Leveraging Promotional Strategies to Enhance Hospital Influence on Social Media: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)
Authors: Zhong Xinyun , Ma Yiyuan , Haiyue Yu 
Published: December 2024

BACKGROUND

Social media has become a vital platform for hospitals to engage with the public, disseminate health knowledge, and build trust. While promotional strategies have shown potential to enhance social media influence, the mechanisms through which these strategies impact hospital influence on social media remain unclear. Furthermore, the effectiveness of these strategies may vary across hospitals of different types and regions, necessitating a deeper understanding of their contextual applicability.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to investigate the effects of three dimension-based promotional strategies—activity, interactivity, and entertainment value—on four dimensions of hospital social media influence: audience reach, audience approval, audience interaction, and dissemination power. It also seeks to explore variations in the effectiveness of these strategies across hospitals of different types and regions.

METHODS

Data were collected from 721 officially verified hospital Weibo accounts and integrated with multi-dimensional hospital characteristics from the DXY National Hospital Database. Multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to assess the relationship between promotional strategies and social media influence while controlling for hospital-specific characteristics. Heterogeneity analysis was conducted to identify variations in the effectiveness of promotional strategies across hospital groups categorized by ownership, ranking, size, and region.

RESULTS

The promotional strategies of activity and interactivity demonstrated significant and consistent positive effects across all dimensions of social media influence. A 10% increase in the number of Weibo posts (activity) led to increases of 4.8% in followers (P < 0.001), 4.4% in maximum likes (P < 0.001), 3.1% in maximum comments (P < 0.001), and 4.9% in maximum shares (P < 0.001). Similarly, a 10% increase in the number of accounts followed by hospitals (interactivity) resulted in increases of 4.5% in followers (P < 0.001), 2.4% in maximum likes (P = 0.002), 2.4% in maximum comments (P < 0.001), and 3.1% in maximum shares (P < 0.001). While entertainment value had a more limited impact, significantly enhancing audience reach and approval in specific contexts. Heterogeneity analysis revealed that the effectiveness of promotional strategies varies significantly across hospitals of different types and regions.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides empirical evidence on how promotional strategies influence hospital social media performance and underscores the importance of tailoring strategies based on hospital type and regional characteristics. The findings emphasize that hospitals should strategically choose communication approaches that align with their unique characteristics. By tailoring promotional strategies to their specific attributes and regional contexts, hospitals can effectively enhance their social media influence, foster stronger public trust, and promote sustainable digital transformation.