Franklin Street Welcomes New Teammate

Franklin Street, a strategic healthcare marketing firm located in Richmond, Virginia, announces its newest teammate, Arielle Blais, who  joins the firm’s production department.

Arielle is responsible for departmental workflow, communications with the firm’s vendor partners, and overall ensuring on time, on budget campaign execution for Franklin Street’s growing client base.

Despite the down economy, Franklin Street has achieved double-digit sales growth since 2010, and has grown its staff by 26% in the last 24 months. The firm credits its success to its expertise in solving complex brand challenges and identifying new revenue opportunities for hospital systems, biotech firms and other health organizations.

Arielle is a recent Virginia Commonwealth University graduate and is a welcomed new addition to the Franklin Street team.

How One Doc Does Social Media Right, Part II

And we’re back! (Miss the first half? Check out our first post with Dr. Ryan.) Here’s your chance to get some insight from an MD with an eye for social media. Franklin Street’s Kenya Gibson poses a few more question for RVA’s own @RichmondDoc.

KG: How do you see healthcare and social media evolving in the next five years?

MR: One trend is that patients are consistently ahead of medical professionals on this.  Already we have some examples of patients going to social media to find support and to learn from each other (evidenced by Pew Internet data, and the rheumatology and diabetes Twitter chats).  So, patients will keep looking for support there, and I think they are hungry to find physicians there who can guide the conversations, be resources to the community, and/or be part of the discussion.  There will come a time when physicians and practices that do not have online presences will be at a disadvantage to those that do in terms of referrals, patient confidence, etc.  For these reasons, I have been speaking to physician groups about healthcare and social media, trying to encourage understanding of how these communications work, what limits they have, but also how they provide a new way to reach out to communities.  At the simplest (most crass?) level, they can be advertising tools.  At best, they can show a level of engagement and caring that might attract new patients or raise opinions of a physician/practice.  I do believe that there are ways to use social media to engage patients, to encourage patient self care, etc–some of the slides from presentations I’ve given are visible at www.slideshare.com/RichmondDoc

KG: What are some examples where social media has impacted change that’s been really exciting for you?

MR: Good question…even though I’m obviously a strong supporter of the medium, I’m not entirely sure that we can prove social media has impacted change at any grand level.  References back to the Arab Spring and the current Occupy Wall Street movements suggest that social media can directly help organize large-scale social movements, but I wonder if they had a role in generating the movement as opposed to accelerating a process that might have happened anyhow with traditional communication.  On a personal level, I have seen tremendous personal benefits from being involved in social media: new colleagues and contacts that I would never have had without first connecting via social media, speaking opportunities that wouldn’t exist otherwise, and friends in different parts of the world.  I also feel that I can be more active in health care advocacy (the initial reason I got on Twitter, BTW) by keeping abreast of healthcare policy changes that I learn about via social media.

KG: What do you think about Google+ ?

MR: I haven’t figured out how best to use it yet, though I haven’t given it much effort yet.  I love Twitter for the quick/direct communication it provides and the breadth of contact it allows, and I use Facebook strictly to connect with friends and family.  I haven’t really identified the best role for Google+ in my daily use.  Maybe when I can devote a bit more time to it, it’ll become more clear to me.

What do you think? How does social media fit into your docs’ agendas?

Want to know more about the MD? Check his Tumblr Minutiae and Detritus, get an in-depth look at Social Media Healthcare or scroll through his blog.

How One Doc Does Social Media Right, Part I

At Franklin Street, we love social media. We also happen to love our hometown and headquarters, Richmond, Virginia.

Add the two together and you get one of today’s #aficionados, Mark Ryan, MD.

Dr. Ryan is the Assistant Clinical Professor at VCU’s Department of Family Medicine. Those outside of Richmond might know him from his digital prowess as @RichmondDoc on Twitter, his curatorial touch at Minutiae and Detritus on Tumblr, his social media know how at Social Media Healthcare or his words of wisdom on his blog.

Our own sharp-witted reporter (and Account Supervisor) Kenya Gibson conducted a short interview with Dr. Ryan to figure out just how this digital media medic ticks.

KG: What do your colleagues think about your online work?

MR: I’m not sure.  I suspect that some think it is pointless, while a larger number just aren’t sure what it means.  They don’t understand the tools, don’t see the time benefits, or don’t see the overall goal aside from keeping in touch with friends.  A few are still uncertain, but more curious about what this is all about: what can be done with the tools and how can we make them part of a productive day.  A very small number are just as excited about social media as I am…but most of them are people I’ve met (surprise) via social media.

KG: Any pet peeves in how you’ve seen health institutions use social media?

MR: Probably greatest irritation would be institutions that post one-way monologues of information that are focused on the institution’s lectures/programs but that do not add any additional information to the discussion.  I understand that institutions might be shy about engaging in active dialogue (though some do this very well), but if all your posts are about your new Da Vinci machine or your lecture at a local museum, I find very little value in following.  At the very least, look for other interesting material to post–about your community, health policy news, whatever–and make your account a valuable contributor to the discussion.

KG: What do you believe every doctor should be doing as it relates to social media?

MR: At this point, I feel that they should be willing to take a look and see what they think about it.  There are many of my colleagues who have not seen social media as having *any* benefit re: communication or in their daily practice–it might appear as frivolous, or as additional unpaid work.  However, these tools are here to stay, and I think physicians should be looking at them, familiarizing themselves with them, and looking for ways to make them useful for their particular purposes.  The American Academy of Pediatrics has encouraged physicians to familiarize themselves with social media if only to better understand the role they play in teens’ lives and the risks that might result.

Tune back in Thursday for part II of this interview series!

VSHMPR: Recap from Virginia Society for Healthcare Marketing and PR

The Virginia Society for Healthcare Marketing and PR (VSHMPR) held its spring conference in Richmond at the gorgeous Jefferson Hotel. Great sessions and people!

Some of our top takeaways:

Healthcare Reform

• Bob Holsworth kicked off with a talk on the politics behind healthcare reform and ACOs (Another great synopsis here.)
• Bob noted healthcare reform has been so politicized, the more often than not, party lines determine your opinions about whether it will be beneficial or not.
• His healthcare bill is about same as his mortgage. (Whoa!) but he’s not alarmed. Bob believes in the costs associated with having access the highest quality care.

Healthcare Marketing Accountability

• David Marlowe emphasized what a nun at a Catholic system once told us: No margin, no mission. Which leads to an interesting question: Should a hospital prioritize ALL its marketing dollars to its most profitable service lines (and only those)?
• The term ROI is widely abused. If no money is involved, there is NO ROI.
• The best areas to start ROI tracking: employed PCPs, bariatric, joint replacement, screenings and occupational medicine.
• There are three categories of measurement: Production outcomes, marketing outcomes and strategic outcomes. But the only ones that really matter are strategic ones.
• Top pitfalls in measurement: Lack of strategic direction, lack of consensus on priorities and lack of leadership buy-in on measurement objectives.

Creativity and Leadership

• Anne West got everyone fired up to go back to work with new ideas on being more creative and more productive in meetings.
• Brian Parsley reminded everyone that you need to be committed, but also have a strategy.
• Hospitals often confuse the word “patient” with “customer.” (Treat patients like your best customers and watch what happens.)
• Prices are tied to products, brands are tied to value. People are willing to pay more for/support brands they value.
• How do you communicate your personal (and professional) brand through email, voice mail, appearance, the attention you give people, integrity, etc.
• Everyone has ideas. Leaders take action.

What insights are you taking back? What are you going to do differently on Monday?

Go Rams! Franklin Street Team Wishes VCU Well in the Final Four

March Madness has lived up to its name this year! Thankfully, the disappointment we felt when all of our brackets fell apart has been replaced by excitement for our hometown team – Virginia Commonwealth University. Plus, who doesn’t love a great underdog story?

With about one-third of Franklin Street’s team being VCU alums (and the rest of us claiming to be Rams by association), the office has been glued to this year’s NCAA tournament.

As Richmond-ites and alums, everyone here has always known just how great VCU is. Granted, we may be a little biased – our president, creative director and one of our senior art directors all graduated from their acclaimed School of the Arts. Needless to say, we’re all thrilled the rest of the country gets to see the Rams shine.

Our president, Will Flynn, will be our team representative cheering on VCU in Houston (currently, the rest of us are vying for space in his suitcase).  Everyone else intends to stay here in Richmond wearing as much black and yellow as we can find.

Go Rams!