Use of Social Media Marketing in Healthcare

Social media is an umbrella term that defines online technology and practices used to share opinion, insights, experience and perspectives. Social media are low cost marketing tools that help in facilitating the building of networks, instant dissemination of information and thus encouraging trust and confidence of public. It can take many forms like text, images, audio and video. According to Kaplan and Haenlein, there are six different types of social media: collaborative projects (e.g., Wikipedia), blogs and micro blogs (e.g., Twitter), content communities (e.g., YouTube, Flicker), social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, MySpace), virtual game worlds (e.g., World of Warcraft, Whyville), and virtual social worlds (e.g., Second Life). Based on this classification, extensive literature search was done from a range of sources like journals, books and internet websites of relevant disciplines, including public health organizations, hospitals and case studies prepared on each type exploring the use of social media in health promotion. The objective of this paper is to explain the use of social media marketing in health promotion and education and discuss various interventions done, using social media marketing tools in promoting public health. Finally, it is discussed like every coin has two sides, social media provides large opportunity for health promotion in the public health community, enabling public health professionals to reach out far and wide and directly to the public on multiple public health issues and at the same time its cautious use is imperative to prevent colossal damage. Social media, a communication boon for the public health community has the potential to promote and change many health-related behaviours and issues particularly in times of crisis.