Got an email this morning from Shawn Lea, vice president for strategic communications with the Mississippi Hospital Association. She sent me examples of two great blogs sponsored by MHA:

Operation Healthy Vote. This "temporary blog" was tied to the election, and used as part of the association’s grassroots election program. Prior to the November election it pulled together lots of resources and links related to campaigns and policies affecting MHA’s members.

Cover Mississippi. MHA also has an ongoing blog affiliated with another of its projects dedicated to providing coverage to uninsured citizens of the state. There’s a wealth of information here on health insurance research, policy and news.

I talked to Shawn about the blogs and MHA’s implementation of the concept. Here’s what she said in an email:

"I would like to tell you it was strategy, strategy, strategy. But, in reality it was laziness, laziness, laziness. Blogs are FREE. They are very search-engine friendly. And they make my job easier. Before blogs, I would have to post all of that information in an irritating ‘links’ or ‘news’ section that no one would probably read anyway. With a blog, you can give a snippet of the story and send them to the whole link. I created the sites myself so didn’t have the money or time for databases or fancy coding - I used the blogs as a kind of Breaking News section."

One of the best reasons I’ve heard for using blogs! Shawn makes a point of updating the blogs once a day (or did, for the election blog), and is in the process of developing a career-oriented blog for healthcare professionals. (She also keeps an eye on the overall blogosphere, and sent this link to an article she wrote for the association’s members bringing together a list of health-related blogs).

A well-defined blog targeting a specific audience is an easy way to get your message across. What other association blogs are out there? Let me know.

No comments yet.