AKRON, Ohio — Their topic — teen-age depression — is serious. But psychologists Laura Rocker and Stephen Cosby speak encouragingly to parents about about how to tell whether their teens are depressed and what to do about that.
The doctors sit in chairs on a set that looks like it belongs in a television studio. Two videographers from ORLive Inc. record the scene, which is broadcast at a Web site. Parents phone or e-mail their questions, which Grace Smith, a cardiologist, directs to the two psychologists.
Is it the latest medical talk show? No, it’s a live Web chat at Akron Children’s Hospital Medical Center. And it’s part of an interactive media tool set that is getting out the hospital’s message, boosting its profile as a pediatric expert and leading to more specialized surgeries for patients who come from as far away as California.
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How do you measure the return on investment for a live surgery Webcast? “The increase in surgeries,” said Andrea Joliet, assistant director of interactive marketing and public relations for the children’s hospital.
It’s harder to measure the marketing effects of the Web chat on teen depression. “That’s more a matter of meeting a community need,” Joliet said.
Still, Akron Children’s is seeing some measure of success from using social media services like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. “We try to position our doctors as experts on national trends” in videos broadcast on YouTube.
Because of the viral nature of the Internet, a vodcast on concussions with the hospital’s director of sports medicine led to an appearance on NBC’s Today Show. “It’s so different from a decade ago” when the hospital relied on reports in traditional media, like newspapers and network TV newscasts, to help get out its expert message, Joliet said.
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Akron Children’s uses Twitter — the site where users posts status updates of no more than 140 characters called “tweets” — to promote its YouTube videos, which are usually educational, she said. “So you might find out about prescription drug use among teens” from watching a video on YouTube or ICYou.
The messages are “soft,” Joliet said. “It’s not news-release-y promotional. It’s pointing out resources. For Facebook, it’s engaging the community. Since starting in February, we have 1,800 fans. It’s amazing to see the interaction, especially when we post photos.”
When people become engaged in the Akron Children’s brand, they share their hospital relationships and experiences with others. “And when you need something, you think of us,” she said. “Business-wise, we want to be top-of-mind if there is an issue with your child.”
Most of the hospital’s marketing professionals use social media tools. “I’m a fellow tweeter,” said Laurie Schueler, public and media relations specialist for Akron Children’s. The hospital shares its photos on Flickr.
ORLive, the West Hartford, Conn., company that broadcasts live surgeries, has been experimenting with using Twitter as the pipeline for viewer questions during surgeries, said Jon Rosen, account manager.
The broadcasting company has developed some sophisticated ways to track return-on-investment of surgery broadcasts for clients. “The live event is just the beginning,” Rosen said. “The event then lives on the ORLive site. You might have 150 people for a live Webcast. Over the course of the next three years, that number grows to 3,000 people.”
For some of those people who need specialized treatment, the Web eliminates geographic boundaries. Joliet recalled attracting a patient from Florida with her hospital’s first live surgery broadcast. “It’s online. Anybody can see it,” she said. “And if it’s your kid, and their quality of life is suffering, you will go online to find treatment wherever it is.”
