Social Networking: PHI Applications

Social Networking is one of the latest “can’t miss” ideas being touted and adopted in marketing to consumers, and even to business prospects and clients. Encouraging and enabling customers to share their experiences and impressions with their peers is one of the cheapest and most effective means available to influence people’s awareness, opinions, and actions, as social networking keeps showing in the political arena.

It is also being touted as a means of enhancing employee “engagement”, usually defined in terms of high levels of commitment/motivation and loyalty to their employers and jobs. But it is equally well suited to promoting enrollment, engagement, and success in PHI efforts aimed at health, performance, and value contributions that arise from improvement therein.

There are some basic “rules”, or at least logical things to keep in mind when planning and implementing social networking strategies – in PHI, as well as for promoting employee engagement in general. For example, a recent blog discussion on general applications suggests six things to keep in mind. [M. Finney “How to Use Social Media to Enhance Engagement” Smart Blog on Workforce Mar 16, 2009 (smartblogs.com/workforce)]

For PHI purposes, one of the key elements is deciding exactly how social networking will be used in overall strategy and particular initiatives. It can be applied to general promotion of the idea of health improvement and its performance consequences, to increase enrollment in risk assessment/screening, in particular initiatives, to improve behavior change efforts and success, and similar “marketing” aims.

The purpose selected will automatically determine the desired membership of the segment of the population intended to participate in social networking, as well as the behaviors that are to be promoted and sustained. The social networking “experience” should then be designed accordingly, though its members will have a lot to do with what the actual experience becomes.

Enlisting “opinion leaders”, and encouraging more successful PHI participants to join in the social networking effort can be a task assigned to PHI vendors, since employers are likely to be prohibited from identifying specific participants. They may also be self-selected through general invitations to PHI prospects and participants who consider themselves to be leaders and successful, though self-perceptions may be deluded.

Employers should monitor social networking activity and content, and may even set rules for the use of such networks, and monitor adherence thereto. But there should be no attempt to censor content that is merely critical of the PHI process or employer, merely content that is demeaning, rude, offensive, etc. to its participants.

The employer and vendor may participate in the networking, but should be clearly identified as such when they do so. Both should avoid any actions that will diminish participant trust in the network or PHI sponsors. Ideally, participants themselves should be empowered to set and enforce their own rules, in addition to any set by sponsors, so that they are confident in the network and its content.

All participants should be encouraged to contribute content, and about any subject of concern or value to them. The greater the participation level, the more value the network is likely to have, and participant ideas for increasing participation in the network, as well as for increasing the success of the PHI effort should be included in the general empowerment effort.

As is the case with social networks used in promoting purchases and use of products and services, PHI networks should promote participation and success at minimal cost to sponsors. The effects of networks should be continuously monitored to check on how well they are working, and to capture suggestions and feedback to help the network as well as the PHI effort in general to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.