Social Media
If you are interested in using social media (Facebook,
Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, etc.) for business
purposes at Lakeland, the Marketing & Communications
Department will assist you in creating your social media
account(s). We will meet with you to determine if social
media is the right fit for your communication plans and
your audience, and we will work with you on strategy, set
up, audience interaction, monitoring and metrics. Social
media requires sustainable resources and knowledge, so
when considering usage it’s important to recognize the
daily time commitment you must make to be successful.
Social Media Best Practices
A strong brand is one of the most valuable assets an
organization owns. To make it truly powerful, it needs
to be applied consistently so anyone exposed to
Lakeland Health knows who we are and what we
stand for. For a complete guide of our communication and brand standards please reference
the Corporate Communications Manual on myLakeland.
Lakeland’s Social Media Use policy outlines the guidelines for ‘official Lakeland participation’ and states that “…engagement on behalf of Lakeland, including establishment of official external sites representing Lakeland or any Lakeland organization, must be approved and coordinated through the Marketing Department. Lakeland’s Marketing Team provides oversight and assistance to guide development of
new social media platforms, sharing knowledge and instituting best practices for successful implementation.” You can find this full policy on myLakeland.
Helpful brand and industry social media best practices are outlined below:
Facebook
- Design graphics to fit your platform, incorrectly sized images will display stretched or smashed and will go against brand standards. Some helpful dimensions to keep in mind:
- Cover image should be 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high
- Profile photo should be 155 pixels wide by 155 pixels high
- Event cover images should be 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high
- Timeline photos are recommended to be uploaded at 1200 pixels wide
- Event photos should be catalogued in albums on Facebook with a description of the event, date, and title for the album for optimal exposure. Make sure that you have permission of those you are posting photos of, either build a disclaimer into the registration for the event or have individuals sign a release form during the event (not needed for public events).
- Event photos should be limited to relevant shots or the best in a series of shots, not all photos from the event need to be shared on Facebook.
- Include images, posts with images get the highest amount of engagement on Facebook.
- Include URL links to more information. The most appealing updates don’t disclose everything upfront, leave your audience wanting more information, this makes users click to your website to find out more.
- Pay to boost posts that you want more coverage of, on average, only 4% of your Facebook audience will see your posts organically, putting paid advertising behind a message will push it in front of the demographic you set for it to be seen by:
- An example: A recent post for Hospice at Home organically (no money behind it) reached 841 people on its own and was boosted with $100 which added 8,947 people to the total reach of the post.
- Post at least once every other day but no more than twice a day for optimal newsfeed coverage and ‘like’ preservation.
- Post when your audience is listening, not just when your organization is open. Look at post engagement insights to determine the best times for your page and use the post “schedule” feature to accomplish this
- Posts aren’t the only thing that can grab attention, comments and responses can too – engage with people and build relationships through conversational dialogue.
- Share content that will make your audiences’ lives easier.
- Tag businesses (using the @ symbol before you start typing the businesses name) when referring to them in a post for increased exposure and community partnership visibility.
- Tell stories, use less statistics in your posts and more stakeholder and community benefit stories of how donations have helped make a difference.
- Think headline, not article. Grab people’s attention early on and then add a question, call to action, or URL link for more information.
- Weave in non-promotional company information – doing volunteer work in the community or giving a sneak peek into the culture and community within an organization – this goes a long way to building relationships by humanizing the brand.
Facebook pages associated with Lakeland Health:
- BellaNova Women’s Health
- Caring Circle
- Get Fit in the Mitt
- Hospice at Home
- Java City Café, Lakeland Health
- Lakeland Care Network
- Lakeland Health
- Lakeland Health Foundations
- Lakeland Health Gift Shops
- Lory’s Place
- Marie Yeager Cancer Center
- Southwestern Medical Clinic
- The Courtyard Café, Lakeland Health
- Facebook groups associated with Lakeland Health:
- Breathe Easier Club at Lakeland Health
- Healthy Hearts at Lakeland Health
- Lakeland Health Diabetes Support