More than 30 social media leaders joined us at the 2024 SocialMedia.org Health Fall Board Meeting, where they participated in honest, behind-the-scenes chats about running social media at the nation’s largest hospitals.

The two-day event included small-group discussions, case studies, and four rounds of unconferences — where members get to choose the most pressing topics and challenges they’re facing in real time and benchmark with their social media peers.

The only thing missing from the Board Meeting was vendors, consultants, or agencies influencing the conversations. 

Robbie Schneider, Enterprise Social Media Manager and Content Marketing Leader at Franciscan Health, said on LinkedIn that she loved learning about video, election planning, AI, employee advocacy, and her personal favorite, mental health for social media teams. 

Here’s a look at some of the topics we covered:

Hospital Social Media Case Studies:

• Boosting physician reputation in the digital age — led by Haley Overcast at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
• Make the investment in LinkedIn — led by Shari Williams at Northwestern Medicine
• How brand and paid boost engagement for lean teams — led by Machan Carter at MedStar Health
• Bringing teams together and building one social team through mergers and acquisitions — led by Sarah Scroggins at Advocate Health
• Leveraging paid for nursing talent attraction — led by Taylor Tipping at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 

Member-Led Discussions:

• Making the case to expand your social team — led by Diane Davis at Nationwide Children’s Hospital 
• Election preparation through a PR lens — led by Kim Alexander at Baptist Memorial Health Care 
• Perfecting enterprise-wide patient engagement — led by Robbie Schneider at Franciscan Health 
• Social media and recruitment marketing: A powerful partnership — led by Jamie McGurk at UNC Health 

Unconferences to Explore Top Social Media Challenges at Hospitals:

On day two, SocialMedia.org Health members set the meeting’s agenda themselves through our Unconferences, fast-paced, peer-to-peer discussions where members suggest discussion topics, vote for their favorites, and join the conversations that interest them most. 

It means members are spending the entire time talking about the topics that are most important to them.  

Here’s a look at some of the most pressing challenges hospital social media leaders are facing:  

• Video: How are you creating social-first content? 
• Community monitoring 
• What’s your intake process? 
• Employee advocacy – content creation, ROI, and keeping individuals engaged 
• AI best practices 
• Social listening strategies 
• How do you approach Service Line accounts? 
• How do you support awareness months/days? 
• Social media content calendars – format, agenda, sharing externally 
• How do you unplug and empower your team? 

The best on-site discussions will grow as full community conversations in the coming weeks and months as we dig deeper together.