The Johns Hopkins Medicine social media team tracks, responds to and makes sense of 480,000 brand mentions, 583,573 followers on Facebook and Twitter, and more than 1,500 questions each year—an enormous task. The social media command center allows the institution to monitor and protect the brand in the increasingly important world of social media.

The term “social media command center” might conjure visions of NASA’s Mission Control Center, with its large monitors and streaming social content. It’s actually a dedicated space within the Marketing and Communications Department that enables social media team members to see all social data that impact the brand.

“The command center allows the team to act quickly and efficiently, mitigate risk around crisis situations, and take advantage of opportunities to resolve patient complaints and provide expert commentary on trending topics,” says Therese Lockemy, director of Internet marketing and social engagement.  

Each team member has three monitors showing five different data streams of social information. They include:

• All activities on Johns Hopkins Medicine social channels:The team is responsive to questions and provides service recovery. For example, if a patient posts a comment to Facebook about a bad experience, the team can reach out to that patient and connect him or her to the best resources and staff to resolve the issue.
• All brand mentions: The team watches for any issues or crises developing on a social channel or website so they can respond before the information reaches media outlets. The team works closely with subject matter experts to respond quickly.  
• Scheduled posts: These offer visibility into what is scheduled for the institution’s official channels—Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc.
• Other social posts: The team can quickly cross-promote and share content from other areas of the institution soon after the content is published.
• Trending topics: The team sees currently trending topics in health care, science and medicine, providing opportunities for Johns Hopkins experts to comment.