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Web Strategies for Health Communication:

Introduction, Goals, and SWOT

Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, ScM, Course DirectorTufts University School of Medicine

July 18-23, 2010

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Why Tufts Summer Institute onWeb Strategies for Health Communication?

• Most healthcare and public health organizations who are trying to reach healthcare consumers share these problems:– “our website hasn’t been touched in three years”– “we set up a Facebook page but don’t know what to do

with it”– “what exactly is Twitter and how do we use it?” – “are we using our resources as best we can?”– “are we helping people as best we can?”– “every other ___ is online and they are doing ___”

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Aviva Must

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Sue Gallagher

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Introductions• Alicia Best• Katelyn Cooper• Lindsay Court• Jessica McAuliffe• Stephanie-Jo McGehee• Sean Molloy • Zeev Neuwirth• Kate Perch• Yelena Pecheny• Divya Ramamurthi• Diane Randolph• Lori Shanks• Yoan Talagrand• Kathleen Weldon• Chris Viveiros

Teams

1. Alicia, Kate, Stephanie-Jo, Zeev

2. Chris, Jessica, Lindsay3. Diane, Katelyn, Lori, Yoan 4. Divya, Kathleen, Sean,

Yelena

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Agenda

• Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00• Tuesday 5:30 at Splash, 150 Kneeland Street• Detailed agenda in binders• Today– Web strategy, goals, and SWOT analysis– Demographics of HCCs– Personas

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Strategy

• Strategy is a plan of action to meet stated goals– the goals are “what” – the strategy is “how”

• What happens when you don’t have – or use – a strategy?

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Web strategy

• Encompasses all uses of – The web and social media– Through computers and mobile devices– To reach healthcare consumers (HCCs)

Competitive analysis

Personas

SWOT

Goals

Technology

Content

Design

Evaluation

New web strategy

Existing web strategy

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Ask strategic questions

• Who can we reach?• Which products and services should be offered

and if and how will they be integrated?• What is the value chain: sole distributor (free,

ad-sponsored, subscription, or one-time fee) or multiple channels?

• Is the commitment short- or long-term?

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Develop candidate goals• Acquire new HCCs• Retain current HCCs• Increase loyalty• Increase word-of-mouth and viral promotions• Increase page views• Improve branding and awareness• Reduce content creation costs• Decrease content creation time• Respond rapidly to a crisis• Increase healthy behaviors

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Think “out of the box” and brainstorm creative and perhaps unusual goals

• Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said ‘faster horses.’”

• “Preschool children, on average, ask their parents about 100 questions a day. Why, why, why—sometimes parents just wish it’d stop. Tragically, it does stop.”– The Creativity Crisis,

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/10/the-creativity-crisis.html, July 10, 2010

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Consider constraints

• Organization– Budget– Leadership– Technological knowledge

• Existing and target HCCs– Technological knowledge and use– Health literacy skills– Health

• Diseases and conditions

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Evaluate and prioritize goals

• Are goals realistic and achievable?• What do we need to know: is any research or

data needed?• How will we measure success?• Order goals based on potential impact and

perceived ease of achieving

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Summary: goals

• Ask strategic questions • Develop candidate goals• Brainstorm• Consider constraints• Evaluate and prioritize goals

Competitive analysis

Personas

SWOT

Goals

Technology

Content

Design

Evaluation

New web strategy

Existing web strategy

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SWOT

Competitive analysis

Personas

SWOT

Goals

Technology

Content

Design

Evaluation

New web strategy

Existing web strategy

Strengths Weaknesses

Opportunities Threats

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Strengths• 1.• 2.• 3.• 4.• 5.• 6.

Weaknesses• 1.• 2.• 3.• 4.• 5.• 6.

Opportunities• 1.• 2.• 3.• 4.• 5.• 6.

Threats• 1.• 2.• 3.• 4.• 5.• 6.

A web strategy needs to maximize the potential of the strengths and opportunities while minimizing the impact of the weaknesses and threats

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Harvard Health Publishing• Course project is developing a new web strategy

for HHP in teams• Ed Coburn, Publishing Director at HHP, will

present goals and current web strategy• Following that you will develop a revised set of

goals and conduct a SWOT analysis

Competitive analysis

Personas

SWOT

Goals

Technology

Content

Design

Evaluation

New web strategy

Existing web strategy