What I’ve been up to as a Director of Social Media

From March until September of this year I worked as the Director of Social Media and Web Strategies for the Iowa Hospital Association.

I was brought on board to lead developments in social media for the organization, including educating their staff on effective uses and putting into practice a strategy for IHA.

My role built upon the training and groundwork laid out by Nathan Wright and Hillary Brown of Lava Row. Our goals were to strengthen relationships with association members, highlight the successes of Iowa hospitals and promote health care careers in the State of Iowa.

As we worked towards accomplishing these goals, IHA put several initiatives into motion:

• started a blog to track legislative issues, happenings in the workforce and hospital successes
• launched a Twitter account to relay hospital-related information and to connect with hospital advocates
• hosted hospital celebrations across the state
• talked with hospital employees on camera about their careers and sought advice for interested students

IHA saw lots of positive response from individuals and hospital leaders, with many people engaging in these mediums for the first time. Overall it was a great experience for me and it gave me the chance to work in an industry I had previously known nothing about. I also had my first experience working on a Macbook Pro. :)

UPDATE: For some perspective, here’s my post from when I started the job at the Iowa Hospital Association.

Where my journey is taking me next

Though I can’t reveal too many details surrounding my new role, I can say that it will be centered in the social media space and that I’ll be working with several other bright minds in the area. As people starting rolling into the office and other pieces come together I will share more. Hopefully I will have additional information in the coming weeks.

The Iowa Hospital Association is a voluntary membership organization representing hospital and health system interests to business, government and consumer audiences.

From Marketing to Government Relations

My position lives in the government relations department (another idea about where social media can live in an organization?), but was created  in order to facilitate participation in social media by our organization as a whole. The gov relations designation is simply because that’s where all of our other outbound communications are housed. I’ll be working closely with both our Director of Communications and Director of Grassroots Advocacy.

Making the Rules As We Go

Like any other position, I’ve got a job description outlining specific details and guidelines as to what my role entails, but a large portion of it will be determined ongoing as I learn more about our industry and the opportunities that exist for us as an organization.

The most exciting part of my job is that each day I get to prove how and why social media is an important part of business, not just for consumer-oriented companies, but for any business in existence. I’m also learning a lot about how other associations are using social media to benefit their members; check out the Association Social Media wiki for great examples.

Learning About Healthcare

In my two previous positions I operated first in construction and then in credit unions. Hospitals and healthcare are an entirely different world, but it’s a challenge I’m willing to take.

Also, if you’ve been reading my tweets on Sunday night, you’ve probably noticed a flurry of them tagged with #hcsm between 8-9pm. Those tweets are all related to the “social media in healthcare” Twitter chats that take place every Sunday. Discussions are led by a moderator who asks questions of the group, then everyone jumps in with their responses. Each week our group continues to grow and tonight we were even a trending topic on Twitter (amidst both the Country Music Awards and Wrestlemania).

Taking the Next Step

It’s hard to believe this is my third full-time job since graduating from Iowa State just two years ago, but I’m very excited about where I’m at and the opportunities that have been presented to me. I’m looking forward to growing my experience, honing my skills and meeting new people. Keep an eye out for big things to come. :)