need to be able to respond quickly to public outcry and the best way to do that is by using online tools of communication.

You don’t want to be like the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, which took 24 hours to respond to comments on social media about their plan to withdraw funding from Planned Parenthood. That digital media gaffe lost them millions and resulted in many executives resigning.

Do you have a plan in place for how to control a crisis online? If not, here are some key points for your healthcare organization to consider. These are important whether you are a company selling medical equipment or a large hospital focused on patient care.

Make sure you can easily update your website.

In a crisis, you need to have easy access to your website. Make sure that you can edit text and images if needed, or that your digital marketing partner has a team ready to help. Consider this scenario – your company sells medical equipment for kids and it’s been found out that one of the diabetes monitoring tools is faulty, which resulted in the deaths of three children. You need to be quick to respond – both in traditional media, via official statements and press releases and on your website. It just won’t do to have smiling photos of kids with the faulty device on your homepage. In your digital media crisis plan, consider how long it takes you to update an image or text on your website. In this situation, you may also want to launch a microsite that contains information about the product recall, in order to drive traffic there instead of to your branded company page.

Respond quickly, honestly and respectfully on social media.

The Internet is littered with articles about “the top social media fails” from companies. You don’t want to make it on that list. The key is to monitor social media regularly. Half of all people on Twitter use the platform as their source of news. I can’t stress enough how important it is to respond in a timely manner. The public is watching, waiting for you to fail. And trust me, if you do, they won’t let you forget it. Post regular updates on the situation to keep the public informed and be sure to answer all comments and questions. It’s good to have some generic pre-approved messaging to provide a framework of what constitutes an appropriate response. Then, customize it to suit the situation. Like your website, the words that you type and the images that you attach will help shape your message, so use them wisely.

Tasteful ads can help with damage control.

After disaster strikes, companies may have to do a bit of reputation rebuilding. Your digital media crisis strategy should have recommendations for what types of online ads to run, as well as where they should be placed. Video should be your top option, as 78% of U.S. Internet users watch online videos. How quickly can you get a video up or a display ad online? Make sure your team is prepared to tackle this, no matter what day of the week it is.

Though theirs wasn’t a digital media crisis, keep Oreo’s rapid response to the Super Bowl blackout in mind as you create your digital media crisis strategy. And remember, many people turn to social media first to complain, before directly contacting your company, and those people expect a response within 60 minutes. Timeliness is key. You need to get your message out before the public starts writing it for you.

Interested in learning more about the various uses for digital marketing and digital media in healthcare? Contact Pyxl today.

Updated: Apr 13, 2022